Young Adult Books

Little Brown, 2011Min is mad, but more than that, her heart is broken... Min doesn't have a lot of friends, but the ones she does have are loyal and close, with Al being her closest friend. Between him and the avant-garde movies she loves, her life is really good. Until Ed Slaterton showed up....She was "arty;" he was an athlete. She had a free-spirit; his was defined by his friends. Min was under the radar; Ed was the one girls wanted to be with and guys wanted to hang with. Her lifestyle was nostalgic; his was trendy. Both of them showed each other a new world.It was a complete accident, their meeting. She searched for him, he handed her a beer (which Min poured out discreetly). They talked that night and soon, this led to another meeting, then another...and then they became a couple. And everyone wondered why they were together. But Ed knew, with all of his heart, that Min was different and he loved the fact that she wasn't just another pretty face. Min was secretly, than openly, thrilled about being Ed Slaterton's girlfriend, even if it meant she had to sacrifice some things, including her favorite coffee shop.But today, she wants no part of Ed. Nothing about him in her life is the cleansing she needs. So she takes everything they ever shared, including a:pinhole camera toy truckplant podoily kitchen towel....and so much, so many more.They go in a box, along with her story of why they broke up. The premise of this book is simple. Each chapter contains an item and the story that goes along with it in chronological order. Told from Min's point of view, the reader becomes entangled in her story and the curiosity quotient is raised of how, not especially why, Min broke up with him. But this book is unique in another very different way. Daniel Handler writes with dangling participles galore. It will take a reader to fine tune the voice in their head to follow the pattern his writing takes on, including the ever important comma pauses he uses. It is also because of his stylized writing that Min's character truly comes out, filled with emotion and packed with meaning. Handler also creates the town Min lives in and the world of film she loves, not with the branded names of coffee houses, Hollywood, and music, but with care, choosing imaginative names to convey the feeling each name evokes. Simple book, intricate writing....two very different styles that compliment and run alongside the two main characters in this book that reflect Handler's writing. Interspersed throughout are deft, well-spaced illustrations of each item Min discards. Recommended for high school (9-12).Sidenote: it has been a long time since I've read a book that was actually sewn. Also, this is a heavy book (literally, not figuratively) with glossy thick pages. Not your typical YA book, and one that definitely stands out.

So I am a HUGE fan of Crewel by Gennifer Albin, and so I am even more thrilled to be a part of the reveal for the first chapter of Altered, book 2 in the series! So first off, here is a bit about Altered, because I think it sounds even more epic than book 1 :) Adelice always knew there’d be a price to destroying the Guild, but is she willing to pay it? After a daring escape to Earth from Arras, sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys thought she would finally be in control of her own destiny. She would be free to be true to herself and to her heart—to love Jost, the boy the Guild said she could not have. But Earth is not abandoned, as she’d always been taught it was. It’s inhabited with survivors waging a war against Arras. The world that was supposed to offer a new beginning is still tangled up in the past. Now Adelice is being called upon to harness her phenomenal power and break Earth from the grip of the Guild. But even as she uncovers the truth about her parents and her former life, she discovers that nothing on Earth is as it seems either. Everyone has secrets, especially those she loves most. What’s more, those secrets are driving Adelice and Jost away from each other, and Adelice into his brother Erik’s waiting arms. Now torn between two brothers and two worlds, Adelice must decide what—and who–she’s fighting for, before it’s too late. Add Altered on Goodreads Preorder Altered: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository And now, here is the bit of chapter 1 that I am revealing :) I should put a stop to these accusations before they kill each other, but part of me wants to see how Erik reacts. I know how Erik feels about Maela, the power-hungry Spinster he worked for at the Coventry. Erik and I both counted her as an enemy. Jost’s charge sends a thrill through me, because deep down I always suspected Erik’s reasons for getting close to me were about more than friendship. “But that backfired when Ad brought you here. All that work you did to get to the top is gone. You’ll never convince them that you’re loyal again. You’re through with the Guild,” Jost says. Erik’s face contorts into a mask of rage. “You barely know me or why I came to the Coventry, but don’t let that stop you from making unfair accusations. It’s rather entertaining, and it doesn’t look like there’s much else to do around here,” he spits back. “There is a lot to do around here and fighting isn’t on the list,” I intercede, before things get more out of control. “Save your personal problems for later, we have work to do.” “What do you have in mind? Rebuild the city? ” Erik asks. “Or should we skip to the repopulating part? ” “Shut up,” Jost commands. “You aren’t funny.” “Why? That’s the nice part of getting stuck on a completely forsaken piece of dirt.” “You better hope that you find someone to help you do it then, because she’s taken. I’m sure there’s a nice dog around here somewhere. Maybe you should stick to your own species,” Jost says. I’m between them before Erik releases his fist, and I barely cringe when I see it moving toward my face. Jost catches Erik’s fist, and Erik freezes. But his surprise at my near-disastrous intervention is quickly replaced by a glare, leveled directly at his brother. “We’re going to check things out,” Jost says through gritted teeth. “Suit yourself,” Erik says. “I certainly don’t need you here, moping about the joint.” Jost grabs my arm, a bit more roughly than usual, and drags me from the shack. I pull out of his grasp, my hand flying to rub my throbbing skin. “That hurt,” I inform him. He stares at me for a moment and then his eyes soften. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Erik just—” “I know,” I say quietly, “but I’m not Erik. Don’t take it out on me.” He nods his apology and I take his hand to let him know we can drop it. We have more important things to worry about right now. The metro is still several miles away if I can trust my generally poor sense of direction. The ocean now lies far enough behind us that although I can make out i

