Jory is getting ready to embark on her senior year. But there are a few things that she wants to accomplish over the summer that are essential to senior year success. One is to find her passion. Jory is very uncoordinated and appears to lack grace. She tries yoga, after her mother’s cabbage soup diet…not a good combination. Her second goal is to turn her crush on Tyler into a reality. But Tyler and her friends have other plans. And finally, she has to get a summer job to save up for a nose job. She is convinced that having a more perfect nose will make her more appealing to everyone.
Let’s just say that Salter weaves an intricate tale of “You can’t always get what you want” and “the grass isn’t always greener” through a series of hilarious and heartwarming mishaps all starring Jory and her friends. I read this book in one sitting and have already dug into the next one that Ms. Salter sent me for the library! I was thirty pages into Swoon at Your Own Risk when I realized I was burning dinner! Ms. Salter is an author to watch…check out her website: http://www.sydneysalter.com/.
In the nature of Carl Hiaason’s YA novels Hoot and Flush, Kristen Chandler’s first novel is set in Yellowstone National Park where the wolf population is dwindling after their reintroduction. KJ is an outdoorsy type girl who loves to spend time with her dad leading fishing and hiking expeditions out of their small town of West End, Montana. But when Virgil and his mom show up, life in their peaceful sleepy town get stirred up. KJ finds herself in the midst of a battle between those who want to save the wolves and the ranchers who want them destroyed.
I read this book while I was on a vacation in Kansas and had very little to do in between meetings. I found that I wanted to keep reading because just when I thought I had the bad guys figured out, the plot twisted. I was captivated by the rich characters and innovative plot. The theme for this book would be Team Virgil or Team Ranchers…I am so Team Virgil!!! Her website is awesome! http://www.krischandlerstories.com/
Ben Campbell is mad when he and his two dads move from the gritty city streets where temptation to act out is abundant to Rough Butte, Montana where life is as slow as molasses. Ben is even more stymied when they move in and he meets his next door neighbor, Billy.
Billy’s dad is not treating Billy right and Ben is determined to find out what is behind all of the angry words and actions. In the midst of all of the turmoil next door, Ben makes friends, and enemies, in the small town as he lets his hair spikes and guard down and opens himself up to new experiences.
It was difficult to say what I liked most about this book. Ben is a very like-able character who is obviously trying to figure out where he belongs. His dad is struggling with his own identity in this small town. His new Grandma is also one tough old bat, but she is just watching out for Ben. Or if I liked Billy the most. Sweet, misunderstood, obedient Billy who just wants someone to love him. For a first novel, Harmon has done a spectacular job of creating a believable story line with endearing characters. I picked it up and didn’t set it down until I was done! Spectacular!
Check out Michael Harmon on his website at: http://www.booksbyharmon.com
Lifted is Wendy Toliver’s third young adult novel and I must say, edgiest! Main character, Poppy, has just moved to a small town in Texas after having lived in Boulder, Colorado. She is enrolled in a Baptist School and she is not really sure exactly where she is going to fit in. While she is not exactly a bad girl, she isn’t exactly a model citizen either and she makes friends with two of the most popular girls at school. But she finds out that they have a bad habit. One that she takes to like a fish takes to water. She learns the exhilaration and rush that shoplifting gives her. The question is…will she be able to stop and still keep her friends?
I loved this book. Poppy is a believeable character with dynamic personality. I really wanted her to be successful in her attempts to stop lifting. But more, I really wanted her to get with the preacher’s son, David. But more, I wanted to see her and her mom have a real conversation without fighting. Toliver has woven a plot that kept me turning pages til the very end! I didn’t predict how all of it would come to a close, because the ending was so surprising. I want to see more of Poppy and her friends or more edgy characters like her! Great novel.
Look for it on the bookshelves at PVMS and at local booksellers!
Pic from: http://www.wendytoliver.com/lifted.htm
Fifteen year old Evie has found herself in Florida on vacation with her Stepfather and mother just after the conclusion of World War II. Her stapfather, Joe, is a appliance salesman and after receiving a phone call in a long line of harassing phone calls, he decides to take the family to Palm Beach on holiday. While down there, Peter, a young soldier from his unit shows up and befriends the family and especially Evie. They both know it is wrong for them to feel for each other, he is 24, but she falls for him none-the-less. But there is something else amiss as the story progresses and Evie gets caught up in a web of lies that eventually are the downfall of poor Peter.
The reviews suggest this book for ages 14 and up for several reasons, there is adultery and some rather heated kissing sessions, but in the context of the whole book the incidents complete the story. This is a well-written compelling thriller (not jump out and scare you, but edge of your seat, are they going to get caught) and is most definitely meant for a more mature audience.
