STILL SUCKS TO BE ME by Kimberly Pauley - REVIEW

Mirrorstone – May 10, 2010

Life as a vampire isn’t working out so great for Mina.  The Vampire Relocation Agency is forcing her and her parents to move to a podunk town in Louisiana.  Adding to the anxiety of moving, the family can’t take anything with them.  No clothes, photos, or keepsakes from their old lives are allowed.  The VRA can’t take a chance on someone recognizing them since the Hamilton’s have been pronounced dead.  They can’t even have access to their money until some time has passed.  Mina is miserable, but not having her best friend Serena to talk to is like pouring salt in the wound.

Even though Mina has been through some major life changes, her parents still insist she start school right away.  Being a Senior, Mina expects to be left out of everything since cliques and friendships have already been established, but in Cartville, LA, Mina is the coolest thing since sliced bread.  Mina immediately finds a nosy, talkative wanna-be friend, a boy that desperately wants to go out with her, and a girl who hates her guts simply because she exists.  Oh! There is a handsome, mysterious guy named Cameron, too.  This is definitely not a good time for Mina’s boyfriend, George, to run off to Brazil to bond with his parents.

Mina takes it all in stride – even takes some vampire continuing education classes with her mom and learns to do a little shape-shifting. Cameron also starts to teach her how to use mind control.  Mina is becoming a better vampire everyday.

Then, Serena shows up on her doorstep and crazy, Goth-Girl Raven arrives in town.  Even talk of the human-hating Black Talon group is rumored to be in Cartville.  Mina discovers that even though she decided to become a vampire – her life still sucks!

STILL SUCKS TO BE ME is a cute story. If  you liked the first book in the series you definitely need to pick up a copy.  There were only three things that knocked it down to 4 glasses.

1. The journal entries started to get a little redundant.
2. I would have liked more drama between Cameron and Mina.
3. The excitement needed to start sooner.  Mina’s crumbling, while warranted, took up too much of the beginning.

You’ll enjoy STILL SUCKS TO BE ME much more if you read SUCKS TO BE ME first.

This is a great vampire novel for the younger crowd. Mina and the boys in her life are well-behaved teenagers.  Mina even maintains a great relationship with her parents!  The Hamiltons oops, Smiths are a great vampire family.

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS by C. J. Omololu - REVIEW

Walker Books for Young Readers – February 2, 2010

Lucy lives in conditions many people can’t even imagine.  The kitchen is unusable, there isn’t any hot water in the house, and the furnace is broken.  There are piles and piles of papers, plastic bags, and boxes littering every corner of the house.  In order to maneuver, Lucy and her mother have to navigate through a maze of cleared paths just wide enough for a person.

Lucy feels her life is made up of lies and secrets. She lies to her friends about why they can’t come over.  She avoids any topic of conversation that will bring attention to her or her family.  Lucy is scared to death when she hears a knock at the door – knowing she could never allow someone to come inside to see what her house looks like.  This is the reason her mother can’t call a repairman to fix the heater.

After another one of their usual fights where her mother accuses Lucy of moving something, Lucy packs an overnight bag and leaves to go to the movies and spend the night with her best and only friend.  She doesn’t know it yet, but life is about to get a lot more complicated for her.  When Lucy comes home the next morning, she discovers something horrible.  Will she be able to deal with the tragedy and keep her secrets in tact?

DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS is a book that will suck you into the story.  Your heart will hurt for Lucy as she reveals memories from her past with the reader.  This book will certainly cause you to take a look at the clutter around your house and ask, “Do I really need those old magazines?”

I couldn’t give DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS 5 glasses simply because of the implausibility of the way Lucy handled the situation – it seemed more like denial than a plan.  However, this didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story.

Leave a comment and let me know what you thought of the book.

STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr - REVIEW

Deanna Lambert made a mistake. She got involved with her brother’s best friend when she was 13-years-old. Tommy never took her on a date, never took her to get something to eat, never went anywhere with her in public. He would just pick her up after school or come over to her house when he knew Deanna’s brother wasn’t home so they could go park and fool around.

People found out about the relationship in the worst way possible. Deanna’s father caught her with Tommy in the back of his car. The next day, everyone knew what happened. Mostly because Tommy told everyone. Since that terrible night, Deanna’s father hasn’t really looked at her or talked to her and home doesn’t comfort her at all.