About the Author:Seventeen Magazine Summer Club author Amalie Howard spent her childhood with her nose stuck in a book, from Grimm's Fairy Tales to Anne Rice, and everything in between. She is the author of Bloodspell and a published poet. She received a bachelor’s degree from Colby College in International Studies and a certificate in French Literature from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. When she's not writing or devouring other people's novels, she reviews books for TheLoopNY. She lives in New York with her husband and three children. Author Guest Post:How important is a book cover? Everyone wants a cover that’s eye-catching—you know, the one that will make a potential reader pick it up or click on it. In such a competitive market, both online and off, a cover can really make or break a book because that first impression is so critical. It has to stand out not just in print, but also in thumbnail format. For me to pick up or click on a book, the cover has to grab me. It has to appeal to my senses … make me want to learn more. Even though I’m biased, I think the WATERFELL cover is very compelling—from the layout, to the art, to the font dissipating into the water—it’s attention getting. The next post will be scheduled to reveal at 11:30am EST The full cover will be revealed on Harlequin Teen’s Facebook Page sometime in the afternoon after all posts have been made. OK, here's a glimse of the cover! Be sure to check out the next stop to see another part of it!! You'll love the cover, trust me!

Today is another day of the Indie/New Adult feature where I provide you with mini-reviews from the many (mostly New Adult) books I've read lately. I had a ton of books get a 4 star rating from me and this is the 3rd day I'm featuring those. Check my previous posts for the other 4 star books and my 5 star favorites that posted on Monday. Waiting for You by Shey Stahl Add to Goodreads This book started out for me as a raving, sparkling 5 stars. I absolutely loved Bailey and the fact that she wanted to escape her "perfect" life. She chooses to do this by jumping in the car with Dylan, the local bad boy, and heading off to who-knows-where. I am a sucker for road trip books and this one had so many amazing parts. Dylan started out as the perfect bad-boy character and I actually liked Bailey a lot because she showed how independent and rule-breaking she could be. Then, about 2/3rds through the book it took some strange turns. I won't say what happened but I will say that Dylan did something to Bailey that raised some reg flags for me. I couldn't brush off that uneasy feeling and the book never quiet grabbed me again after that. Either way, this may not be an issue many people find in this story. Maybe it just hit a sore spot for me, but I'd still recommend people give this one a try. The Future of Our Past by Kahlen Aymes Add to Goodreads I'm a sucker for books that involve teenagers who have been friends forever and question their relationship. I think many girls want to have that male best friend that we adore, and then we find out that maybe that's who we are meant to be with. In this book, Julia and Ryan are at that moment and neither know what to do. Once together, they deal with typical relationship issues, like distance, and it was good to see how they worked through those problems. By the end, the drama was a bit more boring and I hated that it ended on a huge cliffhanger. I still plan to read the next book in the series soon to see what happens. Falling Into You by Jasinda Wilder Add to Goodreads I know so many people who just looooved this book. I enjoyed it a lot but it didn't blow me away like I expected. I will say though, the first part of this story had me in tears. It was the saddest thing ever! As with many titles I've read, the beginning was fabulous. I got the emotional connection with the characters after the accident and Nell and Colton were believable and obviously had a lot of chemistry. Towards the end I just wasn't into the story as much. I started skipping a few parts and didn't get the drama going on. But again, that beginning was insanely good and I do plan to read more from this author. Fire Always Burns by Krista Lakes Add to Goodreads This is a book you may not have heard of before but it's definitely worth the read. In this story we meet Holly, a young girl who lost her scholarship after too many late nights. This is something we rarely see in NA books (a person who fails at college and ends up back home in their small town), but it