Dynamite Dinah, by Claudia Mills

Book One of Four. Dinah Seabrooke likes to be in the spotlight and she plays the class clown to make it so. That is, when she's not memorizing the longest poem, competing for the biggest part in the play, or otherwise showing off. But when success eludes her and she has to share the house with her newborn baby brother, life hands Dinah some hard lessons.

Mills likes to tell stories about self-centered and insecure middle schoolers. This isn't the first book in which she's done so. The books are charming in their own right, but one does wish that she'd expand the repertoire a bit. We'll see how this one goes. On to the sequel next....

The Queen of Everything, by Deb Caletti

The story starts off with the big bombshell: Jordan's father has ended up in jail for killing the husband of his lover. Jordan then proceeds to tell how that ending came about, detailing life on an island in the Pacific Northwest, and telling a bit about the story of her life along the way.

I wasn't sure I wanted to read this book as the other book I read by Caletti had been pretty turgid. This was actually a better read. She is still very much in love with her imagery, but about halfway through the story, she gives up on doing it quite as much, and just gets down to the story. Then things pick up. One still wonders if the book could have been better with a good editor that slimmed this 370 page monster down to something leaner. I'd have certainly appreciated it.

Girl, 15, Charming But Insane, by Sue Limb

Jess Jordan's imagination is a wild one, and often blinds her from the realities in front of her. The result is a complex comedy of errors as her group of friends struggle through relationships and school. The story is lightened by "horrorscopes" that precede each chapter and Jess's self-deprecatory humor.

The book's British slang can be a bit jarring to American readers, but it rings true for the demographic. And the clever humor makes this a brisk and light read. Not a book of huge substance, but funny and amusing.

I'm a bit cold to it, I suppose, because I don't like comedies of errors -- that is, comedy that relies on the characters' unwillingness to tell each other the truth. Such devices make the story too easy to wrap up. After spending a whole novel engaging in stupid acts driven by what each character THINKS the others want, all they need to do is sit down and talk and they realize the error of their ways, and everyone lives happily ever after. That is a bit too easy and not terribly enlightening or uplifting. Never mind the wince factor while the story unfolds.

Waiting to Dive, by Karen Rivers

Carly discovers a love for diving and learns to cope when her best friend Montana is injured. Other adventures include dealing with obnoxious siblings and hunting for lost treasure.

The story is written in a rather jumpy first-person style, as if it were part of a diary. Or a writing assignment on "What I Did Last Summer." That makes for some pretty difficult reading. And the story does not really cover any new ground, so the overall effect is a pretty turgid read. Karen Rivers has written Dream Water, which has won a lot of critical acclaim, but this thinner novel really doesn't hold up.

The Secret Carousel, by Claudia Mills

When Lindy's sister gets a chance to leave their small town of Three Churches IA, Lindy starts plotting her own escape. Life with their grandparents isn't terribly exciting and Lindy imagines that she could become a great actress. But while that talent develops, she discovers an old abandoned wooden carousel in a barn.

Very very dull. Some of Claudia Mills's work can be quite fun, but this is an earlier book and not a terribly interesting story. Perhaps middle readers will just enjoy having something to read, but the book lacks drama or humor, both of which are really necessary to keep my interest.

Vegan Virgin Valentine, by Carolyn Mackler

Mara Valentine is neck and neck with Travis the misogynist jerk to become this year's valedictorian. She's got just the right mix of classes and extracurriculars and she's been already accepted (early decision) with Yale. She's got it made. That is, until her messed up niece (only a year younger than her -- LONG story) comes to live with them. Soon the adventure begins.

Mackler writes good books. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things is truly a major achievement. This book will capture interest as well. But it is not in the same class. It has great characters and fun adventures, but nothing really stands out in it. I wouldn't toss it out and I certainly enjoyed reading it, but it won't blow you away either.

The Boyfriend List, by E. Lockhart

The opens with Ruby Oliver seeing a therapist for a series of panic attacks. As part of her therapy, she assembles the "Boyfriend List" which outlines all of the boys that she's had relationships (of one sort or another) with, and which serves as a framework to describe the reason for her fall from grace and the debacle that was the only one of the 15 (#13) that she really cared about.

This is a well-written and heartbreaking story of the way that human relationships ebb and flow. And while those relationships seem more volatile when you're 15, there's very little about Lockhart's writing that isn't true about relationships through life. Add her observations about parents and the way that they mess you up, and this is really an on-the-mark book.

There is an annoying artifice in the book of using footnotes throughout. This is cute and attempts to capture some of the asides that don't quite fit in the narrative, but like sidebars, they are very hard to read and can get quite distracting.

