Young Adult Books

Make a List By Kara Leigh Miller      I'm a habitual list maker. For as long as I can remember, I've always relied on a list to help me remember things or to help me make a difficult decision. My favorite types of lists are to-do lists, shopping lists, and pros & cons lists. It's this last one that I'm going to talk about today.      As a teenager, I went through the typical teenage

The Paradox of Vertical Flight Tue, 2013-06-18 Sat, 2013-06-29 - Thu, 2013-08-29 He Said/She Said: THE PARADOX OF VERTICAL FLIGHT by Emil Ostrovski http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BD2S83F Participate in Our He Said/She Said Feature for THE PARADOX OF VERTICAL FLIGHT! Vote whether you think it looks like a boy book, a girl book or based on its cover. Tune in next week to see the results! ShareThis Image Size Standard (157px wide) Don't display book covers Do not show publication date Our He Said, She Said feature aims to discuss whether a book appeals to boys, girls or both! The first part of this feature asks YOU whether you think TANDEM is a boy book, girl book or both based on the book's cover. read more

Book Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong Contributors John Hogan Reviewer (text) John Hogan Charles and Nate are high school best friends, even though they couldn’t be more different. Charles is a basketball star, and Nate is a science nerd who likes to build robots. But they’ve been friends for years, and nothing’s going to tear them apart…except possibly the head cheerleader, Holly, who wants to kill them both. Teaser Charles and Nate are high school best friends, even though they couldn’t be more different. Charles is a basketball star, and Nate is a science nerd who likes to build robots. But they’ve been friends for years, and nothing’s going to tear them apart…except possibly the head cheerleader, Holly, who wants to kill them both. Promo Charles and Nate are high school best friends, even though they couldn’t be more different. Charles is a basketball star, and Nate is a science nerd who likes to build robots. But they’ve been friends for years, and nothing’s going to tear them apart…except possibly the head cheerleader, Holly, who wants to kill them both. read more

Book Expo America was a bit of a whirlwind this year. Barely four days including travel, burning the candle at both ends as usual. Such is the life of a BEA-goer right? Prior to my leaving Alex London, author of Proxy, described BEA best: "You go there for one panel, 6 weeks & 473 tote bags later, you emerge and still haven't found a way to get a cup of coffee." Yep, that's pretty accurate. I retrieved one woefully under-caffeinated boy blogger AKA Wes after two hours of driving and a lot of traffic. We arrived in NYC around 1 p.m., parked the car with relative ease, and checked into the hotel before immediately heading out to Rockefeller Center to meet up with Emily at a lunch get together where I also got to see Katie from Katie's Book Blog, Bailey from IB Book Blogging and Lauren from 365 Days of Reading. Afterwards Katie, Emily, Wes and I hopped the subway to Penn Station and made the walk to the Javits Center to get our badges in preparation for the opening of exhibits the following morning. We found Yara at the hotel and spent some time catching up before getting ready for the Harper Collins Blogger Party. Me and Jessica. This was the point at which we learned the only pants Wes had packed were khaki shorts and suit pants. Waaaah waaaaah! So naturally Yara offered him her sparkly pants. Very New York. Sadly, Wes turned them down. Overwhelming doesn't even begin to cover the Harper shindig. It was packed to the brim and you could barely hear your own conversation at times, but we had a blast. I got to chat with number of authors, some I was already familiar with and others who I was meeting for the first time. Thursday morning we began a marathon day. Harlequin breakfast with Julie Kagawa, Amanda Sun, Katie McGarry, and Elizabeth Scott. While waiting for things to kick off I got to chat with Katie from Mundie Moms and D.J. from D.J.'s Life in Fiction. Jessica also arrived and we breezed past each other several times before actually getting to hang out in a signing line. Katie (Mundie Moms) and Emily (Emily's Reading Room) Exhibits consumed most of the day. Booths, autographing lines, non-stop back and forth across the massive Javits Center. There were plenty of highlights though, including getting Bob Shea's latest picture book Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great. Macmillan's Blogger Happy Hour came next, and along with great bookish conversation, the Macmillan team gave us an early manuscript of The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski. A short subway ride to the Lower East Side and we found ourselves in front of this building... You'd be right if you're thinking that's the gorgeous building where Simon & Schuster hosted its City of Bones party. We waited outside for a long time, baking on the street, which prompted a little bit of silliness. That led to this supremely embarrassing yet awesome photo of Emily and me. I do not think we could recreate these faces if we tried. Emily and me. The building was pretty fantastic from the outside, but inside was beyond amazing. Pretty swanky, eh? Gorgeous does not begin to describe it. To add to the atmosphere, there were tarot card readings and rune airbrushing. By the end of the night the place was packed with all manner of bookish people - bloggers, authors and publishing industry representatives. We also got to see a clip of the movie and, wow, is it going to be good. Friday we got up and did it all again, minus the parties. While waiting in line to see Jeff Hirsch and get his latest book The Darkest Path, I meet Cait from Escaping Through the Pages and we wound up in many lines together. I only wish we'd gotten a photo. I also wound up running into Vania, photographer to the stars, and Sabrina of YA Bliss while trolling the exhibit hall. Emily, Sabrina and I caught up in the signing line for Rick Yancey's The 5th Wave, which was super duper long. Sabrina, Emily, and me. Then Wes, Vania, and I f

