Counting The Ways To Where You Are

Published:  September 3rd, 2013

The 100 (The Hundred #1)

By: Kass Morgan

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13:  9780316234474

In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth's toxic atmosphere. No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland... before it's too late.

Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they've only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they're haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust - and even love - again.

Review

     Clarke, Wells, Glass and Bellamy all have something in common.  Soon they'll be sent to Earth to live, as an experiment to see whether or not it's truly habitable for people once again.  Two of them are going voluntarily, following the people they love.  One of them is going along with it to avoid certain death and the last is going to find a way to stay behind at any cost.  Bellamy's main concern is his sister Octavia, Clarke and Wells have a complicated love/hate relationship to work out, and Glass is in love with Luke who seems to have given up on them.  The air is breathable on Earth, but there are plenty of dangers to keep the teens on their toes.  And with the government keeping secrets up on the ship, Glass may be running out of time to save herself and Luke.  Will all of the teens be able to survive in the cutthroat worlds they're part of and the web of lies they've been dropped into?  What if Earth isn't quite as abandoned as they always thought?

     This is definitely perfect material for a CW television show.  I will say that can be both a good and bad thing, when talking about a book.  It has plenty of detailed descriptions, I could really picture the ship they were on and the wild, regressed back to primitive Earth they get sent to.  The characters all have interesting backstories and their relationships with each other are honest and full of a stark combination of pain, love and that strange self-centeredness that comes with being a teenager in any society.  I definitely believed in the reality of the characters.  It was the rest of it that could use some more work.

     The plot has major potential, but I shared the feelings of a lot of other readers that not much really happened when it comes down to the deconstruction of what I just read.  I liked the idea that the ships were running out of resources and were using the delinquents to test out the viability of moving back on to Earth.  It's a very interesting premise.  But the plot is mostly consisted of flashbacks and long conversations/angsty moments between the main characters.  The Lord of the Flies dynamic once they got to Earth wasn't explored as much as I would have liked.  I think Clarke forgave Wells for his stupidity a little too easily.  Octavia was a little to mysterious for me to draw a strong sibling connection between her and Bellamy.  She really uses him pretty badly in the present time the book's set in.  I did like the mystery concerning whether or not there were people still inhabiting Earth.  Overall it was an interesting science fiction read (if a little light on the true sci-fi elements).  In practice it reads a little too much like a TV show to make a phenomenal book though.  If you want your book to be something above and beyond, it needs to stand out.  It was a good setup and I hope the rest of the series has more meat and depth to it.  Otherwise the promise will be unfulfilled.

 

VERDICT:   3.5/5  Stars

 

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book was published September 3rd, 2013.*

Chaotic, Messy Life

Expected Publication:  September 10th, 2013
The Chaos of Stars
By: Kiersten White
HarperTeen
ISBN-13:  9780062135926

Isadora's family is seriously screwed up.

Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory.  She's also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can't be bothered to remember her name.  After all, they are going to be around forever -- and she's a mere mortal.

Isadora's sick of living a life where she's only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it.  But Isadora's quickly finding that a "normal" life comes with plenty of its own epic complications -- and that there's no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family.  Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can't shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family.  When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether or not she can abandon her divine heritage after all.

Review

 

     Isadora lives in Egypt with her extremely crazy.  An outside observer might think they are crazy, religious extremists.  In a way that's true -- they're the Ancient Gods and Goddesses of Egyptian myth!  But Isadora herself is only human and has nothing but anger and feelings of betrayal from her parents.  So when she gets the opportunity to escape and live with her older brother in San Diego, she takes it eagerly.  Forced to work in a local museum by her controlling parents, Isadora reluctantly becomes friends with rambunctious Tyler (whose Aunt runs the museum), Ty's boyfriend Scott and their good friend Ry.  Of course, there are feelings other than just friendship building between Ry and Isadora, there is someone trying to steal something from the new Egyptian museum exhibit they're assembling, and Ry has his own, complicated family history.  Can Isadora leave behind her cynical outlook in life and learn to let love in for once?  Will she be able to save her parents and her friends from certain destruction, or will her stubborn anger ruin them all?

