The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

In the distant future, North America is now known as Panem, and is ruled by a tyranny from the Capitol. In retribution for an uprising many years ago, a contest is held every year called the Hunger Games, where each of twelve districts must send two of your young people to fight to the death in gladiator contests. This year, District 12 is represented by Katniss and Peeta. Peeta is a weak baker's son, but Katniss has struggled all of her life to support her family and has a suberb survival instinct. But will it keep her alive in the contest against the others? And what about Peeta, who she must also kill to stay alive (an idea which becomes more complicated as her feelings for him begin to develop)?

Not my usual thing, but a strangely compelling book. I had a great deal of trouble putting it down, which speaks highly for its value. The suspense level is high and Collins spins a very tight story. Perhaps not as much character development as I was hoping for, but there will be a sequel and that promises ample opportunity for taking this further. The book is getting a lot of hype, so it probably doesn't need another endorsement, but I'll give it anyway. If you want entertaining, hanging on your seat excitement, you can't do much better than this book.

Everything Beautiful, by Simmone Howell

When Riley screws up again, her Dad and Stepmom decide that the best thing to do with her during their planned vacation is to send her to a Christian camp in the outback for a week. This naturally enough does not go down well with atheist and wild grrl Riley. And in her first day or two there, she does her best to not fit in. However, she grows close to wheelchair-bound Dylan and (against her own better judgement) begins to enjoy herself, even as she manages to get in more and more trouble.

Despite some originality in the characters (Howell does a good job of giving everyone a twist that keeps them a step or two away from the stereotypes), the story itself is pretty much by-the-numbers and the conclusion falters badly. The novel gets points for avoiding feel-good observations about paraplegics and any temptation to throw in a cheap redemption scene. But the cost is that the story never quite wraps up and an attempt at spiritual depth towards the end falls flat. But I found the characters interesting and original enough to keep me involved in the story.

No More Us For You, by David Hernandez

Life as a museum guard ought to be fairly boring, but red licorice-loving Carlos has an amusing ability to attract trouble. Add to this some awkward relationship stumbling and a lot of boy-on-boy hazing and trash-talking (the writing is definitely R rated) and you mostly get a fairly uneventful story about a 17 year-old boy for the first half of the book. This changes though when a tragedy strikes out of the blue. Now the book becomes an exploration of survivor guilt and coping with loss. Employing alternate narrators (Carlos and Isabel), we attempt to get two perspectives on the events.

If my summary sounds a bit half-baked (and if it seems a bit odd that I have nothing to say about the narrator [Isabel] of half of the novel), that should give you a sense of the book's flaws. The book lacks direction, preferring to wallow in dialogue that seems to exist mostly to prove its authenticity than to further the story. The boys (Carlos and his male friends) are well drawn-out but the girls are throwaway and never really emerge with clear purposes of their own. This would be forgivable if the story had a point to make, but it never does that either.

My Tiki Girl, by Jennifer McMahon

In Maggie's mind, there is her Before Accident self (where she had friends and a mother that everyone liked) and then there is the After Accident Maggie where she has become "Frankenstein Girl" (hobbling from a leg injury) reeling from the death of her mother. Drowned in self-pity and blaming herself for the loss of her mother, Maggie has shut herself off from her friends. It takes a quirky outcast (Tiki) to bring Mags out of her shell. But the relationship develops into something more, triggering rumors and backlash from their peers. All of this aggravates the problems that Mags has dealing with grief.

Long-ish and slow paced, this story fails to deliver. Aside from an attempt at a cathartic ending, the key problems remain unadressed. Instead, we get a lot of ingredients (angst, dead mom, gender identity, oddball adventures, etc.) but no recipe. The characters are surprisingly thin for such a cerebral story (perhaps because their behavior is so predictable) and the story meanders.

Everything You Want, by Barbara Shoup

When Emma's Dad wins $50 million on Lotto, it seems at first as if everything is coming up roses. But that just isn't how life works. Instead, the sudden influx of wealth complicates things. Emma finds that all of her previous issues (insecurity, lack of focus, fear, etc.) get magnified by the money. Now, she can do anything she wants, but she can't figure out what that is. Add to this an extreme awkwardness with boys, and she has to do some serious soul searching.

This might be interesting territory to go down if you have never watched a rags-to-riches story on VH-1, but otherwise you might already be familiar with the concept that money corrupts. And you might have noticed that it has a tendency to turn character weaknesses into social pathologies. The question you have to ask yourself: do you care? Do you feel sorry for the poor little rich girl or do you (like me) get a bit tired of caring for someone who can't seem to get their life together? It doesn't help, of course, that the parents are not exactly paragons of responsibility either!

Overall, this story goes on too long. You'll get the idea in the first fifty pages that these are people who can't handle wealth. After that reality is established, where does one go with the story? I longed for some serious redemption, but Shoup avoids any real deep sul discovery. As a result, the characters never quite dig themselves out of their wallowing and self-pity. It makes for light escapism, but there isn't much in the lessons learned department.

Climbing the Stairs, by Padma Venkatraman

In India in 1941, there are two wars taking place -- WW II is going on in the periphery but closer to home, India is struggling for its independence. When Vidya's father is rendered an invalid from a savage beating, the family is forced to take refuge in the unsympathetic arms of her father's family. In their new home, Vidya must struggle simply for the right to read (the family does not approve of such pursuits by a woman). So, it seems like a lost cause to continue to hope to be given the chance to go to college when she graduates from school (far more likely, she will be forced into marriage). But hope comes from surprising places in this exotic and inspirational tale.

A lot of momentum is lost to exposition and explanation of the culture, but that is to be expected given the unfamiliar locale and customs, and Venkatraman makes up for it with a well-paced story. The characters are interesting and Vidya's ability to overcome her adverse conditions with a combination of luck and perseverance is appealing and rewarding. An interesting story that will appeal especially to people not familiar with the era or the place.

