I STAY NEAR YOU, NO RIGHT TURN, MISSING YOU, HATERS, DIVA, BRUNETTES STRIKE BACK

M.E. Kerr. I STAY NEAR YOU

I have wanted to read some of Ms. Kerr’s books for a while now, so I thought I’d start with this one. It intrigued me because it depicts three generations of a family woven together by a gold ring. It begins with a poor young girl who falls in love with a boy from the richest family in town. Then the ring follows their children and grandchildren. It’s a touching story about love and friendship, even through the toughest times in life. It was cleverly told through three unusual points of view. I really enjoyed it! I’ll be reading more by this author.





Terry Trueman. NO RIGHT TURN

Trueman’s other books have been some of the most memorable books I’ve ever read (STUCK IN NEUTRAL & CRUISE CONTROL), so I jumped at the chance to read this one. Jordan lost his dad three years before when he committed suicide. He’s turned into a zombie since then. He rarely speaks, only has one friend, and never participates in any activities. One day his mom starts dating a man named Don, who owns a corvette. Jordon becomes interested in the car, and Don willingly starts taking him for rides and teaching him about car maintenance. When Jordan finds out that Don leaves the keys in the car and goes out of town every Wednesday, the urge to “borrow” the car is too great to resist. Suddenly, Jordan finds himself “borrowing” the car on a regular basis. How long will he be able to pull it off before someone finds out? Check it out! You don't even have to like corvettes to enjoy it, but who doesn't like corvettes?

Meg Cabot. MISSING YOU

This is the fifth and final book in a series called “I-800-Where-R-U.” Cabot originally published this series under the pen name Jenny Carroll. You will probably find them in bookstores as Meg Cabot, but many libraries have the original Carroll versions*. Anyway, this is a great series that I’ve recommended to many students over the last few years. It begins when the main character, Jess, gets struck by lightning. Shortly thereafter, she begins dreaming about missing kids. If she sees a kid’s picture, she dreams about where they are. In this final installment, we learn that Jess has just come home from Afghanistan after helping the government find terrorists. After seeing the war up close and personal, Jess is no longer the same person. She’s moved on to New York with her best friend to go to college and hopefully start a new life. When her old boyfriend shows up, she wonders if she will be able to move on or if maybe she wants to keep one part of her past after all. This was a wonderful conclusion to a great, fun set of books.

*She also wrote a great series called the Mediator under the Carroll name. It’s also been reissued under her real name, Cabot. But you will still find copies of the Carroll version

Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. HATERS

At first glance, this book appeared to be another “mean girls” type of book. But, in reality, it is so much more. Paski’s father comes home one day and tells her that they are moving to Los Angeles. With two great best friends and a new boyfriend, moving is the last thing that Paski wants to do. But, they move and she begins attending a new high school where the popular girls are called “Haters.” Jessica, the leader of this group, hates Paski on sight, because she is pretty and has just attracted the attention of her Jessica's boyfriend. Paski is trying to just be her normal confident self, but in this new world where all the other kids are rich, walk around like models and drive luxury cars, will she ever fit in? I completely enjoyed this book! The characters are wonderful. Paski is a refreshing character with some interesting abilities. I love that she doesn’t conform to her new world, but instead finds confidence to be herself. Check it out! It is recommended for high school and above.



Alex Flinn. DIVA

I’ve read and enjoyed all of Alex Flinn’s books. So, when I heard about this one, I jumped on it. This book is “sort of” a continuation of BREATHING UNDERWATER, but not really. The main character’s girlfriend Caitlin is the main character is this book. Nick is only mentioned a few times, but those few times are significant. But you don’t need to read BREATHING UNDERWATER to enjoy this book. Caitlin fills you in where needed. Caitlin is an opera singer, to the dismay of her cheerleader friends. She wants to go to the performing arts high school in town, but her mother doesn’t support her talent, so she’s afraid to tell her that she auditioned. Even when she is accepted to the school, she doesn’t tell her mother! However, when she does begin attending the school, a whole new world opens up to her. Perhaps she will learn to go after what she wants and not what everyone else expects of her. This was funny, well-written and an all around good time. You’ll love it!

