Thursday, March 31, 2011
BOOK TRAILER: The Compound
Summary from Shelfari: When the United States is under nuclear attack the Yanakakisi family thinks they are lucky to have the Compound. Eli, Lexie, and Terese, along with their parents all make it into the underground shelter. Eddy, Eli’s twin, and their grandmother aren’t so lucky. It is six years later; Eli is now fifteen and still misses his twin. Things in the Compound have started to go wrong. The livestock has all died, the hydroponic lights are flickering, and supplies are dwindling all around, but Eli’s father thought of everything, he has a stockpile of Supplements to feed his family with, should the food run out. Bits of the truth of their situation begin to seep in when Eli discovers his twin’s never-used laptop and a mystifying internet connection near his father’s office. Eli successfully gets online and a curious series of events makes this a must-read book. The book undergoes a transformation from science fiction to a horrific psychological survival story in just a few pages.
BOOK TRAILER: Coffeehouse Angel
Summary from Shelfari: When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother’s coffee shop, she decides to leave him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over. Little does she know that this random act of kindness is about to turn her life upside down. Because this adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is really a guardian angel on a break between missions. And he won’t leave until he can reward Katrina’s selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Now if only she could decide what that might be . . .
BOOK TRAILER: Candor
Summary from Shelfari: In the model community of Candor, Florida, every teen wants to be like Oscar Banks. The son of the town's founder, Oscar earns straight As, is student-body president, and is in demand for every club and cause. But Oscar has a secret. He knows that parents bring their teens to Candor to make them respectful, compliant–perfect–through subliminal Messages that carefully correct and control their behavior. And Oscar' s built a business sabotaging his father's scheme with Messages of his own, getting his clients out before they're turned. After all, who would ever suspect the perfect Oscar Banks? Then he meets Nia, the girl he can't stand to see changed. Saving Nia means losing her forever. Keeping her in Candor, Oscar risks exposure . . . and more.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
BOOK TRAILER: Burned
Summary from Shelfari: Raised in a religious -- yet abusive -- family, a simple dream may not exactly be a sin, but it could be the first step toward hell and eternal damnation. This dream is the first step for Pattyn. But is it to hell, or to a better life? For the first time, Pattyn starts asking questions. Questions seemingly without answers -- about God, a woman's role, sex, and love -- mostly love. What is it? Where is it? Will she ever experience it? Is she deserving of it? It's with a real boy that Pattyn gets into real trouble. After Pattyn's father catches her in a compromising position, events spiral out of control, until Pattyn ends up suspended from school and sent to live with an aunt she's never met. Pattyn is supposed to find salvation and redemption during her exile to the wilds of rural Nevada. Yet what she finds instead is love and acceptance. And for the first time she feels worthy of both -- until she realizes her old demons will not let her go. In this riveting and masterful novel told in verse, Ellen Hopkins takes readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride. From the highs of true love to the lows of abuse, Pattyn's story will have readers engrossed until the very last word.
BOOK TRAILER: Bruiser
Summary from Shelfari: Tennyson, 16, is upset When his twin sister, Brontë, befriends their shy and withdrawn classmate Brewster “Bruiser” Rawlins. He is concerned that her relationship with this boy from the wrong side of the tracks will prove somehow dangerous. After he spies Bruiser changing in the locker room and notices that his back is covered in scars and welts, he becomes even more certain that the teen and his family are bad news. In spite of her brother's warnings, Brontë continues her relationship with Bruiser, drawing him closer to her family–and Tennyson–in the process. The twins begin to notice Bruiser's unusual talent: not only can he assume the physical pain and wounds of those he cares about, but he can also absorb their anger, hurt, and grief. Told from the three characters' alternating perspectives, with Brewster's rendered in poetic form, Shusterman's novel reveals its secrets and their implications slowly, allowing readers to connect the dots before the characters do and encouraging them to weigh the price of Bruiser's “gift” against the freedom from pain that Tennyson and Brontë enjoy.
BOOK TRAILER: Be More Chill
Summary from Shelfari: Jeremy Heere is your average high school dork. Day after day, he dryly notes the small humiliations that come his way. Until the day he learns about the "squip," a pill-sized supercomputer that is guaranteed to bring you whatever you most desire in life. By instructing him on everything from what to wear to how to talk and walk, the squip transforms Jeremy from supergeek to superchic. Soon he is friends with his former tormentors and has the attention of the hottest girls in school. But Jeremy eventually finds out that there is also a dark side to having a computer inside your brain -- and it can lead to disastrous consequences. A Today Show Book Club selection, Be More Chill is an edgy and hilarious novel dealing candidly with serious issues facing teens today.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
REVIEW: Not My Daugter
Susan Tate is the high school principal. She's worked hard to get where she is having been disowned by her parents when she was 17 because she turned up pregnant and not married. She has raised her daughter, Lily, mostly on her own with little help from Lily's father and no help from her parents. She has put herself through school and advanced rapidly in her career. All the while, she has tried to raise her daughter to act responsibly and make good choices which is why she is beyond shocked when Lily announces she's pregnant at 17, and not only that, but she has purposely gotten pregnant. Susan struggles to understand what has made her level-headed daughter make this choice, when news comes that two of Lily's best friends are pregnant as well. The term "pact" starts to be thrown around, and questions about Susan's parenting ability (as well as that of the other girl's mothers) comes into question. Along with her parenting ability, there are also questions about Susan's influence on the high school population and thus her job is in jeopardy. All the while Susan is struggling with trying to come to terms with Lily's pregnancy and the dreams she had for Lily and not treat Lily as Susan herself was treated by her parents.
