The Kiss Quotient

So, I am a romance newb. In my new position developing adult collections, I'm trying to read a little bit of everything. I thoroughly enjoyed this romance I think because it has some great characters that are easy to root for.

Stella, a thirty-something economist in California, is feeling pressure from her mom to be in a relationship and maybe get married and have babies. Not super surprising, right? But for Stella, a woman on the autism spectrum, being in a relationship is not quite as simple as it seems. There's a guy at work who seems suitable, but Stella feels particularly uncomfortable with the physical side of relationships, something she knows will probably get in the way. So she decides to approach this problem like she would a problem at work. Need to know something? Get some training! And she hires an escort to teach her how to be better at sex. Of course the escort she ends up with turns out to be super hot, smart, and kind. Stella knows she's can't fall for him - this is just a financial and educational arrangement, right?

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang is a fun, steamy romance novel with characters that will stay with you. Even though Stella has to work hard at relating to people, she's a protagonist you'll love and root for. And you'll love her dreamy escort Michael, too. The heat here rivals our Southern Indiana summer heat for sure. This is one of those books where you just keep rooting for these crazy kids to get their acts together and end up together!  And since the author is also on the autism spectrum, you know she's writing from an authentic place.

There's a lot of talk about the amount of diversity in romance publishing (hint: it is lacking), so this is a great book to know about and to put on your library shelves for your patrons.

Readalikes:

Readers who prefer modern day romance novels with likeable and well developed characters may also like The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (Berkley, 2018). For more steamy stories among a diverse group of characters, pick up Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswall (William Morrow, 2017). And readers who enjoy the theme of a character with autism looking for love may enjoy The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (Simon & Schuster, 2013).

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Huang. Adult. Berkley, 2018. 336 pages. Reviewed from e-galley.

The Summer of Jordi Perez

This book is just what I wanted to kick off summer: a light, fun romance with enough meat on its bones to keep it interesting and great characters. I would definitely recommend starting this season with The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding. I mean, just look at that bright rainbow cover and you know what a fun book you're getting into.

When Abby scores the fashion internship of her dreams at a boutique store near her home, she's determined to do a good job. She's heard that this summer internship usually leads to a part-time paid position in the fall and Abby is determined to get the job and start her career in fashion. She has no idea she's going to meet the girl of her dreams, fellow intern Jordi Perez. Abby goes to school with Jordi and rumors fly about how Jordi committed arson and went to Juvie, but all Abby can think about is how good it feels to earn a rare Jordi smile. Oh, and the fact that they're competing against each other to earn the fall job.

And Abby's got abundant free time to obsess over Jordi since her best friend is newly in a relationship and her older sister is not coming home for the summer for the first time ever. Luckily, a new unlikely friend, lacrosse-playing Jax, recruits Abby for a quest to find the best burger in Los Angeles. And Jax is a ready sounding board for Abby's pursuit of her crush. 

The combination of summer romance, a quest for burgers, and Abby's passion for fashion made this a really fun read that's perfect for light summer reading. I really appreciate Abby's body positive attitude - she's defined vaguely as "plus sized" - and her quest to enjoy and promote fashion fun at all sizes. I also think this was a very realistic portrayal of a bigger girl being body positive but also being unsure about some things. Abby doesn't love having her photo taken and refuses to post her own photo on her fashion blog. She's self-conscious about being in a swimsuit, even just with her friends. Even though Abby's on the path to body acceptance and she's an advocate for enjoying fashion at any size, she's still got her hangups and that's very realistic.

This is a light romance without a lot of physical action, so a good choice for teens who like romance but don't want graphic physical scenes. Hand it to teen romance fans looking for a breezy, fun summer read.

Readalikes:

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour is another teen lesbian romance that has a similar light, romantic tone and gives a peek into the world of film production much like Jordi gives a peek into the world of boutique fashion.

I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo is another light teen romance with an upbeat, breezy tone and that doesn't have a lot of physical romance.

Book info: 

The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding. Grades 7+ Sky Pony Press, April 2018. 224 pages. Review copy provided by my local library. 

The Sun is Also a Star

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. Grades 7+ Delacorte Press, November 2016. 348 pages. Review copy provided by my local library.

Book Talk: 

Do you believe in love at first sight?

No? You're like Natasha. She doesn't believe in love, she believes in science. Love is just chemical reactions in your brain, nothing to lose your head over. And she's got more important things to worry about right now. Until she meets Daniel.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Yes? You're like Daniel. The poet headed to an interview for Yale. Because his parents demand that he attend "second-best school" Yale if he's not going to follow his brother to "best school" Harvard. But Daniel doesn't care about Yale or Harvard or maybe any college at all. He wants to grab the words in his head and put them down on paper and figure out how to do that. And from the moment he sees Natasha, he knows he feels something. He just has to convince her.

But they only have one day.

Natasha is an undocumented immigrant and her family is being deported back to Jamaica. Tonight.

They are two kids with nothing in common, total opposites in some ways, who meet by happenstance and figure out that they just might believe in love at first sight.

This is an un-put-downable romance story that takes place in a single day, over the course of 12 hours. If you believe in love or if you're ready to be convinced, this is the book for you.

My thoughts:

Yeah, everyone told me this one was great, and that's why I saved it for the 24 in 48 Readathon and I definitely agree. Told in super short chapters that alternate perspectives (mostly between Natasha and Daniel, but occasionally another character jumps in there), the pages in this novel flew by.