     I haven't read anything written by Kiersten White before and was curious to see if I would like it or not.  I have friends who love her 'Paranormalacy' series, but I've been kind of hesitant to get into another series that has vamps, weres, etc. in it.  Well, let's just say I won't be seeking out any books by White in the near future.  I am a mythology nut, for Egyptian mythology especially.  But this book wasn't really about mythology, as much as it was about a teenage girl with Mommy and Daddy issues, who doesn't believe in true love (or that it would even be worth it).  What little mythology was involved in the plot was woven in clumsily and the tidbits at the beginning of each chapter were hit or miss.  I was pretty positive of who the 'villain' was before even the halfway point of the book and the hints White kept bashing me over the head with were unnecessary by far.  Most of the book was spent with Isadora being an abrasive, judgmental bitch to everyone while trying to assimilate to life in America.  Ooohhh, Isadora like interior decorating, Coca Cola and hates boys.  Okay, whatever. 

     Isadora spends most of the book treating everyone else like complete crap and yet Ry for some inexplicable reason really likes her romantically anyways.  The revelation about his heritage and prior connection to Isadora was so obvious, that I found myself rolling my eyes more so than gasping in 'shock' over it.  The bits with the dreams just downright confused me and had me skimming over them to get through the rest of the book.  The majority of the book had no conflict and while I do enjoy contemporaries with paranormal elements thrown it, when I go in expecting mythology that's where I want the focus to be!  The romance between Ry and Isadora just wasn't enough to save this book for me, and the 180 her character does at the end of the book pretty much alienated me completely.  Kudos to White for keeping me reading till the end, but honestly wouldn't recommend it unless you're already a fan of hers. 

 

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

 

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication is September 10th, 2013.*

Eden Is A Place On Earth

Expected Publication:  November 5th, 2013
After Eden (After Eden # 1)
By: Helen Douglas
Bloomsbury USA Children's
ISBN-13:  9781619631304

The day Eden met Ryan changed her world forever.  Actually, not just her world.  Ryan has time traveled from the future to save the world.  In a few weeks, Eden's best friend Connor will discover a new planet -- one where human life is possible.  The discovery will make him famous.  It will also ruin the world as we know it.  When Ryan asks for Eden's help, she must choose between saving the world and saving her best friend's greatest achievement.  And a crush on Ryan complicates things more than she could have ever imagined.  Because Connor is due to make the discovery after the girl he loves breaks his heart.  That girl is Eden.

Grounded in a realistic teen world with fascinating sci-fi elements, After Eden is a heart-pounding love triangle that's perfect for dystopian fans looking for something new to devour.

Review

 

     Talk about a misleading synopsis.  That last sentence especially, when they tell you that fans of DYSTOPIA will devour this book!!!  There is absolutely zilch that is dystopian about this book (other than a ruined future).  And even then, that would be considered more post-apocalyptic and not truly dystopian.  This book is more to appeal to the sensibilities of fans of light science fiction, with fantasy elements (I never quite know how to classify time travel).  Let's just get it out there: Eden is a bit of a Mary Sue.  But while I was reading the book, I didn't really notice.  I liked the aspect of her and Ryan being friends before they got romantically involved.  Probably the best thing about this book for me though was the easy bridging of the cultural/linguistic gap between Britain and America.  Normally if I'm reading a British teen novel, the slang is so overwhelming that it gets in the way of my enjoyment, as I have absolutely NO FREAKING CLUE what's going on!  In this book, it's told straight off the bat that it's set in England, and there are some word choice differences.  But it's nothing that gets in the way of enjoying/understanding the book.  Which was awesome for me as an American.

     That said, this book was mostly focused on romance, possible romance and lack of romance, rather than the time travel aspects/planetary discovery.  Eden does not share her best friend Connor's feelings, so when he starts acting strange when Ryan enters the picture it throws off the entire balance of them being 'best friends.'  But honestly, I never really saw them being best friends in this book.  I got no background or scenes with them together than really made me understand their supposedly close relationship.  If anything, the author seems to go out of her way to make him seem like a complete douchebag.  Connor's attitude seems to be that it's okay to be friends with Eden, but if she decides to be romantically interested in someone it had better be him -- or else that friendship doesn't mean jack shit.  The rest of the group of friends, beyond Ryan & Eden & Connor, isn't really fleshed out all that much and they are pretty much just placeholders who move along the plot of the book without any actual purpose.  There were some sweet things about this book.  I liked when Eden and Ryan planted the apple tree and buried the time capsule.  Also, the conversations about Ryan not knowing what pizza is or who Hitler was were pretty funny. 

