More books read, but no time to review!

With the new school year craziness, I haven't had time to post, but I'm still plowing through the young adult books.  Here's a few more quick reviews and thoughts:

1. "Pretty Little Liars" - Nope, no way.  Not for any academic library.  I thought I'd give it a read since a few of my elementary students requested it for the library.  I'm sure the TV show has a lot to do with their interests but, in my opinion, it's not appropriate for a school library.  One of the main characters has a sexual relationship with her high school teacher.  That alone is enough cause not to have it in your school.  There is drinking, sex and profanity in the book.  Not recommended for school libraries of any age range.
   
2. "Vampire Diaries" - Interesting in how very different it is from the TV show.  I only read the first volume, "Awakening", and it would be appropriate for 6th grade and up...at least this volume.  No inappropriate relationships, no one was having sex or drinking.  If your district has other vampire books, or books with paranormal characters, the book would fit right in.  Check the other volumes in the series first though as the character relationships might progress to sexual levels, given the TV show content.
   
3. "Oh.My.Gods" - Cute book about the descendants of the Greek gods.  Main character's mother remarries and quickly moves her daughter to a tiny island in Greece.  Naturally, you have the remarriage issues, new sibling and new student conflicts, etc.  The twist is that every student in the new school is a direct descendant of a Greek god, so they have paranormal abilities.  I would recommend this for middle schools and high schools.
   
4. "A Tale Dark and Grimm" - Loved this book!  It's a fun read and has a unique twist.  The author takes you through some of the original Grimm fairytales with Hansel and Gretel as the main characters.  The author narrates periodically in a humorous way.  Some of the content is grisly, however, so I wouldn't recommend it for young children.  I could see it fitting in for middle or high school students.
   
5. "Fever Crumb" - This is a good dystopian tale.  It reminds me a bit of "Black Hole Sun".  It's a bit long of a read at times, with detailed descriptions, but likeable just the same.  The futuristic world is dark with people rebelling against a race of beings who thought they were superior to humans, so they controlled humans and treated them as slave labor.  The main character is the first female engineer and you follow her as she makes discoveries, finds the rebel force and confronts her own history, etc.  It's recommended for middle school and up.

Now, I'm going to read a book for me, then back to the young adult lit!

I've been remiss!

It's been quite a while since I've posted, but I've been reading like crazy!  Here's a couple of the more recent ones!


"Abandon" by Meg Cabot - Excellent book, very intriguing.  It's based on the Hades/Persephone myth but set in modern times.  The book deals with a girl who died, but came back to life after escaping the Underworld.  She has several serious issues to deal with, such as being disconnected from the world, a former best friend who committed suicide as a result of having an affair with a teacher, parents getting divorced, moving to a new school far away from her previous one, not to mention the Furies who are after her and a tempestuous relationship with John, the ruler of one Underworld.  This is the first book in a new series and one I would recommend for middle or high school.  The affair is not gone into detail, but mentioned as she tries to avenge her friend.  No sex or profanity is described.

"Matched" by Allie Condie - Interesting dystopian book, the first in a planned trilogy.  This book reminded me of "The Giver" in that the society is planned by a group of people and the general populace does whatever they are told.  Once children are of age, they are matched with their future mates.  They attend a banquet where the matches are announced.  However, once at home, there is a glitch in the information and one person sees a flash of a second match.  What is she to do?  The novel winds its way through the society and how professions are determined, friendships, love, even entertainment is all proscribed by the ruling body.  What happens when someone rebels?  One thing that I love about this book is that it gives the same though provoking feel as "The Giver", including killing the elderly at the age of 80 in a manner that the majority of people don't know that it is murder, but the writer avoids killing babies.  That scene in "The Giver" always bothered me, so I'm very glad it is missing from Condie's world.  If you're looking for a companion, or a replacement, to "The Giver", this would be a good one.  Recommended for middle school or high school.  Nothing more than kissing is done sexually, no profanity, and the elderly are killed off using poison in their food, although in the actual scene they simply fall asleep.

Ugh! Sorry!

I just realized that I haven't updated my book reviews in a while!

Short synopsis for the ones I remember:

"First Grave on the Right" - Daydra Jones (I believe) - LOVED IT!  This book was a great read.  Very different type of story with a woman who can interact with ghosts in interesting ways.  Great humor and style.  This was a debut novel for Jones.  However, given the language, and some sexual content, I would not put this book in any K-12 setting.  Leave it for adults only.

"My Sister the Vampire" - (YA fantasy fiction) - this story was cute.  New girl at school is a cheerleader and thinks she'd do well with that crowd.  However, the cheerleaders are your typical mean girls scenario.  The twist?  The new student recognizes this and rebels against it.  She even goes so far as to apologize to the student that the group insulted at lunch.  Good thing too, as the new girl, and the insulted girl, realize that they are identical twins separated and adopted by different families when they were very young.  Naturally, they switch places and enjoy each others lives for a short time.  I'd recommend this series for 3rd grade and up. 