happens every day! She has best friends still in the town and one of them is Luke, a guy who is dealing with his parent's divorce and his little brother having to move. Then we have Andrew, a guy forced to take care of his mother after his father passed away. They all felt so stuck. I totally got these situations. They were similar scenarios but so relateable. Some parts I didn't fully understand (like how Andrew's mother was a nurse, but she was bats*it crazy sometimes), but I still enjoyed the overall story in this book. Take This Regret by A.L. Jackson Add to Goodreads I adored this story. Christian abandons his girlfriend, Elizabeth, after finding out she's pregnant. Now he tries to come back and connect with her and his child. I was frustrated at Christian at times because he let his families control go so far, but I felt that once he came back he really did want to try to m

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney Release Date: June 4, 2013 Publisher: Little Brown Pages: 257 Series: n/a Review Source: Netgalley Synopsis: (from Goodreads) Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man-death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity. Danny's mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see. Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn't know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore. When he gets a letter from his mom's property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother's memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.My Thoughts: Daisy Whitney has a special way with words. The things that she writes just reach out and touch my heart. It sounds cliche, but I find her writing incredibly meaningful. I love how the themes in ‘When You Were Here’ (love, life, loss, finding meaning) are universal, and yet it felt like Danny's words were meant directly for me, for me to feel & experience. This one stands out to me, first and foremost, because of the male narrator. Danny is a lovely character: so sweet and a little bit broken as he copes with the death of his mother. The book is sad, of course, because of the theme, but it was the type of sad that I can handle. It was bittersweet throughout, with a few bursting moments of hope and renewal at the end. The book also features two main female characters, Holland and Kana, who are very distinct from one another, and yet I adored them equally, in such different ways. I really loved the platonic friendship between Danny and Kana. It just felt so perfect to me, that representation of an incredibly meaningful relationship between a boy and a girl that wasn't romantic. ‘When You Were Here’ is sad but hopeful, and I found it to be beautiful and moving. It has a great travel aspect with Danny going to Tokyo, and also features an incredibly sweet relationship between a guy and his dog. This book is just so lovely and I highly recommend it; my first thoughts after finishing it were: 'So. Freaking. Good.' The Cover: Really like it! Rating: [5/5] Find When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

The Rules By Stacey Kade Hardcover, 416 pages Expected publication: April 23rd 2013 by Disney-Hyperion GoodReads | Amazon | BN 1. Never trust anyone. 2. Remember they are always searching. 3. Don’t get involved. 4. Keep your head down. 5. Don’t fall in love. Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created,

Now that BEA is officially here, the excitement is starting to grow! I'm so excited to talk with everyone about books and to meet new and old friends! I'll be sharing my tips each week until the big event! The last few things to talk about:Phone: The wireless in the building is terrible - it will eat your battery. Double check that you have your charger because you WILL need it! Also think about taking the wireless capabilities off of your phone for the day. It will save your battery - somewhat. Manners: Don't forget these at home. It's hard when there are so many people, but we're all book people and we all just want to talk about books. Treat everyone with respect and don't push your way through. Fun: Have a blast there! It's meant to be fun. Yes it can be exhausting, but it's also like Christmas - getting to meet so many awesome people and talk about so many books!Get your face out there: It's a week away! A lot of peoples' names I might not recognize, but I know your blog name. Add your blog name to your name tag. Add a photo of yourself to your blog:This is me, say Hi if you see me, and I'll promise to do the same!