It's a sweet love story that has a lot to offer fans of romance books, but there's also a lot being said here about immigrant families and their children. Daniel's parents immigrated to the United States from South Korea and he and his brother were both born in the US. Natasha's family came to New York when she was eight and the city has been her home since then. Now that she's facing the final stretch, her senior year and college applications, she's crushed to learn that they may have to leave.

Both kids have different pressures placed on them by their families. Daniel's parents want him to have a good future - their idea of a good future only. Natasha's parents count on her a lot to help take care of things. At this point, they've both given up on their dreams of America, so it's up to Natasha to try a hail Mary pass and see if there's any loophole that might keep them there.

Along the way, readers get a glimpse into the lives of a few of the supporting characters: a security guard at the immigration building, the paralegal in the lawyer's office, members of Daniel's and Natasha's families. These little glimpses help to flesh out the story completely and also emphasize the way that little ripples can have a big effect on people's lives.

Readalikes:

For readers who enjoy the whirlwind romance I'd suggest Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn or Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.

For readers who enjoy a romance between two teens who are very different, I'd suggest Like No Other by Una Lamarche or Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles.

For more stories from an immigrant's point of view, I'd suggest Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz, American Street by Ibi Zoboi or the memoir In the Country We Love by Diane Guerrero.

Eleanor & Park

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. Grades 8+ St. Martin's Press, February 2013. 320 pages. Reviewed from egalley provided by NetGalley.

It all began on Eleanor's first day at her new school. It began with a bus ride. Anyone who's ridden the bus to school knows that it's a battle ground. It's early and dark and no one wants to give up a seat to themselves. Park was the only one who would move over, so that's where Eleanor sat. Park wasn't even sure why he did it. It's not because Eleanor was pretty, with those weird clothes and frizzy red hair. But it started something. Pretty soon Eleanor was reading his comics over his shoulder when she thought he wouldn't notice. And pretty soon they were both enjoying the same music, Park making mix tapes for her. And pretty soon they were inseparable. But everyone knows that teenage love doesn't last... or does it?

Eleanor & Park is a high stakes love story. Reading it was remembering what it was like to fall in love for the first time, that desperate need to be together, that feeling that somehow this was all going to get taken away the moment you let your guard down. And for Eleanor & Park, there's a lot at stake here, as Rainbow Rowell builds up to a gradual reveal that all is NOT well in Eleanor's world. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say that I think the plot builds on itself really well. The reader gets a sense of what's coming, but that doesn't make it anticlimactic.

We see both Park's and Eleanor's view of this relationship as the narration switches back and forth between them. This book's incredibly character-driven, so it was right up my alley. I love that the reader gets to know both Park and Eleanor so intimately that it feels like they're real people. The book is set in 1986, but the love story is really timeless. Pop culture, music, and technology references place the reader in the time period. The setting will feel retro to teens and pleasingly familiar to adults, and I think it gives this novel a lot of crossover potential.

This is definitely a love story, but it's not what you might think of as a typical romance story. There's a lot of meat to this book. I'd try it on fans of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan or The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. The feel of the book is much different from Rowell's adult novel Attachments, but they're both character-driven and both set in time periods that will have 30-somethings reminiscing.

Eleanor & Park will be on shelves February 26.

Born Wicked

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood. Grades 7 and up. G.P. Putnam's Sons, February 2012. 327 pages. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

The Cahill sisters have a secret: just like their late mother, they have magic. If the Brothers knew, they would arrest them all and send them away. Cate's determined to protect her sisters, just as she promised her mother. But with her intention day looming, Cate's got some big decisions to make. Should she marry, even though it means she would move to the city and leave her sisters to fend for themselves? Can she face joining the Sisterhood instead? Does she even love the one man who has proposed to her? And are the Cahill sisters the subject of a dire prophecy that foretells one of them changing the world forever?

I found Born Wicked to be an unexpected delight and now (of course), I'm clamoring for the next book (and the first one hasn't even been released yet... woe is me ;).

It started off a little slow, or maybe I was just concentrating too hard on piecing together the setting and the society. Born Wicked is set in Maine in the late 19th century, after most of the witches who immigrated to America for religious freedom had been killed off or gone into hiding. Once I got a grip on the world, I was quickly caught up in Cate's romantic intrigues and the mystery surrounding the prophecy. The romance was definitely swoon-worthy, even though it's not graphic. As Cate wavers between two potential suitors, the tension mounts and Jessica Spotswood builds it perfectly. The twists and turns in the story kept me on my toes and kept me turning the pages and I'll definitely be seeking out the next book in the series.

I'd definitely hand this debut to teens who dig stories about witches and magic. It'll satisfy those who can't get enough of the paranormal romance books and I might also try it on fans of The Luxe by Anna Godbersen and Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan.

A note on the cover: Okay, it's pretty. But a photo of a girl laying in the grass in her skivvies under the title BORN WICKED... I guess my mind goes to bad places. (Although that might be the very thing that entices teens to pick it up...)

Born Wicked will be on shelves February 7!

Lola and the Boy Next Door

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Grades 8+ Dutton, September 2011. 338 pages. Reviewed from ARC snagged at ALA.

Things are going pretty well for Lola Nolan. She's got a loving family, good friends, a hot, rocker boyfriend, and big plans to create a splash at the winter formal with a Marie Antoinette-inspired gown she's making herself. And then her next-door neighbors the Bells move back in. Lola kinda had a thing for Cricket Bell, but it all blew up and then he moved away. But now that Lola's actually happy with her life, Cricket's back and suddenly everything is very complicated indeed. Lola thought she had moved on, but has she really?

