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.

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.

I KISSED A ZOMBIE, AND I LIKED IT by Adam Selzer - REVIEW

Delacorte Books for Young People – January 26, 2010

Ali/Alley/Gonk (short for Algonquin) is the touch music critic of the high school newspaper. There isn’t anything she loves more than a good song and there aren’t many people out there her age that appreciate the quality of singers like Cole Porter as she does.

Alley’s latest assignment takes her to one of Cornersville’s local music scenes. A band is set to play a gig that includes a band member from school – oh, he’s also a vampire. Yep, in this world people are aware of the existence of vampires and zombies – and the popular crowd wants to either become one themselves or at the very least date one. Alley doesn’t see the attraction. She is one of the few that has no interest in the supernatural side life.

Alley doesn’t intend to get stuck in her small town for the rest of her life so dating isn’t that important to her. She doesn’t want to get too attached to a guy that will keep her in town. She’s all for having fun and making out, but…that’s about it. Her attitude toward guys changes drastically when she sees Doug sing a few songs during the gig she’s reviewing for the newspaper.

Doug catches Alley’s attention when he sings a Cole Porter song. His interpretation of the classic is unique and sexy. It doesn’t take long for Alley to fall head-over-heels in love with Doug. It doesn’t matter to her that he wears the same suit every time she sees him, can’t talk for very much at a time, or has a strange smell about him (Doug tells her he has a sickness). The way he makes her feel makes up for his strangeness.

When Alley finally puts the pieces together she is forced to make some BIG decisions. Is her love strong enough to overcome the obstacles of their love?

I KISSED A ZOMBIE, AND I LIKED IT is okay. The world Adam Selzer created for the novel is fun and interesting, but Alley is an unlikable character. If you can get over that, then you’ll be okay. In terms of quirky, light, romancy zombie books, here is where it would fall:

NEVER SLOW DANCE WITH A ZOMBIE by E. Van Lowe is worse at 1 glasses.

YOU ARE SO UNDEAD TO ME by Stacey Jay is better at 4 glasses.

RAGE by Julie Anne Peters - REVIEW

Knopf – September 8, 2009

Johanna, a responsible and friendly girl, has admired the wild and dangerous Reeve from afar for a while. She spends a lot of her time daydreaming about her and Reeve in romantic situations in Joyland, a place that only exists in Johanna’s mind. Reeve doesn’t appear to know Johanna exists and one thing holding Johanna back from revealing her feelings for Reeve is the fact that she hasn’t “come out.”

Johanna doesn’t know when she agrees to tutor Robbie, a troubled and strange boy, that her world is about the enter Reeve’s atmosphere. Robbie is Reeve’s brother. She picks him up after the tutoring sessions so they can ride home together on the bus. Johanna attempts to get Reeve’s attention and slowly, but surely, Reeve begins to pay attention.

Johanna makes it clear she wants a relationship with Reeve and Reeve attempts to warn her away. Reeve’s life is dark and dangerous compared to what Johanna is used to, but her desire to be with Reeve borders on obsession. She is willing to do anything. No matter how many times Reeve pulls away, Johanna always goes after her.

Johanna’s life changes dramatically and she loses a lot in her attempt to be with Reeve. Why does she do it?

RAGE, a story of love, is also a story of abuse. Johanna displays the typical signs of a victim, “she didn’t mean to do it,” “it was my fault,” and must come to understand her own self worth in order to find a place where she can be both happy and healthy. While Joyland is a great place to visit, does she really want to live there forever?

SOME GIRLS ARE by Courtney Summers - REVIEW and GIVEAWAY

Regina hates being the designated driver. The parties aren't fun to begin with, but when she has to be there sober it is practically unbearable. When she is ready to go home, Regina tries to find her best friend so she can get her in the car and drive home. She finds Anna in the den with Donnie, passed out after a night off too much drinking. Unfortunately, Donnie, Anna's boyfriend, is just aware enough to force himself on Regina against her will. She barely gets away. Regina runs to the house of the only one of her friends that didn't attend the party and told her everything that happened. Together, Kara and Regina decide it's best to not say anything. Regina considers Anna important enough to keep quiet about the attempted rape in order to remain her best friend.

The problem is...Kara doesn't keep her mouth shut. She tells Anna what happened just as quick as she can in order to push Regina out of the second-in-command spot of the Fearsome Fivesome and by the time school rolls around on Monday, Regina finds herself frozen out of the group.

Life for Regina becomes a living nightmare. Her friends launch a systematic attack against her. She suffers physical and emotional abuse at the hands of the people that know her the best. Never has she felt so alone.

SOME GIRLS ARE is an important book to read. Bullying is such an important issue in today's society and Courtney Summers paints a very realistic picture for the reader.

Now for the GIVEAWAY!

Do you want to win a copy of SOME GIRLS ARE? If so, fill out the Google Form and you will be eligible to win. Extra entries are available. See the form for details. Be sure to enter by Sunday, January 17th at Midnight (CST)

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.