Chalice, by Robin McKinley

Seven years of corrupt leadership in their demesne has left the people of the Willowlands with a broken land and without a ruler. Both their Master and his Chalice have perished. Without either a heir for the Master or an apprentice for the Chalice, the choice for a new leader is awkward. The late Master's brother, returned from the priesthood of the flame, is a poor match but at least continues the bloodline. Mirasol, a common woodswoman, is far more at home tending her bees, but when the divinations dictate that she is to be the new Chalice, she has no choice but to accept. With no knowledge of the craft of being a Chalice and the ways of uniting a land and its people behind their new Master, Mirasol feels particularly hopeless. But when outside forces threaten the demesne, she and the new Master must unite to save their people.

A richly drawn fantasy novel, with strong environmentalist undertones. McKinley's delight in building suspense through gravely-intoned (and mildly pompous) narration grated on me quite a bit (although I recognize that others might feel that it simply builds suspense better). That aside, I enjoyed the growth of the characters and have a special place in my heart for the heroics of the bees.

Same Difference, by Siobhan Vivian

When Emily gets the opportunity to attend a Summer program at the Philadelphia College of Fine Art, she goes from excitement to terror as the reality of attending classes in the city (only 30 miles -- but an entire culture -- away from her life in suburban Jersey) and being in classes with students who are seemingly much more talented than she is. She is quickly captivated by a rogue outsider named Fiona who has a flare for unorthodox guerrilla art, and Emily finds herself emulating her new heroine. But as she tried to be more and more like Fiona, she also is drawn away from who she was (and especially from her hometown friend Meg). In the end, Emily feels that she has to choose between the two worlds.

A comfortably predictable storyline, but combined with characters who are interesting enough to care about and follow. This is a stronger book than Vivian's previous A Little Friendly Advice, so if you liked that one, you're bound to like this one. I enjoyed the artsy environment and detailed tour of the Philly arts scene. Vivian is at her strongest though when she just lets her characters interact, so I generally preferred the parts of the book where we weren't traveling about or doing things. Overall, there's not a lot of surprise here, but it's a competent and enjoyable read.

The one thing that really bothered me about this book was the cover. For a reason I find hard to explain, I can't picture the girl on the cover as being Emily (or Fiona). She just doesn't look the part (at best, maybe like Claire - Emily's younger sister). I admit that it's a totally irrational conclusion though!

Twenty Boy Summer, by Sarah Ockler

Anna was always inseparable from her next-door neighbors Matt and Frankie (they were brother and sister she never had), but at her birthday thirteen months ago Matt became something much more. For the next month, Matt and Anna would sneak out of their houses for late-night rendezvous, always hiding their growing feelings from their parents and (especially) from Matt's sister Frankie. Even though Anna and Frankie were best of friends, Matt convinced Anna that it would be best if they waited until Summer vacation to tell Frankie. But then, a car accident leaves Matt dead, Frankie injured and grieving, and Anna unable to ever tell the truth. Bound by her promise to Matt to not tell Frankie, Anna now finds herself supporting her friend grieve.

Now, one year after the accident, Frankie and her family have invited Anna to join them for a summer on the beach (the same vacation that they planned for a year ago and never took). It promises to be a memorable trip -- full of secrets revealed, grief laid bare, and the pursuit of "20 boys."

From that description, this book looks like light schlock, and on its surface this book is a bit formulaic and predictable. It also has a habit of pulling on your heart strings in a way that left me a bit suspicious. But there is a lot going on in this story and it resists easy solutions. Ockler is respectful of her characters and plays them well, allowing no one to escape blame yet never finding fault completely in any court. Each one is flawed in their own way. The result is a story that feels surprisingly real and has something meaningful to say about friendship and grief (in a way that all ages can appreciate). The plot may sound a bit melodramatic, but the characters never are. For a first novel, it is an extraordinary accomplishment. This is a book that is well worth seeking out.

The Noah Confessions, by Barbara Hall

When Lynne turns 16,she is shocked to find out that her father has not gotten her a car (everyone at her high school gets a car when they turn 16!). But the bigger shock comes when her Dad hands her a letter that her Mom (dead now for the past 8 years or so) wrote when she was 16 herself. In this letter, her Mom confesses to being an accomplice in a terrible crime committed in the past -- a crime which led directly to meeting her father and having her. Lynne tries to cope with this shocking news and deal with the news that her mother may not have been as perfect as she imagined. And meanwhile struggle to learn how to surf and date her first boyfriend.

There's a complexity to this story that is good, in that it keeps things interesting. However, it also overwhelms the reader. There are too many timelines at play here and few of them really matter (despite the claims of the narrator that we need to understand everything). Secondly, I grew tired of being told by the narrator what was important (I prefer to figure that stuff out for myself). Too much build-up guarantees that the story never quite pays off fully. The secret is supposed to be so shocking and Lynne (over)reacts so strongly to the news, while we're left spinning trying to figure out what the big deal is. I'll admit that the story did not drag, but I did find myself wanting to skim over the exposition to get to the real story.