     The momentum of the plot was slow for the majority of the book, picking up a little closer towards the end.  The time travel 'cleaner' (aka hitman who takes care of anyone who might suspect anything) wasn't all that surprising in his identity.  The ending in regards to Connor's discovery of the planet he names Eden, which carries a destructive virus, was rather anticlimactic.  It also didn't hinge upon Eden as much as they'd originally thought.  The sweet romantic scene with Ryan and Eden at the end made me smile.  But I spent the majority of the book wondering how the Hell Ryan got this assignment, when he's obviously kind of a bumbling moron.  Whatever, I guess.  It was enjoyable for the piece of fluff that it is, but don't expect much in the way of actual sci-fi in the plot, there isn't really a love triangle, and THIS IS NOT A DYSTOPIAN.  Thank you!  I'd recommend if for a bit of fun, light reading.

 

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars

 

*I received this book as part of Around The World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication is November 5th, 2013.*



Catch A Severed Head, and Put It In Your Pocket...

Expected Publication:  August 27th, 2013
The Beginning of Everything (Originally titled 'Severed Heads and Broken Hearts')
By: Robyn Schneider
Katherine Tegen
ISBN-13:  9780062217134

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.

Review

 

     Ezra Faulkner had it all - the girl, the car, the friends, popularity, jock status and the possibility of an athletic scholarship.  But then one night after he left a party, Ezra was in a horrible car accident that shattered his leg and destroyed his dreams for the future.  Now his friends are no longer involved in his life and his girlfriend, Charlotte, is dating his former best friend.  So he finds himself sitting with Toby, his friend from elementary school who caught someone's severed head on a Disneyworld rollercoaster and was ostracized for it.  Ezra also becomes the newest member of the debate team, as his schedule has been changed to accommodate for no longer being on the tennis team.  This is how he meets new girl Cassidy, who is mysterious and smart, completely different from anyone he's ever met before.  They begin a whirlwind romance, but with all the secrets she's keeping things may not last as long as Ezra hopes.  Can he become the person he always should have been and will his life ever be the same now that Cassidy is part of it? 

     I went into this expecting it to be more like reading a Sarah Dessen book than anything else.  That would have been totally fine, seeing as I love Ms. Dessen's books but what I got was something special in its own right and very original!  Unlike the synopsis implies, Ezra's friends are still trying to half-assed include him in their lives and activities.  But they do it in stupid, unfeeling ways like inviting him on sporty trips he can't be part of because of his leg.  And he's rightfully angry and confused, because none of them stayed to help him when he was hurt in the accident, they all left because they didn't want the cops to bust them for the party.  None of them visited him in he hospital either.  Toby's reacceptance and integration of Ezra into his life, group of nerd friends and the debate team he captains is wonderful.  He is an excellent example of taking an unfortunate circumstance and not letting it derail you (aka the severed head).  Also, he's not afraid to tell Ezra when he's acting like a douchebag.  Cassidy was my least favorite character, although the friendship and eventual romance between the two of them did make me smile.  But she is hiding some major secrets and has a serious superiority complex, acting like everyone else is dumber than her and beneath her notice.  Her stunts at the debate team competition are stupid and juvenile, and made me angry even though I understood her pain (if not her jacked up reasoning).  I guess that was the point of some of the events in this book, life doesn't always make sense and we don't always know people as well as we think we do.  The best thing about this book is the transformation of Ezra (definitely for the better) and how he becomes a completely different person gradually through the course of the book. 

     There was some very smart, witty dialogue but I never felt like I was being pandered to and I never got an impression of phoniness from any of the characters (except for Cassidy, but it fit with her habit of trying too hard to be okay).  Ezra's narration was very teenage boy, real and involving some deep feelings but also dealing with moments without common sense and garden variety teen behavior.  He's caught between letting himself change and trying to hang onto the way things used to be, even if they no longer fit into place the same way.  That's something everyone can relate to.  The ending was heart-wrenching, but wonderful in that it was completely unexpected and more true to life than most contemporary YA books turn out to be.  I did feel like some of the pop culture nostalgia was more in line with mid to late twenty-somethings and not teens.  For example, Furby and Tamogachis were both mentioned! Although Ezra's Halloween costume is pure late 2000s and will make you laugh if you have a sense of humor like mine!  Also, the twist involving an unknown connection between Cassidy and Ezra felt like it kind of came out of nowhere and didn't fit in with the feeling to the rest of the narrative.  Highly recommended for fans of contemporary YA romance/coming of age stories, who like a book that will play with their emotions and make them fall in love with the characters.