A great book about friendship, family relationships, and small towns. Highly recommended.
REVIEW: Hush, Hush
Nora Grey and her best friend Vee are inseparable, so when their biology teacher seperates them and makes Nora partner with the new mysterious guy, Patch, they are both distraught. Nora is simply annoyed at the inconvience of not being with her best friend anymore, but then really becomes disturbed when Patch will not help with projects and eventually starts telling Nora intimate details about herself. She's shocked that he knows details about her that even her closest friends and her mother don't know. Intrigued, Nora sets out to find out more about Patch, and as she does, she finds that while she's somewhat afraid of him, she's also really attracted to him. The closer Nora gets to Patch, the more bizarre her life becomes with out of the ordinary occurances, the feeling of being watched and even near death experiences. Vee fears that Nora's life is endanger because of Patch, but Nora believes that Patch is her savior, not the one after her. Who is right? Is Patch trying to kill Nora or is someone else after her? Can Nora make rational decisions about Patch when she seems to be falling for him?
Awesome read.... quite a page turner, and there's soon to be a sequel!
REVIEW: Matched
Cassia, her brother Bram, her mother and father all live a happy, controlled life. They live in a world where their government controls everything from what they eat, to how much they eat, how many children they have, what type of work they do, when they die, what they wear and even who they marry.
Nearing her match ceremony at age 17, Cassia is excited to learn who she will be paired with to marry. It is something everyone awaits anxiously for. At her matching ceremony, she learns that she has been matched to her best friend since childhood, Xander. At first Cassia is excited - it's someone she knows which is rare, it's her best friend who she knows thoroughly and she already loves him. She is fully prepared to commit to him until she plugs in a card to learn more about him, and for a quick moment sees another face - the face of someone else she knows, but doesn't know much about, Ky. Confused as to how the government, who never messes up, screwed this up, and wondering if she was supposed to be matched to Ky and not Xander, Cassia struggles with what to do. As she's drawn more and more to Ky, she wonders if he wasn't supposed to be her true match, but the government tells her it's Xander who she should be with. Should Cassia go with the flow and stick with Xander who is familiar, or risk her life and her family to buck the system to be with the mysterious Ky?
A little slow to start, but overall a great book! There will be a sequel too!
REVIEW: What I Saw and How I Lied
Evie Spooner is a well-mannered, good girl who hasn't quite grown up despite being in high school. She longs for the adventure and kiss of a boy that her best friend has already experienced. She and her mother live with her step-father, Joe, and step-grandmother, Grandma Glad, and live a pretty boring life other than her mother and her both hating Grandma Glad. With her step-father just returning from World War II, Evie is hoping things will be less stressful with Grandma Glad. Then, Evie overhears several mysterious phone calls and conversations. Next thing she knows, Joe is swooping up her and her mother for a last minute vacation in Palm Beach Florida, even though Evie is supposed to start school soon.
Things get stranger as they arrive in Palm Beach - nothing is open on Palm Beach (it's not tourist season), they meet a couple at the hotel who quickly take to Joe and Evie's mom, Evie meets a much older man who is romantically interested in but who Joe despises for no apparent reason, and Evie begins to hear bickering from her parents which is completely out of the ordinary. Trying to piece together what is going on while also trying to seduce her new older friend, Evie ends up in the middle of a death mystery. Evie struggles to understand why the death happened, and if someone she loves was involved in the mysterious death.
Good book for historical fiction readers. I personally thought it was a good book, but nothing that I couldn't put down. Some will definitely love it though.
Monday, March 7, 2011
REVIEW: Deadly Little Secret
Camelia's life is normal for a high school student - she gets along with her parents, she has great friends, she has a hobby that she loves. Then Ben moves to town, and Camelia is drawn to him in a way that she can't explain from the moment she meets him. She literally feels electricity when he touches her. Camelia's friends begin to worry about Camelia's obsession with Ben, especially since the rumor is Ben killed his last girlfriend. Ben was never convicted, but he was so ridiculed at his former school that he had to move. Camelia begins to receive disturbing mail and gifts, sometimes with threats attached. She becomes scared, her friends begin to suspect Ben, Ben tells Camelia that he needs to protect her and Camelia is left not knowing who to trust or who could possibly want to harm her.
Great mystery, good story - little shallow dialogue, but overall great read!
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