Confession of a Closet Catholic, by Sarah Darer Littman

Justine Silver has decided to give up Judaism for Lent. That's because she's decided to become a Catholic, especially since her best friend is Catholic. But then she starts thinking about her family, and especially about her Grandmother, and realizes that there's a lot more to her faith than a particular name for G-d and a set of rituals. But all this understanding doesn't answer her questions. Instead, it makes her want to know more.

While this sort of story (teen seeking God) has been done before, it is not actually that common of a storyline. For that reason, readers might like the book. It also does a nice job of explaining Judaism to both the neophytes and those with some knowledge. Whether that makes it a good book remains a bit of an open question. What is more likely to make the book appealing is the nice characterizations and a genuinely interesting storyline. Problems are encountered and resolved, not always perfectly. And that always make a book a good read. Not a fantastic read, but certainly something worthwhile.

I Was A Non-Blonde Cheerleader, by Kieran Scott

When Annisa moves from New Jersey to Sand Dune, FL, the first thing she notices is that she's the only non-blonde in the whole school. But that's just the beginning of the ways she doesn't fit it. Before the first day is done, she's alienated just about every popular girl in the school. And when she has the audacity to show up for cheerleader tryouts, it just gets worse. But Annisa never backs down, and in the end she finds that her fighting spirit is what she needs to win it all.

This is a great feel good book about a subject (cheerleading) that I have to admit makes me nauseous. Perhaps understanding that the typical pro-cheerleader demographic is not likely to be reading YA books, Kieran Scott has busted the stereotypes and created a character who is truly interesting and fun to root for. By the end, this is a story where you feel really good inside that it turns out like it does.

The One and Only Cynthia Jane Thornton, by Claudia Mills

Cynthia Jane is pretty proud of being Lucy's older sister. They may get dressed the same by their Mom, and Lucy may be bright, but Cynthia Jane is the eldest, has more friends, and is a writer to boot! That all changes when Lucy gets promoted into Cynthia's math class and starts to make friends there.

A charming short book about sibling rivalry for middle readers. Nothing deep or earth shattering is learned and the 3rd party narrative style will leave you a bit distanced from the characters and the story, but it is an enjoyable read.

Daughter of Venice, by Donna Jo Napoli

Donata finds the confines of her position in Renaissance Italy confining. As the second daughter of a noble family, she won't be allowed to marry. But worse, she has never been allowed an education or even to leave (without an escort) the walls of her family's home in Venice. So, she sneaks out of the house, dressed as a boy, and learns what it is to be a boy (and a girl) in her time.

Perhaps, I have a soft spot for the locale and the period, or perhaps the plotline of a cross-dressing Italian in the Renaissance is practically Shakespearian (and thus more accessible), but I found this to be Napoli's best novel that I've read to date. Usually, her works start with great ideas but die in the delivery, long before the conclusion. This story kept my attention and drew me along all the way to the end. An end that might be a bit too convenient and pat, but which is fulfilling and charming nonetheless. A fun read with lovely historical detail.

Boy Proof, by Cecil Castellucci

Egg begins our story happy to be the weird one (shaved head, colored eyebrows, white cloak). She's on the fast track to being Valedictorian. While she doesn't have any friends, she's happy that way, and her most serious problem is getting her Mom to stop calling her by her real name. And then a new boy transfers in during Senior year, and Eggs discovers that she's not quite as boy proof as she had hoped.

Things tie up a bit too sweetly in this story, but it doesn't detract the way that the book is overall charming. Being placed in Hollywood, with film star parents, makes the story read a bit like Sones's One of Those Hiddeous Books Where the Mother Dies, but this is nowhere near as sentimental. Egg has a nice sharpness to her and watching her screw up in the beginning makes her eventual success that much rewarding.

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters, by Gail Giles

A suspense thriller that starts off when Sunny receives a letter from her dead sister. Things just get weirder when her sister comes home, but then it turns out that she's not quite the dead sister after all. Confused? Well, throw in a parallel story about an alcoholoic father and a clinically depressed mother, and you have some harrowing other stuff to sort through.

It's actually a pretty good book, but there really aren't any likable characters in it, and that makes for a tough read. So, I guess it's a matter of whether you mind a good story with dislikeable characters, or you need the characters to be likeable as well. I tend to go for the latter, so I don't really go for the book.

Stained, by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Stained is a story of Jocelyn, a girl coming of age in the 1970s in southern New Hampshire. Her boyfriend Benny can't see her anymore because his priest has told him that Jocelyn is stained and "of the Devil." Meanwhile, the star athlete gabe has gone missing. through a series of flashbacks, Joss tells the story of her changing relationship with gabe, and a mystery unravels about what happened to gabe and why he disappeared.

