Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

Release Date: 26 March 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: ARC

Get a copy! Amazon

Goodreads description:

When Mallory’s boyfriend, Jeremy, cheats on her with an online girlfriend, Mallory decides the best way to de-Jeremy her life is to de-modernize things too. Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in 1962, Mallory swears off technology and returns to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn’t cheat with computer avatars). The List:

1. Run for pep club secretary
2. Host a fancy dinner party/soiree
3. Sew a dress for Homecoming
4. Find a steady
5. Do something dangerous

But simple proves to be crazy-complicated, and the details of the past begin to change Mallory’s present. Add in a too-busy grandmother, a sassy sister, and the cute pep-club presient–who just happens to be her ex’s cousin–and soon Mallory begins to wonder if going vintage is going too far.

My Thoughts...

The Dead and the Buried by Kim Harrington

Release Date: 1 January 2013

Publisher: Scholastic
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon

Goodreads description:

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Broken by A.E. Rought

Release Date: January 2013

Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher

Get a copy! Amazon

Goodreads description:

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.

When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.

The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Andy Squared by Jennifer Lavoie

Release Date: 18 September 2012

Publisher: Bold Strokes Books (Bella Distribution)
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

Seventeen-year-old twins, Andrew and Andrea Morris, have always been close. They share everything—from their friends to a room—and they both enjoy star positions on their high school’s soccer teams. All’s right with the twins...or is it?

When new student Ryder Coltrane moves from Texas to their small New York town, he spins Andrew’s world upside down. All of Andrew’s past relationship troubles begin to make sense and his true feelings start to click into place after Ryder comes out to him. His friendship with Ryder turns secretively romantic, but secrets, they soon find out, are hard to keep. Once rumors start to fly, so-called friends turn on them, and the boys’ relationship turns into a bomb about to explode. But Andrew never expected it would be his own twin, Andrea, holding a lighter to ignite it.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: The Dream Slayer by Jill Cooper

Release Date: 29 June 2012
Publisher: Self-published
Source: SupaGirl Book Tours

Book Description:

When your dreams come true, sometimes you get more than you bargained for...


Natalie Johnson has always dreamed she’s someone else; calm, beautiful, in control. A chosen warrior with a maniacal arch nemesis and a dreamy boyfriend, the type that can make your knees quiver and your heart melt. Real life is much different. She’s tormented by a bully and endures the sharp tongue of her father, but finds solace in her dreams. When her bully ends up dead, de ja vu from a dream hits her hard as everything around her begins to fall apart. Whatever killed Sarah in her dreams is now in reality, hunting her from the shadows. And it wants her dead. Somehow as the lines between reality and nightmare blur, Natalie must discover hidden strength to pull her friends and family back from the brink of madness.

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

Release Date: 1 October 2012

Publisher: Sourcbooks Fire
Format: ARC
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Goodreads description:

After a scandal rocks their conservative small town, 17-year-old Parker Shelton goes overboard trying to prove that she won't turn out like her mother: a lesbian. The all-star third-baseman quits the softball team, drops 20 pounds and starts making out with guys--a lot. But hitting on the hot new assistant baseball coach might be taking it a step too far...especially when he starts flirting back.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Release Date: 24 April 2012

Publisher: Walker Childrens
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.

When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free?

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe

Release Date: 1 May 2012

Publisher: Amulet Books
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy!

Goodreads description:

Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

My Thoughts...

Friday Fling! The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

 

During Friday Fling , I share with you a "just for fun" romance book or novella that I read and really enjoyed.  It will generally be a "mini review" instead of a full review and I'll often stray from my YA focus into the realm of adult romance (which, in case you're curious, is my not-so-guilty pleasure).  These are books that I think are fun, quick reads that are definitely worth checking out!



I haven't featured a YA novel on Friday for awhile so I wanted to spotlight a really fun book that I read this week!

