This Gorgeous Game--Donna Freitas

When 17 year old Olivia wins a prestigious writing contest sponsored by award winning author Father Mark Brennan, she can't believe her good luck. Being a writer is her life's dream, and winning this contest will set her on her career path. When Father Mark offers to mentor her in the ways of writing, Olivia couldn't be happier. As a devoted Catholic and completely dedicated to her writing career, Olivia believed being mentored by Father Mark would take her places she would never reach on her own.

But when Father Mark begins to call and text her multiple times an hour, follow her, and completely dominate her time, Oliviae starts to realize their relationship isn't typical. Although Father Mark hasn't touched her in any way, Olivia can still tell that something is inappropriate about their interactions. But soon the situation spirals out of her control and she has to dig deep inside herself to try and find her way out... and to still find the love for writing that started it all.

Donna Freitas has written a tale of an inappropriate relationship between a priest and a young girl, but she has done it in a respectful, not sensationalized way. She does not dismiss all priests or Catholicism as wrong; in fact I would think readers who are Catholic might be pleased with the way she portrays the religion. I would easily recommend this book to youth who like clean, religious fiction even though the subject matter seems so appalling. Personally, I didn't enjoy it much but only because it's not quite my literary cup of tea... but in general, I found it to be well written and there is a subset of teens out there who will be looking for a book like this.

A Blast of Books II

So every now and then I get so behind on my blogging, I have to blast you with a bunch of books at once... and heeeeeeeere we go!

Flash Burnout-- L.K. Madigan

Blake is a photographer who captures the gritty and hideous in a beautiful way. His photography pal, Marissa, is just the opposite... she takes beautiful things and makes them quirky and interesting. One day Blake captures the image of a drugged out streetperson... who ends up being Marissa's missing meth-addicted mother. This book is an emotional journey about friendship, family, growing up before your time, and the power of art. Bonus: it takes place in Portland, OR.





Stitches-- David Small


For whatever reason, I really love GN memoirs... and David Small's is just another to add to my list! Poignant, honest (brutally at times), and deeply revealing, this book is just as well-written as it's well-drawn. Small tells of his struggle with cancer, his abusive parents, and how he overcame both and finally found his voice.






How Beautiful the Ordinary-- Edited by Michael Cart


In this collection of short stories, we get to read works by YA author superstars including Francesca Lia Block, David Levithan, Julie Anne Peters, William Sleater, Emma Donoghue and more. It's a collection of coming of age stories, mostly coming out stories to be precise, and for the most part it's quite a good read. Is it memorable? Not really. Still, there are lots of teens out there that hunger for honest tales of growing up and I think this book will have a fairly wide audience.




Tangled-- Carolyn Mackler



Told from the perspective of four different teens, all in alternating chapters, we learn that life isn't perfect for anyone, despite outward appearances. Contrived and unoriginal at it's worst, touching and relatable to teens at it's best, I think Mackler's fans won't be toooooo disappointed in her latest effort. At least it has a good message that isn't nauseatingly heavy-handed.





Lips Touch: three times-- Lani Taylor

I have to admit that this was my favorite out of the bunch. It's a collection of three stories, all based on a traditional tale or poem, and illustrated by her husband. I will confess that I am biased about this because the first story was based on Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market" which is my favorite Victorian poem. But still, the writing was amazing, and the stories were strange, creepy, and just plain good. This would be a great book to recommend to the teen who thinks they only like adult books because YA books aren't well-written enough. Oh and it was nominated for a National Book Award in 2009.

For Keeps-- Natasha Friend

Josie and her mother Katie are extremely close. Maybe it has something to do with their small age gap... Katie had Josie when she was a teenager. Maybe it's because Katie can't seem to keep it together and Josie is the mature influence in her own mother's life. Or maybe it's because (gasp) sometimes mothers and daughters really DO have a good relationship.