Jacobson has a rich style and the alternating chapters (one current, one flashback) is an effective device. The story has perhaps a bit too many untied-up moments (so often a habit of modern novels) but it's a good page turner. The target readership may find it a bit odd to read about life in the days of their mothers, but may not even realize the historical context.

Song of Mary Magdalene, by Donna Jo Napoli

Napoli goes into riskier territory, creating a back story for the life of Mary Magdalene (prior to her meeting Jesus). In Napoli's story, Mariam is an independently minded girl who befriends a cripple and loves to sing songs. Haunted by seizures, she is assaulted and unjustly accused of prostitution, before fleeing her home in Galilee. These and other events gives her the wider mind set and tolerance of diversity that explain her later (and more well-known) acts of charity.

Like Sirena and Zel, Napoli takes a very interesting concept and doesn't quite seem to know where to run with it. The story drags a bit and leaves the reader really wondering why they should bother. I held on to see what would happen when she met Jesus, but that is at the very end and doesn't provide much of a pay-off.

The Journey Home, by Kathleen Duey

OK, so this is a guilty pleasure of mine. Generally, I dispise series books, but I got hooked on these early.

In the eighth and final installment of The Unicorn's Secret series, Heart finally finds her people, brings the evil Lord Dunraven around to the ways of good, and resolves the mystery of the Unicorns and her own origin and parents.

Duey makes a pretty decent career out of writing books for early readers and all of the books in this series go by fairly quickly (82 pages in 35 minutes!). No major deep thoughts here or personal discoveries, but a fun little read. I'm actually rather more fond of her American Diaries books, but she doesn't write those anymore.

OK, now back to the big kids' books....


P.S. Now reading this book DOES raise one of those age old questions that has been on a my mind a lot in then past: what is it about girls and horse stories? I never quite got it when I was a kid myself, and I really don't get it now. Thoughts? Comments?

Swollen, by Melissa Lion

When Owen, the star jock of the high school, dies of a swollen heart, Samantha has mixed feelings -- glad that he is gone and not able to tell the school about their secret, and sad that there is a gap inside of her. The gap is partly filled by the arrival of exotic Persian Farouk, who leads her into a world of danger and exploration that opens longings.

Yes, it truly is about THAT Harlequin-level of a book. Steamy and occasionally sexy, but mostly very very moody and introspective. Individual chapters might stand well as short stories (and they are maddeningly different in size and shape), with all of their inuendo and subterfuge. But, a novel is a different beast, and the story lacks a true pay off, getting lost in a pretty narrative. I like poetic writing very much, but without any story (nothing truly happens that causes any of the characters to change or grow) this is just not a very satisfying read.

Gracie: The Pixie of the Puddle, by Donna Jo Napoli

Gracie is a frog, but she doesn't behave like a frog. She has friends, and she believes in helping other frogs, and there's the small matter of having a name. When her friend Jimmy mysteriously allows a young human princess to kiss him, Gracie goes off on a quest to learn the truth about herself, and the other frogs in the pond. The story picks up where the Frog Prince left off and imagines what would come next.

This is another of Napoli's reimaginings of fairy tales (see Nel for another) and geared for a much younger audience. It shoots for a biut of mature wit, but doesn't elicit the chuckles of The Tale of Despereux, although there are similarities. A rather luke warm effort. A quick read and it has a satisfying ending, but there are plenty of better books out there for middle readers.

Rhymes with Witches, by Lauren Myracle

The Bitches are the coolest of the cool in the High School, even cooler than the cheerleaders or the jocks. And there is only one for each grade. Plain Jane wants, more than anything else, to rise out of her status as a toad and become the Freshman class's Bitch. And when her dream comes true, she's in absolute heaven, until she learns that her popularity has a price. And the fact that their school is overrun with feral cats may not quite be a coincidence.

For anyone who was convinced in High School that the popular kids had sold their souls to the devil, this book let's you know that you were probably mostly right. It's witty (maybe not quite as much as Speak but as much fun) and it's an entirely different way to combine teen angst with horror novel. Think of it as a black-comedy Buffy.

So, is it a good novel? Well, it's a good read. I won't be scampering to own a copy, but for a taste of something different, it's a wonderful relief.

Cut, by Patricia McCormick

Callie gets sent to Sea Pines (or "Sick Minds" as she calls it) for cutting, and spends the next month learning first to speak again, and then speak about how she ended up in treatment, and why she cuts in the first place.

The book actually ends up being more about in-patient psychiatry than cutting, which was something of a disappointment, but it is overall a good look at mental illness, and finding strength to overcome it. In many ways, it reminded me of a book I read when I was in 6th grade called I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, about a much-more disturbed young woman. This is nowhere near as harrowing a story, but it shares a familiar path into insanity and back again.

A classic.