 

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

 

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is August 27th, 2013.*

Time Probably Has More Than Two Sides

Published:  January 1st, 1997 (Originally published July 1st, 1995)
Both Sides of Time (Time Travelers # 1)
By: Caroline B. Cooney
Perfection Learning
ISBN-13:  9780780769670

Imagine changing centuries--and making things worse, not better, on both sides of time.

Imagine being involved in two love triangles in two different centuries. What if, no matter which direction you travel in time, you must abandon someone you love?

Meet 15-year-old Annie Lockwood, a romantic living in the wrong century. When she travels back a hundred years and lands in 1895--a time when privileged young ladies wear magnificent gowns, attend elegant parties, and are courted by handsome gentlemen--Annie at last finds romance. But she is a trespasser in time. Will she choose to stay in the past? Will she be allowed to?

Review

 

     Annie Lockwood has always been a hopeless romantic.  But she is stuck in the twentieth century, with a seriously cute boyfriend, Sean, who calls her by her initials, spends all his time working on cars and doesn't have a single romantic bone in his entire body.  When the town decides to tear down the crumbling Stratton mansion, Annie rides out there on her bike the day summer vacation begins to visit Sean and help him pack up all his tools before the demolition - she never expects to fall back in time!  Now Annie is in a world of riches, parties, old-fashioned romance and a boy named Strat who just might be her true love.  But they come from different worlds and Annie doesn't belong in 1895 and when she is accused of murder, the clock starts ticking.   Can Annie find a way to get back home to her own family, which is falling apart at the seams?  And does she even want to?  I read this series for the first time when I was about 8 or 9 years old and LOVED it to pieces!  I adored anything with time travel and the fact that it had romance was a bonus.  I've re-read the series a couple times as a middle-schooler and again in high school (one of those times was for when book #4 in the series was released).  I shouldn't have picked it up again as an adult.  I remembered a fun read that was romance, murder mystery and time travel all rolled into one.  What I got was overall bland characterizations (except for a few exceptions) and shoddily constructed plots - except for the murder, which was one that I never expected, although I'm sure others have guessed it before.  I guess I'm just naïve like that! :)  Annie is basically a placeholder character, who hates her life and wants adventure to come along and to have a romantic guy sweep her off her feet.  But she is content enough to stay with Sean and be bored until time takes the decision from her.  Strat is a product of his time period, wanting to save the women from themselves and not being able to see past outer appearance in favor of  his plainer best friend, Harriet, who is in love with him.  His sister Devonny is young and not a very prominent character, but I did love her excitement over new technology and inventions, along with her determination to be a modern woman.  She was a great role model for younger girls reading this book and the ones after it.  Harriet's only purpose seems to be as the requisite plain, orphaned, rich girl who never gets the guy.  She was devoid mostly of personality and really the only emotion we ever see on her part is some form of jealousy for Annie (either her looks, personality, etc. or her interactions/relationship with Strat). 

     The villains of this book were mostly cookie cutter and easy enough to understand once they were found out.  The most common motive in this book for anything was money.  But one villain in particular (who is carted off screaming and acting insane [in a believable way] at the end) stuck with me and was realistic enough to send chills up my spine.  The constant emphasis of the author on class distinctions, especially the romance between the maid  Bridget and the stable boy Jeb, was somewhat overdone and in your face.  The same thing goes for the constant downtrodden state of the women in the novel.  Although the ending and the part Florinda (Strat's ditzy Stepmother) has in catching the murderer was awesome.  A lot of plot holes existed and we never really find out how or why Annie is suddenly traveling through time.  And now that I'm older, the whole 'love at first sight' thing made me want to gag.  Plus, would you really act so 20th century in the presence of people 100 years in the past?  And go around announcing that you'd traveled through time, causally like they wouldn't lock you in a nuthouse for it???  Yeah, didn't think so!  That said, even with some of the heavy-handedness, it's a fun read and sets up for the rest of the series nicely.  I would recommend it more to kids  around ages 10-18 though.  Adults, be prepared to feel underwhelmed unless you're a fan of somewhat questionably done writing.  Overall, won't be reading again but might give it to my niece someday.