Girl, Barely 15: Flirting for England, by Sue Limb

This prequel to Girl, 15, Charming But Insane, picks up Jess's life a few months earlier (as the title suggests) when a group of French students come to visit on exchange. Jess's surprise at having to host a boy is quickly supplanted by her fantasies of ending up with a Gallic Stud. When Edouard ends up being a mealy geek instead, Jess turns her eyes to one of the other boys. Things get complicated during a weekend camping trip when Jess and her girl friends find themselves in competition for the same young man.

As I noted in my review of Girl, Going on 17: Pants on Fire (the third book in the series), the franchise seemed a bit exhausted, and as I started this one I was pretty much afraid that that was how it was going to go. But after some purely dreadful passages with the girls basically just doing silly gossipy things, they hit the countryside and the story starts getting interesting! Far too soon, however, we're back at school and it goes dreadful dull again. Younger readers may enjoy this book, but most American teens will find them either hopelessly tame or frivolous. For the most part, the joy and fun that was in the original is largely gone (or retread).

I was also rather annoyed at the two attempts to tie in Limb's new characters (Zoe and Chloe -- see forthcoming review of the first book in that series!). Largely pointless, these two passages have nothing to do with Jess's story and seem solely intended to create name recognition and product placement. Shame!

Julep O'Toole: What I Really Want To Do Is Direct, by Trudi Trueit

In this third installment, Julep is unwillingly drafted into a drama club production of Princess and the Pea in order to save her English grade. But she can't stand it. Just as she is about to give up (having fought a losing war against the paper mache trees she is being forced to make for stage crew), she is granted the opportunity to become an assistant director. This changes things immensely, but even Julep isn't prepared for what happens next!

Clever and witty middle reader material about an energetic and adventuresome girl. She had trouble asking for help (probably a problem that readers her age can relate to) but she is resourceful and charming. The series is getting a bit worn out and tired and this latest edition lacks the charm of the first book, but this is well-written entertaining material for the right audience.

My One Hundred Adventures, by Polly Horvath

In one busy Summer, 12-year-old Jane gets roped into helping the minister distribute Bibles, babysitting the horrible Gourd children, and meeting a series of men who used to date her mother (and may or may not be her father). There's her best friend getting dragged off to soccer camp and the lonely Mr Fordyce with his endless berries (and love for all children - even the Gourd kids!). In sum, a array of crazy situations. Jane starts off the Summer wishing for a hundred adventures. And while she doesn't quite manage that many, she does come close!

Another zany Mainelander tale from Horvath. In spirit, this is a close relative of The Canning Season, but with a slightly meaner streak to it (in terms of how the characters treat each other). For this reason mainly, I had a hard time getting through this story. It lacked the lightness of Horvath's other books and its zaniness came across as disjointed ideas instead of the usual cleverness of Horvath's other writings.

Baby, by Joseph Monninger

Baby is at the end of the line. At 15 years old, she's been kicked out of a series of foster homes and she is on her last chance before being sent to Juvie. Yet, this last chance may actually work out! She's been sent to a home in rural New Hampshire and learns to care for a dog sled team (and eventually on how to run the dogs herself). But can she accept good things in her life? Or will she insist on wrecking it all to follow after her boyfriend?

This well-meaning story suffers from two fatal flaws: an unsympathetic heroine and a story that grows increasingly erratic as it progresses. Monninger obvious loves dog sledding (he's written several book on dogs and is a real-life dog sledder) and that is revealed by how well-written those sections are. However, the rest of the book is weak and undeveloped. Everyone seemed overly tolerant of Baby's overly nasty personality and I never saw any real redemption or remorse.

The Good Girl, by Kerry Cohen Hoffman

In Lindsey's family, she is the good one. She takes care of her father, serves as a surrogate mother for her rebellious sister, reassures her mother (who has moved away and started a new family), and keeps silent about her grief for her dead brother. Despite this dramatic challenge, she manages to get good grades, the respect of her teachers, and the admiration of her peers. But inside, she is falling apart. And when she starts stealing things to soothe her pain, the situation quickly reaches a breaking point.

Full of lots of good ideas (and maybe a bit too many explanatory behavioral factors!) this slim book is maddening. It read largely like a abstract, as if Hoffman had started the book and written all of the key parts but never fleshed them out. There is much to like in this book and the character is understandable and sympathetic, but the novel could have been so much more expanded. And in doing so, it would have been a better read because we would have developed a deeper understanding of Lindsey's story and the causes of her issues. The current result looks more like a rush job.

The Wild Girls, by Pat Murphy

In 1972, Joan and her family move to California. Joan quickly befriends an eccentric and independent girl who calls herself "Fox," and the two girls dub themselves the "Wild Girls" -- brave and fearless conquerors of nature. But Fox and "Newt" (Joan) are anything but fearless, and struggle with families that are disintegrating around them and afraid of what this means for them. They do, however, share a love of writing and through a Summer course at Berkeley in creative writing, they learn a lot more about themselves as well as how to craft a story.

Obviously autobiographical, I would have normally been prone to dismiss this story as lazy writing (how hard can it be to tell your own life story, peddling it as fiction?) but this one is done terribly well. There are many brilliant observations about human nature, beautifully-written narrative, and just the right amount of angst to make the story and the characters matter. In sum, this is a gorgeous book and a model of what autobiographical YA really should be about (i.e., take stories from your youth and spin them into something substantive that transcends your individual experience). Highly recommended.

Cycler, by Lauren McLaughlin

Jill has a terrible problem that comes around once a month -- she turns into a boy named Jack. And only after spending four days in a boy's body does she get her period (talk about nasty PMS!). But beyond that catchy premise, there's a story about identity as Jill and Jack struggle to find their place in the life of a single body -- a problem only complicated by adolescence, love, and the Senior Prom.