Note: this is the second book in the series but my review is spoiler free. Second Helpings by Megan McCafferty Summary: Jessica Darling is up in arms again in this much-anticipated, hilarious sequel to Sloppy Firsts. This time, the hyperobservant, angst-ridden teenager is going through the social and emotional ordeal of her senior year at Pineville High. Not only does the mysterious and oh-so-compelling Marcus Flutie continue to distract Jessica, but her best friend, Hope, still lives in another state, and she can’t seem to escape the clutches of the Clueless Crew, her annoying so-called friends. To top it off, Jessica’s parents won’t get off her butt about choosing a college, and her sister Bethany’s pregnancy is causing a big stir in the Darling household. I read the first book a long time ago (well, not that long - a year, maybe a bit more?), and I loved it. I've been dying to read the rest of the series for so long but kept putting it off - either because my TBR was too long to fit them in or,well, procrastination. I procrastinate even when it's things I actually want to do that I'm putting off. I'm going off on a bit of a tangent, sorry. But basically, I loved this book too. It's one of those sequels that lives up to the expectations set by the first, it didn't disappoint me at all, and all the stuff I loved about the first book were still very much present in this one too. Jessica Darling is awesome (although, damn her name and the fact that she shares it with a porn star--it made venturing into the tumblr tag for the books very...interesting). She can be judgemental, she's immature sometimes, she can be self-absorbed, she makes mistakes...and this isn't a very flattering picture I'm painting of her, but what it all adds up to is this: she's realistic. And I liked her anyway (not sure if it was in spite of or because of those character traits). She had positive traits too (she's smart, she's funny, she's not afraid to speak her mind, to name a few), but the ones I mentioned are the ones that stand out because it made her seem like she could be someone I know, and not like she was one of those characters that was written to be liked to the point where it's like the author filtered out the flaws that would make her feel real. I loved the book more because of that. I also really, really loved that the book shows that she doesn't see herself the way others see her. Because really, who does? And it seems genuine, it's not done in the Twilight-y way where the protagonist forever whines unconvincingly about how plain she is while tripping over all the boys that want to get into her pants as she's trying to get to her sparkly boyfriend whose perfection she feels she can never match (that made sense, didn't it? Almost? Sort of?). With Jessica, it just seemed very real and I liked that. I love the other characters too. Some of them are a bit ridiculous at times, but it's also really clear that we're not seeing the characters exactly as they are, but how Jessica sees them. Her way of viewing people--while not always the nicest way to view people--is funny and interesting and it was done in a way that the reader doesn't necessarily have to agree with the way she views them, and it's rare for me to see that in books. Normally it seems like certain characters are written to be hated, like the author doesn't want the reader to make up their own mind about them, but it didn't feel that way with this. Marcus Flutie...*happy sigh* he is such an ass. But in a good way? That probably wasn't the best choice of words. But basically, he is frustrating, he also screws up and does dumb things--and like Jessica, it made him seem realistic. He's also funny and sweet and lovely and smart and I'd very much like to keep him. I want these books to be movies purely so I can see Jessica and Marcus come to life on screen (but at the same time, these books are the type that would be so easy to get w