I enjoyed Stephanie Perkins's debut novel, Anna and the French Kiss, and my expectations were high for this companion novel. I liked Lola and the Boy Next Door. I liked it, but I didn't love it... The love triangle romantic tension* was not entirely successful and I spent a lot of the book being frustrated by Lola. That's about as much as I can say without spoilers, I think.

HOWEVER. (And this is a huge however.) The last quarter of the book made up for almost every frustration I had with the first bit. And there was a lot that I loved about this book. Stephanie Perkins creates swoon-worthy characters and sensual scenes that aren't sexually explicit. She perfectly captures how the touch of a finger on a wrist can be so electrifying.

I also loved the details about the characters that brought them to life and made them into real people. I love Lola's costume stuff, I love that Cricket is into science, I love that Andy bakes pies. I also loved the glimpses of San Francisco and Berkeley that Ms. Perkins weaves into the story. And she gets definite bonus points for giving Lola gay parents.

Of course, fans of Anna and the French Kiss are going to be rabid for this one, so make sure it's on your radar. Anna and Etienne have a small part in this book! And I will definitely be following Stephanie Perkins and picking up whatever she writes (a third companion book, Isla and the Happily Ever After, is slated for Fall 2012 release).

Lola and the Boy Next Door will be on shelves September 29!

* Awkward, awkward phrasing, but Stephanie Perkins is pretty adamant that her book's not about a love triangle. I guess I don't know what else to call it, though.

Past Perfect

Past Perfect by Leila Sales. Grades 8+ Simon Pulse, October 2011. 322 pages. Reviewed from e-galley provided by publisher.

When Chelsea returns to another summer of working at Essex Historical Colonial Village, she knows what she's getting herself into: a sweaty costume, clueless tourists, and the same old, same old. At least her best friend is joining her this year! But when Chelsea discovers that her ex-boyfriend Ezra is also working at Essex, she doesn't know how she's going to deal. As much as she wants to be, she's just not over him, and the thought of spending the whole summer working with him is almost more than she can bear.

Then Chelsea meets a new dreamy guy, Dan. The problem? He works for Essex's rival historical village across the street (yes, really!). How did this summer get so complicated?

Love. Love!! So much love for this book. Y'all know I loved Leila Sales's debut, Mostly Good Girls, so you know I was really looking forward to this book. I am happy to report that it met all my (high) expectations. In fact, I'm reading over my notes and... wow, there are a lot of exclamation marks and hearts. :)

The first thing that caught my attention is Chelsea's wit and unexpected dry humor. As soon as I met her, I knew this was a chick I could settle down and spend some time with. And Leila Sales has a way of capturing scenes so that they feel so very realistic. From that crushed feeling after your first love crumbles to a perfect lazy summer night spent on a trampoline with a budding love interest, Ms. Sales gets it and she's able to write so  that all her readers will get it, too.

As I was reading, I thought to myself that parts of the story were predictable in a comforting, romance-novel type of way. But then Chelsea goes on to examine her past relationships in a deep way that takes the book to another level. It's a hard thing to do, but not once did I doubt that Chelsea was capable of it. It felt genuine and organic, which is a mark of a truly talented writer. Chelsea's learning that we choose to remember things a certain way, that we can hold on to our past or we can let go of our past. And sometimes we need to let go of our past to move forward. These are such important lessons to learn, but not once did I feel like Leila Sales was trying to teach me something.

Honestly, I wish I could hand this book to my 18-year-old self when I was clobbered by love and needed to learn the same things that Chelsea's learning. Um, and if I'm being completely honest, I wish I could also hand it to my 22-year-old self. Ahem.

Seriously. So much love for this book. Partly funny. Partly romantic. Partly serious. Completely wonderful.

(I do have to note that I'm not a huge fan of the cover. It's definitely cute, but I don't think it's representative of the book and it leaves out the piece that intrigued me the most: a girl working at a living history museum. I wasn't a fan of the cover of Mostly Good Girls either, so... yeah.)

Past Perfect will be on shelves October 4. Normally, I would wait until much closer to the pub date to post my review, but I just couldn't hold it in any longer. I DEMAND THAT YOU PUT THIS ON YOUR RADAR.

#48HBC: Rainbow Boys

Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez. Grades 9+ Simon & Schuster, 2001. 233 pages. Reviewed from purchased copy.

Kyle's always known he was gay, but he's not out yet, terrified about what his parents will think and what he'll have to face at school. Better to hide behind his best friend Nelson and dream about the sports star Jason from afar...

Nelson is out and proud and doesn't care what anyone thinks. Except he really cares what Kyle thinks because Nelson just might be in love with him...

Jason knows he's not gay because he has a girlfriend and they have sex. But then why does he think about guys sometimes? And how would he deal if anyone ever found out?

Told in alternating perspectives, Rainbow Boys is the story of three very different guys coming to terms with their sexuality.

What I love about this story is that we have three guys with very different situations trying to figure out their feelings and how to fit in at the same school. Nelson's mom is extremely supportive, vice-president of the local PFLAG chapter. Jason's dad is an alcoholic who flies into a rage at the very thought of anyone gay coming into his house.

