Teen Review: School Spirit by Rachel Hawkins

Today's recommendation is for a digital book and is from another book-lovin' teen: School Spirit by Rachel Hawkins.

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What Did You Read? 

School Spirit by Rachel Hawkins.

I'd say this book was *mostly* about... 

An adventure, high school, mystery.

This book's main character(s)...

Should be my new best friend(s).

If others were interested in this book, I'd tell them...

Check it out RIGHT NOW.

Any other thoughts about this book?

Izzy and her family have sought out monsters for a long time. However, when they move to Mississippi and Izzy attends high school for the first time, she finds its being haunted. Filled with the hardships of high school and the danger of a troubled spirit, this book is great!

Teen Review: Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel

Today's teen recommendation is from another book-lovin' teen: Palace of Spies!  

Want to see your own review here? Fill out our What Did You Just Read form today!

What Did You Read? 

Palace of Spies by Sarah Zettel.

I'd say this book was *mostly* about... 

An adventure, mystery

This book's main character(s)...

Had a rough time

If others were interested in this book, I'd tell them...

Check it out RIGHT NOW

Any other thoughts about this book?

It's a great book to read while lying at home and enjoying a nice snack. (without damaging the book.)  Taking place during the reign of King George |, this book involves murder, secrets, romance, and the most unexpected deception of all. 

Teen Review: Thea Stilton and the Dancing Shadows by Thea Stilton

Today's recommendation is from a Glendale book-lovin' teen, and is a blast from the past: Thea Stilton and the Dancing Shadows!

Want to see your own review here? Fill out our What Did You Just Read form today!

What Did You Read?

Thea Stilton and the Dancing Shadows by Thea Stilton.

I'd say this book was *mostly* about... 

An adventure, nonfition.

This book's main character(s)...

Should be my new best friend(s)

If others were interested in this book, I'd tell them...

It is ur decision to pick it.

Any other thoughts about this book?

Well, I personally love this these books! Unfortunately I need to get over them; they are 4th grade reading level! I guess

Teen Review: Flush by Carl Hiaasen

Our next recommendation is from a book-lovin' Glendale teen: Flush. 

Wanna to see your own review here?  Fill out our What Did You Just Read form today!

What Did You Read? 

Flush by Carl Hiaasen.

I'd say this book was *mostly* about... 

An adventure; true stories, bro; some sort of mystery.

If others were interested in this book, I'd tell them...

Read it if you want. It is your choice.

Teen Review: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Here's another awesome teen book review!  Enjoy a Glendale Public Library teen's thoughts on Pretty Little Liars.  

Wanna to see your own review here?  Fill out our What Did You Just Read form today!

What Did You Read? 

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard.

I'd say this book was *mostly* about... (choose up to three)

An adventure, High school, secrets.

This book's main character(s)...

Had a rough time.

If others were interested in this book, I'd tell them...

BUY ALL THE COPIES.

Any other thoughts about this book?

It was amazing. although it got inappropriate at times it is a great summer read and keeps you on edge. 

Nobody's Secret

Emily Dickinson, sleuth? It's a concept Michaela MacColl pulls off with surprising effectiveness. In this mystery, teenage Emily Dickinson is years away from housebound spinsterdom (albeit brilliant, poetical housebound spinsterdom.) She's a thoughtful, engaging teenage girl who takes chances, strains against the confines of her respectable upbringing, and finds herself determined to discover the murderer of a young man she meets one day in the meadow, a man who introduces himself as "Nobody." To which, of course, Emily responds, "I'm Nobody too."  The author deftly weaves pieces of Dickinson's poetry into the text of the novel (which is not written in verse), and I found myself turning the pages to see how it all would end. Notes at the back of the book provide a series of interesting details about the real Emily Dickinson and each chapter heading is linked to a line or two of Dickinson poetry. In the pages between, Emily seeks first the identity of Nobody--and there's a great scene when she goes to view his unclaimed body laid out in the local church--then the reason for his untimely demise.

Fast and fun, this book left me thinking of Emily Dickinson as the Victorian Nancy Drew.