Josie's father has never been a part of her life. He moved away with his family when Katie was just barely pregnant with Josie, which is just fine with her. Josie and her mother make a perfect team, and her best friend Liv and her two dads round out their group. But when Josie saves the life of a man who was a regular at her place of employment, a local coffeeshop, everything begins to shift. The man she saves turns out to be her grandfather, and a whole new family is revealed to Josie, whether she likes it or not. Add in her romance with soccer star Briggs, her own strong role on the soccer team, and some life-changing decisions, and you've got an understanding of Josie's complicated existence.

I've read just about everything Natasha Friend has written. Something about her writing really sucks the reader in, the same way Sarah Dessen's characters do. But the difference between Friend and Dessen is that after I've finished a Natasha Friend novel, I tend to forget all about it. But don't get me wrong... I will still totally read anything she writes. Funny how that works.

Very LeFreak-- Rachel Cohn

For those of you who luuuurve to read books with quirky and interesting characters, and you aren't annoyed by their alarming ignorance of their own flaws, then you are in luck.

Meet Very LeFreak. Born to a free spirited pyromaniac mother and an unknown father, Very has traveled the world and lived the gloriously unstable life every kid dreams of having... until they actually do. Very's mother dies at the end of her high school years, and she goes to live with her one remaining relative, an elderly aunt who pulls some strings to get Very a scholarship to Columbia. We meet Very during her college years. She is 100% and totally a technology nerd, a total hottie in that Botticelli woman way, and is the center (and usually creator) of every social event. She sleeps with her iphone, ipod, and laptop. She has a supersecret online romance with someone names El Virus. She and her friends create The Grid, which is an underground social networking site the students use to plan parties, flashmobs, and other not-exactly-legal but extremely fun activities. But when Very stops living IRL and can only communicate through her various means of technology, her stability at Columbia begins to crumble... she is losing her scholarships, her friends, and the only hint of a normal life she has ever had. So finally, her friends plan an intervention... and Very gets sent to technology rehab.

Even though this book is about college students, I do see it's place in the YA collection. Cohn has written several other YA books and her readers would look for her latest in the YA section. Plus, the subject matter is more relatable to teens and young adults than it would be to other readers. Very is a quirky character (how could you not be with a name like Very LeFreak). I predict that some teens will *love* her and others will be totally annoyed by her. As much as I tried not to, I fell into the love category. I would recommend this book to readers of Cohn's other books, fans of Anne Brashares or Sarah Dessen, and to teens who like books that feel very "now" and up-to-date with technology.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson-- John Green and David Levithan

Meet Will Grayson: He's the quiet almost-but-not-quite popular kid whose BFF Tiny is the biggest, gayest force in his small world. Will Grayson, his crush Jane, and Tiny take off for Chicago to catch an amazing band. When Will Grayson's fake ID doesn't work, he's reduced to passing the time in a very unlikely place...

Meet Will Grayson: He's the kid in all black, on antidepressants, and a closeted gay guy in love with his internet boyfriend Isaac. When Isaac proposes they meet IRL, Will Grayson travels to Chicago and finds the proposed meeting place, which is a very unlikely location...

Will Grayson stumbles upon the other Will Grayson... and when two universes collide, all kinds of unlikely things start to happen. Throw in some unrequited love, musical theater, lies, and recovery and you have this story. It's told in chapters narrated by alternating Will Graysons and each have a distinct voice and personality.

I enjoyed this book. It's a quick read and thankfully the concept of the two Will Graysons doesn't wear on the reader. The end was a little cheesy, but hey, you can't have it all, right? I would recommend this book to teens who like coming of age type stories, other books by either of the authors, positive coming out stories, or quirky concept type books.

This book will be published in April 2010.

Jumping off Swings-- Jo Knowles

Ellie is the girl that boys talk about in locker rooms. She's pretty but not gorgeous, she's approachable, and she's-- ahem-- generous with her time and body. But what they don't know is that she's immensely vulnerable and is looking for that intimate connection that will make her feel loved... and she's just sure that the next guy will be the one to give that to her.