 

 

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars (Some of this is based on old feelings.  I'll always have a soft spot for this series!)

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

The Game of Life Isn't Always Fair

Expected Publication:  August 1st, 2013
Canary
By: Rachele Alpine
Medallion Press
ISBN-13:  9781605425870

Staying quiet will destroy her, but speaking up will destroy everyone.

Kate Franklin’s life changes for the better when her dad lands a job at Beacon Prep, an elite private school with one of the best basketball teams in the state. She begins to date a player on the team and quickly gets caught up in a world of idolatry and entitlement, learning that there are perks to being an athlete.

But those perks also come with a price. Another player takes his power too far and Kate is assaulted at a party. Although she knows she should speak out, her dad’s vehemently against it and so, like a canary sent into a mine to test toxicity levels and protect miners, Kate alone breathes the poisonous secrets to protect her dad and the team. The world that Kate was once welcomed into is now her worst enemy, and she must decide whether to stay silent or expose the corruption, destroying her father’s career and bringing down a town’s heroes.

Canary is told in a mix of prose and verse.

Review

 

     Kate is desperate to keep her family together, but since her Mom died they've drifted dangerously apart from each other.  So when her Dad gets a new job coaching basketball at privileged Beacon Prep, she is more than happy to start school there.  Especially since it means she gets to leave behind all the 'friends' who deserted her when her Mom got sick with cancer.  Her brother Brett is angry and withdraws even more, especially when Kate starts hanging out with the popular kids who make fun of him all the time.  Enjoying the all of the perks that come with having a basketball God for a boyfriend, when things start to go downhill Kate starts to have serious doubts about who her real friends are and who's even worth her time.  When Kate is assaulted and tries to speak out, she needs to decided whether or not to let herself be silenced, or to speak the truth and maybe begin healing all the poisonous hurts in her life.  Will Kate be forced to choose between herself and her Dad before all is said and done?

     This book was really powerful.  At the beginning, Kate is a typical teenager worried about the shallow things in life.  She's focused on her appearance, popularity, getting a boyfriend and surviving high school.  But as the book moves forward, we get to see her changes as she matures.  The blog posts in a combination of prose and verse were a really nice touch and added an extra element of reality to the book for me personally.  When I was a teen, I wrote poetry constantly to express myself and I know that a lot of teens still do.  A poem can be a life-changing event.  As things go from bad to worse with the basketball boys and the popular girls, readers get to see Kate taking a stand for things she believes in (especially when they all attempt to cheat off of her homework) but letting things go too (like when they make fun of her brother Brett and his girlfriend Julia).  The decision that Brett makes to go into the military and the backstory/thoughts from when their Mom was sick, and how this all affected Kate definitely makes her more relatable.  I could see how after all that personal pain she'd be so mixed up about what her values were and what she wanted.  The way she handles the assault is realistic, but still portrays her as a strong girl who is willing to stand up for herself. 

     I liked that the author managed to show the Father's road back to his daughter from the major disconnect he's been in, without vilifying him to the readers.  When all is said and done, you are sure of the fact that he's a human being, albeit one who made some VERY huge mistakes.  All of the interactions with her boyfriend (who abandons Kate in favor of the team) and the girls who were her friends, but start bullying her after the assault were pretty realistic to how entitled/spoiled teens seem to react to things they see as threats to their freedom or way of thinking.  My only complaint would be the way Kate made excuses for Josh's douchebag/borderline abusive behavior for most of the book.  But I know it happens all the time in reality which makes me sad.  The ending was definitely in keeping with the overall, never-give-up strength and attitude of the rest of the book.  All in all I enjoyed it a lot, even when it was breaking my heart into tiny pieces.  A very emotional and gripping book that I would recommend to teens who like books dealing with real issues, reluctant readers, teachers and librarians.  Or anyone wanting a great book! :)

 

VERDICT:  4.75/5  Stars

 

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. It will be available for purchase on August 1st, 2013.*

Love Has A Sell By Date

Published: December 11th, 2012 (first published August 1st, 2010)
Love and Other Perishable Items (Original published as, 'Good Oil')
By: Laura Buzo
Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780375970009

Love is awkward, Amelia should know.