And besides being a story about coming out and dealing with homosexuality, this is a story about a love triangle. It's a story about first times, crushes, and new love. The way Kyle feels about Jason - hyperaware of where he is at all times, tongue-tied whenever they get a chance to talk - is something that a lot of teens (gay or straight) can identify with. Likewise, Nelson's growing feelings for his best friend with strike a chord with many readers. So, yeah, this is a story about gay boys, but readers will find that they're going through a lot of the same things as straight kids.

I'm glad I finally picked up this book and I'm really excited to meet Alex Sanchez in a couple of months and hear what he has to say!

Update on the 48-Hour Book Challenge


I'm starting to close in on my time with just about 6.5 hours to go until my deadline.

Time spent reading: 19.75 hours
Time spent blogging: 3 hours
Time spent social networking: 2.75 hours
Total challenge hours logged: 25.5 hours

Books completed: 5
Pages read: 1679

If you've crossed your finish line, congratulations! If you're still going, keep up the good work!!

Where She Went

Where She Went by Gayle Forman.  Grades 8+ Dutton Juvenile, April 2011.  262 pages.  Reviewed from ARC snagged at ALA.

It's been three years since Mia's accident.  Three years since everything changed for Adam.  He got Mia to stay... and then she walked out on him forever without even telling him why.  A lot's happened in those three years.  Adam channeled his pain into a new sound for his band Shooting Stars and that album catapulted them into superstardom.  But somehow getting what he's always dreamed of isn't as great as Adam thought it would be.  He's on the outs with his bandmates, popping pills to control his anxiety, and still nursing bruises from Mia's betrayal.  And on one fateful night in New York City, as Adam faces yet another grueling tour, Adam will see Mia again.  And maybe start getting some answers to questions he's held for far too long.

Yesterday, I talked about the audio recording of If I Stay, which I listened to in order to refresh myself on Mia's story before diving into the sequel.  While I think that Where She Went could stand alone, the emotional punch it packs is definitely amplified if you're familiar with Mia's story.

From the first chapter, Adam's anguish is plain to see.  He's a famous rock star, he has a movie star girlfriend, and he's living his dream!  But Adam is dying inside, racked with anxiety and hopelessness.  He feels trapped everywhere he turns.  He feels all alone in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world.

Just as in If I Stay, chapters alternate between Adam's present and his recollections of the past, his memories of Mia and the events that brought him to this desperate point.  The present chapters all start off with Adam's song lyrics from the album that he wrote after Mia left him.  These small snippets demonstrate Adam's intense feelings of betrayal that after he fought by Mia's side, after he pulled her back from the brink of death, she would abandon him.  It's something he can't let go, something that still affects his every move, even three years later.

That raw grief and anger and confusion is what struck me most about this book and continues to stick with me.  We definitely get Adam's grief, anger and confusion.  As the night wears on and Adam and Mia begin to have real conversations, we get Mia's, too.  As much as this is Adam's story, it's still very much Mia's story.  Their stories are inextricably woven.  One would not exist without the other.

The more I think about Where She Went, the more I love it.   It's about what happens after.  It's about no happy endings.  It's about feeling grief that you don't even understand and can't let go.

Highly recommended.  Read If I Stay first (you'll thank me).

Where She Went will be on shelves April 5.

Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.  (Grades 8+)  Dutton Books, December 2010.  372 pages.  Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

Typical.  Anna's father has decided that she'll be spending her senior year across the Atlantic at a boarding school in Paris.  It means leaving her friends, leaving her younger brother, and living in a city where she doesn't speak the language.  Not Anna's idea of a lovely senior year.

But then there's this boy.  Almost immediately after arriving at the School of America in Paris, Anna meets Etienne, a gorgeous guy with a dreamy British accent.  The trouble is that Etienne is taken.  And Anna's kind of taken, too - there was that one kiss with Toph before she left... But maybe anything can happen in the City of Lights.

Oh, this was a yummy read! Why?  Well, first of all, it takes place in Paris.  A foreign, romantic city.  Okay, I'm happy with where I am right now and I love my job, but after reading this book I found myself researching American schools abroad and wondering if there were any librarian positions open...  From the food to the sights and museums, to read this book is to take a brain vacation to Paris.  Ooh la la, delightful!

And definitely don't forget the dreamy boys.  Anna and the French Kiss has the kind of boys that you love to drool over and Stephanie Perkins keeps the sexual tension taut throughout.  She's able to make it hot without being too graphic.  Not that there's anything wrong with being graphic, but the way things play out feels very true to the characters.

Really, I identified with Anna.  She's a bit of a wallflower and totally intimidated about going out into the city and trying to find her way around.  As she goes through her year in Paris, and with the help of her new boarding school pals, she slowly begins to brave the city and she ends up gaining a lot of self-confidence.  I think this is a story that will speak to a lot of girls.

Plus, it was just super fun to read.

I'd highly recommend this to fans of teen romance novels.  It's a perfect pick for your winter break reading or to bring with you on vacation (or, say, when you're super stressed and you need to read something to get away...).  I'd hand it to fans of the Students Across the Seven Seas series or Sarah Dessen in a heartbeat.  And I kinda feel like Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel flew under the radar a bit, but I'd recommend it as a readalike to Anna.  It's got the same girl-unwillingly-abroad + hot-boy-ness that makes Anna so yum.

OH. And and and!!  Stephanie Perkins says in the acknowledgements that she started this story during NaNoWriMo.  That is awesome!!