Guilty Pleasure Reading

I've been meaning to post since I don't know... forever ago. Why has it taken me so long? Busy at work, busy at home, busy, busy, busy. That's no excuse because I've been meaning to post about my current Guilty Pleasure Reading. What, you may ask, is my definition of Guilty Pleasure Reading (yes, I think of the words in capitalized)? Simply put, it's my escapist reading. I don't care how well written the title is, I don't have to justify my reading of it as literature or I'm reviewing it. Strangely enough, my Guilty Pleasure Reading runs the gamut of types of stories. It could be my Harry Potter fanfiction I read on my phone, my manga series that I still pick up on occasion, or that Robert Cormier novel that put me on the path of my career-- The Chocolate War.

Or it could be like the book series I'm currently Guilty Pleasure Reading -- the Jasper Dent series by Barry Lyga. The first book, I Hunt Killers. Jazz knows everything there is to know about serial killers because of his Dear Old Dad. Dear Old Dad was the most notorious serial killer of today. While Dear Old Dad (D.O.D.) wastes away in prison, Jazz fights D.O.D.'s voice in his head daily, hoping, praying that his conscience will be the thing that stops him from being a killer like D.O.D.--or an even better one. Then the murders start happening in his town. Jazz knows that before long someone will start pointing their finger at him, so he tries to help the police in their investigation to stop the Impressionist.

The key to the novel for me was Jazz. What an intriguing character. How does someone who was raised to be the best serial killer not use his brainwashing? How much is nature vs. nurture and really what chance does this kid have? It reminds me of a line from the TV show Criminal Minds about those who have had the horrible scarring childhoods can become the sociopathic killers or the ones who catch them. Jazz will be the hunter to the killers. Lyga kept him interesting through his inner monologue of Dear Old Dad and his own internal battle against said training. Lyga created the right mixture of darkness with a splash of humor to make this dark time easier to swallow. The novel definitely pushes the envelope in terms of graphic violence, but older teens and adults will most likely be fine with it.

I'm one of those people who silently mocks all of you readers who read the last few pages ahead of time to see what happens. I have to admit that this book made me do it. The first time Jazz flashes to the dream/memory "cuts like chicken" I had to know if he was made to kill his mom as a kid. Of course we don't know the answer, but I still had to look.

The second book. The Game, is out and available. I'm trying to get through my pile of books I have to review for review journals before  I pick it up, but it's a tough battle. If you enjoy dark novels about serial killers, which in the teen lit world I can't really think of one, then this one will be up your alley.

 Greetings Book Obsession blog! I have missed you!  It's been so long since I have had an opportunity to update and this especially pains me since I have been reading many a good teen book. My goal is to update more faithfully this summer. I will start with the book I just finished and loved, True Blue by Deborah Ellis.

My best friend Casey was arrested for murder just as church was getting out.

First person narrator, Jess, and her best friend, Casey, have spent the summer before their senior year working as camp counselors in their small town, where everyone knows one another and where the girls have been outsiders. At least they have each other.  Until their most difficult camper goes missing.  When the little girl is later found dead  and her bloodied t-shirt is discovered in Casey's bag, Casey is arrested.  Senior year begins as a nightmare for Jess, suddenly friendless, hounded by the police--does Jess know more than she is telling?--and stared at by her classmates, especially the popular kids, whose new interest in Jess isn't healthy.  Jess's mother is on a crusade to get Casey released, but the more energy she pours into the issue, the worse her bipolar disorder swings to the manic side.  Jess's mother expects Jess to show her loyalty, but inside Jess  is deeply conflicted.  As she tells the story of the events leading up to the murder, the reader begins to understand that Jess's outward appearance and her inner thoughts do not always match.  What does she know about Casey and the dead camper, and what will she tell?

This book draws you into the mind of the narrator, raising deep questions about bravery and loyalty.  The author dedicates the book "To those who have the courage to be friends."  This is an excellent choice for a book discussion group.  Questions are included at the end of the novel to inspire a strong discussion, and I find myself thinking of them days later.  I think what I most liked about this book was the way the author delved into human psychology.  What motivates us to act well and what motivates us to behave badly? Fear?  Pack mentality?  The desire to be loved and valued, a basic human need that can get so twisted?