The plot probably sounds gimmicky, but in fact does not disappoint as McLaughlin quickly transcends the novelty and humor to develop a truly interesting story about gender identity and acceptance. I found Jack a bit too stereotypical (although I suspect that women have the same complaints about the heroines that male writers create!) as a teen horndog, but he grows on you. And the story, while carrying a strong message, never sacrifices its entertainment value. Recommended, yet strangely overlooked by most of my peers. Seek it out!

The Book of Jude, by Kimberley Heuston

It is the late 1980s and Jude is a mildly over-imaginative teen living in New York in a struggling Mormon family. But she does not do well with change and when her Mom gets a chance to study for a year in Prague, Jude can't imagine a worse situation than losing her Mother for a year, until she learns that the plan is really to have the whole family move to Prague. Not only does this sound worse, it actually is worse as Jude's flights of fancy quickly deteriorate into psychosis and madness as she becomes unable to differentiate between reality and nightmares as the country around her shifts between paranoia and chaos.

Set against the historical events of the Velvet Revolution (for some bizarre reason, the blurb writer cofuses this with the Prague Spring [of 1968]!), Heuston's latest historical novel is an interesting dpearture from the usual mold. Part historical, part I Never Promised You A Rose Garden, this complex story traces stories of change, historical upheaval, religious faith, and mental illness. Staying true to the jumbled mental state of the narrator, the story itself jumps and bounds around from topic to topic. That can make for very frustrated reading as interesting subplots get lost in the haze and the main storyline never really wraps up. However, it feels more realistic this way. My one complaint is that the story could have been much longer and benefitted from fleshing out of the story. That said, Heuston is one of the stronger and more original voices in YA historical fiction today and worth reading.

The Mousehunter, by Alex Milway

In an alternate world, mice come in all sizes and shapes, and have proven to be the most versatile helpmates a human could long for. And in this world, young Emiline yearns to fine tune her mousekeeper skills to the point that she can one day be considered a mousehunter. But in the meantime, she has left the employ of her eccentric mouse-collecting Lovelock to join the privateer Drewshank on an expedition to capture the dread pirate Mousebeard. Through storms and sea monsters, Emiline and her trusty gray mouse Portly take the adventure of their lives.

An extremely developed and colorful fantasy read, Milway's descriptions of all of the various mice that populate his world are the true highlight of this book. And the book certainly has enough twists and turns to keep things busy. However, Milway seems to delight in throwing in these details and twists not so much to keep the story exciting as much as to fill the story with activity. Far too many storylines are introduced and die with a whimper. And I found the constantly shifting narrative voice (sometimes with the girl, sometimes with the privateer, and even sometimes with the villians) very distracting. This is not a story for character development (or even growth) and that makes for dry reading. Very creative but dreadfully dull (in spite of its frenetic activity level).

Everything Is Fine, by Ann Dee Ellis

Mazzy's mother is sick, lying at home slowly vegetating from grief. Mazzy's Dad is away from home pursuing his dream job of being a sports commentator on ESPN and avoiding facing th truth about what is going on at home. People come by to help (a home health aide named Bill, the neighbors, a hired woman who brings the groceries, a concerned social worker, etc.) but each time Mazzy tries to drive them off with her "karate chops" and an assurance that "everything is fine," even if it most certainly is not.

The story seeks poignancy by telling the story entirely through Mazzy's voice and her drawings. That would work if Mazzy wasn't such an unlikeable character. Some of this nastiness is a result of her need to protect her family, but there is also a terrible selfish streak to her that really turned me off. And as the story promised that everything would be revealed, I wanted to find out that Mazzy had some good reason for behaving as she did (autism, ADHD, anything!) but that never came. Once I hated the main character, my interest in what happened to her plummeted. And my desire to read her (realistically) scrappy narrative declined. An interesting concept but a book that you will probably want to give a pass on.

House of Dance, by Beth Kephart

With her mother distracted by an affair with her married co-worker, Rosie is left alone to help her dying grandfather go through his possessions and decide what to give away. It's an eye-opening journey for Rosie who has not known that much about her grandfather before. Determined to give him something very special before he is gone, Rosie organizes a party for Granddad with the help of the dance students at a local studio.

Beautifully written and inspired by the death of Kephart's mother, this story of family and dealing with change is striking and memorable. It is not, however, a YA book, despite its teenaged heroine. I have no doubt that some young readers might enjoy it (and many adult readers will be taken by the gorgeous narrative and adult observations of the characters), but it is being mis-marketed to a teen audience. Moreover, it suffers from one of my least favorite attributes of the adult modern novel: the tendency to use characters and story to sell a point, rather than letting the characters find their way into your heart. As beautiful as the story was, I never found myself caring for the characters at all.

Fancy White Trash, by Marjetta Geerling

Abby has developed a series of rules (You Don't Need Him, No Baggage from the Past, etc.) to help save her from the fate of her sisters and mother. Mom's been married three times already (twice to Abby's biological Dad) and she's now pregnant with the child of The Guitar Player (who's also managed to get Abby's older sister pregnant). Add to all this that Abby's about the only one in the family so far that hasn't been a teenage mother, and you can appreciate why she's trying to live by some sort of order. But her life is really just a Jerry Springer episode in the making -- her best friend is an in-the-closet gay boy with immaculate taste, and she can't tell if she's ready to date the older brother of that same best friend (she's hesitant because she's convinced that he might be the father of one of her sister's kid). Oh yeah, she likes to watch soap operas...can you tell?

If you take this story as light entertainment, it works pretty well as a farce. It's a little too serious to be comedy though and way over-the-top for serious drama. So, I just sort of waded through it, never quite managing to get connected with the characters. It's cute and it's original at times (skipping over a very tired cliched portrayal of the gay friend), but it's not very compelling.