Read more reviews at Just Your Typical Book Blog, The Raven Desk, Persnickety Snark, GreenBean TeenQueen, YA Librarian Tales, Everyday Reading, and GalleySmith (among many, MANY others).    

Anna and the French Kiss will be on shelves December 2!

Book Review: Paranormalcy

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.  (Grades 7+)  HarperTeen, August 2010.  352 pages.  Reviewed from purchased copy.

Evie loves pink.  She never misses her favorite teen drama, Easton Heights.  She procrastinates on her homework.  Oh, and she can see through paranormals' glamours.  For Evie, this is her normal life: working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, chatting with her best friend (a mermaid), avoiding her ex (a faerie)... When a mysterious shape-shifter appears at IPCA, Evie can't help but be intrigued by the only guy around who's close to her own age.  But when Evie starts having disturbing dreams and paranormals starts dying, she discovers that her ability may mean more than she'd ever thought.

I loved the humorous tone of the book, something I wasn't expecting from the dark cover.  It's funny and a little flippant and it reminded me right away of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I loved.  I liked the character of Evie right away.  She's spunky and smart and she can do something that no one else can do, but she's still very much a teen girl.  She longs to attend high school like the characters in her favorite show.  She wants to have a boyfriend, learn to drive.  She loves her job, but at the same time she wants a life.

I was intrigued by the workings of the IPCA and Evie's ability. I also dug Kiersten White's imaginings of the various paranormal creatures that Evie meets.  Since Evie can see through their glamours, we get a glimpse of vampires that appear sexy to humans but are withered corpses underneath and faeries whose glamours temper their beauty for human eyes.  Very cool.

Paranormalcy is Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Alias in a YA paranormal romance.  Nothin' wrong with that.

The book's the first in a series and if I have any complaint it's that by the end of the book, a lot of it felt like setup.  I mean, a lot of stuff happens, but not much happens (if that makes any sense).  I will definitely be checking out the sequels and waiting to find out what happens to Evie, Lend, and the rest of them.

Check out more reviews at Stacked, Stiletto Storytime, GreenBean TeenQueen, and DJ's Life in Fiction (among others).

Paranormalcy is on shelves now!

Jumbee

Jumbee by Pamela Keyes.  (Grades 7 and up.)  Dial, October 2010.  388 pages.  Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

After the death of her thespian father, Esti Legard moves to a Caribbean island to attend a prestigious theater school.  She's finally free from living in her father's shadow, but a mysterious death at the theater leaves her wondering if her father haunts her still.  She begins to hear a voice in the theater, a boy who calls himself Alan and coaches her on her acting.  Esti's performances get better and better and she starts falling for Alan, the sweet, sensitive man whose face she's never seen.  When bad boy Rafe Solomon, a childhood friend of Esti's, shows up on Cariba, Esti must choose between the boy who speaks to her heart and the boy who holds her in his arms.

Jumbee is a reimagining of The Phantom of the Opera, set on a lush Caribbean island and there were many things I loved about it.  When I got a pitch for this book, the thing that sold me was that it was a story inspired by Phantom.  I have loved Phantom since I was in the sixth grade and my class went to go see it.  I played Christine Daae when my class put on the play.  I memorized the soundtrack.  I just really, really loved it.  So that was fun for me, to see the ways that Keyes mirrors the story of Christine, Raul, and the Phantom.  I must confess that as I was reading it, I kept getting Phantom songs playing through my head.

But the trick here is to compare it with Phantom but not to compare it too closely because that's not really fair to the book.  Alan is no Phantom.  I can really appreciate Ms. Keyes's challenge in creating a character who's ghostly enough to be mysterious but human enough to be a teen love interest.  However, I'm not sure that I totally bought Esti's love for Alan OR Rafe.  There was a little too much telling instead of showing, which kept the book from being really excellent.

I do think the lush Caribbean scenery and the rich folklore traditions included make the book stand out.  That combined with my extreme love of Phantom kept me turning the pages.

I'd recommend this to teen theater buffs, maybe fans of Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev (there is a lot of Shakespeare in Jumbee, so I'd particularly consider teens who dig the Bard).

Jumbee will be on shelves October 14.

Nevermore

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh.  (Grades 9+)  Atheneum, August 2010.  544 pages.  Reviewed from purchased copy.

Once upon a high school cheery, Isobel faced English, leery
of the boy with pierce-ed lip and green eyes ringed with smudge-ed kohl.
When her teacher did assign her, then the fates they did align her
with the boy with eyes so clear they stared right down into her soul.
Varen was a tortured boy, finding escape for his soul.
Isobel would play a role.

As they started work together, Isobel decided whether
she condoned the actions of her jealous, football-playing beau.
Hearing strange things calling to her, unsure whether goth would woo her,
Isobel's caught up in Varen's spooky dreamland built on Poe.
As weird things begin to happen, as they study Edgar Poe
Isobel must stay or go...

Nevermore is Kelly Creagh's debut novel and I really liked it!*  Cheerleader Isobel gets paired up with scary goth kid Varen for an English project.  From the moment he writes his phone number down on her hand in purple ink, Isobel feels a spark, and as they work together on their Edgar Allan Poe project, she discovers that he's much more than eyeliner and silver chains.  Unfortunately, Isobel's jock boyfriend Brad is jealous and decides to make life hard for Varen.  And strange things start happening to Isobel - hearing voices, seeing things that aren't there...  Isobel thought she knew what she wanted - a decent grade on her English paper so she could compete with the cheerleaders at Nationals - but now she finds herself questioning her so-called friends and wanting to know what's behind Varen's mysterious facade.  Isobel will find out... but will she survive to tell about it?