An excellent, swift read.  You can enjoy this on the beach in summer and still be mulling it over in fall.

12 Days of Teen Lit: Six Rotting Corpses

The 12 Days of Teen Lit takes a turn for the Macabre with

6 Rotting Corpses

The Body Finder. High school junior Violet uses her uncanny ability to sense murderers and their victims to try to stop a serial killer who is terrorizing her town, and although her best friend and would-be boyfriend Jay promises to keep her safe, she becomes a target.

Burried Thunder. Just after fourteen-year-old Maya's family acquires the Rowan Tree Hotel she is drawn into the nearby woods, where she finds three bodies that disappear before police arrive, and soon Maya feels hunted by both human and supernatural forces.

Jack: Secret Histories. Teenaged Jack, later to be known as Repairman Jack, begins to uncover some unsuspected talents in himself after he and his friends, the clever, imaginative Weezy and her brother Eddie, discover a corpse deep in the mysterious Pine Barrens near their New Jersey town.

Revolver. Finland, 1910: Fifteen-year-old Sig is shocked to see a hole in the frozen lake outside his family's cabin and to find his father's corpse nearby. Why did Einar steer his dog sled across the lake instead of taking the safer land route? Sig's sister and stepmother go for help, leaving Sig alone with Einar's body in the cabin. Soon after, an armed stranger barges in, demanding a share of Einar's stolen gold.

Rot and Ruin.  In a post-apocalyptic world where fences and border patrols guard the few people left from the zombies that have overtaken civilization, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura is finally convinced that he must follow in his older brother's footsteps and become a bounty hunter.

Soulless. The attempt of three powerful mediums to open up communication between the living and the dead has disastrous consequences when every corpse within a three-hundred-mile radius of New York City is animated and begins to prey on the living.



12 Days of Teen Lit: 10 Brooding Loners!

Another day, Another 12 Days of Teen Lit post.

Today we are happy to bring you

10 Brooding Loners!

Arisotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

Crazy. Fifteen-year-old loner Jason struggles to hide father's declining mental condition after his mother's death, but when his father disappears he must confide in the other members of a therapy group he has been forced to join at school

Gemini Bites. When their parents announce they are taking in a fellow student for a month, 16-year-old twins Kyle and Judy sit up and take notice. Kyle has just come out of the closet to his family and fears he'll never know what it is like to date a guy. Judy is pretending to be born-again to attract a boy who heads a Bible study group. And Garret Johnson is new in town-- a mysterious loner who claims to be a vampire. Both twins are intrigued.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot.  After moving to Baltimore and enrolling in a private school, high school senior Beatrice befriends a quiet loner with a troubled family history.

 Invisible.  Doug and Andy are unlikely best friends--one a loner obsessed by his model trains, the other a popular student involved in football and theater--who grew up together and share a bond that nothing can sever.

The Knife that Killed Me. Paul Varderman, a secondary student in an English Catholic School, is a loner until, just as he is becoming friends with "the freaks," the school bully encourages Paul to join his gang and gives him a knife to carry as an incentive

My Sister's Stalker. When fifteen-year-old Rig, a loner, discovers that his popular older sister is being stalked while away at college, he sets out to save her, with unexpected help from his divorced parents.

The Night Road.  Battling his own memories and fears, Cole, an extraordinarily conscientious vampire, and Sandor, a more impulsive acquaintance, spend a few months on the road, trying to train a young man who recently joined their ranks.

Narc. When his little sister is caught with a bag of weed, seventeen-year-old Aaron Foster takes the fall. To keep the cops from tearing his family apart, Aaron agrees to go undercover and help bust the dealer who's funneling drugs into his Miami high school. But making friends with the school's biggest players isn't easy for a waste-case loner from the wrong part of town.

TWOC: Taken Without Owner's Concent.  Ever since the joyriding accident that killed his brother Jake and left Jake’s girlfriend Jools hideously scarred, Matt has been tortured by his inability to remember exactly what happened. He decides to reconstruct the events of that tragic day—but can he survive the accident a second time?