Unraveling, by Michelle Baldini and Lynn Biederman

Amanda is always getting into trouble with her mother. Her younger sister, on the other hand, is perfect and skates through life unscathed. But it isn't all Amanda's fault -- Mom's sister and even Dad notice that Amanda seems to get singled out a lot for blame. But it's complicated and no one is really all that perfect in this look at familial relationships.

A complex story that is at its strongest when it is dealing with the mother-daughter relationship. It struggles more when it attempts to deal with peer pressure and teen sex (as it is pretty obvious that these subplots really don't have much to do with the story). Also, a little more subtlety in the maternal abuse would have gone a long way (most readers will have to admit that Amanda has it a lot worse than they ever have had it).

But putting that aside, the story itself is striking and the characters true and vibrant. I, of course, have no first-hand experience with mother-daughter relationships, but this story seemed honest and accurate. The frustrations and disconnects between Mom and Amanda seemed familiar, and I am sure that all of us will recognize a bit of their struggle in our own relationships with our parents (or children, as the case may be).

Ten Cents A Dance, by Christine Fletcher

In 1941 in Chicago, Ruby must find a way to support her widowed mother and younger sister. Working in the stockyards, she can barely earn anough money to scrape by and certainly not enough to get her family out of their living situation. But when a local boy tells her about a dance hall where she can get paid for dancing with men, she decides to explore the option. She loves dancing, after all, and the promise of earning $50 a week sure sounds great! Very quickly, Ruby realizes that there is much more to the job than simply dancing and comes to understand that she is going to have to make some difficult decisions in order to survive.

Appearing on several "best of 2008" lists this year, I was intrigued by this book. It doesn't fall into the category of a book I would normally want to read. I'm not big of historical novels and 20th century really tends to bore me. However, the richness of the detail and the engrossing story very quickly take over. Gangsters and jazz in Chicago is pretty tired cliche but this book never falls a foul of that. Instead, we get a glimpse of a really vibrant world and a story about a truly original heroine. Truly, a very well crafted story!

Feathered, by Laura Kasischke

During Spring Break in their senior year of High School, three girls (Terri, Anne, and Michelle) go to Cancun. The planis to meet some boys, have a few drinks, and enjoy themselves in the sun. But beneath the surface, the girls are always just a bit aware of the danger of being a young woman in such a situation. And when the fear of danger becomes a horrible reality instead, one of them struggles with her inability to cope with the changes it causes in their lives.

A beautifully-written tale (Kasischke's previous works have primarily been written in verse and it shows!) about a very dark subject. The story avoids exploitation by focusing on character themes (Michelle's search for beauty and Anne's fear of living). The juxtaposition of the characters is striking and creates a book that transcends its genre with its ambitious design.

Rainy, by Sis Deans

Rainy has troubles staying focused on one thing for any length of time and she drives her teachers (and the other kids) nutty with her outbursts and seemingly random behavior. But life with ADHD is not easy. It will be particularly challenging this summer as her parents are sending her to overnight camp for four weeks in Maine. There she must learn to adapt to life with lots of new kids but so many familiar problems.

I'll have to come clean out say that I've never been terribly patient or sympathetic to people who suffer from ADHD (it pushes all sorts of personal buttons for me on so many levels), so it's also a bit of a challenge to read a (fictional) story about what it is like. I kept coming back to the thought of "how is this girl going to survive in the real world when she grows up?"

Putting that bias aside though, the book itself is fascinating. Deans has done a fantastic job of crafting a sympathetic portrait of what having ADHD could be like. Rainy is no saint and Deans doesn't hesitate to show both strengths and weaknesses. For a reader who wants to understand how it works, this is a good primer. The story itself is fairly basic but full of enough suspense and character development to keep middle readers interested. As much as Rainy would drive me completely up the wall in person, I could appreciate her struggles. That makes this a good story.

Cicada Summer, by Andrea Beaty

Lily hasn't spoken a word in two years, since her older brother died. But in the summer when a girl named Tinny came to town and the cicadas came out of the 17 year hibernation, things will change. Lily will reveal some talents she's learned from Nancy Drew and confront both her past and the injustices that pervade her world.

A beautifully written and lyrical look at a summer of change. Perhaps too lyrical and abstract for the targeted tween audience, but a gorgeous and gentle read nonetheless. This short novel (almost a novella) has delightful descriptions and the type of bittersweet poignancy that I'm a sucker for. Recommended.

Vibes, by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Kristi makes outfits for herself out of random items she has found (tire inner tubes, old raincoats, etc.) and she listens to opera music on her iPod really loud to drown out the kids at her hippie alternative school. But what she really is trying to drown out is their thoughts (Kristi is cursed with the seeming ability to read minds) because what she hears isn't exactly nice stuff. She know full well that the girls think she is a bitch and the boys are all obsessed with her "ginormous" breasts. But things are changing. A new boy at school seems interested in her and the sexy older brother of her former BFF is sending out conflicting signals. Just to complicate matters, her absent Dad has returned and she is struggling to keep her secret pet cat hiddne from her allergic Mom.

This synopsis will probably make it seem like there is a lot of random stuff going on in this story, but Ryan has a good talent for making it all gel. Yes, some of the subplots could probably have been trimmed out, but I found the story quite readable. The whole psychic subplot, for example, is left beautifully vague and unresolved, which is just the way it needed to be. In so many ways, this book could have gone very badly, but it manages to skate through fine. As another example, a near-sentimental finale avoids the pitfalls and ends up with both a satisfactory sense of closure and enough open stuff to permit a sequel (although I hope that won't happen!). This book is worth reading for both its own enjoyment and as a lesson in how to keep readers nicely on their toes.