Josh is an embarrassed virgin who can't take locker room teasing any longer. He sees a chance to shrug off the V-word forever and has an humiliatingly short encounter with Ellie in the back of his parent's van at a party. He runs away with shame, leaving Ellie to deal with the aftermath...only the aftermath is worse than just tears or a mess. This one night stand leaves Ellie pregnant and totally emotionally destroyed.

I know that teen pregnancy has become something of a trend, but this book treats this subject more honestly than some. It's told from four perspectives: Ellie, Josh, and their two friends Corrine and Caleb. This book shows how a simple decision doesn't just affect one person, and how no one's life is as perfect as it seems.

I would recommend this book to teens who liked the teen pregnancy aspects of I Know It's Over (K.C. Kelly Martin), Impossible (Nancy Werlin), and Someone Like You (Sarah Dessen).

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.

The Vast Fields of Ordinary--- Nick Burd

The Vast Fields of Ordinary is one of those stories that just makes your heart break... because when it comes down to it, all we really want out of existence is for people to be kind to us... and Dade doesn't get the kindness he deserves.

Dade is gay. He is in-the-closet mostly, but there are a few people in his life who know about his gayness. There's Pablo, the asshat jock stud dude who cruelly ridicules Dade in public, but has sex with him in private. And then there is also Lucy, the awesomely confident lesbian who is staying with her aunt for the summer. But really, to everyone else, Dade is the guy they all tease about being gay but aren't really sure that he is. Dade finds himself totally trapped by a world that does nothing for him and expects everything in return. But when he meets Alex Kinkaid and learns about what it's like to love and be loved, everything shifts for Dade. He doesn't want to be closeted, teased, or hurt by anyone anymore (especially his parents). And of course, now that he is finally experience true joy and freedom, Pablo won't leave him alone.

This book is truly moving, tragic, lonely, and lovely in some places. There is an underdeveloped storyline featuring a young girl who is abducted, and while I can see what Nick Burd was trying to do with it, I don't think he succeeds. Still, this is a great first novel, and I will happily read anything else he writes. I recommend this to older teens (because the characters in the book are just graduating high school).

The Summer I Turned Pretty-- Jenny Han

Sarah Dessen and Deb Caletti fans rejoice. Jenny Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty will fill the void while waiting for their next books to come out!

Belly has always been a gawky, one-of-the-boys kind of girl. She has never been considered traditionally pretty, that is until this summer. Belly has spent every summer of her life at the beach-house with her mom and brother, and her mother's best friend and her two sons Jeremiah and Conrad. Belly practically measures her life in those summers. All of those other summers, Belly has spent scrambling behind the boys trying to be included in their romps and parties. But all of sudden this summer Belly is getting all sorts of attention from boys... maybe more than she was counting on.

While this book is summarized easily in a paragraph, the feeling it leaves you with is very hard to capture... it's one of those non-schmaltzy romances which are so hard to find and so appreciated when you do find them. While there are definitely some slightly saccharine parts, Belly is a strong girl who doesn't let those boys boss her around, and this makes the book really stand out from the other teen girl romances.

Fragile Eternity-- Melissa Marr

So Fragile Eternity is the sequel to Wicked Lovely... and touches on some of the themes in Ink Exchange, which was more like a sidestep in this series.

And, just like Wicked Lovely, I liked it, but didn't love it. (You can read all about what I thought of Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange here.)

While Wicked Lovely was told from Aislinn's perspective, Fragile Eternity is told mostly from her partner Seth's. I feel like Melissa Marr did a good job of making the story interesting; readers can get reinvested in a series if a new perspective brings it back to life. In Fragile Eternity we learn about Aislynn's physical longing to be with the Summer King, Keenan, the way the Summer Queen should. We also learn how hard it is for Seth to watch his girlfriend literally glow whenever she is around Keenan. This is partially why Seth takes on the dangerous quest to find Sorcha, the high queen, and beg her to make him Fairy. But when Seth takes that journey, he shifts the fabric of the universe, and nothing will ever be the same. Although it doesn't clearly state this at the end of the book, the reader is left feeling that another book is in the works, because there isn't a clear resolution at the end.