Publisher:Little Brown/Poppy
Release Date: 7 September 2010
Get it! Amazon | B&N

Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. (from GR)

There was just SOMETHING about this novel that really, truly pulled me in.  In discussing it with a friend shortly after finishing it, I think that what really struck me was the depth of the characters and the way in which Kody Keplinger nailed teenage emotions (perhaps because she was so young herself when she wrote this). The characters felt like real people to me and they all had their ups and downs.  I enjoyed watching the not-a-relationship relationship develop between Biana and Wesley and picking out the moments when there was clearly a shift in one or both of them.  Also, I really liked her friends because they were not at all like I expected them to be (in a good way).

YA Book Review: Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova

Release Date: 1 May 2012

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

For Tristan Hart, everything changes with one crashing wave.

He was gone for three days. Sucked out to sea in a tidal wave and spit back ashore at Coney Island with no memory of what happened. Now his dreams are haunted by a terrifying silver mermaid with razor-sharp teeth.

His best friend Layla is convinced something is wrong. But how can he explain he can sense emotion like never before? How can he explain he’s heir to a kingdom he never knew existed? That he’s suddenly a pawn in a battle as ancient as the gods.

Something happened to him in those three days. He was claimed by the sea…and now it wants him back.

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein

Release Date: 15 May 2012

Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher

Get a copy! B&N | Amazon

Goodreads description:

Amy is fine living in the shadows of beautiful Lila and uber-cool Cassie, because at least she’s somewhat beautiful and uber-cool by association. But when their dates stand them up for prom, and the girls take matters into their own hands—earning them a night in jail outfitted in satin, stilettos, and Spanx—Amy discovers even a prom spent in handcuffs might be better than the humiliating “rehabilitation techniques” now filling up her summer. Worse, with Lila and Cassie parentally banned, Amy feels like she has nothing—like she is nothing.

Navigating unlikely alliances with her new coworker, two very different boys, and possibly even her parents, Amy struggles to decide if it’s worth being a best friend when it makes you a public enemy.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: The One The I Want by Jennifer Echols

Release Date: 6 December 2011 (eBook version only)

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased from B&N

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Gemma can’t believe her luck when the star football player starts flirting with her. Max is totally swoon-worthy, and even gets her quirky sense of humor. So when he asks out her so-called best friend Addison, Gemma’s heartbroken.

Then Addison pressures Gemma to join the date with one of Max’s friends. But the more time they all spend together, the harder Gemma falls for Max. She can’t help thinking that Max likes her back—it’s just too bad he’s already dating Addison. How can Gemma get the guy she wants without going after her best friend’s boyfriend

My Thoughts...

Look! Another contemporary read that I enjoyed! *gasp* Are you getting the feeling that I might actually *like* contemporary YA sometimes? You're probably right and someday I will stop thinking and espousing that I don't.

Gemma is a really interesting chracter and I liked her, but I'm not sure that I ever *loved* her.  I connected with her in a lot of ways and she is clearly really looking for where she fits in. From the start, I found myself disliking both of her supposed best friends, Robert and Addison. Neither seemed to really fit the bill, and I thought that Gemma was really more friends with them because she was "supposed" to be?  Either way, I felt like Gemma realized that those friendships weren't what she really needed.  I was disappointed at her actions a couple of times because I guess I expected more for her and really wanted her to stand up for herself...but at the same time she felt authentic. Does that make sense? High school is confusing in so many ways and Gemma was a perfect exemplar of that.

Max is a totally swoon-worthy male lead and really difficult not to like! There were points when I seriously wanted him to slap some sense into Gemma and tell her she was awesome and being stupid.  I had a sneaking suspicion about what Addison had done when it came to that first date and I kept hoping that Max would set the record straight.  In the end, he does get Gemma to see some sense and I liked that he pushed her a little.

The One that I Want is a fun, quick read that fans of contemporary YA will love.  It's endearing story of friendship and "love" is enjoyable if not just a little predictable.  The romance is well-done and the characters are relateable but I think readers will see the end coming from the moment you meet the boys. Despite that, I really did think that it was an endearing story and a VERY quick read.

YA Book Review: Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser

Release Date: 8 March 2012

Publisher: Flux
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

Two families. Four teens.
A summer full of secrets.

Every summer, hidden away in a lakeside community in upstate New York, four teens leave behind their old identities…and escape from their everyday lives.