The Girl in the Park

A murder mystery set in New York City, with the body turning up in Central Park--nice creepy premise. But what I took away from this book (The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks) wasn't so much the creep factor, but a sense of sadness.  A lot of the book focuses on the tragedy of a life snuffed out.  Young life, I should say, because our murder victim is the young, brash Wendy Geller, a prep school girl desperate for friends and attention, with a penchant for stealing the boyfriends of other chicks.  She's not always the nicest or most moral person, but she never gets the chance to grow into something more mature. When her body turns up in the park, people are shocked but the list of suspects is large too--Wendy ticked off a lot of people.  As the media seizes on the story, Wendy's true personality gets more and more lost--a fact that does not escape Rain, our narrator, who was once Wendy's dear friend.  Though they have grown apart over the years, Rain is determined to find out the truth about what happened to Wendy.  To find out who Wendy really was. 


Rain's a decent narrator--she's the quiet kid who drinks in more than she gives away, a listener.  She's perfect for solving a mystery, but as a result, her voice tends to sound overly adult at times. Still, she gets across the slow revelation of Wendy as a person rather than a media-made, or self-made, caricature.  I'd be curious to know how many readers guess the murderer before book's end and whether knowing it made any difference to whether or not they liked the story.  It almost felt like this one wasn't so much about whodunnit as about who the characters were and what motivated them. 

Deadly Cool

I don't usually read mysteries, but I'm glad I stepped outside my normal reading type this month because I very much enjoyed

Deadly Cool, the first book in a new series. I'm actually looking forward to the second book, which is really unusual for me because I don't normally like series either. So, the author, Gemma Halliday*, must be doing something right. If I had to pick one thing about the book I liked the most it would have to be the main character's humorous voice. Even if the plot can be a bit predictable in spots (not in all spots, just in some; well, several--but really, it doesn't ruin the enjoyment of the book), the narrator keeps things fresh and fun, and I truly liked her. The second thing that got me hooked--the romance part of the plot. Obvious? Yes. But not neatly sewn up at the end, leaving the reader anxious to read the next title in the series to see how things progress. If things progress. Which they totally will.

So, what's it about? It's about how sixteen-year-old Hartley gets dragged into solving a murder mystery when really she just wants to find out if the rumor about her boyfriend, Josh, cheating on her (with the president of the Chastity Club, no less) is true. The book opens with Hartley finding a condom wrapper in her boyfriend's locker--not a good sign. When she goes over to his house to confront him, sure enough she finds the Chastity Club president in Josh's bedroom. Unfortunately, the CC president has been strangled to death. Josh is the obvious culprit, but even through her hurt and anger, Hartley knows he's being framed. While philandering Josh stays on the run from the cops, Hartley joins forces with the bad boy editor of the school paper to track down the real killer. Danger ensues. As does humor. Suspects abound. Can Hartley find the killer? I'm happy to report that yes, she does find the killer. This isn't one of those mystery series where you have to wait for the third volume to find out the solution to the mystery. (That drives me insane.) Harlety has heart, humor, and a tendency to react like a normal person would to finding dead bodies--by freaking out. She gets nervous, doesn't like heights, tries to be cool when everyone's staring at her, can't tell a lie to save her life, and takes chances, even when she's afraid.

The next book in the series is Social Suicide, due out in April. I hope I enjoy it as much as this first one.

* According to Gemma Halliday's author bio, she has worked "as a film extra, a teddy bear importer, a department store administrator, a preschool teacher, a temporary tattoo artist, and a 900-number pyschic." Amusing.

Falling from Grace

A missing girl. A suspicious teenager. An aging one-hit wonder. Combine these elements for the suspenseful if sometimes choppy Falling from Grace.

