Paper Towns, by John Green

One night toward the end of his senior year, Quentin's sleep is interrupted by the girl-next-door Margo, who wants Quentin to join her on an all-night prank fest. He consents and after the evening is over, she disappears. In the weeks that follow, Quentin becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her and starts to assemble clues about her disposition. As his last year in high school closes, Quentin realizes that time is running out. Assisted by his odd assorted friends, he embarks on a desperate road trip to save Margo before it is too late.

John Green is a major powerhouse in YA writing and Looking For Alaska ranks in my all-time top ten. However, he seems to be in a rut. While still very funny and endlessly capable of creating quirky and memorable characters, Green's stories end up sounding much the same -- horny but sensitive loser-boy longs after mysterious girl. It's a lovely formula and it rings true (as the male version of the teen angst novel), but it's really time for Green to move on and write a new book. I don't really need to keep reading the same one over and over again.

Hot Lunch, by Alex Bradley

When too-cool-for-you Molly gets into a destructive food fight with new girl Cassie, their initial punishment is being forced to work in the school cafeteria for Mrs. Zetz the lunch lady. But when the two girls drive Mrs. Zetz into early retirement, they are ordered to run the place for themselves. Now they must overcome their dislike for each other and simultaneously turn out decent school meals. It will be a long journey!

Another fun book with a good dramatic arc, but also some strange subplots that just sit out there and some really clunky character development. Molly is so unsympathetic at first that the author has trouble turning us around to liking her (almost as if he realized that he had gone a bit overboard with making her mean). As a result, we get all sorts of out-of-the-blue revelations (example: major crush that is only revealed about 90! pages in). The subsequent attempts to give Molly a heart of gold did not work for me.

Oh, and I totally can't get the Fame song "Hot Lunch" out of my head...

The Possibilities of Sainthood, by Donna Frietas

Antonia Lucia feels she has some pretty good ideas about sainthood, whether it is for a new saint of fig planters (to help her in winterizing the family trees) or a saint of pasta makers (for when Mom and Gram have her covered in dough to feed every Italian in Providence). She also hopes that some day she'll become the first living saint (she doesn't want to die in order to do so!). This is especially important because she hasn't even had her first kiss yet!

A funny and charming book that is mostly about being a boy-crazed 15-year-old Catholoic schoolgirl (which is probably about as far removed from my personal experience as you can get!), but the story is also about a quirky young woman going for what she wants. It's a romance novel with just a little bit of intellectual ambition thrown in. A great read with a satisfying ending, and also a nice book about growing up Italian.

The Glow Stone, by Ellen Dreyer

After her uncle dies, Phoebe seems to be the only one who still feels close to him. Her mother in particular is withdrawn and distant. She even insists that Phoebe sell her much-loved desk that her Uncle gave her! So, when an aunt offers to take her spelunking, Phoebe jumps at the opportunity to do something new and different. The trip into an old cave, however, brings Phoebe face to face with the truth behind her uncle's death and reveals a secret about her family.

This is a weird book that is not really sure if it wants to be a family drama or a supernatural thriller (or maybe both?). The overall result is just odd. Dreyer has a number of interesting ideas but in a short book like this there is not enough space to develop them. The ending comes up a bit too abruptly leaving the reader confused. The overall result is a book to skip.

The Comeback Season, by Jennifer E. Smith

It's been five years since Ryan's father died, but Ryan is philosophical about these things because she is a Cubs fan. And being a Cubs fan means having to deal with 100 years of loss and dashed hopes. For Ryan, rooting for the Cubs will always be linked to spending time with her Dad. On the anniversary of her father's death (which also happens to be Opening Day), Ryan finally musters the courage to return to Wrigley Field and revisit the site of her memories. While there she meets Nick (a boy from school that she barely knows) who is drawn to Wrigley for similar yet different reasons. With Nick, she is destined to learn new lessons about struggle and hope.

I'm not a sports fan (if I had to root for a baseball team, it would be the Phillies) and I'm even less into novels written in the third person (which this one is). So, I figured that I would simply hate this book, but I don't. That should give you an idea of how great this author must be. But Smith is much more than the writer of a good book, she is a phenomenal spinner of words. Using baseball as an analogy of life is hardly new, but she takes it much further than I've ever seen before - combining good observation with a way to make you sit back and nod. This is a beautiful book with a lot to say about life. Even if sports are not your thing, this is a book that is well worth your time to read.