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Time Slip Tuesday is an occasional feature at Charlotte's Library. Taylor, Thomas. The Haunters.28 May 2013, Chicken HouseE ARC from Netgalley.com David has frequent dreams about a boy named Eddie, and they come more frequently in the wake of his father’s death. When an ambulance picks him up from school, supposedly for a doctor’s appointment, David finds out that he is in a lot of danger because he is a Dreamwalker. He finds himself at Unsleep House under the tutelage of Professor Feldrake, who tells him that Eddie is actually David’s own grandfather as a boy. In 1940, during the Blitz, Eddie was able to escape, but in David’s dreams, he does not. There is a rival organization, Haunters, who are trying to go back into history and change it for their own evil purposes, and Eddie is one of their targets, since he grew up to organize the Dreamwalkers. The head haunter is a vicious boy named Adam, who is bound and determined to kill Eddie off with the help of a man from the time, Charlie Grinn. There aer other Dreamwalkers, Petra and Dishita, and they help David with the difficult process of traveling through a matrix of time and space in order to undo the bad things that the Haunters are doing. David learns even more secrets about his family’s past, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a sequel to this book. Strengths: This was very well written with TONS of action and adventure, right from the beginning. Like all good time travel books, this one hurt my brain, but had a good device (the ghost concept is one I haven’t really seen, except sort of in Tom’s Midnight Garden), likeable characters, and understandable mission. Fans of Michael Lawrence’s A Crack in the Line would love this one. Weaknesses: I got oddly distracted by the concept of the cake tin, and this is clearly a British book. Byng, Georgia. Molly Moon and the Monster Music.26 February 2013, HarperCollinsRight on the heels of Molly Moon and the Morphing Mystery, Molly finds herself not wanting to go back to school or to her newly found parents, so when the opportunity presents itself to tag along with the Japanese band Zagger, she and Gerry jump on it. Molly has a gold coin of the evil Mrs. Hunroe's with her, and like Golem's ring, it makes her evil. She no longer just wants to follow the band, she wants to be the hottest new musical sensation. With her abilities to hypnotize people, this isn't hard, but she does have to contend with the evil Mr. Proila, who is managing Zagger. Before long, those near and dear to Molly realize that all is not right with her, but will they be able to extricate her from the clutches of both the coin and Mr. Proila?Strengths: I love the covers on these, and they are rather like popcorn. I have one student who would read one of these a day. Good British magical realism. Weaknesses: This is the sixth book in the series, and since the other books are not circulating well, I think I will pass. I usually liked Molly, even when she is power hungry, but she seemed especially evil in this one, and I didn't care for that.

Death in the Stocks. Georgette Heyer. 1935/2009. Sourcebooks. 314 pages.Death in the Stocks may just be my favorite Georgette Heyer mystery so far. I really enjoyed Why Shoot A Butler, and, Envious Casca had its great moments. But. Death in the Stocks was so enjoyable throughout. Some murder mysteries take too long to introduce the corpse, that is NOT the case in Death in the Stocks! Readers get a chance to know all the suspects and work alongside the detectives in solving the mystery. Of course, not all the characters were lovely people that you'd want to spend time with. But were they CHARACTERS? they were! And sometimes that is just what I need in a good book!!! My favorite characters were Giles Carrington and Inspector Hannasyde. © 2013 Becky Laney of Becky's Book ReviewsIf you're reading this on a site (other than Becky's Book Reviews or Becky's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

The Hazards Of Skinny Dipping by Alyssa Rose Ivy Release Date: May 18, 2013 Publisher: Createspace Age Group: New Adult Pages: 248 Summary: This isn't a deep book about first loves or self-discovery. If you want a book like that, I'd be happy to recommend one, but I don't have that kind of story to tell. Instead my story is about rash decisions and finding out that your dream guy is bad in bed. It's the story of when I finally went skinny dipping, and how my life was never the same again. Oh, and it's also the story of my freshman year of college and realizing Mr. Right might have been there all along. My Thoughts: I don’t know, when I saw this one on goodreads, I knew it was a must read. I felt like it would be great! We are introduced to Juliet who is starting college soon. Right before college, she goes skinny dipping, in her own swimming pool. Sounds interesting, right? Well a neighbor guy she’s known forever decides to join her. She’s always had a crush on him, so you think it would be magical, right? They have sex. It wasn’t magical, yet he seems to think it was. In his mind, now she’s his girlfriend. She starts college and he’s around a lot. He’s controlling and a jerk in my eyes. She also meets another guy named Reed. Now, Reed I could see her with. They started off as friends in a weird way, but it worked. Things were rough but they had some great talks and they seem to hit it off, but all she had eyes for was her boyfriend. Until things get crazy and she ends up not with him anymore. She then gives another guy a chance, and she realizes just how things can be. There is a lot of drama that happens in this one, and I feel like if I say too much I’ll give away all the storylines or things that are happening or that amount to the big finale. I liked Juliet enough but at times I feel like Juliet was kind of naive. I just didn’t fall for this story how I thought I would. I read a lot of young adult so its hard to love everything I read. I did really like Reed, and he is what made the story for me. I liked the parts with him in them. I liked getting to know him. Overall: The Hazards Of Skinny Dipping has an amazing premise, and I liked it enough, I just didn’t love it. I thought the To Do List was neat. I never really fell for any of the characters or connected with them very deeply. I’m glad I read this, but I probably won’t read it again. Cover: Its awesome. It is what attracted me to the novel in the first place. Very cute! What I’d Give It:

