Powerful doesn’t begin to describe BOY TOY by Barry Lyga. It is the story of Josh, a young man that was involved in an inappropriate relationship with his teacher five years ago. Barry Lyga does an amazing job showing the impact this event has on Josh’s life. Relationships with his parents, kids at school, and teachers are changed forever. 

There is one relationship that hasn’t changed much since the incident. Zik is Josh’s best friend and he has stood by him through everything. He doesn’t push Josh for information about what happened with the teacher and stands up for him when others give him a hard time. 

The area of his life that was most damaged by the relationship with Eve, the teacher from the relationship, was his ability to deal with girls his own age. It seems that every time he gets in a situation with a girl where closeness is involved, he thinks about Eve’s likes and needs and transfers those into the current situation. He can’t feel comfortable with girls because Eve is always in the back of his mind. 

Things really heat up when Eve is released from prison after serving a 5 year sentence. With the story hitting the news again, the situation is on everyone’s mind which causes stress for Josh. He feels the need to talk to Eve to answer some of his own questions while at the same time he is attempting to reconnect with Rachel – a girl he thought he lost when the relationship between Josh and Eve was revealed. 

BOY TOY is amazing. It really shines some light on a situation that doesn’t get as much thought as it should. After talking to several men I know, their first response is, “Where were teachers like that when I was in school,” but ask them about a young girl being in an inappropriate relationship with a male teacher and the situation is totally different. There is a double standard. BOY TOY gives us a good look at the issues young men have to deal with after a relationship of this nature.

Ruben knew exactly when it happened. He was sitting in the backseat of an old Mercedes in his family’s salvage yard when the feeling came over him. Ruben often left his own body and could attach himself to others. He could sense their thoughts and emotions. This is what happened when he felt his sister, Rachel, get attacked and murdered. He knew exactly the moment Rachel’s life was taken from her. 

Even though he knew it had happened and knew that the Dead Man killed her, Ruben didn’t say anything to his family. He hoped he might be wrong. He realized he wasn’t when the police contacted the family. The details were simple: Rachel, nineteen years old, was visiting an old school friend in the small village of Lychcombe on Dartmoor. After her visit was over, she left and made her way toward London to return home, but never made it. Her body was found the following morning, strangled, raped, and battered. 

The most important thing to the family was to get her back. They wanted to bury her and put her to rest. After a trip to the police station to find out how long her body would be held, the family found out that the police would keep her until the case was closed; meaning the murderer had to be caught. The problem with that was, Ruben knew the murderer was already dead and buried and the case wouldn’t be solved anytime soon. 

Ruben’s older brother, Cole, wasn’t going to sit around and wait. He planned to go to the village to find out what happened himself and he planned to go alone. He didn’t want his younger brother going along to worry about. Ruben knew what Cole was thinking, though, and his mother wanted him to go along to make sure Cole didn’t get himself hurt. Cole’s temper tended to get him in trouble. He took after his gypsy, bare-knuckle fighter father who was sentenced to a prison term for killing someone. 

Even though their mother was worried about Ruben and Cole going away to look into the murder, no one could foresee the trouble in store for them once they started digging into Rachel’s murder. As soon as they arrived in the village they knew they weren’t welcome. Secrets were everywhere and no one wanted them to be dug up. Secrets that involved the entire village. Secrets that would lead them to pain, torture, death, and eventually the truth. 

Kevin Brooks doesn’t let us down. He has provided another heart-pounding, deeply emotional story with strong characters. THE ROAD OF THE DEAD is a great place to start if you haven’t read any other books by this creative and unique author.

Gwen, a self-conscious 11th grader, has been having a reoccurring dream; one of a handsome and mysterious stranger walking down the hallway of her school. He stands in the doorway of her English class wearing a long, leather, duster and sunglasses. She can’t believe it when the dream comes true and Adrian walks into her life. Immediately she sees through his act. 

Adrian acts like a tough guy; full of confidence and charm, but inside he is full of doubt. He has been moved around by his parents so many times that he has never had an opportunity to form friendships and reintroducing himself to new student populations is getting old. Once he meets Gwen, his life changes in unimaginable ways. 