Kieran Scott.
BRUNETTES STRIKE BACK

Annisa has settled into her new non-blonde cheerleading life. She has a boyfriend, she thinks anyway, her friends on the squad consider her a friend, and next week they’re off to nationals! But when she gets to nationals, just when her life should be perfect, Annisa’s new life starts to collide with her old life. Will she be able to put everything back together before they must compete? This was a highly enjoyable sequel! I loved spending time with these characters again. I noticed that a third book will be out this summer! Can’t wait!

NON-BLONDE CHEERLEADER, DEMON IN MY VIEW, BLUE NOON

Kieran Scott.
I WAS A NON-BLONDE CHEERLEADER

Brunette Annisa has just moved from New Jersey to the all blonde school of Sand Dune High in southern Florida. She’s moved many times before but never encountered such direct meanness from the students. Suddenly, the cheerleading squad must replace two of its members. After cheering at her old school, Annisa is determined to make the squad, even though the girls on the team appear to hate her. This is a fun book. Annisa’s courage and determination is refreshing. I enjoyed the quirky characters, especially Bethany. Even the mean girls end up having depth. Read it; you’ll love it! I’m off to read the sequel!

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. DEMON IN MY VIEW

This book follows IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT. It isn’t a sequel, though. It’s really quite different. I wrote about FORESTS previously. (see below in April) A minor character in that book named Jessica is the main character in this book. Jessica writes vampire books. When the dazzling main character of her book shows up one day at school, she is puzzled. He looks exactly like Aubrey, but calls himself Alex. When another new girl at school says some things to Jessica that only her characters in her books would know, things get really weird. If this vampire world is really real, Jessica must find out. Plus, it might explain some things about her own mysterious past.

Scott Westerfeld.
MIDNIGHTERS #3: BLUE NOON

This is the last in the Midnighters trilogy. I was surprised at how easy it was to get back into this world, since it had been so long since I read the second one. But, I caught up pretty fast. This installment has “midnight” creeping into the middle of the day. Jessica, Jonathan and the rest of the gang are having lunch one day when the “blue time” shows up. They soon begin to figure out that the darklings are planning something big on Halloween. Also, some weird things are happening with Rex, who still has some darkling in him from the previous book’s events. The end is so suspenseful that it had me speed reading to get to the end.

MAGIC OR MADNESS TRILOGY, IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT

Justine Larbalestier. MAGIC’S CHILD

(Book 3 in Magic or Madness trilogy)
This might just be the best one in the trilogy. We get more explanations about what happened to Reason in Book 2; plus we get some really good moral dilemmas. Reason has gained some power with her new Cansino magic. She must make some hard decisions. It ends really well, but leaves some things open at the end. You need to read this trilogy. It's a unique, enjoyable fantasy.

Justine Larbalestier.

MAGIC LESSONS

The sequel to MAGIC OR MADNESS was hard to put down. It begins with Reason safely back at her grandmother’s house with her two friends Jay-tee and Tom. But that doesn’t last long. Something weird is going on with the door. A weird creature is trying to get through. Suddenly Reason is plunged through the door by someone or something. She's forced back to New York. I really like the way the characters have different talents with their magic and how they each see things differently. The dilemma between dying young or going crazy makes the magic intriguing. I’m off to read the third in the trilogy, MAGIC’S CHILDREN.

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes.

IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT

Risika has been a vampire for 300 years. All that time she has vowed revenge against the vampire, Aubrey, who killed her brother and wounded her. He is one of the most powerful vampires around, so it takes Risika a while to get the courage to fight him. As Risika flashes back to her earlier life in 1701, we learn her story and why she hates Aubrey so much. This is a really well-written, succinct novel that makes me want to read all of her other books. The author got the call that this, her first novel, would be published when she was only fourteen. Very cool! Her second book is called DEMON IN MY VIEW, which includes several characters from this book in a unique way.