So there you have it. Not a very inspired blog post, I'm afraid, but then again, I wasn't super inspired by this book either...

Recommended for fans of urban fantasy, especially girls.

A Blast of Books!

So the past two weeks have included several hours of flying to two different destinations... which means I had a lot of time to read! I thought I would try something new and write a brief blurb about each book, rather than an extended entry like I usually do... this way I can touch on all the things I read.

Willow-- Julia Hoban



One night Willow's parents, internationally famous anthropologists, drank too much wine at dinner. They asked their teenage daughter, Willow, to drive them home from dinner. Willow lost control of the vehicle and they both died. Willow survived, but is completely emotionally destroyed by the accident. The only way she feels alive and safe is through cutting, that is until an exceptional boy comes along. Perfect for fans of Cut.

My opinion: bleck on the knight in shining armor thing, also it's a bit awkwardly written. However, I know teen girls will eat this one up.

The Compound-- S.A. Bodeen



The Compound is a near-futuristic sci-fi tome that is told from the perspective of 15 year old Eli. He and his family have been living underground in an extraordinary bomb shelter after his billionaire computer genius dad (think Bill Gates) gets word of nuclear attack and rushes his family to the compound he had the foresight to build. Perfect for fans of Life as We Knew It, and even The Host.

My Opinion: Great for both boys and girls. It's definitely a page-turner, but at the end I was left wanting more (could be a good thing?). I could tell this is the authors first novel; she could work on her craft a bit, but it was an enjoyable first book.

Karma for Beginners-- Jessica Blank (no released cover yet)

Tessa's mom is one of those wandering types who bounces from town to town looking for meaning and inspiration-- mostly through men. When she moves them to an ashram in the Catskills and becomes deeply involved with the Guru, Tessa is left on her own. She meets a boy who introduces her to all forms of debaucherous escapism, and tries to find her own meaning for existence before she gets carried away by the desires of others. Fans of Patron Saint of Butterflies, and maybe Outside Beauty might like this book.

My Opinion: Meh. Not terrible, not great. I don't see this particular book being very popular with it's intended audience.

Secrets of Truth and Beauty-- Megan Frazer

This is Dara's story. She was once a child beauty pageant princess, but has grown into adolescence as a pretty but quite overweight teen. After a tragic (in that petty highschool way) incident, and a complete lack of compassion from her parents, Dara travels to find her long lost lesbian sister, who is shunned by the family and lives on a goat farm. This is a story of self-discovery, overcoming life's challenges, and beauty in all forms.

My Opinion: There are a lot of stories about the overweight teen girl finding her voice and confidence these days. See an older post with a list for more. Still, I did find this fairly original and I think girls will like it. Thankfully the ending wasn't toooo schmaltzy.

Girl in the Arena-- Lise Haines


Lyn is the daughter of seven gladiators... kindof. Lyn's family is a part of the Neo-Gladiator culture, and her mother has watched seven of her husbands, therefore seven of Lyn's fathers, be killed in the arena. After the seventh man dies, and Lyn's mother severely falls apart, it's up to Lyn to pull them through. Ceasar's inc, the corporation that runs the Neo-Glads, is corrupt and putting everything Lyn holds dear on the line for money and publicity. When it comes to fighting to the death to save her family, Lyn feels prepared to do so... unless her techie best friend can come up with a way to save her.

My Opinion: I liked this book. I won't rave and wax poetic about it ala Hunger Games, but it was good. Not perfectly written, but I predict this will be very popular with teens. It's a teeny bit sci-fi, but mostly realistic fiction. Although the main character is female, I think both boys and girls will enjoy it.