From the moment she sets eyes on Chris, she is a goner. Lost. Sunk. Head over heels infatuated with him. It's problematic, since Chris, 21, is a sophisticated university student, while Amelia, is 15.

Amelia isn't stupid. She knows it's not gonna happen. So she plays it cool around Chris—at least, as cool as she can. Working checkout together at the local supermarket, they strike up a friendship: swapping life stories, bantering about everything from classic books to B movies, and cataloging the many injustices of growing up. As time goes on, Amelia's crush doesn't seem so one-sided anymore. But if Chris likes her back, what then? Can two people in such different places in life really be together?

Through a year of befuddling firsts—first love, first job, first party, and first hangover—debut author Laura Buzo shows how the things that break your heart can still crack you up.

Review

     So, I'm just going to dive right into this one, starting with the different covers of this book.  The first one if for the German edition and I think it's beautiful.  It doesn't really represent the book accurately though.  The second cover was the original one from Australia and it annoys me.  That cover model looks NOTHING like the main character of the book!  Nothing at all!  And she also looks like she's a college student and if Amelia was one, there wouldn't be a book most likely.  The third is the American cover, which also has a new title for the book itself.  I like the new title and the cover fits it very well - plus it latches onto the story nicely as the two main characters work in a grocery store.  So for once the American reprint has the better cover in my opinion - how the Hell did that happen?  I went into this one not knowing what to expect exactly.  I am not normally a fan of YA Aussie Lit.  Usually it just doesn't register the same way with me that the U.S. and British YA (and even then only sometimes for the latter, not always) do.  It's probably because I don't get the slang and I am lazy and picky about stuff like that.  The 'romance' between Amelia and Chris was taboo for a reason.  What college student in his right mind would date a fifteen year old?  What could they possibly have in common after all, other than sharing the same job?  Yes, Amelia reminds Chris of his youth and a younger version of himself, but for most of the book he comes across as a very outgoing, friendly, pathetic drunkard who is wasting his life aimlessly.  He goes to university, but obviously only does it because he 'should' and not cause he has any real desire to do so.  Amelia's friend, has it right in the end that she shouldn't wait for him.  

     I liked Amelia a lot as a character.  She was smart, funny and very innocent (but not in the annoying, Mary-Sueish way a  lot of YA heroines are).  But the sticking point on me loving her was her lack of common sense when it came to Chris.  First love or not (debatable), Amelia put herself in some majorly stupid situations to fit in with his friends and be more like a girl he'd want.  The alternating narrative between Chris and Amelia gives extra insight into each of their reasoning for pursuing/not pursuing the other.  I still disliked Chris by the end and found him to be morally lacking, and devoid of swoon.  But maybe a relationship between a fifteen year old and a twenty-two year old just squicks me out.  Overall, a good read and the ending was realistic in a good way.  It was a very well-written and thought out novel.  As a coming of age story, it's definitely a win.   But not one I'd recommend for everyone and it won't be a re-read.

VERDICT:  3.75/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published in the U.S. on December 11th, 2012.*

My Alias Is Yours For the Taking

Expected Publication:  February 26th, 2013

Also Known As

By: Robin Benway

Bloomsbury

ISBN-13: 9780802733900

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad.  Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time.  Having parents with super cool jobs.  Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend.  But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.  Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes.  She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

Review

     Maggie Silver has been safe-cracking since she was three years old and wants nothing more than to be a spy just like her parents.  So when the organization they work for, the Collective, gives Maggie a solo assignment she's super excited.  Then she finds out that her assignment is basically to be a normal teenager - go to high school, make friends and infiltrate the life of Jesse Oliver so she can steal his Dad's info on the Collective.  Maggie only has a small time frame before Mr. Oliver publishes what he knows and ruins her parent's lives (and her own).  Or so she's been told.  But with the help of family friend Angelo, her new BFF Roux and Jesse himself, can Maggie find out the truth before it costs her something far more valuable than she ever expected?  Also, what can you do when you fall in love with your assignment?  I have been a fan of Robin Benway since reading her debut novel, Audrey Wait!, which was one of my favorite books to be published while I was a teen.  She has a great sense of humor and the characterizations she manages are amazing.  I was laughing at and gasping with Maggie from the very first page of the novel.  Probably because I was a majorly over-dramatic teenager myself and can totally relate to her.  The idea of a teenage spy isn't very appealing to me normally, but the focus on character versus spy/thriller action inclusions kept me involved a lot better than I would have been.  The relationship with her parents was both hilarious and touchingly realistic.  I am a rare girl who does not happen to like Ally Carter's novels about the teen spy school.  Just not my thing.  But by placing Maggie in an everyday environment, Benway really impressed me.  Jesse was a cute romantic interest for the heroine and their chemistry was at turns sweet and hot both.  Roux was freaking HILARIOUS!  I loved her so much, but her crappy home life made me want to cry.  The whole mystery did seem quite downplayed and ignored for most of the book, which was a little disappointing to me as a reader.  The ending seemed perfect to me though and I really enjoyed this book overall.  I thought it was well-written, had a great sense of humor and some lasting value.  I highly recommend it for fans of character driven narratives, with lots of humor/drama.  But I forewarn those looking for an in-depth spy novel, this IS NOT IT.