When Gwen and Adrian begin to come into contact with each other more often, by eating at the same lunch table – against Gwen’s will – and sharing classes, Gwen’s occasional prophetic dreams turn into daytime visions. These visions show her impending disasters. Adrian also benefits from contact with Gwen. Gwen unlocks the ability, hidden within Adrian’s mind, to read people’s thoughts. As long as they are around each other, they are mentally linked. Once they realize what is going on, they begin to use these powers to their advantage. Manipulating each other for their own benefit causes a lot of tension and mistrust between the two. 

POWERS is told in the alternating points of view of Adrian and Gwen. The small chunks make it possible to read this book in short sittings. The story begins with Gwen, the unpopular, chunky, underdog, looking like the more likeable character, and Adrian playing the unfeeling user. However, for me, Adrian was the better character. He really comes through in the end and puts everything together so he and Gwen can be together.

ECHO is a tragic and heart-wrenching tale of loss and one brother’s experience of dealing with the post-traumatic stress following the incident that takes his younger brother’s life. 

It’s been a year since Justin’s younger brother, Mark, died from an accidental gun shot to the head. Both boys were watching TV in their parents’ bedroom and started rough housing over the control of the remote control. Justin was easily able to overpower Mark because of his increased size and strength. In retaliation, Mark reached into their parents’ bedside table and retrieved a handgun and jokingly pointed it at Justin, demanding him to hand over the remote. Justin, knowing Mark is kidding blows the demand off and continues watching TV. Mark decides to put the gun to his own head and say, “If you don’t change the channel, I’m gonna kill the kid,” in a gruff voice. Justin replies, “Be my guest.” The next thing he knows the gun goes off and blood is spattered all over him and his brother dies in front of him. 

The remainder of the story takes place while Justin goes through the motions of getting through the 1 year anniversary of Mark’s death. The reader goes through it with Justin as he relives it three days in a row. All the while, Justin is prompted by a voice in his head that offers encouragement and motivation to continue the heart-breaking day. The story is like the movie Groundhog Day without ANY of the comedy. Each day Justin sees things a little bit differently that allows him to have a clearer picture of what happened. Even with the small changes he makes during the day, the end result is always the same. Justin’s ex-best-friend, Billy, falls down the stairs at school. 

The reader will feel the pain Justin feels as he makes his way back from post-traumatic stress syndrome. ECHO is another wonderful story by Kate Morgenroth. If you haven’t become familiar with her as an author yet, this is the time.

Hold on to your fish-net stockings because the action in DEAD GIRL’S DANCE starts on the first page and never lets up. The story begins exactly where the first book in the Morganville series, GLASS HOUSES, leaves off. Claire, Eve, and Shane are in shock over what Shane’s father and his buddies have done to Michael. 

Shane’s father has returned to Morganville with one thing in mind. He wants to kill as many vampires as he can, even if he gets killed in the process. After the trauma Shane’s family went through with the loss of his sister, and subsequently, his mother, Shane and his father cooked up a plan for revenge. Shane’s phone call to his father set the plan in motion and once his father arrives, Shane realizes what a mistake he’s made. 

The protection Claire, Eve, Shane, and Michael have under the Founder is in jeopardy now that Shane’s dad is causing problems. If they are thought to be involved in any kind of plan to kill the vampires, their protection will be removed and it will be open season on the occupants of the Glass House – and believe me, there are plenty of vampires and people in Morganville that want to see them dead. When one of the most powerful vampires in town turns up dead, Shane is accused of the crime and sentenced to death and it is up to Claire and Eve to find a way to save him. 

Readers will enjoy it when Claire’s nemesis, Monica, gets a little of what’s coming to her when the tables are turned and she is put in the victim role. Also be looking for relationships to blossom over the course of DEAD GIRL’S DANCE, both in love and friendship. We also meet a new, likeable character named Sam. He offers aid to Claire and Eve when they are in desperate need of help. 

The only drawback with this book is that it isn’t a stand alone story. In order to understand the reason behind much of the action it would be better to read the first book in the series, GLASS HOUSES. However, in my opinion, this isn’t a major drawback at all since it leads you to another great book by Rachel Caine. DEAD GIRLS’ DANCE is one of the best books in the series and the shocking ending will leave you panting and begging for the next installment.