Sadly, school isn’t safe for her either. Daily, she hears taunts like slut and skank, suffers unwanted advances from guys, and endures dirty looks from the girls. Her only bright spot is her best friend, Jason.

THE STORY OF A GIRL isn’t a pick me up. I felt sorry for Deanna through the entire book – even in the end. Deanna definitely grew as a character from beginning to end and there is even a small glimmer of hope by the final page. It is a valuable addition to young adult literature in the sense that it shows a girl making it through an extremely tough time. Deanna doesn’t give up – even when she keeps making mistakes.

I would have liked to see the story extended a bit. I wasn’t satisfied with where Deanna’s story left off. Also, I listened to THE STORY OF A GIRL on audio book and the author, Sara Zarr, was the reader. It might have been a little better if a professional reader would have read it.

CHASING BROOKLYN by Lisa Schroeder - REVEW

Simon and Schuster - January 5, 2010

This is a companion book to I LOVE YOU, YOU HAUNT ME. There is no need to read one before the other, but if you enjoy reading one, you'll like the other just as much.

There has been a lot of death at Brooklyn's high school. First, there was Jackson after a terrible diving accident. Then, a year ago, Brooklyn's boyfriend, Lucca, died in a terrible car accident, and most recently, Gabe, Lucca's best friend and driver of the car at the time of the accident, killed himself after he couldn't take the guilt of Lucca's death for another day.

Brooklyn is having trouble getting over Lucca's death and Gabe's suicide only makes it worse. Soon after Gabe's death, Brooklyn begins having terrible nightmares where Gabe chases and torments her. She soon realizes Gabe doesn't just visit when she is asleep, but makes his presence known during her waking hours as well. He moves things and writes messages to her in an attempt to tell her something. She just can't figure out what he wants and the dreams are becoming more horrific as the days go by.

Nico, Lucca's brother, is being visited by a ghostly spirit as well - Lucca's. Nico receives the same message over and over again - day after day. "Help Brooklyn." Nico doesn't know what to do and has no idea what Brooklyn needs. He decides to ask her to join him in his training for an upcoming triathlon, hoping to get closer to her and give her something to focus on besides Lucca's death.

CHASING BROOKLYN is a fast-paced novel-in-verse. It is a story of friendship, love, and healing. The book alternates points-of-view between Brooklyn and Nico which gives the reader a great look at all sides of the story. Lisa Schroeder continues to provide thought-provoking and heart-felt stories for her readers.

If you enjoy I HEART YOU, I HAUNT YOU and CHASING BROOKLYN, be sure to check out Lisa's other novel-in-verse, FAR FROM YOU.

FIRE by Kristin Cashore - REVIEW

Fire lives in the Dells - a land filled with beautiful creatures called monsters. There are monsters of every kind. Monster kittens, monster bugs, and the most fierce and dangerous of all, monster raptors. The monsters are covered in fur and feathers of the most vibrant and iridescent colors. Their beauty traps humans, allowing the monsters to control their minds. Monsters can influence humans - make them stand still and allow themselves to be killed, alter their thoughts and decisions, or compel them to do something against their will. Fire is the last human monster in the Dell and people are afraid of her and tend to stay out of her way or try to kill her.

Fire is aware of the danger monsters pose to the people around her and takes care to remain respectful of their privacy and free will. The only time she attempts to claim a person's mind is in self-defense. Her life is a comfortable rhythm of hunting and spending time with her best friend Archer. Fire has spent seventeen years within the safety of her own grounds and surrounded by people she can trust so when the Prince from King's City comes to ask for her help in getting information out of captured spies, she can't help but say yes. Fire has wanted to see King's City for a long time.

Fire's abilities and conscience are pushed to the limit once she joins the fight to save the crown.

FIRE is a companion book to GRACELING. You absolutely don't need to read one before the other because FIRE takes place approximately 30 years before GRACELING'S timeline picks up. FIRE is a beautiful story. I listened to the audio book that Xanthe Elbrick narrates. Xanthe's voice made Fire come alive and I was almost sad when the story was over. If you like fantasy, you definitely need to read FIRE.

WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead - REVIEW

Wendy Lamb Books – July 14, 2009

WHEN YOU REACH ME was a one-sitting read for me.

Miranda lives in New York City with her mother. She and her best friend, Sal, spend most of their time together, navigating the ins and outs of life, school, and their neighborhood. One day when walking home from school, Sal gets punched in the stomach by an older boy that hangs out down the street from their apartment building. Sal pulls away from Miranda after that and stops hanging out with her. Miranda feels completely lost without him.

Since Miranda isn’t spending much time with Sal anymore, she has plenty of time to help her mother prepare for an appearance on The $20,000 Pyramid. Miranda and Richard, her mother’s boyfriend, drill her every night on different questions that could appear on the show. Sal’s mother even takes notes on the game show every day to help.

Losing Sal’s friendship bothers Miranda a lot. Not having him to talk to is bad enough, but she really hates walking home alone. Not only does she have to walk by the group of older boys by herself, but she has to walk home alone. Not only does she have to walk by the group of older boys by herself, but she has to walk by the crazy, old man by the mailbox. Then, the notes start arriving – notes telling her things about the future.

Can Miranda trust the notes? Can she really save the life of someone she knows by doing what they say? You’ll love following along with the mystery to find out what Miranda does, who she saves, and what the old man has to do with it.

If you like WHEN YOU REACH ME, you need to find THE POWER OF UN by Nancy Etchemendy. It is fantastic and shares some of the same story elements.

BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, I'LL BE DEAD by Julie Anne Peters - REVIEW

Daelyn has suffered major psychological damage from years of being bullied. The torment and embarrassment she received because of her weight started her downhill slide into despair. Daelyn has lost her desire to live and failed at several attempts to end her life. Her latest failure has left her unable to talk and on 24-hour suicide watch. Her parents barely trust her to go to school.

Daelyn is biding her time. She only has 23 days until her Date of Determination. She discovers the Through the Light website on accident, but finds it to be a welcome change of pace to the other suicide websites and discussion boards she’s visited in the past. Instead of preaching and warning her against her decision, the website provides rational and informational posts and discussions about ending her life.

BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, I’LL BE DEAD is a powerful and heart-wrenching story of one girl’s life as she makes the hardest decisions of her life. How will she end her life and what will she do with her last 23 days? Daelyn thinks she has it all figured out until she meets a strange boy while she waits for her parents to pick her up after school. Santana is persistent when it comes to making friends with Daelyn, but with only 23 days to live does she really have time?

BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, I’LL BE DEAD is a short book at only 198 pages. It is easily a one-sitting read and well worth the time. The author, Julie Anne Peters includes a lot of factual information at the back of the book. There are 19 Discussion Questions as well as sections about Bullying, Suicide, Warning Signs, and Prevention Hot Line Information. Your heart will break for Daelyn and the ending is thought-provoking.

THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer Hubbard - REVIEW

Viking Juvenile - January 7, 2010

Julia died in a car accident on Labor Day on her way home from a party.

Colt heard about it through the grapevine.

Colt and Julia had been seeing each other secretly for a year. They'd met regularly most Friday nights and spent the time alone talking, laughing and making love. Even though he wanted Julia to break it off with her boyfriend, he never pushed her. He understood they couldn't be together - not really.

Julia lived up on Black Mountain Road where the houses were guarded by alarm systems and had servants to take care of the day-to-day business. Colt lives on the flats - far from the rich kids in town.

Colt has a difficult time dealing with the loss - especially since he doesn't have a way to express his feelings without giving their relationship away. He is extremely surprised when Julia's brother comes up to him at school one day and gives him a journal. Apparently, Julia had been writing letters to Cole ever since they started seeing each other - most likely never meaning to give them to him. Colt is both excited and anxious about reading the letters containing Julia's secret thoughts.

Watching Colt's progression through his grief is heartbreaking. He is a main character you can't help but love and won't be able to understand the reason Julia never broke it off with her boyfriend in order to give Colt her full attention. THE SECRET YEAR is a book you won't want to put down. Julia's letters provide wonderful insights into the pressures that come along with the life of the "privileged" kids. You'll want to know what she was thinking during her and Colt's secret year.