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

When Audrey breaks up with her boyfriend Evan, she has no idea that it will inspire him to write a song. Or that The Song will become an international pop sensation and rocket both of them into fame. But it does. And as the pappazzi descend and life goes crazy around her, Audrey manages to discover a great deal about herself even as the rest of the world has trouble seeing it.

A nice light read, full of plenty of convenient plot twists that eventually wrap up better than fine in the end. And while Benway gives profuse kudos to Rachel Cohn (and has a debt to Meg Cabot as well), this is a much better indy-rock themed book than The Book About Two Teens in the Indy Rock Scene That Recently Became A Movie. Unfortunately, it will age about as poorly (as much as I would like to imagine that kids will be rocking to Death Cab for at least another decade!). Escapist fun!

Imaginary Enemy, by Julie Gonzalez

Jane struggles with life. She means well, but lacks discipline, leaving her homework undone and managing more often than not to screw things up. But it's OK, because these things are not her fault -- they are caused by her imaginary enemy Bubba. Ever since second grade, Bubba has persecuted her and gotten her into trouble. Now, as she is growing older, the trouble seems to take on bigger dimensions, just as things are starting to work out for her.

A rambling mess that reads more like a series of reminiscences than a real story. This novel covers some ten years of Jane's life, just briefly touching on the highlights. There are of course a few cute moments, but no real point to the overall story. Jane's flaws will endear her to some readers but I found her irresponsible behavior hard to take. She seemed mean and selfish. So, the novel lacked even a character that I wanted to read about.

Toy Dance Party, by Emily Jenkins

In this sequel to Toys Go Out, Stingray, Lumphey and Plastic are still having their adventures, and hanging out with old friends (the washer and dryer) as well as new ones (the mice and a rubber shark). The girl is growing older though and she spends more of her time with the Barbies (who don't talk) and away at sleepovers and soccer practice. The toys are worried that perhaps she is forgetting about them, but they have a wide variety of distractions including a fabulous dance party in the basement!

I was really looking forward to this sequel but really let down by it. Harsh perhaps, but as Toys Go Out was one of my favorite books, the sequel had a lot to live up to. It fails for me for a number of reasons: the stories have gotten much more complex and lack the fun of the first set, a number of the characters have changed (the relationship between the toys and the people, the fact that the dryer talks, and the "naughtiness" of the toys, etc.). I laughed frequently while reading the first book. This time I didn't laugh at all (OK, I cracked a smile here and there but it's not the same thing). It's not that Toy Dance Party is a bad book (I'll probably still give it two stars), but it is such a pale follow-up to its classic predecessor. I think I'll just go curl up with that one instead!

Alice McLeod, Realist At Last, by Susan Juby

Picking up shortly after the Miss Smithers contest, Alice is now pursuing her dream of becoming an incredibly talented screenwriter. She's also trying to cope with the departure of Goose, having Mom in prison, juggling the attentions of men aged 14-22, finding a job, and deciding whether to stick to her own fashion sense or finally fit it with her classmates. It's a busy agenda but, as usual, she navigates through it all with a mix of style and cluelessness.

Some may say that the novelty of Alice has worn a bit thin in this latest installment, but Juby does a great job of keeping the story original and fast paced. Alice is still an acquired taste and many readers will dislike her arrogance. But I still think she is a lot of fine (as sort of an older Clementine). I will admit that I probably wouldn't like her in real-life, but that's not a prerequisite for finding her adventures interesting enough to read about.

Dirty Work, by Julia Bell

Hope is the lucky one living a sheltered rich girl life, with only a few complaints about a neglectful Dad and an overbearing Mom. Oksana, on the other hand, comes out of impoverished rural Russia, tricked into a career of prostitution by white slavers. But when the two girls cross paths, Hope is kidnapped and they must help each other out.

Meant to be shocking, this novel turns out to be relatively tame (as I find is true with so many other "shocking" Brit-YA books). The back story of Oksana is interesting enough, but old news. And Hope simply doesn't have much of a story. Overall, I found this a bit thin. You'll worry a bit about the danger that the two girls are in, but it's hard to get too engaged.