If only she had her driver’s license. If only she wasn’t afraid to drive. If only Jen hadn’t gotten too drunk to drive home. If only she hadn’t called Nick to come and get her. If only… If only… 

Kathleen’s life is altered on the night she goes to a party where her best friend gets too drunk to drive her home. Kathleen calls her brother, Nick, to pick her up and being the great brother he is, he doesn’t hesitate to get out on a cold and slippery night to rescue his little sister. 

When police knock on the door at the party everyone assumes their busted. Kathleen is given the job of stalling since she is sober. Instead, the police are there for her – to take her to the hospital where Nick was taken after he was hit on the way to get her. 

Kathleen’s life drastically changes after Nick’s death. Her father isolates himself in his office watching sports on television and her mother begins drinking a little more everyday. Kathleen is left feeling alone until she meets someone new at Nick’s memorial service. Luke offers kindness and concern when no one else is focusing on her needs. 

The night after the funeral Kathleen, full of sadness, falls asleep in Nick’s bed. When she wakes up she realizes she isn’t in the same “reality” as she was the day before. Little things aren’t right. Jen, who she’s been fighting with since the night of the party, so much so she didn’t even come to the funeral shows up to take her to school on this particular morning like nothing had ever happened. They are still amazingly close . Confusion plagues Kathleen’s mind all day. Finally, she realizes what is going on. 

Kathleen realizes there are certain moments everyday when she makes decisions and depending on what decision she makes, her life takes a different path. The problem for Kathleen is she retains the memories of the previous path while she also has to live in the new one. All these paths run parallel and go on at the same time with different consequences. Kathleen ends up splintering into several paths which she keeps track of by the different names she gives to herself. She becomes Kay, Kate, and Kathy in addition to her original self. Her major problem is, she doesn’t know who she’ll be when she wakes up in the morning. Her one constant is Luke. He manages to find her no matter who she is. 

Deborah Lynn Jacobs has created a thought provoking novel about the importance of life choices. Kathleen learns a lot about herself as she navigates her way through her many lives, attempting to reconcile with family, friends, and her own feelings about loss and love.

Robert Smith was waiting for the nurse to call him into the doctor’s office to prepare him for his scheduled endoscopy, not realizing it would be the last normal day in his life. Once called into the office, Robert was put under anesthetic and doctors went about putting a tube down his throat in order to find out what was causing his stomach discomfort. Unexpectedly, Robert woke up before he was supposed to and realized he was in a different room with many people he didn’t recognize. He heard phrases like, “What is that?” and “Are those wires?” Robert felt every cut made into his body for the exploratory surgery these strange people in black suits were performing on him. 

After Robert forced himself off the table, he managed to get a weapon out of the hand of one of the black suits. At gun point, Robert demanded the anesthetist knock out his attackers and then kidnapped him in order to use his car to get away. Next, he set about making himself invisible. He knew he couldn’t go to his house where his foster parents lived or any place he’d normally visit. The first night he checked into a hotel for some rest to give himself some time to decide what to do the next day. He was overwhelmed with thoughts about what was inside him. He looked over the evidence he took from the doctor’s office which included a videotape of the endoscopy. On the tape he saw things that should have been impossible. 

After a sleepless night, Robert put the first step of his plan in motion. To become a different person, change identities, disappear from the face of the Earth. He went to see a girl named Eddi who was in the business of fake ids, birth certificates, and other needed credentials to get by in life. What he found when he got to her place was suspicion and uncertainty. Life quickly spiraled out of control for both of them shortly after their paths crossed. Escape to Trejeda on the Canary Islands seemed like the best plan. For a time, life fell into the routine of sleeping late, eating fantastic food, and work. Eddi and Robert knew they couldn’t hide forever, but they were never prepared for how everything would end. 

BEING is an interesting story of an orphan trying to learn his identity. It is filled with intrigue and suspense, however; there are a few loose ends that might leave the reader unsatisfied.