What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook

The town of Wheaton IN is a pretty small place, and a tight community where everyone knows each other. So, when Emma makes the mistake of kissing her best friend Joann's boyfriend (and gets caught in the act by Joann's Mom), life is pretty much at an end. At first, Emma could officially not care less. She's dying to get out of town and, thanks to her running times, she may just get a scholarship at Northwestern that will take her away. But everything gets thrown into chaos when the pastor's daughter and her friend fall ill and accusations of "terrorism" and "Satanism" start to spread around the school. As people start to get falsely accused, Emma (who unwittingly knows the truth) must decide whether to stand up and bear witness or take the easier path and escape.

Surprisingly engaging and exciting, by the point I was half way through, I found it hard to put this book down. Cook takes a lot of cheap shots at organized religion and small towns, but this serves the purpose of ratcheting up the drama and making the story interesting. While the blurb compares the Cook to Judy Blume, I think the fairer comparison is Joan Bauer and this book reminds me strongly of one of my faves (Hope Was Here) in the way it rights the wrongs in a very empowering way. Emma is a funny and insightful character -- a bit too wise for her years and environs to be believable, but still quite enjoyable. Also, while the stars align a bit too neatly at the end, you really want a story like this to have a feel good ending and the payoff is welcome. A fun read for the beginning of summer!

Ghostgirl: Homecoming, by Tonya Hurley

In this sequel to Ghostgirl, Charlotte and her friends from Dead Ed have passed over, but to what? The Afterlife, it seems, is a huge call center where people in this world call in seeking help from the next. The problem, though, is that Charlotte isn't getting any calls and her so-called friends seem to be abandoning her as well (except for a new girl named Maddie). Charlotte doesn't entirely trust Maddie at first but she's all that Charlotte has, until her old friends from the living world Damen and Scarlet call out to her for help again. This time, it's Scarlet's vain sister Petula who's in desperate trouble -- on the verge of death with little chance of making it to Homecoming queendom -- truly a fate worse than death!

The original was clever and funny, which gave the sequel a lot to live up to, although Hurley more or less manages. The death jokes have worn a bit thin by now and Hurley wisely avoids them, in favor of telling a more complicated story about both Homecoming and coming home. This provides the story with a bit more depth than the original novel (which is a Good Thing). The plot itself was a bit hard to follow and I would recommend re-reading the first book again before tackling this one, but this installment is a pleasing continuation of a truly original and exciting franchise.

Bird, by Rita Murphy

Miranda is a small girl. So small that she is easily picked up by the wind and blown around. How she came to be at Bourne Manor, under the guardianship of the widow Wysteria Barrows, is a mystery to her as she can't quite remember how she got here. But the mysteries just keep getting bigger: there's the fact that Wysteria locks all the rooms at night, or the protective dogs who prowl the house, and the secret rooms on the third floor filled with books and beautiful kites that Miranda discovers. It is only when Miranda befriends a young sailor and Wysteria is sent to a hospital for a month that Miranda begins to unwind the mysteries.

A fascinating blend of fantasy, ghost story, and self-discovery novel, Bird operates as something of an extended metaphor. Miranda's search for herself and her "wings" to fly away from her nest plays out very nicely and the story twists and turns enough to keep thuings interesting. The ending gets a bit rushed and might have benefitted from some fleshing out, but this does not distract from the charm and originality of the novel.

The Year the Swallows Came Early, by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Eleanor (or "Groovy," as her Dad calls her) lives in San Juan Capistrano (a part of California where large flocks of swallows nest each year) and loves to cook. All of which would make for an unremarkable story except for the fact that her father gets arrested on page two. At first, Eleanor is convinced that it is all a mistake, but when she finds out that it isn't, she struggles with accepting the situation and forgiving her father for his errors. Her friend Frankie struggles similarly with forgiving his own mother for abandoning him.

A gentle middle reader. The pacing is glacial, making the story a bit dull (it takes 100 pages just to find out why the father got arrested!), but the overall message of forgiveness and the corrosive effect of carrying anger is a winner. What the book does need is more of a hook -- if not more story, then at least more character and more humor.

The Ghosts of Kerfol, by Deborah Noyes

In the early 17th century, a cruel baron is murdered. His young wife is accused, although she claims he was mauled to death by dogs -- or rather, the ghosts of dogs that he himself strangled. Flash forward two hundred years and an aspiring artist visiting the estate sees apparitions of dogs and a young lady. Go forward another hundred years, and a young woman is mysteriously strangled by another apparition. Sixty years later, a couple on a lark are tortured by visions that seem to be after them. Finally, another twenty years in the future, a deaf gardener has a strange evening where he hears a series of ghosts.

Apparently based on an Edith Wharton story, Noyes has basically retold the original and then developed a riff on it with the flash forwards. I'm not familiar with the Wharton story, so I can only judge this book on its own merits. For me, the first part of the story (i.e., the part based on Wharton) is the most interesting. The rest seems rough and unfinished, and -- in the end -- not very engaging. This literary experiment didn't work for me.