Corrigan, Eirann. Accomplice. 1 August 2010, Scholastic Press.Living on the east coast, Finn and Chloe are afraid that their high school academics are not good enough for them to get into elite colleges. After seeing a news item about a girl who was abducted and held for months by kidnappers and then got into the college of their choice, they come up with an elaborate plan-- Chloe will disappear for a while, Finn will help "find" her, and they will both not only get accepted into whatever college they want, but will get scholarship money. Their plan goes well, and Chloe is hiding in Finn's grandmother's house. Chloe's family and friends are understandably upset, especially when she is gone long enough for the local lake to be dragged. When her boyfriend, Dean, becomes a "person of interest" and is later arrested, Finn starts to question their plan and wants to back out, but Chloe wants to stick with it. In the end, their plan costs them more than they get out of it.Strengths: This is a well-paced, unique thriller with a fantastic cover. I think that this will go over very well with my middle school students who always want murder mysteries. Weaknesses: I've never understood the whole "elite college" thing, and my daughter got in to three different colleges, so the whole premise seemed unlikely to me, but then (thankfully) I don't live on the east coast! Martin, Ann M. Better to Wish (Family Tree #1)30 April 2013, Scholastic PressE ARC from Netgalley.comAbby is looking back at her life in the year 2022, when she is 100 years old. In anecdotal chapters, she recalls various scenes from her life that made an impact on her. Raised by a controlling father and a sad, frail mother, Abby and her sister Rose live in a small coastal town and get along as best they can. Strengths: Historical events such as the Great Depression and WWII effect Abby, and details of everyday life are nicely portrayed.Weaknesses: This was possibly the most depressing historical fiction book I've come across. Whatever bad things could happen, did happen. The poor mother. She suffers the father's abuse, has multiple miscarriages, finally has a baby boy who is "feeble-minded" and is sent to an institution and eventually dies. At least Abby manages to break free from her family, but the whole book made me too sad to think about handing it to a student. I was surprised at Martin-- Picky Reader adored the Doll Family books, which are a bit happier!Another review of this at Secrets and Sharing Soda.You Know It's Time For School To Be Over When: I tell a teacher "Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part." When the students start to arrive at this time of year, I need to be hunting them down for overdues, not hooking up an LCD projector to a computer, expecially when two days ago I suggested to the same teacher that I could give her better service with a little more advance notice. She replied that it's not always possible to plan. Really? Because I got in to school at 4:30, and you're rolling in at 7:30, so that's not really the thing to say to make me want to help you.I'm normally not that cranky.

US // UKI'll be honest and admit that I've never been a fan of the new UK covers for this series, not since the very first Divergent cover that was the same as the US one. The re-releases have never caught my eye and I don't think they capture the essence or excitement of the series, which the US covers manage do so well. So already my vote goes with the US cover - sorry, UK!I much prefer everything about the US cover for Allegiant, especially the title font, main image and bright colours. Even the tagline is better, though it's good to see that the UK cover actually has one as often that's something left off our covers. I do like the blue of the UK cover, though I think the feathers look out of place and like they've just been plonked there using Photoshop. Our UK covers have always disappointed me and I'm not entirely sure why the decision was made to re-release them and deviate from the US jackets. It's a shame!So, which do you prefer? Do you agree with me about the UK covers?

Heidi Acosta was born on Long Island, New York. Moving around a lot when she was younger, she has lived in New York, Arizona, New York (again), Washington, Georgia, and Florida, in that order. Each place offered her something special, but she will always consider New York her home. Heidi started writing as soon as [...]