One stormy twilight, Grace and her sister, Annie, become caught in a storm on the beach. They've gone way off the beaten path following a penguin. . . yes, a penguin. . .this threw me for a loop and I thought at first the characters were hallucinating but apparently in Australia, where this takes place, you can come across a penguin on the beach, small penguins as they fit into school backpacks (so, not the emperor penguin I was picturing, not at all) . . . Anyway, to continue, the girls try to climb up a cliff. Annie makes it to the top; Grace falls when the cliff crumbles. And that's the last Annie sees of her sister. Did she get swept out to sea? Did she get buried under the debris of the cliff? Where is she?!! In the meantime, Kip, a teen boy who has recently become "troubled" in the eyes of his parents--mostly because he's quit the swim team where he used to excel--meets a few strange people. First he sees a little boy jumping out of a moving a car. Then he encounters a drunk, bleeding man on the beach. The drunk turns out to be a rock star from some decades past. He's a bitter guy who behaves oddly at best, suspiciously at worst. Yet, Kip hangs out with him, gets blood on his clothes helping him and later drinks a rum-laced Coke the guy gives him--all of which makes Kip look really suspicious when he discovers Grace's backpack and a pair of her jeans, now bloodied. The police obviously think he's done something dreadful. Kip keeps digging himself in deeper. The reader knows he's innocent. The reader also knows there's something wrong with the one-hit wonder. So why is Kip spending so much time with him, going back again and again to talk with him? (Well, mostly to advance the plot. . .)

Confused? Well, it wasn't confusing to read, but the story jumped around so much I wondered how it was all going to come together. That jumpiness was essential to the structure the author chose to tell the story--each character must contribute his or her own bit of information and the slow piecing together of the bits solves the mystery--but it took some getting used to. The novel is mostly told in two alternating voices, Annie's and Kip's, and the two seem to be in competition for whose story it really is. Eventually it becomes clear that the story is Kip's--his character is much better developed than Annie's. Then, a third voice suddenly butts in. I was disappointed because A) it feels like cheating, especially considering who it is and B) it felt like a clear plot device. That voice had to be there or the story wouldn't have made any sense. I've read plenty of books that switch points-of-view, but there was something aggravating about this one, maybe because the reader can feel those plot devices in play.

Aggravation aside, I simply had to know how it was going to end. The suspense worked, and I would say it's the book's greatest strength. Is Grace alive or dead? Is Kip going to take the fall for someone else's misdeed? Is Annie going to have to live with the guilt of losing her sister? What is the deal with this weird old rock star? There were also some very nice psychological moments. Halfway through the author really hits her stride in portraying the confusion of a teenage boy who has chosen to abandon the thing that's always defined him. He does some stupid things, but doesn't everybody do some stupid things, especially when they're young and unsophisticated? As for why he keeps doing the things the rock star tells him to--drink this drink, play this guitar, listen to my rambling weirdness--Kip explains "I don't know why I didn't just leave. I suppose you get used to obeying adults who tell you what to do." I realized, right then, that the author had hit the nail on the head. Adults program kids to obey them, so they tend to do that, even to their own detriment.

The ending was satisfying and I was glad I read the book. I got used to the structure pretty quickly and put my minor aggravation aside to get to the meat of the mystery. Worth the time and the read. Now I need to do some research on Australian penguins. . .

Kisses and Lies

Ages ago I wrote about Kiss Me, Kill Me, a mystery book whose conclusion was postponed until the second volume of the series could be written and released. Happily that book, Kisses and Lies, has just come out. I got my grubby hands on it and I finally know who killed Dan McAndrew, using our heroine, poor Scarlett Wakefield, as the unwitting weapon. As you may or may not remember, in Kiss Me, Kill Me, Scarlett locked lips with Dan, the object of her affection only to watch him drop dead at her feet moments later. Turns out he was deathly allergic to peanuts, and someone had laced the chips at the party with peanut oil. Scarlett ate the chips; there was peanut oil on her mouth; she kissed Dan; and Dan dropped dead. Quite tragic, and not the ideal circumstances for a girl’s first kiss. But who put the fatal plan into motion? Was it Plum Sayborne, the rich and wicked leader of the snottiest clique in school? Or did someone else have reason to see Dan dead?