Justine Larbalestier. MAGIC OR MADNESS

Reason and her mother live in Australia. They have moved from town to town in the outback for Reason’s entire life. They have been running from her grandmother. Suddenly, Reason’s mom has gone insane, so she is sent to live with her grandmother. Since she has been taught to be afraid of her grandmother, Reason plans her escape as soon as she arrives. Reason does escape to a place much father away than she could have imagined. Then she must decide if her grandmother really is as bad as the dangerous man she encounters. I can’t say much more without giving away the good parts. This is a really different and intriguing book. It’s a trilogy, so I’ll be reading part 2 next. Can’t wait. *Tidbit: the author is the wife of another great YA author: Scott Westerfeld.

BLUE BLOODS, CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE, AMERICAN BORN CHINESE

Melissa de la Cruz. BLUE BLOODS

Schuyler Van Alen lives in Manhattan and attends a prestigious private school. She’s the last in the line of a wealthy, distinguished family. But even with her family background, she doesn’t quite fit in at her school. She has two close friends and they live outside of the popular clique at school. However, soon she finds out that they all have something in common. The term Blue Bloods, isn’t just a term referring to rich family lineage, but in fact means blue blood. They are all vampires. At fifteen, Schuyler is just manifesting the symptoms and learning about what she is. The vampires aren’t a threat to humans, like in some vampire novels, due to their strict code. The threat is actually some other creature out there trying to kill the blue bloods. This is a cool read with a lot of intriguing history in it. With the many vampire themed novels currently out there, this one is one you won’t be able to put down. The sequel is due out in May. Can’t wait!


Laura M. Zeises.
CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE
Fourteen-year-old Lucy feels like everyone is leaving her behind. Most of her friends have boyfriends, and her brother left her to go off to college. So she is caught completely off guard when a junior boy starts giving her attention. Then her brother surprises her by coming back home, with some surprises. Suddenly, her life is the one changing and she isn’t so sure that she likes it. This was a wonderful, humorous, but also thoughtful book. The first page grabbed be right away and didn’t let go until I finished it.







Gene Luen Yang. AMERICAN BORN CHINESE
This graphic novel has three interrelated stories that weave together. In one story, Jin Wang’s family moves to a new neighborhood where he is the only Chinese-American. The kids aren’t very accepting of his differences. Even though he was born in America, the kids think of him as Chinese. Finally, he becomes friends with a new student who just moved in from Taiwan. In another story, a boy is embarrassed by his cousin visiting from China. Will these boys finally be accepted by their friends at school? Or will they learn to just be themselves and not worry about it? Check it out

NEW MOON, SLEEPING FRESHMAN..., RULING CLASS

Stephenie Meyer. NEW MOON

The sequel to TWILIGHT was as awesome as I predicted. Although, I was disappointed that Edward was gone for a large portion of the book. I had prepared for that after reading about it on Mrs. Meyer's website. I did quite enjoy the development of the character Jacob. I loved the relationship between Bella and Jacob, almost as much as Edward & Bella. Now, I'm as anxious as ever to read the third book, which is called ECLIPSE. It isn't due out until the fall! Mercy! Oh well, off to read some other books to distract me from the long wait.

David Lubar. SLEEPING FRESHMEN NEVER LIE

Scott is just beginning high school and he’s a little nervous. Suddenly there are beautiful girls everywhere, his friends are changing and drifting away, and to top it all off, he’s agreed to so many commitments, he’s loosing sleep! Will he ever navigate the complex world of high school? Will he ever be able to actually utter a complete sentence to Julia, the girl he has a crush on? Guys, you will relate to Scott; Girls, you will have a lot of fun with him! Great, fun read.

Francine Pascal. THE RULING CLASS

I heard about this book a while back. I was looking forward to it, since it’s based in my home state of Texas. The locale is an upscale suburb of Dallas called Highland Park. As one of the main characters, Myrna Fry, says, the school is almost private because you have to have a home over “a mill” (a million) to attend. In this ritzy school, the high powered clique is called The RC, short for The Ruling Class. Myrna is desperate to get into the clique, but is completely blind to how they are really treating her. The other main character is way more interesting, Twyla Gay. She has just moved in from Abilene, so isn’t used to the cattiness of the girls in Highland Park. She’s teased at first, but decides to get back at the girls, including Myrna, who sort of pretended to be her friend. After reading this, I think you’ll be glad you don’t live in this snobby, over-styled world. Although, you’ll thoroughly enjoy seeing a glimpse of it!