Dante's Daughter, by Kimberley Heuston

In 14th century Florence, Antonia faces a life of few options. Her situation is made more difficult by the dangerous politicking of her famous father. But in an extraordinary turn of events, she follows her Dad to Paris and then back to Italy, discovering that even if her life options are narrow, that people can make a lot of those options. Along the way, we learn a lot about life in those times, making this both an educational and entertaining read. We also come to understand how happiness is possible under what seem like dire circumstances.

As remarkable of a book as Heuston's earlier Shakeress, this novel benefits from a more colorful era and location, but suffers from being tied to people and events that are more famous. Still, Heuston manages to weave magic out of history and make it seem like less of a lesson than a true coming of age story. She avoids the temptation to give her characters anachronistic modernistic notions about individualism and instead creates characters who are both true to period faith yet identifiably human. This is certainly among the best historical YA literature being created.

How Not to be Popular, by Jennifer Ziegler

Maggie is tired of making friends and settling in to a new place, only to have her hippie parents decide that it is time to move on. When her boyfriend from Portland dumps her within a few weeks of their arrival in Austin TX, Maggie decides that the key thing is to NOT like a place and NOT to fit in or make friends. That way, when she has to leave, she won't have anything or anyone to miss. The problem is that the more she tries to be unpopular and escape people's attention, the more she finds her popularity growing. At first, she figures that the kids in Austin just don't get how geeky she is being, but soon she realizes that maybe she is the one who doesn't understand popularity (let alone unpopularity).

Alpha Dog and this second novel by Ziegler share in common a great deal of common threads. Both feature a misunderstood girl with a bunch of oddball characters. A certain amount of drama leads to a feel good very happy ending, with everyone doing pretty well. The happy ending stuff reminds me of Meg Cabot and the oddball characters are more like Sarah Dessen. Ziegler isn't as good as either of these YA icons, but she's got a fun writing style and her books are good reads.

How much, though, can you relate to a girl who is popular and loved no matter what she does? THAT could get more than a bit annoying (yes, everyone will get the message of this book -- be yourself and you will be happy -- but I doubt that that is really going to work in the real world). So, this story works in a fantasy sense and perhaps in some adult's view of what high school is like (although are cliques really ever as simple as they get portrayed in books like this?), but the moral of the story probably isn't all that useful. IMO, read this one for fun and avoid any deeper take-home message.

Cheating Lessons, by Nan Willard Cappo

When Wickham High wins first place in a state-wide classics lit test and a berth in the televised Classics Bowl, Bernadette is certainly happy enough and she looks forward to squashing the competition. But she is also suspicious that their performance seems too good to be true. Things are not quite adding up, despite the assurances of their team's advisor Mr. Malloy. Sure, they are goo, but are they that good? But even if she can prove that the whole thing has been fixed, what should she do about it?

A functional and entertaining story, but with some odd rough spots. The beginning and end are surprisingly weak and don't really fit the characters developed in the rest of the book. Motivations are a bit muddy throughout and the whole thing needed better development. Not bad.

What Erika Wants, by Bruce Clements

When Erika's mom brings her to a custody hearing to get the judge's sympathy, the judge surprises them both by assigning Erika a lawyer. At first, she doesn't think she needs one (she's certain that she wants to live with her mother), but soon Erika discovers how useful a lawyer can be and how little she truly understands about what she wants. With the help of her attorney, she starts to sort this out.

Written with the obvious purpose of praising the work of a child's advocate in family court (by an author who works with them), this book can get a bit pedantic at times. It's a valiant aim, but perhaps the author would have scored more honesty points by simply writing the non-fiction he wanted to. The lawyer character is far too good to be true -- tirelessly sacrificing personal life without a concern or complaint. The other characters, while nuanced, are similiarly two-dimensional. Everything just goes a bit too cleanly. If this is supposed to be fiction, it needs more realism.

The Otherworldlies, by Jennifer Anne Kogler

Fern is considered a freak by her classmates as she looks strange and keeps to herself. But her secret abilities (talking with her dog, moving liquids with her mind, and teleportation) would scare them worse. As her powers grow stronger, she cannot hide them and soon powerful strangers start to appear. Some of them want to help, but others threaten her, her family and friends, and the world as we know it. Middle school never looks so tough for a would-be vampire.

