All These Things I've Done-- Gabrielle Zevin

It's 2083. There's a chocolate prohibition, and NYC is a very changed place. Art museums are now dance clubs, books are musty relics of the past, water is strictly rationed, and the mafiya ruled black market consists of chocolate and caffeine. After both her mother and father are murdered, and her older brother Leo suffers from brain damage, Anya becomes the default heir to the Balanchine chocolate empire... even though her shady uncles and cousins are currently running the family business into the ground. Anya is a strict Catholic girl, and though that seems to conflict with her mafiya roots, she has a strong moral code that dictates most of her actions.

Although she had a tumultuous past, Anya, Leo, and their little sister Nattie manage to continue life as normal (or as normal as life gets when your family is in the business of the black market). Then one day Anya meets Win, the son of the new hotshot District Attorney who is dead set on cleaning up the city. Although she knows it would be risky for the family, and especially since she was threatened by the DA himself, Anya can't help but to fall for Win. And when someone linked to Anya is poisoned by a contaminated batch of chocolate, the blame and spotlight falls directly on Anya... and the happy and stable life she worked so hard to put together after her parents were murdered crumbles away instantly. Now Anya must find a way to protect her family, even at the expense of her own happiness.

This book is one part romance, one part mystery, and one (small) part post-apocalyptic. I found the love story and mystery to be the highlights, and I appreciated the strength of character Anya had throughout the book. However, someone looking for a strong futuristic setting, or a post-apocalyptic novel would not be satisfied. I feel like the author didn't delve deeply enough into the setting, and a big part of me had a hard time believing there could really be a chocolate prohibition. Still, there will definitely be fans of this book (likely girls), and though it alludes to a variety of topics, it's a pretty "clean" read.

Imaginary Girls-- Nova Ren Suma

In rural New York there is a town that surrounds a massive reservoir. Ruby, Chloe's big sister, is the queen of this town. Not in the literal, monarch type of way, but somehow everyone bends to Ruby's every whim. Literally. Once, in the middle of the night, Ruby decided she wanted cheesecake from a bakery in Manhattan, and people were fighting over who got to be the one to fetch it for her. Ruby is idolized by all the girls in the town and lusted after by all the boys. The hold she has over all the people in the town is hypnotizing... but nobody loves her more than her little sister Chloe.

Ruby is fiercely protective of Chloe. She always warned her to never, never swim alone in the reservoir because the people of Olive would want to snatch her away. Olive was the town that once existed before it was flooded by what is now the reservoir. Ruby has a theory that the people of Olive didn't die when their town was flooded; they simply transformed and can now breath underwater.

But one day, when a seemingly innocent dare drives Chloe to take a dip in the reservoir, she comes upon the corpse of her classmate, London. And when London somehow is brought back to life months later, Chloe is the only one who remembers that she was once dead. Knowing that Ruby is somehow connected only confuses Chloe more. But as time goes on, and Ruby's mystical hold over the town falters, Chloe has to learn to be her own true self for the first time in her life... and figure out how to exist in a world where Ruby isn't the perfect and loving sister Chloe once thought she was.

This book has strong magical undertones that are wrapped up in the mysterious plot. I enjoyed the writing style of the author, and I think teen girls will like this book. It could easily be recommended to girls who request books with a slightly fantastical plot but aren't exclusively supernatural creature readers (you know, vampire-zombie-werewolf readers). Is it a book I'll remember a year from now? Naaaah. Still, I think this is better than a lot we are seeing in that genre lately.

Beautiful Creatures-- Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Ethan Wate dreams of the day he can kiss his sleepy southern town goodbye. His mother died last year, his depressed father literally never leaves his study, and the family housekeeper Ama is getting crazier by the moment. When beautiful outsider Lana moves to town, Ethan can't get her out of his mind. Ama warned him to stay far away from Lana and her family, but Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her.

When I say Ethan can't get Lana out of his head, I truly mean that. They have a strange telepathic connection, and from the moment he meets her, Ethan's life is totally changed. He no longer cares about being popular, being a basketball star, or any of his friends except his BFF Link. Add in some voodoo, Daughters of the Revolution, magic, and graves and you've got Beautiful Creatures.

I'm kind of torn about this book. On one hand, I did enjoy it, and there will likely be a sequel which I will likely read. On the other hand, it was advertised as a southern gothic book, and while it was indeed southern, I felt it was a bit lacking in the gothic part. Either way, I would recommend this book to teen girls who are into the whole supernatural fiction thing, especially if they want books about witches.