Book Two answers all the questions. This was a pleasant surprise for me since I’d somehow got it into my head that the mystery would be a trilogy, and I’d have to wait until the release of a third book to find out what was what. Nope! The mystery is solved at the end of Kisses and Lies. I know who did it, and you do not! Book Two is worth the wait. It was satisfying, keeping the reader guessing throughout. The characters remain strong and intriguing. Even if you haven’t read the first book, the author sums up the events succinctly so the reader can carry along with the second book. Only a very few things troubled me about the ending—namely that even while solving the mystery Scarlett doesn’t truly get to clear her name, and that the final dramatic scene of the tale seemed a little chaotic, as though events were almost too much for the author to manage—but mostly I loved it. I especially liked the surprise ending, which indicates to me that the author isn’t quite finished with Scarlett and her other characters. I’m hoping for another book to continue the story of the characters I came to enjoy reading so much.

One final note: I just love that Lauren Henderson dedicated the book “To every teenage girl out there whose first kiss didn’t quite go as she’d hoped it would.” Nice touch!

He speaks to dead people and they talk back...

That is the premise of the book I finished waiting for blood work to be done. Dead Connection by Charlie Price focuses on Murray Keifer, a loner teen with an unfortunate name. His mother has gentlemen callers all hours of the day and night, so he spends most of his time in the town cemetery talking to the people who had died young. When he concentrates he can envision what they looked like when they died and hear them talk back to him. The dead get lonely with no one to talk to.

While in the cemetery one day, he can hear the voice of a girl garbled and scattered as if she were beyond upset and incomprehensible. Could this be Nikki Parker, the missing high school cheerleader? And if so, where is she in the cemetery? With the caretaker's daughter, Murray will have to search out the voice and try to convince police to listen to the dead.

The book is broken down into different viewpoints--Murray, an alcoholic cop who has it out for Murray, a sheriff investigator obsessed with Nikki's disappearance, and a schizophrenic young adult who may or may not have witnessed (was involved in?) her abduction. Each viewpoint is in individual chapters that range from one to five pages long. Short chapters have always appealed to me as I love built-in stopping points for breaks. If I have to put a book down, then I want it to be at the end of a chapter. Granted, this book I read in a waiting room and finished with no breaks.

It's a fast read. If you like crime mysteries or ghost/supernatural stories I think you'll find this one quite enjoyable.

The Explosionist

In The Explosionist Jenny Davidson presents an altered world, one in which Napolean won at Waterloo. By the year 1938 when the book takes place, much has changed. Famous writers in our world are scientists in Sophie's. Sigmund Freud has a radio talk show. Alexander "Tolstoy" Bell is mentioned, and Spiritualism is still in full swing because everyone knows that communication with the dead is not only possible but scientifically proven.

Our narrator, Sophie, lives in Scotland, now a major munitions producing nation, part of the New Hanseatic League and most importantly, free from English rule. But all is not well. Terrorists from the Brotherhood of the Northern Alliance have been setting off bombs, and one explodes at Sophie's elite private school for girls, shattering all the windows in her science classroom. Shortly afterward, Sophie attends a seance at her great-aunt (and guardian's) home and realizes she has an affinity for contacting departed spirits. Sophie uses both her newfound ability and her love for science to investigate when a few days later the medium from the seance is murdered, her throat slashed in a nearby hotel. Soon Sophie and her best friend, Mikael, are being followed by dodgy characters, and then Sophie uncovers a secret of chilling proportions, one that might destroy her fellow classmates and Sophies herself. (I can't go into this part very much or I will spoil important plot points. Suffice it to say, it was ghoulish, so I loved it.) On top of it all, Scotland is on the verge of war, meaning the world might change all over again.

Readers will enjoy this book whether or not they catch all of the historical (historically altered, that is) references. These 453 pages fly by. It's hard to label The Explosionist with one genre label since it is all at once supernatural, mystery, sci-fi, adventure, romance. . . and sorta-kinda historical fiction of the "what if this happened instead of that happened" variety. This will also appeal to varying age levels since the language is easy to understand (for the most part; some readers might be thrown by the British slang) and there is no sex or foul language to upset parents or teachers.

I smell a sequel on the horizon. I'll look forward to it because I really liked Sophie and although the conclusion of the book was satisfying, there were some big plot lines left wide open for further elaboration.

Kiss Me, Kill Me

Imagine the first guy you ever kissed dropped dead at your feet two minutes later. That's the fate that befalls sixteen-year-old Scarlette Wakefield in Kiss Me, Kill Me.