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is February 26th, 2013.*

"It" Is a Million Times Better Than You

Expected Publication:  February 5th, 2013

Me, Him, Them and It

By: Caela Carter

Bloomsbury

ISBN-13: 9781599909585

When Evelyn decided to piss off her parents with a bad reputation, she wasn't planning to ruin her valedictorian status. She also wasn't planning to fall for Todd-the guy she was just using for sex. And she definitely wasn't planning on getting pregnant. When Todd turns his back on her, Evelyn's not sure where to go. Can a distant mother, a cheating father, an angry best friend, and a (thankfully) loving aunt with adopted daughters of her own help Evelyn make the heart-wrenching decisions that follow?With the popularity of Juno, Teen Mom, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager, this novel has a built-in audience. Gripping, heartfelt, and responsible, Me, Him, Them, and It is not to be missed.

Review

*SPOILER ALERT!!!*

     Evelyn was really a good girl, just playing at being bad to get back at her parents.  But the only one she ended up hurting was herself, when unprotected sex landed her at Planned Parenthood - trying to decide between abortion, adoption and parenting as a junior in high school.  With her parents being supportive, although still messed up and fighting, Evelyn goes to live with her Aunt, her partner and their adopted daughters in Chicago for the duration of her pregnancy.  But can she face up to the reality of the situation in time to make a decision that will affect her for the rest of her life?  And will it be the right one?  I was expecting this to be like every other teen pregnancy book that I've ever read.  It definitely was something different, but not always in a good way.  It was super realistic, and Evelyn's lack of common sense in her scheme of getting back at her parents rang true to me.  But she came off completely unsympathetic for the most part, refusing to acknowledge the fact that she was even pregnant and not meeting the adoptive parents before signing the papers - then regretting it afterwards.  Evelyn was a brat for the majority of the book, using her somewhat boyfriend Todd for sex and to up her bad girl image, than being pissed when he's less than thrilled about her being pregnant.  Then when she gives the baby up she freaks out, because she's regretting it, after nine months of referring to the baby as it and blaming him for her screw-ups!  Overall, I can appreciate the fact that Evelyn was a dumb kid and DID make the right choice.  But I hated her bratty ass, all the way to the end of the book.  For as smart as she supposedly was, she reminded me a lot of those dumb girls on 16 & Pregnant.  Not a book I would read again and I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone.  But I do admire the fact that the author got me to read it through to the end.

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is February 5th, 2013.*

Clockwise Is Newly Defined

Published: November 19th, 2011

Clockwise (Clockwise # 1)

By: Elle Strauss
ESB Publishing
ISBN-13: 9781466440968

Casey Donovan has issues: hair, height and uncontrollable trips to the 19th century! And now this—she’s accidentally taken Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time. Awkward.

Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate. Are those romantic sparks or is it just “brotherly” protectiveness?

When they return to the present, things go back to the way they were before: Casey parked on the bottom of the rung of the social ladder and Nate perched high on the very the top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her younger brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again.

Which of course, she does.