I know there were others, including the latest Anne Bishop book, but I can't for the life of me remember the titles at the moment.

Reading now:  Brain Jack.

"Monster High", Lisi Harrison (YA-fantasy)

"Monster High" by Lisi Harrison is the first book in a new series about students in a high school in Salem, Oregon.  Many years ago, monsters and witches moved to Salem to avoid persecution by normals.  Years and years later, they are still living there, but are in hiding.  This volume follows two teen girls new to the high school, Frankie Stein and Melody Carver.  With alternating chapters, you get to know each girl and her circle of friends, although they are in different cliques.  Melody recently moved to Salem from Beverly Hills and has a crush on the boy next door, only he burns hot and cold.  Will Melody be able to figure out what's going on with him and what his secret is?  Then meet Frankie, who was "born" a week ago.  Frankie is a little uncomfortable hiding her mint green skin under layers of make-up, not to mention her bolts and seams!  Once she meets the secret monster underground, will she stage a successful revolution or be run out of town?

This story is a lot of fun and you get to see old favorite monsters brought to life in young teens in new ways, such as Frankie, the granddaughter of Frankenstein.  This book has a little of the mean-girl clique issues, although it is toned down.  No sexual activity other than kissing in the book.  Parents are present and involved (or try to be) and no profanity, drugs or drinking.  There are other books in the series planned, each highlighting different monster and normie teens.  Recommended for grades 6 and up.

"Runaway", Meg Cabot (YA-Sci-Fi/Fantasy)

"Runaway" is the third (and final?) installment in Meg Cabot's Airhead series.  What is the secret plan of Stark Enterprises?  What does Nikki have on Stark that got her killed?  How are Em and Nikki going to resolve their issue of switched bodies?  Find out in the conclusion of the trilogy!

This book nicely wraps up all the loose ends for Nikki and Em, as well as the supporting characters.  I enjoyed how everything was resolved and think middle and high school students would as well.  There isn't any explicit sex in the books, although the characters are 16 and drinking, not to mention on their own without parental supervision for the majority of the book, as with the previous ones in the series, so I would not put it in an elementary library.

“Wish”, by Alexandra Bullen (YA-fiction)

Olivia is a high school student who just moved to a new city with her parents.  She’s shy and reserved and is your typical new girl who notices the hot guy who happens to be dating the most popular girl at school.  The twist?  Olivia and her parents are still reeling from the death of her twin sister the previous summer.  While still missing her sister, Olivia takes one of Violet’s torn dresses to a seamstress/dressmaker to be repaired.  Only, the dress she gets is NOT the one she brought in.  The new dress is drop-dead gorgeous and possesses magical powers.  With it, Olivia discovers she gets to make a heartfelt wish and it will come true.  She wishes for her sister to come back, and she does!  However, while corporal to Olivia, no one else can see or hear Violet.  The sisters visit the seamstress who tells Olivia that she still has 2 other dresses and wishes coming.  What will Olivia wish for next?

“Wish” is Bullen’s debut novel and I think she hits the ball out of the park with it.  The story is poignant and written well, with interesting relatable characters for young adults.  Olivia is relatable and the grief she and her parents exhibit while healing from the death of Violet is realistic as well.  This book is written in such as way that I can see it helping students who have suffered a loss, as well as being entertaining for those who haven’t.  Violet was a drowning victim and the scene is not overly descriptive when Olivia recounts the story to a friend.  There is some kissing and some underage drinking, but no sex, foul language or violence.  I recommend it for students in the 6^th grade and up.

"Shiver", by Maggie Stiefvater (YA-fantasy)

“Shiver” is a romance story about teenage werewolves but it is rather unique.  In this werewolf tale, werewolves are created once the human is bitten by a werewolf.  The former humans change into wolves whenever it the weather turns cold.  As time progresses, they need it to be warmer and warmer before they’ll turn human until, finally, they no longer can return to their former human shapes and live their lives as wolves.  Grace was kidnapped as a child by wolves who attacked her, but one wolf saved her from death and returned her to her home.  Since then, Grace has been drawn to the wolves.  When one of her classmates was killed by a wolf, but then Grace sees a wolf with his eyes, she starts to wonder if werewolves are real.  Eventually, she meets “her” wolf in human form, Sam.  They fall in love and have to uncover mysteries and resolve his dwindling time as a human dilemma before they can live happily till the next installment in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series.

While Sam and Grace are in a romantic relationship, their scenes together are not overly descriptive.  However, given some graphic scenes involving the wolves attacking humans, and Sam’s parents slitting his wrists after he first changes to a wolf and back, I would only recommend this book for junior high and high school students.