When in Paris by Beverley Kendall Release Date: January 4, 2013 Publisher: Season Publishing LLC Pages: 270 Series: Language of Love #1 Review Source: Netgalley Synopsis: (from Goodreads) College freshman Olivia Montgomery is thrilled at the chance to start over, escape the rumors that plagued her in high school. And she can finally put her juvenile crush, Zachary Pearson, where he belongs--in her past. Then her unrequited love strolls into her French class, shattering Olivia's newfound peace, and the feelings she'd thought buried for good come rushing back. Now she can't shake her unwanted attraction to the one guy who can twist her stomach into knots with just a smile...but has never given her the time of day. Zach's good looks may have always gotten him his pick of girls, but it's the star quarterback's skill on the football field that gives him his pick of the Big Ten colleges. To escape the crushing demands of his win-at-all-costs father, Zach opts for a private university in upstate New York where...his present and past collide. And the one girl he's always wanted but can't have--and a class trip to Paris--turn out to be the ultimate game changer that has him breaking every one of his rules. Recommended for readers +17 and up New Adult - mature content (language & sex)My Thoughts: What’s this? A New Adult book with a non-player, non-tattooed, non-bad boy? Woohoo! Colour me shocked and amazed. I really enjoyed ‘When in Paris’, particularly because there were real reasons and obstacles to keep the main characters at a distance from one another. So often in romance there’s a dumb misunderstanding that keeps the hero and heroine apart, so it was nice to see something original in that regard. I also liked how Olivia and Zach had a history of attraction but not speaking to one another. It’s really important for me, especially in a romance, I think, to identify with the characters and understand their motivations and decisions, and I’m glad to say that was the case here, for the most part. There was one thing that I didn't get why Zach didn't just divulge the whole situation instead of skirting around it and having it lead to further misunderstandings, but it wasn’t anything big enough to cause me to dislike the book. ‘When in Paris’ features straightforward writing with nice swoony bits and well developed characters, including the secondary characters. I really appreciated how the subplot of the secondary characters was woven throughout the whole book instead of just having a few mentions here and there like a lot of companion series books do. It was enough to make you interested in reading the next full length novel, but not too much where you felt like this book was incomplete without resolving that plot. Overall I just really enjoyed this book, a lot more than most New Adults I've read in the past little while. The Cover: A little too adult mass-market PB romance-esque for my liking, but not terrible. Rating: [4/5] Find When in Paris by Beverley Kendall on Goodreads & Amazon.

Paddy never thought he'd be aboard the Titanic, but after a run-in with a gang where his brother goes missing (possibly murdered), he finds himself seeking safe passage. As a stow-away, he learns the layout of the ship and attempts to steer clear of everyone. It doesn't work.He meets a steward - who lied about his age to work aboard the same ship as his father. When Paddy hears Alfie's secret, he blackmails the boy into helping him. Alfie befriends two of his charges: Sophie (who's mother's a well known suffragette and Julianna (who's father gambles excessively). The four roam about the ship, helping each other out of tight situations, and uncovering the identity of Jack the Ripper.Their lives change forever when the ship hits the iceberg. They pull together to save themselves and each other, but out of 2228 people, only 705 survived. My Thoughts: We read the first book for a 4th and 5th grade book club - everyone liked it. I felt like I needed to read the rest and find out what happened! They're fast paced books with the usual action, danger, and adventure from Gordon Korman. I really like how he wrote in facts about Votes for Woman and Jack the Ripper. I thought the beginning where Daniel figured out everything was interesting - very smart. I liked the twists and turns of the novel - but obviously knowing where the novel would end up due to history. Cover Thoughts: I love how they connect.Source: My Library