Review

     Casey Donovan is an awkward teenage girl and for her, high school is Hell.  In that respect she's very normal.  The one little thing that sets her apart is her pesky time-travelling problem!  She never asked to be transported to the past every time her life gets stressful.  But after six years of it happening, Casey is used to it.  Then the unthinkable happens and Nate, her crush and the most popular boy in school, is transported back with her!  The year is 1860 and the country is on the brink of a Civil War.  The two find shelter and work with the Watson family, old friends of Casey's who have always helped her when she's in the past.  But to preserve her reputation, Casey tells them Nate is her brother.  They have plenty of adventures together, helping a runaway slave named Samuel hide from the slave-catchers and going to hear famous abolitionists speak.  Casey even receives a marriage proposal, albeit an entirely unwelcome one from a cruel man with Southern sympathies.  After they return home, Casey and Nate return to their lives apart from each other, in different social spheres.  Casey's heart is broken and her family is falling apart, plus her best friend Lucinda is angry and feels left out.  When she and Nate are carried to the past again, can they make things right with each other?  And will both of them make it home in one piece?  Also, who among their new friends is a traveler like Casey and are they connected closer than they ever could have imagined?  

     This was such a fun book.  I absolutely ADORE anything that had time-travel in it, especially if the characters travel into America's past.  I identified with Casey a lot, because I know what it feels like to be a dork and an outcast as a teenager.  I loved Lucinda, who was hilarious and a great friend.  To me Nate seemed very shallow at first but exhibited the most character development of any of the teens in the book.  Casey's family issues on top of her school stress acted as a trigger for the time travel, which was basically a double life for her.  The relationship with the Watson family was great and I loved the way they took in Casey, a.k.a Cassandra as one of their own.  The fact that Casey always returns at the exact moment she left, only exhausted and with huge dark circles under her eyes, was a great plot device.  It definitely provided a realistic explanation for why her parents and the people around her never discovered her absence and the truth of where she was.  And the mystery of Sam being another traveler and the incident where Casey accidentally travels with him to his time was totally unexpected.  It did explain a lot of things to me though and I loved their hidden connection revealed at the end.  Overall a fun book, with a cute romance and some mystery to it.  It managed to touch upon some important historical issues and was very relevant to me, as a young adult who was quite recently a teenager.  I highly recommend it to fans of time travel and YA books.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

Fan Girl With Fangs

Published:  September 11th, 2012

Fang Girl

By: Helen Keeble

HarperTeen

ISBN-13:  9780062082251

Things That Are Destroying Jane Greene’s Undead Social Life Before It Can Even Begin:

1) A twelve-year-old brother who’s convinced she’s a zombie.
2) Parents who are begging her to turn them into vampires.
3) The pet goldfish she accidentally turns instead.
4) Weird superpowers that let her rip the heads off of every other vampire she meets.(Sounds cool, but it doesn’t win you many friends.)
5) A pyschotic vampire creator who’s using her to carry out a plan for world domination.

And finally:
6) A seriously ripped vampire hunter who either wants to stake her or make out with her. Not sure which.

Being an undead, eternally pasty fifteen-year-old isn’t quite the sexy, brooding, angst-fest Jane always imagined....

Review

     Fifteen year old Xanthe Jane Greene may have been obsessed with all things vampire - that didn't mean she wanted to be one!  So imagine her surprise when she wakes up inside her coffin, with her very own set of fangs.  Of course it's nothing like the movies or books she's read.  Now Jane is dealing with her kind of creepy sire, Lily, some vampire hunters that are on her trail, and the fact that she's stronger than the average vampire.  Oh yeah, her parents and her steampunk obsessed little brother Zack are also begging her to change them over to be with her!   Unsure who to trust, Jane is only sure of one thing - being a fifteen year old vampire SUCKS.  Jane is just an average girl, and I liked that about her.  I was glad that she was intelligent and realized very quickly that the cons of being a vampire outweighed whatever pros there were.  Her parents and little brother Zack were absolutely hilarious!  I liked the confusion over who was the true villain, her sire Lily or super-ancient, child vampire Haakon and his minion, Ebon.  The twist on the vampire mythology we know and love was also humorous.  Vampires that are basically obsessive compulsive and can't leave things out of order?  Hilarious!  I especially loved when Jane goes after the hunters and they drop paperclips behind them so she'll have to stop and pick them up!  Other favorites was the vampire goldfish named Brains and the whole situation with Sarah, the transplant patient who had Jane's heart.  Overall, a fun book to read even for those completely sick of anything to do with vampires.  It was such a well-thought out parody that I couldn't help but like it, even with my propensity to avoid books with main characters from the U.K.  I usually can't handle Britishisms, which read like another language, but here the novel surpassed that personal quirk! :)

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**