Boy Minus Girl, by Richard Uhlig

In the early 80s in Kansas, Les is dying to prove himself with a girl. When he isn't jerking off or begging God for forgiveness for doing so, he is studiously studying love-making technique as taught by the book The Seductive Man. He even knows the girl he wants to try it all out on -- if he could only get up the nerve to talk to her. To add to the mix, he's got a bully dogging his tail, a gym teacher on him to practice more, and a pair of overprotective parents. Enter his uncle Ray who makes a rare appearance and stays for a few weeks. Ray is destined to give Les the push he needs to change his life, but it won't really go the way either of them imagined.

A mixed result. Quirky-enough characters and lots of activity/action keeps the story interesting, but there is a lack of depth to everything that kept me cold. A good example would be the relationship of Les to the girl Charity which has shades of Hard Love but with so little dramatic tension that you almost forget it's there. The author may have captured the stereotypical shallowness of a horny teenage boy (and the similarly immature male adults), but that wouldn't excuse the female characters.

The book does itself no favors by claiming to be humorous. There are brief moments here and there but for the most part, this is actually a fairly serious story.

Skin Deep, by E M Crane

Andrea has spent her life so far observing the people around her, never getting actively involved in anything. But after her homeroom teacher commits suicide and she starts dog-sitting for an eccentric dying woman, her life begins to change. Eventually, she starts questioning her assumptions about high school cliques, her abusive Mom, and what she wants from life.

Well-written and occasionally engaging, this book is so busy being a "modern novel" that it never really tries to tell a story. I found it maddeningly difficult to get through. The usual culprits were at work: half-developed ideas scattered throughout the story (why do contemporary writers of adult fiction think this is a good style? And why do they think it will translate to YA?) and far too much noise. I give her high marks for busting the snobby cheerleader archetype, but beyond such good ideas, this story left me high and dry.

Cassie Was Here, by Caroline Hickey

When she was little, Bree had an imaginary friend named Joey. After her family moves to a new town, Bree turns back to Joey for companionship. Here parents are distressed to see their 11 year-old daughter retreating into fantasy, but soon they are even more worried about the real friends Bree is making in the neighborhood. However, initial impressions can be deceiving.

A fairly gentle middle reader about friendships -- both real and imaginary -- and the challenge of transitioning out of the world of make-believe. Hickey has a good sense of life at 11. This is a pleasing book with a lot of respect for its characters (both child and adult), but breaks no significant new ground.

Dear Julia, by Amy Bronwen Zemser

Elaine is a shy and withdrawn girl with an unusual penchant for haute cuisine. She's been cooking since she was little and has perfected and memorized every recipe in Julia Child's books (except the omelet!). She has four brothers (counting the one who keeps borrowing her clothes and wants to be a girl). She has a stay-at-home Dad who's big into yoga. A high-powered Mom who is a member of Congress and can't understand why her eldest daughter wants to make a career out of sweating over a hot stove. But Elaine doesn't have a friend, so she writes letters to Julia Child for help but never manages to mail them off.

Enter Lucida Sans (as in the type face). She's never been good at anything except for trying everything with the aim of becoming famous. She's not quite made it, often because of her weakness for the evil Croton (a rotten fig, a flower gone to seed). But while she doesn't really understand cooking (her two Mom's fry up cream cheese sandwiches!), she sees an opportunity to help Elaine and help both girls achieve their dreams.

A bizarre and strange rollercoaster of fun and mayhem. While the ending goes a bit over the top, you cannot fault the general fun of the story. The characters are hillarious and memorable, and the situations outrageous. This is a delightful book and tops off a run of really good books I've been reading lately (recent arrivals to this BLOG may not believe that I pan far more often than I praise as I'm beginning to sound like a softie)!

All We Know of Love, by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Four years ago, Natalie's mother walked out on her and her Dad. Now she has decided to go to Florida in hopes of finding her mother and sorting out why her Mom left. The 24 hour bus trip from Connecticut gives Natalie the opportunity to reflect upon the meaning of "love" and how it has affected her life. But more than an exercise in navel-gazing, Baskin shifts the narrative's POV and inserts anecdotes about love from incidental characters along the way. There are a number of odd plot twists and the story is only slowly revealed, but the overall result is an ode to the various meanings of love.

A thought-provoking novel with a lot to say. Baskin keeps the prose sparing and wraps the whole thing up in 200 pages, which is a blessing as an introspective book like this could have easily gotten tough to plow through. In fact, this is a novel that could easily have gone astray as Baskin trucks out more than the usual quota of YA cliches, but she is masterful at keeping things on track and focused. There has certainly been way too much written on the subject so one might wonder what Baskin could really add to the subject of love, but this story is repackaged in a way that makes it quite intriguing. A good read. If not perfect, it is at least well worth cracking open.

The Smile, by Donna Jo Napoli

At the end of the 15th century in Florence, Elisabetta dreams of a beautiful life at her country villa, wedded to the kind but hesitant Giuliano. But these girlish fantasies are not to be as Giuliano is a Medici and events are about to overtake her beloved republic. The years pass, tragedies strike, and her world changes around her, but every opportunity that disappears creates new ones to replace it. And while she keeps her friends and stays true to the things that are important to her, Elisabetta finds her life taking her places she had never imagined. Life is truly much more complicated than she ever imagined. By the time that a decade has passed and the book is closing, culminating in "Mona Lisa" posing for the world's most famous portrait, Napoli has created a parallel literary study to rival the complexity of Lisa's smile.

While the material Napoli has to work with is formidable and fruitful, it in no way diminishes the stunning achievement that this novel truly is. Napoli has written several previous works placed in medieval Italy, but this is easily the best. It underscores her striking command of the historical novel. The historical detail is lovely but never crowds out the narrative or the characters (who are delightful). One could nit pick and note how she grows impatient with her story and rushes it forward towards the end (a problem she also had in Hush) but overall the work is well-developed. Elisabetta is an interesting heroine who stays within the cultural bounds of her time while being vibrant to a modern mind. This is easily one of the best books I have read in the last year. Highly recommended.