Yet back in Philadelphia during the school year, Alex cannot suppress his anger at his father (who killed himself), his mother (whom he blames for it), and the girls who give it up too easily. His younger brother, Kyle, is angry too—at his abusive brother, and at their mother who doesn’t seem to care. Meanwhile, in suburban New Jersey, Katie plays the role of Miss Perfect while trying to forget the nightmare that changed her life. But Julie, her younger sister, sees Katie only as everything she’s not. And their mother will never let Julie forget it.

Up at the lake, they can be anything, anyone. Free. But then Katie’s secret gets out, forcing each of them to face reality—before it tears them to pieces.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Pretty Crooked by Elisa Ludwig

Release Date: 13 March 2012

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads description:

Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple: take from the rich kids at Valley Prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her ultra-exclusive high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”-known to everyone as the Glitterati-without them suspecting a thing, is far from easy. Learning how to pick pockets and break into lockers is as difficult as she’d thought it’d be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are ostracized just for being from the “wrong” side of town, is way more fun than she’d expected.

The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, Valley Prep’s most notorious (and gorgeous) ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her-evening the social playing field between the have and have-nots. There’s no time for crushes and flirting with boys, especially conceited and obnoxious trust-funders like Aidan.

But when the cops start investigating the string of burglaries at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could he wind up being the person that Willa trusts most

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: My Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin

Release Date: 1 March 2012

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Format: eBook
Source: eARC via publicist

Get a copy! Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Goodreads description:

Kelsey Finkelstein is fourteen and FRUSTRATED. Every time she tries to live up to her awesome potential, her plans are foiled – by her impossible parents, her annoying little sister, and life in general. But with her first day of high school coming up, Kelsey is positive that things are going to change. Enlisting the help of her three best friends — sweet and quiet Em, theatrical Cass, and wild JoJo — Kelsey gets ready to rebrand herself and make the kind of mark she knows is her destiny.

Things start out great - her arch-nemesis has moved across the country, giving Kelsey the perfect opportunity to stand out on the soccer team and finally catch the eye of her long-time crush. But soon enough, an evil junior’s thirst for revenge, a mysterious photographer, and a series of other catastrophes make it clear that just because KELSEY has a plan for greatness… it doesn’t mean the rest of the world is in on it.

My Thoughts...

Saturday Shorts (1)

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
© 25 October 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children 

 Perry's not exactly excited when his parents decide that he has to take the foreign exchange student to the prom.  She's more than a little strange and hasn't made many attempts to really fit in.  However, prom is the least of Perry's concerns as the night progresses.  What starts as a short trip into the city becomes a wild adventure of epic proportions as Gobi jets around the city taking out her intended targets.  Oh, yeah, she's some kind of assassin.

Au Revoir is a fun, quick-paced read.  Perry and Gobi become quite the dynamic-duo in the course of the evening, and if you're anything like me, you'll find yourself enjoying them quite a bit.  The writing is fantastic and Schreiber has crafted this short novel perfectly.  The chapter titles are college admission questions and they're quite appropriate.

Between Sea & Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

© 25 October 2011 by Bloomsbury USA Children's Books 

Esmerine and her sister, Dosinia, have always had a bit of curiously about the world above the sea, but Esmerine would never dream of abandoning her family and her calling as a siren.  When Dosinia disappears after talking about human acquaintances, Esmerine takes it upon herself to find out what's become of her.  Enlisting the help of her long-ago friend Alander, who belongs to a winged race of people, Esermine journeys on to the land in search of her sister and finds more than she bargained for.

Between the Sea and Sky was a fun, short read that really entrances the imagination.  The characters are easy to love (who doesn't love a pair as in love with books as many of us are?) and their journey is rocky.  There's no insta-love or love triangles to be found here but a rocky new beginning for long ago friends. The plotline and its message are lovely and will easily entice many a reader. 

YA Book Review: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Release Date: 2 August 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Get a copy!

Goodreads description:

Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

My Thoughts...

 Epic Fail was a fabulous cute, feel-good novel! Elise Benton is determined to be different from all of the other girls at school when it comes to the very handsome son of two famous movie actors.   While everyone else falls at his feet and lets him do whatever he wants, Claire treats him with just a little disdain and a whole lot of caution.  Despite his rare smiles and nice moments, she goes off with Webster Grant, who turns out to be more than a little disappointing.