Ana wants to be ugly. She has worked very hard at it, ever since she was twelve years old. Ever since the day a man complimented her on her beauty and she saw the look of hatred, jealousy, and anger in her mother’s eyes. Now she doesn’t bathe, doesn’t trim her toenails, doesn’t brush her hair, and eats nothing but pastries, bread, and moldy cheeses. Her nutrition has left her body pudgy and her face blemished. She is happy because she seems to have her mother’s favor; however, staying ugly takes a lot of effort. 

Queen Veda, Ana’s mother, is a calculating ruler. Vanity is her main focus and she is never without her strange Beauty Consultant. He is a creepy little man that is always lurking around. His eyes turn red whenever he approves of the way the Queen looks. He mixes beauty potions and creates creams out of ingredients like spiders and leaves for the Queen to use to maintain her beautiful appearance. It is Queen Veda’s jealousy that leads her to devise her most diabolical plan ever. 

The Queen creates a new Academy for the best and brightest girls of the land. About fifty girls receive personal invitations to attend this prestigious academy and Pell, Ana’s best friend, is one of them. Ana is heartbroken, thinking that she will lose her best friend forever. But on the advice of the Beauty Consultant, Queen Veda sends Ana to the Academy, too. Pell and Ana are thrilled to be attending a school that will provide rigorous academics, while at the same time being roommates. However, a sinister plot awaits all the girls that attend the Academy. 

BEAUTY is a fast-paced fairy tale that pulls at your heartstrings. The reader will cheer for Ana when she finally realizes the truth about her mother. The sinister plan could have been more sinister and the ending a little more complex, but overall this is a fascinating story, definitely one for fans of queens, princesses, and fairy tales.

Ellen Hopkins does it again. PERFECT, written in her signature novel-in-verse style, follows the lives of four teens as they struggle to live up to the expectations of family, friends, and most importantly, themselves. 

Stress leads Cara, Kendra, Sean, and Andre to respond in different ways. Two have secrets from their parents, one stresses to perform athletically, and one is determined to have the perfect body. Their choices lead them down paths they didn’t know were possible.

What I love about this book is its connection to IMPULSE.  During Cara’s sections of the book the reader gets to see what her and her family are going through while her twin brother, Connor, is in Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted suicide. 

PERFECT is one of the best novels Ellen Hopkins has written. It also has one of the BEST covers!!! PERFECT is also the first of Ellen Hopkins’ books I listened to on audio. Each character has a different narrator which really adds to the enjoyment of the book. I think I’ll go back and listen to her others on audio too.

Three troubled teens cross paths at Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital, after attempting suicide. Connor, Tony, and Vanessa all have demons that try to pull them under and get them to succumb to the temptation to try it again; this time making sure they succeed. 

Connor’s overbearing family, only concerned about his GPA, or his making the varsity football team, or getting into an Ivy League college, offer no solace during his time of need. Feeling suicide is the only answer after a deeply emotional love affair ends; he takes a gun and points it to his chest before pulling the trigger. 

Tony, after many years in a juvenile home for a crime that still haunts him, decides to ease his feelings of despair and loneliness by swallowing a handful of pills, only to vomit them up and be found by the police lying on the sidewalk unconscious. 

Vanessa is a cutter. In order to ease her mind in any time of stress she slices her skin with anything sharp enough to do the job. One day, when she was drowning in her blue ocean of sadness, she cuts too deep. She feels herself slipping into the abyss until her younger brother Bryan walks in and finds her. When he calls for their ex-nurse Grandma, she is able to hold off death. 

After arriving at Aspen Springs, Connor, Tony, and Vanessa are introduced to a life under constant surveillance, strict routines, and hours and hours or counseling. Immediately the three form a bond, feeling drawn to one another as if they might be able to save each other from death. Together they navigate the regulations of the hospital and make progress toward healing as they tell each other their deepest, darkest secrets; things they won’t even tell their counselors. 

Ellen Hopkins uses her wonderful free verse style to weave together the story of three troubled teens as they attempt to heal the terrible scars left by their lives. The consistency the author uses when alternating the points of view makes the story easy to follow. Hopkins gives away just enough information that the reader feels a part of the story while still saving a big bang for the end. IMPULSE is a great story that reveals the importance of family during the healing process and is a must read for anyone who knows a teen.