This is not really my genre (vampires and magic), but this book turned out to be a lot better than I expected it to be. It did seem a bit long-winded (did it really need to be nealy 400-pages long?), but as an adventure story, it worked pretty well. And young readers will probably enjoy the story of a wallflower who has lots of magical powers to save the universe (sort of an American Harry Potter without the hype).

The Eyes of Van Gogh, by Cathryn Clinton

Jude has been dragged around a lot in her first 17 years as her mother bounced from one man to another [I seem to be reading a lot of these wandering Mom books lately!]. And in that time she has never been able to find friends and feel at home. As she sees her mother's anger, she realizes that neither has her Mom. But when they move to Ellenville, Jude hopes things will be different. Her grandmother is there and Jude makes two new friends and finds a boyfriend. But when things go wrong and fall apart, Jude gets swept away in depression that nothing will ever change. And looking at her artistic hero (Vincent Van Gogh) she becomes convinced that that is just how life is.

It's hard work to write a book about depression that doesn't make your character appear whiny. Clinton does a good job there. In fact, the characters are overall quite well developed. Even the story is nicely paced and interesting. So, why did I hate this book (and geez, I've been reading a lot of goose eggs lately, haven't I?)? I think it is because the writing is positively clunky. At first, I thought it was a stylistic thing (writing in a young person's voice) but this is just a poorly written book.

The Vanishing Point, by Louise Hawes

In the late 16th century, Vini is an unusual young woman. The only surviving child in a family of a successful Bologna painter, she too shows signs of promise. But her father cannot see her talents as he remains obsessed with having a son inherit his mantle. Can she get him to open his eyes and see what she can do? Based on a real person, this historical novel imagines the early life of the Renaissance painter Lavinia Fontana.

While the story picks up to end with a satisfying conclusion, this was a hard slog to read through. The characters are interesting, but the pacing is awkward and the story lacks suspense making it dull.

Outside Beauty, by Cynthia Kadohata

Life with Mom has always been an adventure for Shelby and her three sisters. It seems that they are always on the run from someone. But Mom is glamorous and has an ability to land on her feet with a new man. But then an accident puts Mom in the hospital and the four girls are split up to live with their fathers (each girl has a different father). Somehow, the girls must learn to live apart.

Starting a bit slow, this story picks up after a while, before ending in a rush and sloppy conclusion. The book itself is a muddle. What was Kadohata trying to do with this story? Was it about family ties? Or seeing inner beauty? Several themes are brought up and worked on, but never fully developed. It felt like Kadohata just lost interest in her story.

Where People Like Us Live, by Patricia Cumbie

In the summer before high school, Libby's family moves to Rubbertown WI. Within two weeks, her Dad in on the picket line and Libby is helping her mother make ends meet cleaning houses. But she still finds the opportunity to make a new best friend. At first, this girl (Angie) seems exciting and brave, but when Libby learns that Angie is being abused, she has to decide whether to be loyal to her friend or to stand up for what she believes to be right. She comes to realize that her decision is very much like her father's choice to strike.

Dull. That basically sum s up my review. Misidentified in every review (including my own summary above, but it's hard to find much else of substance to summarize) as a book about friendship and loyalty, the great test that Libby must endure is not even introduced until 80+ pages in and is resolved with very little heartbreak. What this book really is is a mood poem -- a depiction of an environment. It's got vibrant characters but Cumbie avoids any dramtic development. That basically spells out sheer boredom to me.

Love & Lies, by Ellen Wittlinger

In this sequel to Hard Love, the focus has switched to Marisol and things have moved on. Marisol and Gio have learned how to just be friends. Gio has a girlfriend and Marisol is meeting people. Marisol is taking a year off before college and working on his first novel, but she has distractions. At first, she is taken by the shy Midwestern girl Lee but Lee is quickly outshone by the fantastically beautiful writing teacher Olivia and things take off. The relationship with Olivia becomes complicated and Marisol finds that she has trouble balancing it with her friendships and being true to herself.

Hard Love, while Wittlinger's most famous work, is not actually my favorite and sequels will always have an uphill battle with me proving their right to exist. The story is functional but a bit slow. Even a not-so-good Wittlinger book is a decent read, but this is basically a girl-meets-girl story with a better-than-usual conclusion. No groundbreaking work.