Rage: A Love Story-- Julie Anne Peters

So there I was in my office, opening my big stack of mail and low and behold, a big stack of ARCs (Advance Reading Copies of books... you know the sneak peaks of books librarians sometimes get) had arrived! AND ever better, there was a book by one of my favorite YA authors, Julie Anne Peters! I audibly yelped for joy and then proceeded to read the book cover to cover on an airplane over the weekend... but remember folks, just because a book is a page-turner doesn't mean it's amazing...

Johanna is a smart, responsible girl. She took care of her mother when she was sick and dying, she constantly watches out for her party-girl best friend, works hard for good grades and pocket money, and hopes to go to college and get on with her life. Honestly, she's pretty vanilla-bland-whitebread, except for her secret fantasies about Reeve Hartt.

Reeve is fierce, uglybeautiful, violent, passionate, and basically the opposite of Johanna. When Johanna gets conned into tutoring Reeve's brother, Johanna pursues Reeve until she just can't say no any longer. Their relationship is tumultuous to say the least, and full of challenges due to Reeve's abysmal home life and violent, erratic behavior. Don't expect a picture perfect happy ending (who would, with a title like Rage: a love story?), but the book does resolve itself in an acceptable way.

So what's my problem with this book? I just didn't love it. I feel like Peters is starting to rely on some old familiar tricks. I saw a lot of similarities between this book and Define Normal (the tutoring, the alternative chick, the "normal" chick etc) and also Far From Xanadu (the wild amazing pixie girl love interest). Also, although the story is narrated by Johanna, I couldn't get a good mental picture of who she was. I did, however, feel very intrigued by Reeve's story and would have preferred to hear about it from her perspective. Am I let down because I have too high of standards for this particular author (I *loved* Far From Xanadu), or was the book just not that great?

I would offer this book to teens who want books with gay characters (that isn't a coming out story), less than perfect love stories, or books about screwed up families.

Mortal Instruments Trilogy-- Cassandra Clare

So you might have noticed I haven't blogged since early last week... and for that I do apologize... but I swear it was for a good reason! I kinda fell down a rabbit hole and couldn't come back out until I ate the Mortal Instruments books for dinner. And boy were they yummy!

Book 1: City of Bones



Meet Clary Fray, a teenage girl who lives with her mother in Brooklyn. For most of her life, things have seemed rather ordinary, until one day she witnesses three tattooed teens murder another teen... but when the murdered teen's body literally disappears before her eyes, Clary knows something supernatural is going on. Mysteries pile up, her mother is abducted, and out of the blue Clary is attacked by something preternaturally evil... a demon. Almost dizzyingly fast, she discovers there is a band of Shadowhunters, a race of beings akin to angels, whose whole purpose in life is to slay demons. Think Buffy but without the vampires... well not entirely without vampires, but I don't want to give too much away. Clary and her best friend Simon befriend a small group of Shadowhunters and try to find Clary's mother... learning that Clary was born into this life in a way she never knew before.

Book 2: City of Ashes



In this book we dive more deeply into the world of the Shadowhunters. Clary and her friends unravel a larger plot of evil than they earlier expected. Her mother's disappearance is not random; a Voldemort-like villain named Valentine is trying to gather the mortal instruments so he can call upon the Arch Angel and purify the race of Shadowhunters once and for all. Clary is slowly falling in love with Jace, her Shadowhunting partner, and while he returns her feelings, there is a major moral and social issue that keeps their love contained. While many second books in a trilogy serve as only a bridge between the first and third, City of Ashes definitely holds its own and drives the reader frantically to the third book.

Book 3: City of Glass



As Clary is learning to control her Shadowhunting power, the rest of her friends travel through a portal to find the last clue which will lead them to Valentine. Although they were trying to protect Clary who has little experience fighting demons, Clary is determined to find a way to defeat Valentine so she can find her mother and basically save the entire human race. Teaming up with the Children of the Night (Vampires), and the Children of the Moon (Werewolves), Clary battles to the death to save the world as she knows it. Twists and turns in the plot will keep readers motivated, and let's be honest, the battle scenes are pretty awesome too.