What drew me in to the novel right off the bat were the characters of Varen and Isobel.  Varen!  I love him!  And Isobel is pretty darn sassy.  She could have easily been a flat character, a stereotypical cheerleader, but Isobel stands up for what she believes in and she's passionate about defending the people she cares about.  So, I liked both the main characters right off.  And then there's the chemistry between them.

Adele of Persnickety Snark was just ranting about unrealistic love-at-first-sight in YA novels, but I feel like Nevermore gets it right.  Isobel's attraction to Varen builds slowly and believably.  Kelly doesn't just tell us that Isobel has feelings for him, she shows us.  And that, my friends, makes all the difference.  Isobel and Varen are steamy without being steamy.  It's not a graphic love affair, but a spark that turns into a kind of smoldering thing, which is so much hotter than Isobel instantly falling "in love" and then beating the readers over the head with it.

Also, there's the creepiness.  Kelly does a great job with that, too.  For me, it's the off-screen stuff that really has the potential to be scary - the noises you hear but can't identify, the things you see out of the corner of your eye.  Kelly gets it right, with enough creepiness to please teens who like the scarier side of paranormal romance, and some unexpected funny bits to lighten the mood a bit.

Now, 544 pages is a lot of pages.  I generally feel that books should be 250-300 pages max (with very few exceptions).  And I'm not convinced that Nevermore really needed to be 500+ pages.  BUT.  I honestly enjoyed my time reading it.  It was a book that I looked forward to picking up and I didn't want to put it down to go to sleep at night.  Short chapters and engaging characters make the pages go by pretty quickly.

I'd definitely recommend Nevermore to fans of paranormal romance, but I'd try it on fans of straight-up romance, too.  The fantastic aspects to the story sort of trickle in at the beginning and really pick up at the end, so teens who don't think they like paranormal stuff might be drawn in by the characters.

Know that there is a sequel slated for 2011 and things are not going to be wrapped up with a big, shiny bow. I do feel like Kelly does a good job of completing the first part of the story while still building some momentum to lead us into the next book.

Read more reviews at Presenting Lenore, The Book Smugglers, Steph Su Reads, and Stiletto Storytime.  Also, check out an interview with Kelly at The Book Butterfly. 

Nevermore is on shelves now!

* which is a relief because I went to high school with Kelly and I had a great fear that I would not like her novel and then I would feel terrible.  Whew!

Stork by Wendy Delsol

Stork by Wendy Delsol. Grades 7-10. Candlewick, October 2010. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher. 355 pages.

Katla is a true California girl. She lives for fashion and she hates the cold. So when her parents get divorced and she moves to her mother's hometown in Minnesota, Katla's sure that life's going to be a drag. The town doesn't even have a Starbucks!

But soon after Katla arrives in Norse Falls, strange things start happening. She discovers that she's part of an ancient order of magical women, the Stork Society, who guide undecided new souls to their mothers. And Katla meets Jack, a handsome senior to whom she's inexplicably drawn. As Katla gets to know her place among the Storks and gets closer to Jack, she'll figure out the truths that have been hidden from her.

Okay, here's what I liked about Stork:

- I liked the unusual fantasy lore. Stork is definitely something different from the scores of YA paranormals already on the shelves and that's what led me to pick it up. Parts of the story are inspired by Norse mythology, which is something we don't see a lot. It's refreshing to pick up something new and interesting. The way Ms. Delsol incorporates birds into the story was really cool.

- I liked Katla. She's spunky and her obsession with fashion adds some great details to the story. She's also a character that's easy to root for.

So, I liked those things, but...

(And some of this could totally be my shortened attention span this summer, but not all of it.)

I felt like the story took a long time to get where it was going. A lot happens in the book and some of it gets tied together at the end, and some of it doesn't. The end felt rushed, with a bunch of things getting neatly tied together in the last 30 pages or so. This wasn't a book I could sit down and read in one sitting. It took me weeks of picking it up and putting it down. I think that's partly because I wasn't completely in the right frame of mind for high-concept fantasy, but I think it's partly because there was a lot going on that didn't seem to be connected until the very end. And, although I liked Katla, her voice wasn't strong enough to carry me through when the plot didn't seem to be going anywhere.

So, it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, BUT I sincerely hope that we'll see more from Wendy Delsol and I especially hope we'll see more unique takes on YA fantasy. Vampires and werewolves are fine (I am not on board with the whole angels thing), but it's really nice to see something different.

Read more reviews of Stork at 25 Hour Books, I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read, So Many Books, So Little Time, and Dreaming in Books.

Stork will be on shelves October 12!

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Firelight by Sophie Jordan. Grades 7 and up. HarperTeen, September 2010. Reviewed from ARC snagged at BEA. 323 pages.

Jacinda: The first fire-breathing draki born in thousands of years. When the pride tries to control her, her mother moves the family to the middle of the desert, hoping to protect Jacinda. But to Jacinda, it's torture. She can feel her draki side fading away as she's forced to enter the human world. The one bright spot is Will, a gorgeous boy with whom she feels an instant connection. He stirs the draki inside her whenever she's around him. But she can't let it go too far or else the world will know the draki's secret - that they can disguise themselves in human form. How can Jacinda keep her secret... when she can't stay away from Will?