The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen

In 1899 high society New York, reputation and discretion were paramount. And a family's destiny was driven by the right friends and the right marriage. Add to this exotic and luxurious environ the jealousies and unpredictable hormones of adolescents where everyone (in true classic romance style everyone is in love with the wrong person) and you get the world of The Luxe.

On so many levels I was certain I would despise this historical cum Gossip Girls derivative. And it started off badly enough with all the materialistic bodice ripping that I expected. But somewhere in its quick-reading 400+ pages, I got sucked in. Maybe not enough to want to read the sequels, but enough to understand -- and appreciate -- the appeal. Yes, it's an overblown Harlequin for teens. Yes, it lacks much in the way of redeeming aesthetic value. But it was also captivating and just plain fun!

Matilda Bone, by Karen Cushman

In the midst of medieval England, Matilda is left with Peg the bonesetter to learn the ways of medicine. She hates it. She would much rather be studying the lives of the saint with her beloved tutor Father Leufredus, but he has gone away. To Matilda, Peg and her colleagues (a doctor, a leech, and a barber) are barbarous folk -- not so much for their profession, but for being illiterate and uneducated. In her mind, only the learned Master Theobald is a worthy practititioner, although even Matilda acknowledges that he seems less successful at curing his patients. Matilda struggles with this contradiction and others.

Less funny than Catherine, and a bit more bookish (Cushman admits in the afterword that she fought the temptation to make this a textbook instead of a novel), Matilda Bone is an interesting read but a disappointment. You can't quite escape the feeling we're being taught here rather than entertained. And while the characters are interesting enough, one loses sympathy for Matilda's attitude and arrogance amidst such kindness and generosity.

Shelter, by Beth Cooley

When Lucy's father is killed in a car accident, she and her family lose everything, moving from place to place until they end up at a homeless shelter. Things have gotten as low as they can get. But as life hits rock bottom for Lucy, she discovers there is hope. And while she, her mother, and her little brother struggle to rebuild their lives, they also discover new talents and skills.

A light and fast read, but superficial and predictable at the same time. Cooley is an uneven writer. The setting was fresh and the characters engaging, but the dialogue and the narration gets very clunky and artificial at times. Fun enough to read, but don't expect much from it if you do.

Almost Alice, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

In the latest installment of the Alice series, Alice is now finishing up her junior year. As usual, there are plenty of adventures (a Sadie Hawkins dance, working for the Gay Student Alliance and the school newspaper, a production of Guys and Dolls, a friend from work choosing to become a priest, etc.) and a few deep issues (mostly dealing with sex and forgiveness). But for the most part, the rather frantic pace of Alice's just continues forward. Long-time readers will be excited that she goes to the prom with Patrick.

In my mind the franchise is mostly treading water at this point. She's a fun character to catch up with and I get the appeal, but aside from chronicling what Alice eats for dinner and the latest goofy adventure she has, Naylor seems to have run out of things to actually say in these books. Some of the installments (Alice In-Between and Alice the Brave, for example) were beautiful stories that just happened to be snapshots of her life. Now, it seems more like we are cramming in a lot of activity, skimping on the reflection, and full speed ahead. Alice seems shallow in comparison to her younger days.

I'll probably get savaged by the multitude of Alice fans out there, but I think it is fair to say that something has truly been lost. I've always been taken by the idea of the project (documenting a single person's life from childhood to adulthood) but I want it to be an emotional journey where I can see the insides of the person, not just a diary account of all her nutty adventures. Let's slow down a little and smell the roses!

Undone, by Brooke Taylor

Serena has always been drawn to the mysterious Kori and tried to emulate her. But Kori has always lived her life just a bit closer to the edge, being sexier, sluttier, and darker than Serena would ever dare. But when Kori dies in an accident, Serena must try to rebuild her life and identity without Kori. In fulfilling five of Kori's last wishes, she learns as much about Kori as she does about herself.

A striking surprise. I really wanted to hate this book. It combines the worst of YA (death and gloom) with characters who seem terribly stock (outcast goth, snotty cheerleaders, etc.) but Taylor is always one step ahead of you keeping things interesting. The book has a very nasty habit of throwing in unexpected curve balls (some of which seem artificially created just to generate surprise), but there is just so much originality in this book that you have to cheer it on. The plot still annoys me and the characters did not engage me, but the story is just too damned good! Read this book to read one of the truly most original treatments of a tired theme you will ever find. Brooke Taylor is a powerhouse of a good writer.

Call Me Hope, by Gretchen Olson

Hardly a day goes by where Hope's mother isn't yelling at her, calling Hope "stupid" or a "dumb shit." As Hope turns 12, she has grown so tense that she grinds her teeth at night and throws up her food. Despite her attempts to please her Mom, nothing seems to work and Hope wonders if she can get by. Taking inspiration from The Diary of Anne Frank and from Life Is Beautiful, she draws parallels between her life and the lives of Jews in the Holocaust.

Written more as an advocacy piece for alerting children to the dangers of verbal abuse, there isn't much room for subtlety in this story. Hope herself is well-developed but most of the other characters (Mom, the school counselor, friends, etc.) are basically just talking heads for the cause. That's a bit of a shame because a more nuanced story would have been more compelling. But the target audience appears to be younger middle school readers and Olson probably wanted to spell things out in black and white.

The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower, by Lisa Graff

When Bernetta's alleged best friend frames her and gets her suspended from school (as well as grounded for the Summer), Bernie is devastated. However, it gets worse. Because of her alleged cheating on a test, she is also going to lose her scholarship at Mount Olive and her parents can't afford to send her there in the Fall without the financial help. How, she must figure out a way to earn $9000 in the Summer to pay for the bills. But how do you do that when you are only 12 years old? Her surprising answer is to become a con artist.