This was a fun, very quick read (that I picked up and finished in the course of an evening).  Elise is a strong-willed young woman determined not to fall into the "traps" of the celebrity town that she has just moved to.  Derek is a reserved guy wary of any and all attention because most of it comes solely as a result of his parents' celebrity status.  Despite their differences and some arguments, they tend to get thrown together frequently she Elise's sister, Juliana, is fairly shy and reserved and begs Elise to join her when hanging out with Chase, her boyfriend.

While you may be wary of reading yet another Jane Austen retelling, Epic Fail is actually a fun book to read. This book relies on its characters and their chemistry to move the plot along and Ms. LaZebnik did a fabulous job with doing just that.  While I have to admit that a lot doesn't happen, the author is completely successful and pulling you into the lives of the characters and actually making you care what happens to them.  I would definitely recommend this one if you're looking for something that's quick and fun to read.

YA Book Review: Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

Release Date: 27 December 2011

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

Get a copy! B&N | Amazon

Goodreads description:

My wish
is to fall
cranium over Converse
in dizzy, daydream-worthy
love.

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father.

By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "vacation" has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But understanding love, especially when you've watched your parents' affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? can you even know it until you've lost it?

My Thoughts...

I absolutely fell in LOVE with this book.  I was a bit apprehensive going into this one because, honestly, I wasn't 100% sure that I was going to like it and I'm not sure what impulse I was following when I pre-ordered it (honestly? I probably wanted free shipping.).  Anyway, now that I've read it, I'm really glad that I did buy this one because I loved the writing and the story and the verse format actually makes it really easy to go back and enjoy favorite moments and verses.

Even if the story was cute and the protagonist completely relateable, the beautiful words in this book would have captured and held my attention all the way from page one to page four hundred and thirty-two.  Like I said at the beginning, I was unsure about the verse format but in the end it is my absolute favorite thing about this story.  The diary format gives a lot of depth of emotion to Marcie's character and makes it easy to relate to her situation, her feelings, and her confusion.

Marcie was a character who felt entirely real to me and even if (when) her actions were wrong, I understood why she was doing it and I think that many readers will relate to her struggles. She was a very three-dimensional character for me. I felt like I knew her on much more than just a surface level. The poetry reveals a lot about her inner thoughts and feelings and says a lot about her personality.

This was such a quick read that I can't NOT recommend that you read it.  The language is beautiful.  The characters are perfectly flawed and very real.  The story itself could happen to anyone. It's absolutely fabulous--be sure to check it out. :)

(ARC) YA Book Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Release Date: 1 March 2012

Publisher: Amulet Books (Abrams Imprint)
Format: ARC
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Goodreads description:

Up until senior year, Greg has maintained total social invisibility. He only has one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time—when not playing video games and avoiding Earl’s terrifying brothers— making movies, their own versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Greg would be the first one to tell you his movies are f*@$ing terrible, but he and Earl don’t make them for other people. Until Rachel. Rachel has leukemia, and Greg’s mom gets the genius idea that Greg should befriend her. Against his better judgment and despite his extreme awkwardness, he does. When Rachel decides to stop treatment, Greg and Earl make her a movie, and Greg must abandon invisibility and make a stand. It’s a hilarious, outrageous, and truthful look at death and high school by a prodigiously talented debut author..

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman

Release Date: 1 August 2011
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Purchased

Buy It! Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Goodreads description:

Abby and Luke chat online. They've never met. But they are going to. Soon.

Abby is starting high school—it should be exciting, so why doesn't she care? Everyone tells her to "make an effort," but why can't she just be herself? Abby quickly feels like she's losing a grip on her once-happy life. The only thing she cares about anymore is talking to Luke, a guy she met online, who understands. It feels dangerous and yet good to chat with Luke—he is her secret, and she's his. Then Luke asks her to meet him, and she does. But Luke isn't who he says he is. When Abby goes missing, everyone is left to put together the pieces. If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.

My Thoughts...