Marit can’t hold onto a boyfriend. Every time the relationship gets physical she freaks out and either scares the boy away or breaks up with him herself. She is afraid of having sex for the first time and obsesses about it. Besides the “no boyfriend” problem on the first day of school, she also has to deal with the fact that her schedule is terrible. I mean, who should have second period lunch? Eating lunch at 9:00 a.m. should definitely be against the law! So far the only bright spots in her day are her constant friends Jamie and Caroline. Basically inseparable, these three spend their day mocking the “followers” and “joiners” of the school. 

Marit has accepted a senior year without a boyfriend until a new boy walks into her German class and steals her heart. She just knows that Noah will be her boyfriend for the year. She makes a bold move and invites him to a school bonfire. Noah accepts and Marit is hopeful it will be a successful date. Once at the bonfire, the couple realizes they can’t talk with all the noise and finds a quiet spot to be alone. Eventually they begin to kiss and Marit’s nerves cause her to do something to embarrass herself and ends up running away from the situation instead of talking to Noah about it. 

Determined to fix her problem, she goes to her older sister for advice. Hilly tells Marit she needs to find someone she already knows and feels comfortable with to have sex with for the first time. Once she has done “it,” she won’t be so nervous about it. The perfect candidate is Jamie; her loyal friend of eight years. At first Jamie doesn’t think it is a very good idea, but soon changes his mind. 

Aury Wallington writes a realistic story that involves typical high school drama while at the same time creating characters that are likable. Even though sex is the main focus of Marit’s life, she remains a character that the readers will root for in the end. The author also buries a lesson in the pages of the story; one that we can never hear enough. Friendship is more important than anything else. POP! is an enjoyable read, even though the ending is a little too convenient and quickly resolved.

Emil’s life has been turned upside down in the last year. His mother has died of cancer and his brother, who he has always looked up to, has disappeared without a trace. Emil and his father don’t communicate about anything important and rarely see each other due to his father’s work schedule. The only friend he has is Soma, a rule-bending, line-crossing boy who is in the same grade as Emil. 

Nothing exciting happens to Emil. He is average in every way. His brother, Ethan, was the bright, shining star with all the friends, good grades, and a way with the ladies. Emil just lives in Ethan’s shadow. He attends Caramoor Academy, a private school with a hefty tuition. Since everything has happened in his family, Emil’s grades have started to slip and his father is riding him harder than ever to make the grade; especially since he is paying so much for him to go to school at Caramoor. 

Emil does have the key though — the key to notoriety, the key to exploration, the key to discovery. One day before Ethan left home, Emil was digging around in his bedroom and found an actual key. When he asked Ethan what the key unlocked he received a surprising answer: the key was a master key to the entire Caramoor Academy campus. Every door in every building was available to the person who held the key. Emil asked if he could have it and unbelievably, Ethan said yes. Normally the key was passed from one student to another each year. No one except the key holder was supposed to know who had it. The goal of the year was to pull off a monumental prank. 

Emil’s chance at greatness comes when his father has to go out of town for a long business trip and he has four days and nights home alone. He decides to use his time exploring Caramoor Academy. He sets up a makeshift bed in the attic of the main building and proceeds to unlock every door he can find. One evening during his exploration, Emil sees the art studio lit up and hears music blaring from the room. He finds a girl inside spinning a clay pot. He is shocked and doesn’t give her his real name because he doesn’t want to get caught, but he also wants to find out what she is doing there. After some conversation, he realizes she is the daughter of the art teacher at the Academy. 

Over the next several days Emil and Jade, the girl in the art studio, form a relationship that leads them to many discoveries about themselves, about the death of Emil’s mother and Ethan’s role in it, and the importance of friendship. Eireann Corrigan has written a complex novel with true-to-life young adult characters that grow throughout the course of the story. Definitely for older teens, this novel covers topics such as grief, loss, family, and discovery with compassion and humor.

Victoria “Egg” Jurgen is a loner and she likes it that way. Dressed in her long white cloak, with a shaved head and drawn-in eyebrows, she doesn’t talk to people and doesn’t want people to talk to her. Her look and attitude cause her to be “boy proof,” according to her mother. Egg’s unique style is fashioned after her favorite character from the movie Terminal Earth, which she has seen multiple times and as many as four times in one day. Egg refers to herself as a cinephile. She loves the film industry, especially the Sci-Fi world. 

Egg considers herself the smartest person at her school and feels Valedictorian is pretty much in the bag. That is until Max shows up in her AP classes. Egg’s first impression of Max is that he stinks, literally. The only thing she likes about him at all is his t-shirt that has the name of one of her favorite comic books on it. Max seems to be everywhere. He is a wonderful artist and joins the school’s newspaper where Egg acts as a photo journalist. Getting to know Max turns out to be a life-changing experience for Egg. 

As senior year progresses, Egg becomes more involved in activities that put her in contact with people. She learns what it means to be a friend and how important it is to have them in your life. She realizes that people aren’t always as they seem and that being perfect isn’t necessary for happiness. Egg learns a lot in one year’s time; even how to leave Egg behind and become simply Victoria. 