Sometimes when it's summer and your job is very busy and you're a little stressed out, it gets hard to read books. I'd been having that problem this month, unable to stick with a book to the end, not wanting to read at all in favor of laying on the couch and watching TV. Until Firelight.

It was absolutely the perfect book for me at the moment that I read it. I love it when that happens. Once I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. The romance sizzles off the page without being graphic and the interesting plot twists and draki lore kept me turning the pages.

For me, the book was very Twilight- esque. As in, the writing is repetitive and Jacinda is a character that lets things happen to her instead of doing things, but none of that really mattered because I was just really enjoying reading the book. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I'd hand this to Twilight fans immediately, if not sooner, and I think anyone who's looking for some escapist supernatural romance will dig this book.

Read more reviews at The Book Vault, Mindful Musings, Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf, and A Good Addiction (among others).

Firelight, Sophie Jordan's first YA novel, will be on shelves September 7.

The Iron King

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. Grades 7 and up. Harlequin Teen, 2010. Reviewed from purchased copy.

Meghan Chase is just a normal, somewhat forgettable girl living in the Louisiana countryside until she comes home one day to discover that her four-year-old brother has been replaced by a Changeling and her best (and only) friend Robbie is actually an ancient faery from the land of Nevernever. With Robbie's help, Meghan journeys into the Nevernever in search of her brother, but what she'll discover there is the secret to her true heritage.

Julie Kagawa's imaginative faery creatures, lush descriptions of Nevernever, and solid characters made The Iron King very hard to put down, indeed. She builds the tension perfectly at the beginning of the book and I was immediately engrossed by the strange things that were happening to Meghan. It was creepy and definitely made me want to know more.

The book's a perfect blend of descriptive fantasy setting and romance and Ms. Kagawa certainly knows how to create characters to pine for. There's adventure, humor, and a bad boy love interest that'll get your blood pumping. While Meghan seems to need a lot of rescuing at the beginning, as she continues her quest to rescue her brother she starts to come into some power of her own.

This'll certainly please fans of supernatural romance and I'd try it on fans of Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely. And I have to say that I looove the cover. It's eye-catching and beautiful and you can't tell this from the picture, but on the actual book the thorny vines and title are raised up, which is a really nice effect.

And I just have to add that I booktalked this title at our staff book chat and our Reference manager, who wanted no part of paranormal romance, not only picked it up, but couldn't put it down.

The Iron King is on shelves now!

The sequel, The Iron Daughter, is slated for release in August, so I'll definitely be looking for that one!

48HBC: Low Red Moon

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin. Grades 7 and up. Bloomsbury USA, September 2010. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher. 196 pages.

The night Avery witnessed her parents' double-murder is a blur. All she remembers is blood. Lots of blood. And something silver moving swiftly... And then the sheriff was there, taking her away. And now her parents are gone. Try as she might, Avery can't remember any more, even though she knows it's the only chance to catch her parents' killers. And then there's Ben, the strangely alluring new kid with the arresting silver eyes. Avery feels drawn to him, though she doesn't know why. As Avery and Ben get closer, Avery will try to piece together the clues about her parents' death. She'll have to... because whatever did it is still out there...

We have here a paranormal romance that'll please the many fans of that genre, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. It just wasn't different enough from the scores of other YA paranormals that are being published right now. So, for teens clamoring for more Twilight or Sisters Red or Shiver, this'll fit the bill. But it wasn't my cup of tea.

I think maybe I was trying to read it too quickly, though. It's a slim book, just under 200 pages, and I really appreciate that when I think about the hefty fantasy volumes appearing on shelves. But it's not exactly a quick read. Ms. Devlin's writing is beautiful - spare but powerful.

Look for Low Red Moon on shelves September 14.

48-Hour Book Challenge Update? Don't mind if I do... I'm coming up on my deadline (it's now just about 5:30pm and my finishing time is 7:15pm)

Time spent reading: 21.5 hours
Time spent blogging/networking: 5.5 hours
Books completed: 9 (and part of another one)
Pages read: 1903 + 99 pages of The Sweetness of Salt = 2002 pages

Next up is one last nonfiction, I think, and then if I have any time left, I'll keep reading on The Sweetness of Salt, though I don't think I will have time to finish it by 7:15.

This is the home stretch!!!!

48 HBC: Matched

Matched by Ally Condie. Grades 7 and up. Dutton, November 2010. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher. 366 pages.

Cassia couldn't be more excited. Not only is it her 17th birthday, but her birthday is falling right on the day of her Matching ceremony. The Society Matches every eligible and willing person with another person, usually from a different city or province. The Matches are chosen based on a number of factors and the best probability for a happy, healthy family. When Cassia finds out that her Match is her good friend Xander, she's overjoyed. They already know so much about each other and she's happy that they'll get to start a family together. But when a glitch in the system shows her another boy who might be a Match for her, Cassia's world starts to spin off its axis. As she gets to know Ky better, she starts to have feelings for him. And the more she finds out about the Society, the more questions she has.

Matched reminded me of The Giver by Lois Lowry* but aimed at older girls. I was drawn in immediately by the fascinating dystopia that Ally Condie has created. I had to know more. The Society controls everything about everyone's life. They assign jobs, Match partners, deliver food with the proper nutritional content, and they've even picked out 100 Poems, 100 Songs, and 100 Artworks that people may read, hear, or view. They control everything so they can offer all inhabitants an optimal life. Disease has been all but eradicated. Wars are being fought, but they are far away where most people don't have to think about them.