Overall, I really enjoyed this series. Although some of the elements of this urban fantasy tome were not original, they still felt fresh because the characters were so multidimensional. No one has good intentions 100% of the time, and even the uber-villain, Valentine, can almost seduce you into believing he has the universe's best intentions at heart. Clare touches on some taboo topics in these books, and I admire her dedication to her story, even if there are elements some people might not like. I would recommend these books to fans of supernatural and urban fantasy.

After the Moment-- Garret Freymann-Weyr

A little back-story: So, I am a huge Garret Freymann-Weyr fan. She wrote My Heartbeat, which is a touching story about a young girl whose older brother is gay. She also wrote The Kings are Already here about a young ballet dancer and a chess prodigy, and and my personal favorite Stay With Me which is about sisters, love, and hotels.

So why why why didn't I love After the Moment?? It has all the elements of a good book... interesting characters, a slightly off-kilter plot-line and format, and resolution at the end that leaves the reader satisfied yet still wanting more. It's like all the parts and pieces were great, but put together they just didn't work.

After the Moment is Leigh's story, mostly. When his step-sister Millie's biological father passes away, Leigh goes to live with his father and step-family to help Millie normalize after her tragedy. While living there, he falls in love with a recovering anorexic girl named Maia. Leigh learns about himself as a person as he helps the two women in his life come to terms with their own life's problems.

I guess my issue with this book is that Leigh is the center of the plot, yet he is the most uninteresting character. He is spineless in a frustrating way, and almost greeting card perfect. He kind of reminds me of the way that Chase Crawford acts (he plays Nate on the Gossip Girl TV Show... am I loosing you here?)... you know, pretty to look at but bland and not particularly talented. Also, there are many characters to keep track of, and the most interesting part of the book are these little flashes to the future, and they are way too infrequent.

So I guess what I will say in summery, is that while this is a decent book, it's not great. I'm not sure that it has all that much teen appeal, but the more mature teen reader might like it. Also, people who like a nontraditional, not schmaltzy love story might enjoy it too.

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.

The Way He Lived-- Emily Wing Smith

Doesn't it always seem like people become flawless after they're dead? Especially youth... it's like there's a post-mortem photoshop application for memories... all the dog-kicking, spitball shooting, back-talking, etc gets washed away.

In The Way He Lived we learn about Joel, a boy in his teens who died tragically on a hiking accident. Told in six sections, each with its own narrator who is either related to or a good friend of Joel, this book tells the story of Joel's life through his affect on other people. Each narrator has a unique voice and focuses on a different aspect of Joel. We never really learn exactly who he is, but the picture the reader gains by viewing his life through the eyes of others is a fuzzy-perfect-beautiful image... almost like it's been photoshopped to perfection.

I found myself quite disappointed when each narrator's section ended... but only because I wanted more of each narration! It's usually a good thing when the author leaves you wanting more, and in this case, it really helped the pace of what would have otherwise been a slowish read. It's a very real book, and quite powerful. Religion, specifically Mormonism, is an important element of the book, but not overpoweringly so. Overall, I quite enjoyed this book and I think both boys and girls (especially girls) would too. I recommend this book for teens who like the "dying books", multiple narrators, stories of friendship, and stories of loss.

Headlong-- Kathe Koja

The Vaughn School is for serious academics. If you attend this school, you are serious about your education, future, and life in general. This isn't boarding school for social deviants or rich girls in headbands and knee socks. The Vaughn School girls work hard for their grades, will attend Ivy League universities, and will have careers.

But for whatever reason, the administration has decided to diversify a little bit and admitted Hazel, the artist/rebel/speak-your-mind bad girl. Lily is a lifer at Vaughn and a legacy student. When she decides to switch from day to boarding her sophomore year, she realizes that she has less in common with the other girls, and more with Hazel. This is a story of self-discovery, friendship, and life in general.