Cecil Castellucci has written a thoughtful story about the sensitive time in every young adult’s life – self-discovery. Written in first person, this novel launches you into Egg’s world and leaves you feeling as though you are experiencing life through her eyes. The reader will sympathize with the ups and downs of the typical teenage angst that Victoria goes through in order to, once and for all, decide what it really takes for her to be happy.

Bryn is a human living among werewolves. She was adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack when she was 4-years-old after a rabid (rogue) wolf attacked and killed her parents right in front of her. Now she is pack. Marked by the Alpha. Living as pack. Obligated to follow all the strict rules that govern the pack.

When Bryn begins to feel the Alpha is keeping something from her, she can’t help but explore to find out what it is. What she finds turns her world upside down.

Chase was attacked by a rabid and left for dead.  The Alpha found him and brought him home to heal. Bryn finds him locked in a cage and struggling for control. He is still learning to control the wolf inside him. Bryn feels an instant connection to Chase, but can’t explore her feelings because she is forbidden to see him and going against the Alpha can be deadly – even for her – his favorite.

Bryn doesn’t do well with authority and pushes her boundaries and requests permissions to meet with Chase. After several conditions are met, the Alpha grants her access to Chase. Life will never be the same for either of them.

Bryn finds she has a lot more power than anyone ever imagined. She can do things that shouldn’t even be possible. Together Bryn, Chase, and a few supportive weres change the dynamics of the werewolf community.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes does a great job immersing her reader into the world of pack life. Even though she is human, it is believable that Bryn can wield as much power as she does. The character development is great – not only with the main characters, but with the secondary characters as well.

The reader will be eager to read the sequel, TRIAL BY FIRE.

I’ve listened to the first three book on audio and thought they were absolutely fantastic.  Have I read book 4 or 5? Nope, because they aren’t available through Amazon yet.  I just checked and I can purchase them through independent sellers, but that is a recent change.  Up until recently they weren’t being sold in the U.S. I can’t wait to read them though!  Book 3 ended with a major problem.  I can’t wait to see what happens. So, if you know anyone that has them, grab them and send them my way.  

Skulduggery Pleasant is a detective and works for the magical community.  He pairs up with Stephanie Edgley after her uncle (Skulduggery’s good friend) dies and leaves his mansion to her in his will.  She stumbles upon the magical world and soon Skulduggery becomes her ally, protector, and mentor in all things magical. Together they fight evil, but always with an amazing amount of dry, hilarious wit!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the audios!!! Click HERE for the amazon link to listen to a sample.

The plague wiped out most of the Earth’s population. The world is a dangerous place for those outside the safety of the City of Sand. Luckily girls have the opportunity to live at School where they are educated to be the world’s next artists and teachers.

Eve has lived safely inside the walls of School ever since she was 4-yrs-old. The memories of her mother sending her on the government truck to safety still haunt her. Her days are spent attending classes like Dangers of Men and Boys. She has worked hard at School hoping for a chance at a great future in the City of Sand. As her time at School comes to an end, Eve finds out she is the valedictorian of her class. She has nothing but hope for her future.

Until……she witnesses her nemesis, Arden, escaping School the day before graduation. What Arden says sends Eve exploring and what she finds destroys her world.

Eve finds herself alone in the world outside of School’s boundaries and she doesn’t know the first thing about survival. How is she going to make it to Califia, the safe haven for runaway orphans? Does it even exist?

EVE is the first book in a trilogy and the world Anna Carey creates is fascinating.

I would have liked to give this book 5 Glasses, but I couldn’t.  I felt Eve’s transformation from naive schoolgirl to brave heroine was a little too easy. While I liked the characters, I didn’t have a lot invested in them. Also, some of the obstacles Eve encounters on her journey were very predictable. It was kind of like watching a horror movie and screaming at the character to tell her to NOT walk inside the dark, creepy room – you know what is going to happen! 

All in all, EVE is a nice addition to the list of dystopian books flooding the young adult market today.

Check out The EVE Trilogy website for more information.

Everything depends on your score. High scores guarantee entrance to college and low scores make it difficult to get a job at all. Scores in the 70′s give people the option to work in retail or health services – completely respectable professions, but this isn’t the life Imani wants for herself. She’s been hovering in the low 90s for several years and feels confident she’ll get the scholarship since there are only a couple of months left in her Senior year.

Scores are determined by the 5 Elements: Peer Group, Impulse Control, Congruity, Diligence, and Rapport. The cameras are watching all the time. The cameras are everywhere. The cameras sends information about what you are doing and where you are going to ScoreCorp. ScoreCorp’s software analyzes your actions and generates your score. Once a month scores are publicly posted at school for everyone to see.

Not everyone is scored though. Many of the extremely wealthy don’t bother being scored since they can buy their way into whatever they need – college, jobs, etc. Some parents wouldn’t sign the permission slip allowing their child to participate in the program. At school, these students are considered the lowest of the low. Associating with them could endanger your score.