Scarlette has always been an outsider at her posh British girls' school. She spends her days practicing gymnastics and hanging out with a few gym friends, while living with a strict chaperone (Scarlette's parents are dead) who allows her little freedom. The ruling clique, led by beautiful. wicked, and uber-rich Plum Saybourne, has always snubbed Scarlette, so she's shocked when one of the golden girls invites her to a private party. She's even more shocked when the gorgeous object of her affection, Dan McAndrew, shows interest in her and gives her her first kiss on the secluded garden patio. The kissing goes great. . . until Dan suddenly stops breathing and moments later dies.

Scarlette is branded as the "Kiss of Death" girl. Though the inquest clears her of murder, no one can understand what killed Dan. All anyone can assume is that Scarletter's kiss did him in. Guilt-ridden and socially ruined, Scarlette is forced to transfer schools. And it is there that she receives an anonymous note that reads only, "It wasn't your fault."

Determined to solve the mystery of Dan's death, Scarlette begins to investigate and learns much more than she anticipated about the golden clique and Plum Saybourne. Her gymnastic skills come in handy while spying. She forms a tenuous friendship with another outcast, and slowly the two begin to unravel the clues to Dan's demise.

I quite liked this book, especially its British setting. Now I am using words like "knackered" instead of "tired" and "lift" instead of "elevator." But I have always been an Anglophile. I love Scarlette's character and read the book quickly. Much to my chagrin, the mystery is not entirely solved at story's end--why is it I seem to be picking up books that are first in a series these days?--but there was enough of a conclusion to make for a good ending. I'm looking forward to the next installment and in the meantime recommending this as a good mystery read.

Lily Dale: Awakening

I just finished Wendy Corsi’s Lily Dale: Awakening. After Calla’s mother dies, Calla goes to spend the summer with her estranged maternal grandmother in Lily Dale, a spiritualist community in New York. Almost everyone in Lily Dale is psychic, including Calla’s grandmother. At first Calla is skeptical, fearing she’s wound up in the loony bin, but slowly she comes to accept that psychic phenomena is real—and that she might be capable of communing with the dead.

I liked this book but had some frustrations with it, not the least of which was learning that it’s book one in a series. Many unanswered questions remain at the end. For instance, the reader suspects that Calla’s mother’s death is due to foul play and that a certain mysterious character is involved, but since Calla herself doesn’t realize this until the very last page, the mystery isn’t resolved. In fact, the reader realizes several things much, much sooner than Calla ever does, and this is a big aggravation. Since Calla doesn’t get things—and one presumes the author thought the reader wouldn’t get them either—the same information is repeated again and again. And again. Details important to the plot are practically written in pulsating neon script, so by the time Calla finally puts the pieces together the plot twists aren’t exactly the revelations they were meant to be. Rather than saying, “Oh, wow!” I often found myself thinking, “Yeah, Captain Obvious, I figured that out fifty pages back.”

Despite these few frustrations, the story is an interesting one. I liked the complications of Calla’s love life—dumped by her long-time boyfriend in a text message, Calla goes on to catch the eye of two handsome guys in Lily Dale—as well as the mysteries established (but not solved) in the first book. When I turned the last page I definitely wanted to know the outcomes to several plot points. Luckily the second book, Lily Dale: Believing, comes out today. I just hope that the author decided to go with a more subtle hand when writing the second installment.

Ooh, and while looking up the book on Amazon.com I discovered a nonfiction book about the real town of Lily Dale. Can’t wait to read about the real place.

Edenville Owls

I just finished Edenville Owls by Robert B. Parker. It is the prolific mystery writer's first book for teens. Taking place just after WWII and full of period detail, this book could be considered historical fiction. But wait, it's also about a basketball team hoping to win a big tournament, so it could be considered a sports read. But wait again, most of the plot centers on the mystery of the strange man threatening fourteen-year-old Bobby's teacher, so it could also be considered a mystery-suspense novel.

One book, three genres, same price---which is absolutely free if you get it at your local library. You can't beat that with a stick and eat it.