It seems likely that one of my favorite chick lit authors would create yet another fun, inventive and action packed story with an unlikely heroine. Carter, author of I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You, does not disappoint with the introduction of Kat, a reformed thief at the age of 15, who has left the family business and is at the Colgan School, a prestigious school for the rich and famous. But she is framed and then kicked out and pulled into an action packed heist scheme in order to save her dad. She must assemble a crew and pull of a heist that makes the most experienced in the trade tremble and do it all in less than two weeks.
This book is just plain fun! The story, the romantic tension between the players and the eventual twist at the end kept the pages turning til I was done! Readers as young as 5th or 6th grade will enjoy this but that is not to discount its appeal to more mature readers that will pick up on the nuances of the romance developing between the characters. The best part? The ending left a wide opening for a sequel! Can’t wait!
This first person narrative was exactly what I needed in the midst of the vampire fiction I have been so immersed in lately! Set in the future on the cusp of World War Three this ‘realistic’ fiction story is about a girl named Daisy, and her new living arrangements. Her eating disorder is the least of her problems when she strikes up a romance with an unlikely, rather inappropriate mate. But her life is turned topsy-turvy when war breaks out and she and her cousin are separated from the rest of her cousins and must find a way to get back to them as quickly as possible.
This story is tainted with the reality of what anorexia does to the lifestyle of a teen as well as showing how passion for another can ignite the spirit and breathe life into a hopeless situation. While the story is not rude, crude or extraordinarily graphic, it does deal with some heavy topics (incest, teen-age intercourse, eating disorders and the realities of war) making it more appropriate for an older audience. It has been reviewed for as young as 12 but I would really recommend 14 and up.
I cried and cried and laughed and cried throughout this book. It was terrific. The characters were uplifting and crazy. The story itself was intertwined with flashbacks that made the characters even more relate-able. Before you do anything else, go to Gayle Forman’s website and watch the book trailer for this title! www.gayleforman.com The trailer says it all.
I “read” this book in a less conventional manner than others. I had a long drive ahead of me and I listened to it on CD. It was the perfect book to listen to. The intonation in the reader’s voice, the pauses, the volume…it was magical.
All I will say about the actual plot: Mia’s the only survivor after a car crash kills her family. She is in a coma, but hears all that is happening around her. The ones she loves are gathered around her throughout the story, which takes place over the course of only about 36 hours, and they talk to her in her comatose state. It was uplifting and heart-wrenching at the same time. I loved it!
From the cover of this title, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It sort of looked like it was going to be about this kid who was totally tripped out on some drug during the 70’s. I was seriously taken aback when it was about a regular teenager in today’s times. His family had hit some hard times because his mom just left his dad, his brother is constantly getting high and the girl of his dreams is in the arms of another. But when the world comes knocking (or crashing) at Dylan’s door, he decides to make the most of the situation. He takes life by the horns and becomes the person that nobody expects him to be.
This was a terrific story. It deals with teen-substance abuse and the damage it does not only to the user but the loved ones surrounding them. It deals with emotion as Dylan wrestles with his feelings for Angie, his best friend, come to terms with the separation from his mom, and the ever-increasing gulf forming between him and his brother. It deals with the reality of bad choices effecting chances for making the varsity basketball squad. Not all of the problems have good or easy finishes. It made the story feel more real. Don’t let the cover fool you, this is no 70’s, drug trip, hippy story. This is a story about The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine.
This is Beth Fantaskey’s first book and as an avid reader, I have to admit…It was fabulous! Jessica is your average american teenage girl who spots a rather unseemlly character at her bus stop. She is shaken by his presence but even more shaken when he shows up in her classes. His name is Lucius and he is unmistakeably in love with Jessica! He can’t stay away. Turns out, he is a foreign exchange student that her parents agreed to take in and now he is living with jessica. Only Jessica isn’t interested. She only has eyes for Jake.
The story progresses like many teen romances with a slight twist, Lucius is discovered as a vampire and now Jessica is intrigued. What will she do when she finds out that her and Lucius are bound together by more than just his desire to date her?
This was a very fun book to read. It has a little action, vampires, and some romance all twirled into a great story!
Jory is getting ready to embark on her senior year. But there are a few things that she wants to accomplish over the summer that are essential to senior year success. One is to find her passion. Jory is very uncoordinated and appears to lack grace. She tries yoga, after her mother’s cabbage soup diet…not a good combination. Her second goal is to turn her crush on Tyler into a reality. But Tyler and her friends have other plans. And finally, she has to get a summer job to save up for a nose job. She is convinced that having a more perfect nose will make her more appealing to everyone.
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