When Imani’s best friend, Cady, does something to plunge her score into the low 40s, it plunges Imani’s to the lowest it has ever been. It seems impossible that she will ever be able to get back to the scholarship range. But, when Diego, a mysterious Unscored guy, asks to work with her on a project, Imani sees a way she might be able to get back in ScoreCorp’s good graces. Will she be able to do what it takes? 

SCORED is a fascinating look at a world where the focus on where you rate goes too far. Where attempting to maintain the right peer group, controlling your thoughts, and always striving to do the score-positive thing determines everything you do.  Do the positives about the score outweigh the negatives? Lauren McLaughlin has created a unique dystopian world based in reality. Could we end up living in Imani’s world?

T. J. Jones is a smart young man.  He lives with his wonderfully supportive adoptive parents, has the perfect girlfriend, and plays some mean basketball. It has taken him a long time to get to a place in his life where he can say he is happy though. It still takes a lot of self-control to suppress his anger because unfortunately, he lives in a town where people aren’t exactly open-minded. As part African-American he faces daily racism from some of the Good Ol’ Boys in town. He particularly has trouble with the star football player.

When T.J. is approached by one of his teachers to join the swim team he is confused. Cutter High School doesn’t have a swim team. It turns out the teacher wants him to start the team and help him recruit other swimmers. T.J. decides to do it, if nothing else, to spite the school athletics group. T.J. is determined to get his swim team to perform well enough during the season so they can all qualify for letter jackets. The group of misfits he convinces to join the team turn out to need a lot more than a letter jacket – they need friendship.

Chris Crutcher packs in so many emotions in this story that you can’t help but be sucked into it. He uses his wealth of experience to weave together a complex story of love and the true meaning of family. I listened to WHALE TALK on audio and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The narrator did a fantastic job. This is one of the classics of young adult literature.  If you haven’t read it yet, now is the time.

NOTE: It isn’t imperative that you read THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX before you read this book, but you might have a better understanding if you do.

Once upon a time, three friends, Jenna, Locke, and Kara, were in a terrible car crash. The accident left their bodies damaged beyond repair.  For Jenna, the 18 months spent in a coma was miserable. Something she wouldn’t wish on anyone – especially not her best friends. When Matthew Fox, Jenna’s father and a brilliant scientist, discovered a way to save Jenna, it released her from the dark prison of her mind. Too bad Locke and Kara were left behind.

260 years later, Locke and Kara finally get their lives back. Living a privileged life on a giant estate, they have their every need taken care of, the finest clothes, the finest food, the best of everything.  The only thing they don’t have is their freedom.  When Kara convinces Locke the importance of escaping they end up in a world they know nothing about.  Their families are dead, their homes are gone, nothing is as it used to be. They have nothing and no one to help them – except Jenna.

The long overdue reunion between friends might not turn out like Locke hopes it will.  While he has constantly thought of Jenna with love and affection, Kara hasn’t.  Kara has formed some deep feelings of rage and betrayal over being left in the digital limbo for 260 years.  When Locke and Kara are separated while on the run from the scientist that brought them to “life,” he fears the worst and is determined to reach Jenna first so he can attempt to calm Kara before she does something terrible.

THE FOX INHERITANCE is a wonderful sequel to THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX.  I was lucky enough to listen to it on audio (thanks to Macmillan Audio) and enjoyed every minute of it. The narrator, Matthew Brown, does a great job of expressing Locke’s feelings throughout the story. Poor Locke.  He is totally in love with both Jenna and Kara. At times he can seem very weak as he himself talks about how he followed them around like a puppy before the accident. I love that Mary E. Pearson told this part of the story through Locke’s eyes.  Watching him grow and change from beginning to end was great. The final chapters of the books are very emotional and intense. I had tears in my eyes at the end (which can be dangerous when driving the car). THE FOX INHERITANCE is a story of friendship and sometimes friendship is the thing that gives you the strength to keep going.

Reychel has always lived in the castle as the king’s slave, but even among all the other slaves she is treated differently. She is the only one granted brief audiences with the king and while others may whisper of the inappropriateness of the king meeting alone with a slave, it is really quite innocent.  The only thing he ever asks Reychel to do is to tell him stories. Reychel is always glad to oblige since it is the only time she is allowed to see outside.  Any other time she is forbidden to go outside or even look outside.  Everyone in the castle knows not to have windows or curtains open when she is around. Reychel has no idea why this strange rule applies to her.

On the eve of her fifteenth birthday, when the king is going to mark her as his property by burning his mark on the back of her neck, Ivy, her best friend, is kidnapped.  Now, forced to face her branding alone, Reychel accepts her fate and realizes she’ll be stuck in her lonely life forever.

The day of her branding proves to be life changing. Is Reychel up to the challenges she is going to face? Can she really save her people and the other slaves? What is so special about her?

ANATHEMA is a the first book in the Cloud Prophet trilogy. The story idea is great and exactly the kind of thing I love the read. There were a few problems though.  At times the dialogue didn’t ring true and between historical type speaking to current day speaking. Also, the romantic aspects of this story didn’t pull me in.  I didn’t feel it was authentic.  Those troubles aside, it is still worth the $2.99 Kindle price.