When You Reach Me-- Rebecca Stead

Fans of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time: this book is for you. It's also for those of us who want a charming story with a slight mystery and a touch of fantasy.

Miranda lives in New York City in 1979. Her mother is a hippy turned almost-lawyer and they live in an apartment building in a safe-ish neighborhood. Each day on the way home from school, Miranda passes the Laughing Man, a homeless guy who is harmless but crazy. When her best friend Sal ditches her, Miranda must look for other friends besides Charlie, Meg, and the other characters in A Wrinkle in Time. This story is told from Miranda's perspective, and because of this, we view her world through L'Engle tinted glasses... but it's subtle and even if you aren't a fan of the book (or read it so long ago you can't remember anything about it, like me), you will still be engaged by Miranda's story. When You Reach me is a touching tale of what life used to be like, of middle school, and of friendship.

Readers of this blog will know that I don't often read this sort of book... but I'm glad I did. After all of the angsty stuff I fill my brain with, this book was a well-written and welcomed break. It's definitely for the younger end of YA... in fact my library has this book cataloged as J. Fans of Gary Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars will enjoy this book.

Liar--Justine Larbalestier

So the other day at work I was going through massive piles of mail, and there at the bottom of my pile was an ARC of Justine Larbalestier's Liar. There has been lots of chatter on the internets about the cover of this book. The ARC I received had this cover:


Here's the controversy: The main character of the book, Micah, is biracial (her mother is French-American, and her father is African-American) and has very short course, curly hair. Everyone who read the ARC (including the author herself) was outraged by the way the publisher took liberties with the cover. Because of this, the cover now looks like this:


MUCH more accurate in my opinion... it's kind of interesting to read about this controversy, but what I really want to talk about is the book itself... because it's GOOD.

Micah is a pathological liar. This is a very big problem, not just for Micah, but for us-the-readers. You see, this book is told in the first person... everything is narrated by Micah and at the beginning of the book she swears she will tell us the 100% truth-- except she lies to us right out of the gate. She's sorry she lied, but she just can't help it.

Micah believes her lying was passed down through her family genealogy, just like the mysterious body hair she grows and her remarkable running skills. Her classmates, parents, and teachers however do not agree. When the boy with whom Micah was secretly making out and going for midnight runs in central park turns up dead, all eyes are on her. This book is part mystery/thriller, part coming of age story, and a tiny sliver of fantasy.

Oh, and there is a plot twist. That's all I'm saying. I wish I could say more, because there are lots of things I feel like saying about said plot twist, but I am being nice and not spoiling it for you. It's also hard for me to explain why I liked this book so much without telling you all of the book's secrets. So I guess you're just going to have to read it to find out.

I think I liked this book so much because Micah was a truly new character. She is unique, and even though she is totally unreliable as a narrator, it's that added level of mystery that makes the story so compelling. I would recommend this book to teens who like character driven stories, mysteries, and paranormal tales.

Wherever Nina Lies-- Lynn Weingarten

Beautiful, artistic, blue-haired, wild-hearted and beloved... that's Nina. She was slightly off-kilter, lived in a world of intensity and art, and was prone to creeping out her bedroom window to experience night-time fun. But one day she didn't come home, and that day Ellie's world changed forever.

Ellie always idolized her older sister Nina. Sure, they bickered, but most sisters who love eachother that fiercely fight a little too. When Nina disappeared, Ellie knew she didn't just run away... she knew in her heart that Nina was still out there, and that she needed Ellie's help. Her friends wanted her to forget Nina, but when bits and scraps of clues leading to Nina's location kept popping up, Ellie just couldn't let go of the thought that Nina was out there, somewhere. When Ellie meets Sean, a guy whose brother died not too long ago, she feels akin to him. Together they search for Nina, and Ellie uncovers a shocking truth that changes everything forever.

This book is a bit of a thriller, a mystery, a love story, and a tale of sisterly love. It's not bound to be a classic, and it's not much different than other books of similar genres, but teens will like it. The plot was interesting enough to keep me engaged, and although I guessed the big secret right away, I'll bet some teens will be shocked by it. I would recommend this book to girls who like mysteries and thrillers that aren't violent.

Dirty Laundry-- Daniel Ehrenhaft

Boarding school. Kidnapping mystery. Undercover Hollywood actress. High School musical production of "Grease". That about sums it up.