I liked the book, finding it a fast, easy and entertaining read. Parker really made me feel like he knew the 1940s era. I liked the main character's relative naivete, coupled with his earnest desire to be a "good man." I couldn't have cared less about the basketball aspect of the story, but I'm sure people who are actually interested in sports would appreciate it. I liked the main character and his gang of friends (though I really couldn't tell one friend from the other, aside from the one who was female). All in all, this is a good fast book, one that would be a very successful recommendation to a reluctant reader, especially a boy. This was definitely a stereotypically "boy" book. It's also good for younger teen readers, though older readers will appreciate it too. Though there are some serious themes like racism and violence, there is nothing over the top, and for parents who worry about such things as naughty language, aside from two instances of swear words and two racial epithets, language shouldn't be an issue--all of the shocking utterances make perfect sense in their context, it should be noted.

My quibbles with the novel are few. The thing that struck me most glaringly was the overly simplistic language the author chose to use. Sentence structure was repetitive and very simple. I wondered if Parker had dumbed down his prose or if his books for adults are like this too. I certainly hope Parker didn't feel the need to simplify his language for his teen audience as that would be fairly insulting. However, I got used to the choppy sentences after awhile and just accepted that it was his style. Plus, the plot was good enough to keep me hooked and turning the pages so I forgave the simple style. My second quibble is that the characters of some of the supporting cast, notably the teacher, Miss Delaney, are pretty flat. Miss Delaney is basically the damsel in distress, one with an interesting back story but not enough oomph on her own. Since Miss Delaney is essential for plot only and not as important as our main character or his best friend, Joanie, for whom he has conflicted feelings, her lack of spark tended not to matter overmuch. I noticed it, but let it go. My final quibble: I wish this had a jazzier title than Edenville Owls.

All in all I enjoyed this book. It might even inspire me to try one of his adult books. But that will have to wait until I work through the mound of teen books I have checked out right now. Look forward to more posts coming soon!

Sparkle Sparkle!

I know you're not supposed to judge books by their covers, but I have to confess: I do it all the time. A good cover will draw me towards a book I normally wouldn't read, but a bad cover, oooohhhh.... a bad cover can drive me screaming from the bookshelf, trembling in fear.

Not really, but it sounded good, didn't it? Anyway, I'm getting ready for the Mock Printz discussion, which focuses on teen books. And I've read a lot of books on the list, but not all, and I have a bunch to work through.


One of those books is Bad Kitty by Michelle Jaffe. And to be honest, I read this one first because I thought I would like it the least. Judging by it's cover (I know!) which is pink and features a sparkly silver cat, this book is capital G-I-R-L-Y -- totally not my cup of tea. I'm really glad that I read it though, because Bad Kitty is seriously awesome.

Jaz is a sixteen year old with a serious gift for getting into impossible situations, and a keen interest in crime and detection. She’s always getting into trouble with her genius, massively over-protective father. After losing out on a sweet internship in the LAPD crime lab, she’s suffering through a family vacation at the Venetian hotel in Vegas with the Thwarter (dad), Sherri! (step-mom), her evil cousin Ashley and Ashley's hench-twin Veronique. To make things more bearable, Jaz has decided to be a Model Daughter, just like the one’s in the Hallmark ads.

However, when a three-legged cat lands on her chest down by the pool, it gets the naturally nosy Jaz and her three best friends into a complicated situation involving supermodels, murderers, hot British guys, BeDazzlers, guns, underwear and cosmetics used as forensic tools. My favorite thing about this book is how funny it is. Jaz seems like she'd be really cool to hang out with, as she's sarcastic and smart, and all her friends are crazy, but in the fun way. Jaffe puts a lot of entertaining details that make me smile, like Sherri!, who spells her name with an exclamation point, or the fact that Jaz wears Kermit the Frog underwear.

If you a reader who demands a stark realism from your books, you might want to skip this, as the predicaments Jaz and her posse get into are pretty far-fetched, and Jaz and her rich, gorgeous friends are sort of unbelievable too. Normally the "too perfect" syndrome turns me off from a book, but Bad Kitty is so much fun,fast-paced, witty and fizzy, that I really didn't mind at all.

I probably won't stop judging books by their covers, but at least I've learned that some pink and sparkly books are worth a second look.