It took me a major act of will to overcome the morally questionable premise (you can undo a wrong by committing many more) and a flimsy righting of those wrongs at the very end. But if you can put those scruples on hold, the book is breezy and fun to read. This is one of those stories that you can pretty much tell what the pay off will be, but it's entertaining.

Lobster Land, by Susan Carlton

Life on an island off the coast of Portland ME is fairly bleak (pun intended) but Charlotte has plans to escape to boarding school. However, there's her boyfriend, hapless (but potentially fugitive and definitely Scrabble-obsessed) Dad, and her siblings with whom to negotiate. And there's the small matter of getting the applications done as well!

A book which scores more from its witty writing than its story. The constant sarcasm gets a bit tired by page 90, but it has appeal (reminding me a bit of Cyd from Gingerbread). I really wanted to like this girl. But the story treads water.

I'll have to also admit that my opinion was impacted more than a little by the liberal use of profanity in the writing. This is a source of intense debate in YA (whether to swear or not). I see how it can add authenticity and emotion to a story (and I'm certainly no prude in my own life) but the rather heavy use of F-bombs and A-words by Carlton dilutes their utility. I think less is more in this case.

Santa Claus in Baghdad, by Elsa Marston

This collection of eight short stories profile a different young person in a different Middle Eastern country, focusing predominantly on areas which have been beset by violence (Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, etc.). While some of the struggles are familiar YA themes, the setting i scertainly not. So, like last year's In the Name of God, Marston illustrates both what is similiar and what is different.

Marston is a bit overly conscious of her role as an introducer of a culture to the West and some of the stories can get preachy (and politically slanted as well). Moreover, as a collection of stories, there is a wide variety of strength in the work. The first story (which lends its title to the book) is a particularly beautiful retelling of O Henry's Gift of the Magi and is one of the most haunting stories in the collection. Other stories, like "The Olive Grove" (about the Intifada) or "Honor" (about honor killing in Syria), falter under the weight of their political agendas. Politics of course has its place (and novels like the aforementioned In the Name of God or the haunting Tasting the Sky have successfully melded politics and teen angst) but Marston is at her best when she keeps her focus on the kids. And Marston does succeed at times. "In Line" manages to tell a story about friendship while still highlighting class tensions in modern Egypt.

Walking Naked, by Alyssa Brugman

When Megan lands up in detention with the "Freak" (as Megan and her friends call outcast Perdita), she realizes that she has never given Perdita much thought. And as she gets to know Perdita better a la Breakfast Club, she realizes that she actually likes the girl. But now, Megan must try to juggle her position as an It Girl with the social suicide of her new friendship. The effort that this balancing act takes makes her realize that her own perfect world may not be so great after all.

Fairly predictable and tame YA fare from Australia. (Wouldn't it be cool if we had a YA book where the popular snooty girl actually turned out to have a better life than the outcast? Yes, snooty A-List girls don't generally read YA so there wouldn't be much call for such a shake-up in the convention, but wouldn't it be fun to see something a little different?) No major revelations in this one. But if you are looking for a pleasant tale about the importance of being true to yourself and the perils of popularity, this will fit the bill.

Would You, by Marthe Jocelyn

One night during the Summer, while Nat and her friends are having fun sneaking into people's pools, they pass an accident site. Within a few minutes, Nat learns that her sister has been struck by a car and is now in a coma at the hospital. In the days that pass, she and her family (and their friends) come to grips with the idea of losing someone you love, who you never thought you would lose since she was so young.

A thin story, both in length and in development, that struggles to tell the story of grief in a new and original way. This one's in first-person present tense yet somehow manages to avoid any feeling of closeness or immediacy. I never felt connected to the characters nor any real compassion for what they were going through. And the story was so old and undeveloped. People grieve. It's sad. That's basically the story.

How To Ditch Your Fairy, by Justine Larbalestier

In a parallel world in a the near future, Charlie is a student at an elite sports high school in New Avalon. New Avalon is the best of the best and sports rule this world, making Charlie's place in the school a major honor. But in the world, fairies also hold sway and, while not everyone believes in their powers, Charlie sure struggles with hers. The fairies grant their hosts particular powers and her fairy give her the ability to find the perfect parking place -- a fairly worthless talent for a 14 year-old who hates cars and a dangerous liability when an upperclassman takes to kidnapping her to help him find parking places downtown. If only Charlie could get rid of her fairy and maybe gain a replacement -- like one that would win over all the boys or give her perfect hair....

A strange, quirky, and original setting for a story that combines sport novel with romance with supernatural magic, but never quite does any of these genres all the way. That may be charming, but I actually found it a bit maddening. Add to it all the surreal workload that Charlie and her fellow students allegedly endure and a sadistic system of demerits and I just started to get creeped out. What should have been a funny and entertaining story just got dark. New Avalon just seemed like a dystopia and a depressing place. So, in the end, I was confused about what I was supposed to get from the book. There were little elements of all sorts of things, but in the end, it seemed like a happy fairy tale ending (!) was supposed to wipe away any substantive conclusion. I didn't get much out of this book, despite its originality. Your results may vary.

The Market, by J. M. Steele

One night, on an anonymous tip, Kate discovers a website that purports to be a market. But this "market" doesn't tade in the usual commodities -- it rates the popularity and desirability of the girls in her high school. When Kate shows it to her friends, the girls are initially disgusted, but ultimately intrigued at the possibility of playing the market by investing in Kate and inflating her value from "junk" to "blue chip" -- with the goal of cashing in on the gain. But as her "value" starts to climb, Kate learns that there are other "investors" who are eyeing her and that speculation -- even in popularity -- can have dangerous side effects.

A bit heavy-handed and simplistic, the premise makes this book worth reading, but just barely. The (anonymous) authors are slick and on a mission to sell their story as a parable on the perils of popularity. In case you don't pick that up from the main plot, they have weaved in some subplots that tell the same message. The overall effect is a book that seems over-engineered -- like it was the result of a focus group rather than the heart and soul of a living writer. That's not to say that the story is formulaic, but the ingredients certainly are.