My summary honestly doesn't do this book justice. It's told in first person, from Lily's perspective. She kindof hero-worships Hazel ala Pudge and Alaska from Green's Looking for Alaska except Lily's feelings for Hazel are platonic. Also the chapters are not sequential... we get bits of the story here and there, but somehow it all falls together just right. I would recommend this book to girls who want to read about real not fluffy friendship, and those who enjoy boarding school books like Looking for Alaska and Jellicoe Road.

Everything Beautiful in the World-- Lisa Levchuk

Set in the 1980s and told from the unreliable perspective of Edna, Everything Beautiful in the World is a story about finding love in the midst of pain. Edna's mother is hospitalized with cancer, and every time she tries to visit her mother, Edna's body totally shuts down and she becomes terribly ill. Once a highly intelligent girl, she can now barely piece together logical sentences and is basically flunking out of school. The one class she excels in in ceramics... taught by Mr. Howland.

Edna and Mr. Howland have a secret place in the woods the like to visit. The also have a secret place in the back of his office, and even in his house. When friendships fail her, and her father no longer speaks to her, Mr. Howland is the only light in Edna's life. Until he isn't.

To be frank, I had a really hard time with this book. This is Levchuk's first book and honestly, it shows. The metaphors were cloyingly heavy-handed, the characters more like caricatures, and the plot never delivers any strong points. Also, thought the book was set in the 1980s, this had zero importance to the plot and almost seemed arbitrary. If you have a request for a teacher-student romance then I guess this would fill that need, but it pales in comparison to Barry Lyga's Boy Toy.

This is What I Want to Tell You-- Heather Duffy Stone

Noelle, Keeley, Nadio. They are the heart and soul of each other. But when Nadio and Keeley fall in love, where does that leave Noelle?

In this tenderly written coming-of-age tale, twins Nadio and Noelle discover what life is like as individuals for the first time. Nadio and Noelle live in the carriage house behind the manor where Keeley lives with her wealthy professor parents. Since she was a little girl, Keeley has spent most of her time with Noelle and Nadio. Noelle and Keeley are inseparable bundles of joy and energy, and Nadio is like their quiet cornerstone and foundation. When Keeley leaves for a summer in Oxford, Noelle feels like she is being left behind and understands her socio-economic situation for the first time. After Keeley returns, she and Nadio fall madly in love, and the consequences it has on Noelle are dire.

While the story line is nothing new (love triangle, hello?), This is What I Want to Tell You is gently written and the characters' voices are distinct and compelling. Teen girls will eat this book up, and it's a quick read. I would recommend this book to girls who are fans of Sarah Dessen, coming-of-age stories and/or romance, and teens who enjoyed Rachel Cohn's You Know Where to Find Me.

3 Willows-- Ann Brashares

*Sigh*

I did it to myself, really. I knew, in my heart, that 3 Willows just couldn't be that good. Still, I thought I should give it a chance and not prejudge the book based on all the terribly Traveling Pants sequels. I mean, after all, I did like the first Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book before The Pants took over the universe.

3 Willows tells the story of Polly, Jo, and Ama. The three girls were best friends all through elementary school, but when Jr. High struck, they went their separate ways. Jo is the hot popular one (aka Bridget), Ama is the beautiful scholastic one (aka Lena), and Polly is the curvy artsy raised by a single mom girl (hybrid of Tibby and Carmen). All three girls have separate adventures during the summer, learn a lesson, and decide they need their real friends after all. Cue the "aaaahhhhhs".

What made this story even worse, is that Brashares kept bringing up the Traveling Pants girls. Lena and her sister Effie make an appearance, as does Bridget and Tibby's siblings and boyfriend. I mean, really, just let it go! Even the cover of the book felt dull and uninspired.

I am curious to see if girls enjoy this book. My guess is die-hard Traveling Pants fans and young girls who like clean romance will enjoy it. But I think most girls will enjoy another series a little more... this one just feels blah and recycled. Anyone else read it? What do you think?