Actually, it really doesn't. While Dirty Laundry doesn't tell a new or innovative story, it was still a fairly engaging read. Beautiful senior Darcy Novak goes missing during the first week of school while she is walking to the on-campus laundromat. The Winchester School is a collection of freaks and geeks who have been kicked out of every other boarding school on the east coast. When their lone "normal" girl, Darcy, goes missing, the whole school is in an uproar. Enter Carli, a teen Hollywood actress who is going undercover to study for a role, and FUN (short for Fellini Udall Newport) who is on his third strike for his fabulous art-erm-graffiti that covers the school walls. Together, with the help their roommates, Carli and FUN aim to solve the mystery of Dary's disappearance before her kidnapper snatches another victim.

Honestly, the best thing about this book was that it's a relatively tame mystery. I know some teens really like mysteries, but don't like the violence or murder that often accompanies them. I would easily recommend this book to older or younger teens. It's fairly light, has a bit of comedy, and the characters are engaging enough to keep you reading, even though they are slightly stereotypical and maybe a little flat. I'll bet the same type of reader who enjoys Ally Carter's I'd Tell You I Love You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You would enjoy this book too.

Absolute Brightness-- James Lecesne

Have you ever read a book jacket that gave away such a crucial plot point, it made you wonder what else could possibly happen that was more significant? Absolute Brightness tells you right off the bat that the boy pictured on the cover, Leonard, disappears in a tragic way. Somehow, knowing in advance that it was going to happen made the anticipation while reading the book even stronger.

Phoebe is living on the Jersey Shore with her beautician mother and sister Deirdre who is recovering from sexual abuse. Although life is not easy on their family, the three women are managing to find their own way. Phoebe is a magenta haired, vocal black sheep in her family, until Leonard shows up and slightly displaces her spotlight. Leonard is Phoebe and Deirdre's cousin, and he comes to live with them after his mother dies and no one else will take him in. Leonard is instantly loved by the elderly women who frequent Phoebe's mother's beauty shop, and despite some ingrained homophobia, the community begins to really accept Leonard and his colorful personality. Meanwhile, Phoebe finds herself a bit lost, and blames Leonard for it. She ends up with the wrong kind of guy (REALLY wrong) and does everything she can to just make Leonard disappear from her life... until he really does. And it's only after Leonard is gone that she realizes how much love and respect he had for her... and how much she had for him.

Absolute Brightness was quite well written, and although there were times that I felt the plot could have moved a little faster, I was very invested in the characters and outcomes of each of their stories. This book does not shy away from tough topics, and really focuses on the idea that ethics and morals are not a one-size-fits-all solution to every problem. The author raises tough questions, and whether readers agree with Lecesne's assertions, they will be drawn in by his storytelling.

I would recommend this book for both guys and girls who enjoy mysteries like those written by Kevin Brooks or Carol Plum-Ucci. It would also be good for teens who like to ponder ethical decision-making and want to read stories about middle class people rather than the influx of rich kid books we have been seeing recently.

The Road of the Dead-- Kevin Brooks

I love thrillers and mysteries. I might be a wuss when it comes to horror movies, but scary books I can handle! Bring on the corpses!

The Road of the Dead, however, I didn't love. At all. Maybe I just don't like Kevin Brooks's writing style? I have also read Candy and Being by this author and both of those books just left me saying "meh." The interesting thing to me is that I keep picking up books by Brooks... maybe I WANT to like his books and writing style but I just can't?

The Road of the Dead takes place in England, mostly in the swampy countryside. The setting of the book contributes heavily to the mood of the story. In this tale of grief and revenge, Ruben and Cole's sister is murdered while visiting her friend in a small town in rural England. The police will not return her body to the family for burial until the murder is solved, so Cole and Ruben decide to travel to her murder site and solve the mystery themselves. Ruben's character is fairly interesting (he is clairvoyant... what the heck is with all these mind-reading books I have been reading lately?!), and we spend a lot of time in his head. However, the other characters in the book are one dimensional and almost like caricatures rather than engaging people.

Although I wasn't a fan of this book, I would still pass it on to teens. I think they will like the thriller-ness of this tale, and they might also be enticed by the mystery. Fans of Plum-Ucci's Body of Christopher Creed, Lois Duncan's books, or all those teen slasher flicks might enjoy this book.