Bliss, by Lauren Myracle

It is the Fall of 1969 and the big story on the news is the Manson trial. But for Bliss, it is about trying to fit in at Crestview Academy after her parents dump her with her stodgy grandmother as they flee to Canada to avoid the draft. That would make for a pretty interesting story, but there is more: a ghost of a girl who killed herself 80+ years before, a death-obsessed loner, a non-conformist love interest, interracial dating in a time when such things were still dangerous, and mutitudinous quotes from the Andy Griffith Show.

This novel falls seriously into my category of trying-to-do-too-much. I'm not sure how all of the plots were supposed to relate (most of them are just fade away and the ending is amazingly incomprehensible), but I am sure that some sorry book report writer will have to figure it out. Her earlier Rhymes With Witches did a similar job of crossing high school life with the supernatural, but it was wittier and had more focus. This one can't figure out if it wants to be funny, poignant, and just gross-out. All over the place and ugly to boot!

Debbie Harry Sings In French, by Meagan Brothers

Johnny aimlessly drowns his dead-end life in alcohol until an unintended overdose of drugs lands him up in a rehab center. A girl there introduces him to the music (and style) of Debbie Harry and Blondie. It's the early 90s and he's more into 80s New Wave, but something about Debbie totally captivates him and gives him the strength to find a new direction. New directions, however, come with new complications and it takes a girlfriend, a jealous bully, and one fantastic dress to show him the way.

The storyline veers all over the place, but the characters are surprisingly engaging. Moreover, Johnny's journey is unique in YA (which is truly amazing in this day and age of jadedness in the genre). This is hardly classic material, but it is original and it is well-written. Give it a try!

The Isabel Factor, by Gayle Friesen

Right before Zoe and Anna are supposed to go to summer camp, Zoe breaks her arm and can't go. Inseparable as friends ("like crazy glue"), Anna does not know what to do but reluctantly goes alone. The summer promises to be busy as she and her friends from previous summers hatch a plan to finally win the camp competition against their arch rivals in cabin seven. However, there is a new girl (Isabel) who won't play along. Her resistance has striking consequences on old friendships. Soon, Anna is even reconsidering her friendship with Zoe and her priorities in general.

A bit of a rough read and treading on familiar ground, this story does not offer a lot. The ending is strong and some ambitious themes about peer pressure are approached, but this is overall pretty average stuff.

Heaven Looks A Lot Like the Mall, by Wendy Mass

When a freak dodgeball accident lands Tessa in a coma at the hospital, her life flashes before her eyes. However, each episode is seen through the context of a store at the mall where her Mom and Dad work. While this may sound like an absurd basis for a story, it turns out to be an effective device to allow Tessa to revisit her life and realize that she hasn't always made the best of choices.

This is one of those free-verse novels: a genre that is overly prone to navel gazing, especially in YA. Sometimes, it works well. This time, the results are mixed. Some of the chapters (particularly early on) coalesce nicely, but others drag or fall into cliche (do we really need one more prom disaster story?). A decent-enough read, but disappointing in the end.

Another Kind of Cowboy, by Susan Juby

Taking a break from her successful Alice, I Think series, Juby gives us the story of Alex -- a horse-obsessed boy with a talent for riding and a small secret that he keeps from his alcoholic father. Add in a spoiled and self-centered rich girl from an elite girls' riding academy, his two nosy little sisters, and a variety of other characters and you get a charming story about finding out who you are, coming clean, and competitive dressage.

Spoiled rich girl Cleo never quite appealed to me, but Alex is a winner and a nice hero (Juby has created another character worthy of a few more books). The setting (rural British Columbia) is a bit off of most people's radars, but the story is a winner, not really following a traditional arc but still managing to deliver a good payoff. Worth reading!

Suite Scarlett, by Maureen Johnson

Scarlett lives in a famous old hotel in the heart of Manhattan with her family. It sounds terribly exotic unless you realize that the hotel is an economic failure (a pale shadow of its former glory days) and her family is a mixture of dysfunctional types. But everything changes when the exotic and eccentric Mrs Amberson arrives and takes an instant liking to Scarlett. Staying in the fanciest suite in the hotel and throwing money around like crazy, Mrs Amberson looks poised to change everyone's fortune until things go terribly wrong. Now, Scarlett must rise to the occasion and save the day.

An uneven work. Thoroughly fun and enjoyable in the first 250 pages, the final 100 pages become muddled as the plot treads water and losings its dramatic edge. Things aren't helped by one of the most boring romances to grace YA in a while. It was so bad that it took me totally by surprise, because I really was enjoying the book and couldn't put it down. But it just failed to deliver. In addition to the romance that isn't, there's a number of improbable plot turns, a major dramatic moment that isn't (when Mrs Amberson's secret conflict with her nemesis is revealed), and all sorts of rough ends. Johnson writes some good books and most of them are quite entertaining, but this one just bombs out. Disappointing!

Living Dead Girl, by Elizabeth Scott

Alice lives in a hellish world that centers around pleasing Ray. It wasn't always like this and somewhere in the back of her mind she remembers the girl who had a family and a different life. But that was before Ray took her away and made her his and name her Alice. And she isn't even the only Alice. Before her there was another Alice who Ray killed when she turned 15 and was too old to love him anymore. Now that Alice herself has turned 15, she knows it won't be long before Ray replaces her as well.

ICK! It's a quick read and an engrossing story, but you have to be one very sick puppy to enjoy a book like this. And I realize that that review is not going to scare anyone off (I read the same sorts of reviews myself and it only made me want to read the book), but this is a story that really exists only to exploit. You won't learn anything more than there are people in the world sicker than you (for even wanting to read this) and that a slick advertising campaign and a lot of hype can make the difference between schlock and must-read YA. Nasty!