As the book progresses, Cassia begins to question more and more, finding the cracks in this perfect life that the Society has created.

I think Ms. Condie has created an intriguing world and she builds the tension up nicely to keep the reader interested. I started this book before I went to bed last night and ended up staying awake for an extra hour because I wanted to see what happened next. There are some nice plot turns, some I suspected and some that surprised me. This will definitely please fans of dystopian lit and it has a nice element of romance, so I'd recommend it to fans of paranormal romance, too. Hand it to fans of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies and Lowry's The Giver for sure.

And sorry, kids, but this one's not due out 'til November.

*This is a high compliment as that is maybe my favorite book of all time.

The DUFF: Designated Ugly, Fat Friend

The DUFF: Designated Ugly, Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger. Grades 9 and up. Poppy (an imprint of Little, Brown), September 2010. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

When Hamilton High School's most promiscuous male deems Bianca the DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) of her group, Bianca throws her Cherry Coke in his face. But later it occurs to her that, between Casey, the modelesque cheerleader, and Jessica, the curvy blonde, maybe Bianca is the DUFF... And when things start to fall apart with her parents, Bianca is horrified to find herself swept up in a fling with Wesley the jerk. She hates absolutely everything about him... except for the way his kisses help her escape the stress in her life. But when Bianca finds herself thinking about Wesley more and more, she'll have to decide - when is enough enough?


I found this book to be unexpectedly delightful. 


For some reason, even though it's been getting a fair amount of buzz around the KidLitosphere, I wasn't that intrigued by The DUFF before I picked it up. Maybe that stemmed from negative impressions of the cover (which definitely does not depict someone ugly or fat) or maybe it was the idea of an 18-year-old author that gave me pause. I figured I'd pick it up since Little, Brown sent it to me, and I'm so glad I did! 


The DUFF is not just another fat-girl book (like maybe I'd suspected). In fact, The DUFF isn't a fat-girl book at all. It's a book about a normal teenage girl who's going through some issues and trying to deal with her stress. And she ends up choosing a somewhat destructive way to deal with her stress (as some teens are wont to do). But nothing's black and white here. As Bianca's fling with Wesley proceeds, they both begin to change their minds about each other. I love that Ms. Keplinger doesn't shy away from the complicated emotions that Bianca is feeling. She's able to explore this relationship without getting message-y and while providing a satisfying conclusion. 


And my qualms with the cover dissipated as I read the story. The book's not really about a fat girl. It's about those feelings that everyone has from time to time - feeling like you're not pretty enough, not thin enough, not smart enough... As Bianca works through her issues in the book, she comes to realize that everyone feels like they're the DUFF at some point. Though Bianca might perceive herself as ugly and fat, that doesn't necessarily make it true. 


I'd recommend this book to fans of Elizabeth Scott for the realistic characters and complicated emotions. I'd also recommend it to fans of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles for the unlikely (and somewhat steamy) romance element. 


Kody Keplinger's definitely a debut author to watch and I certainly hope she finds time between her college classes to keep writing YA novels! 


The DUFF will be on shelves September 7, 2010.

Book Review: The Unwritten Rule

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott. (Grades 7+) Simon Pulse, March 2010. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

Sarah has been best friends with Brianna since they met in kindergarten and Brianna saved Sarah from the clutches of a five-year-old Mean Girl. Sarah has been Brianna's loyal sidekick ever since. But there's one thing Sarah's never told Brianna - how she feels about Brianna's boyfriend Ryan. Sarah has liked Ryan since the eighth grade, but now Ryan and Brianna are together and Sarah knows that she can never tell Brianna her true feelings. 

Except that... Ryan and Sarah kissed. 

And now Sarah's falling harder than ever. There's an unwritten rule: you don't fall for your best friend's boyfriend. And Sarah's broken it. 

Sometimes you're in the mood for werewolves. 
Sometimes you're in the mood for girl football players. 
And sometimes you're in the mood for a romance story with teen characters so real they're practically jumping off the page - and for that last one, you'll pick up The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott. 


One of Elizabeth's Scott's great strengths are her characters. It was one of the first things I loved about her books. Sometimes I want to shake her characters, sometimes I want to hug them, and that's because they feel so real to me. Sarah, Brianna, Ryan, and the rest of the characters in The Unwritten Rule are no exception. 


Of course, I was rooting for our protagonist here - Sarah's a sweet girl in a tight spot and there's no win-win solution for her. But the character that really fascinated me was Brianna. It'd be easy to write Brianna off as a kind of frenemy, an obstacle to Sarah's destiny. But, like real people, Brianna's complex. And, okay, maybe she does mean things sometimes, but you can absolutely see why she is the way she is, and why Sarah has to keep quiet about her feelings for Ryan. It's a tribute to Ms. Scott's writing that she can make the reader feel empathy for Brianna, even as we're rooting for Sarah to get the guy. 

This is a sweet romance story and I'd definitely recommend picking it up if you enjoy Sarah Dessen or Jenny Han. (Can I also just say that I love the cover? It's so pretty and purple!)


Read more reviews at GreenBean TeenQueen, Not Enough Bookshelves, Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf, and The Book Owl (among others). And check out this videoblog of Elizabeth Scott talking about The Unwritten Rule for Readergirlz (thanks to bildungsroman for the link!):






The Unwritten Rule is on shelves now! Go pick it up for your spring break (or anytime) reading!