The Summer I Turned Pretty, by Jenny Han

Every year, "Belly" (short of Isabel) has spent the summer at the beach with her Mom, brother Steven, her Mom's friend Susannah, and Susannah's two sons Conrad and Jeremiah. And each year, Belly has nurtured a crush on Conrad, even though the boys have never shown much interest in her. But now that she is 16, something seems different. For the first time, she's no longer interested and she's certain that she's outgrown Conrad. So, why does it feel funny when she meets a new boy and starts spending time with him? And why does Conrad seem so distant and sullen? Is it jealousy or is something else going on?

At first, this novel felt like it was just a light summer romance (albeit a well-written summer romance) with a healthy dose of flashbacks and some better-than average character development. But, by the end, Han has woven a lot more into the story, creating a far more complex romance than you might expect. Han's first novel (Shug) was funny and original. Her second outing shows that it was not a fluke.

Tiger Moon, by Antonia Michaelis

In Colonial India - a world of both Western influence and multiple religious traditions - a young bride needs to be rescued and a neer-do-well thief and swindler named Farhad has been tasked by the gods to rescue her. He won't be alone. He'll have a magic sacred tiger to carry him faster than the wind. But along the way, the hero and his unusual steed will have a series of exotic adventures and they will struggle to accomplish their task. The ending will surprise everyone!

An unusual adventure/fantasy epic, full of familiar tropes and expected plot complications, but then utterly original by the end in how it resolves everything. Perhaps the originality is due to the fact that Michaelis is German (the novel was translated into English) or perhaps it is the exotic setting of the story. Either way, the story twists in unusual ways! I particularly liked the way that India's multiple religious traditions are worked into the story, making this as much a story about a culture as a series of fantasies.

Does This Book Make Me Look Fat?, ed by Marissa Walsh

A collection of short stories, memoirs, verse, and even a graphic story devoted to body image issues. Some of the stories take the viewpoint of the person struggling, while others look at the impact of issues on family members and friends.

As with all collections, the contributions are a bit uneven and a few are even off-topic. The strongest pieces are the memoirs, where the authors relate their own image problems. The graphic story is a nice change of pace too, and well done. However, most of this collection is unexceptional and forgettable.

The bottom line is that there isn't much new being said here about the topic.

3 Willows, by Ann Brashares

Three girls (Jo, Polly, and Ama) have a memorable summer. Jo goes to the beach and spends the summer bussing tables, struggling between trying to impress the older girls with which she works and staying true to Polly and Ama. Ama goes out on a hiking expedition, even though she can't stand the outdoors. And Polly tries to pursue a career as a fashion model as well as deal with an absent mother. In the end, all three girls learn a lot about themselves.

Sound familiar?

At a basic level, Brashares is producing another installment of her successful formula. After four Traveling Pants books, though, that franchise was pretty much exhausted, so we now have a new set of girls -- all ready for their own set of books. But hey, it works and it is the literary equivalent of comfort food. Brashares is a good writer, so there is little pain in reading any variant of the theme. The shame though is that she really isn't stretching her talents any.

Boy Heaven, by Laura Kasischke

At cheerleader summer camp, three girls decide to sneak out to go skinny dipping at a nearby lake. They never make it, but instead manage to attract the attention of a car-full of boys. On a lark, they decide to tease the boys. Now, days later, the girls have become convinced that they are being followed.

A surprisingly aimless novel. The main story itself is fairly thin, so most of this novel is actually made up of flashbacks and completely unrelated subplots. Much of this back story is interesting but without much of a main story, there isn't much to keep this together. By the time I finished the book, I really wasn't sure what it was supposed to be about. A disappointment.

Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity, by Kerry Cohen

A young woman, confusing her need for love with sex, goes through a series of relationships, never quite getting the validation she needs in her meaningless physical entanglements.

While this could read as a fascinating piece of YA fiction, it is all the more interesenting for being non-fiction. Cohen has previously revealed a strong heart and a captivating ability to get inside people's heads in her novels Easy and The Good Girl. In this autobiography, she goes much further, revealing in brave detail her own attempts to sort out her emotional needs. In the process, she does not hesitate to reveal intimate details that she admits (in her introduction) will probably embarass her family.

A ground breaqking work. Most of us will relate to some part of her story and, without a doubt, this should be required reading for every teen girl and boy. More than an account of mistakes and wrong turns (which truly would have been boring and narcissistic), Cohen gives us an honest read of doubt and longing, and the way that sex far too often fills (and fails to satisfy) those needs. Striking and unforgettable!

Impossible, by Nancy Werlin

Lucy has always known that her foster parents are not her real parents (and that her biological mother is really the crazy bag lady). She knows that her biological mother went mad shortly after giving birth to her at the age of 18. What Lucy does not know at first is that she is the latest in a line of women condemned by a curse. And that everything that happened to her mother -- being an unwed teen mother, going mad -- is about to happen to her as well, unless she can perform three impossible tasks in time.

A marvelous modern fairy tale based on the words of the "Elfin Knight" (aka "Scarborough Fair"). Werlin, whose overhyped Rules of Survival annoyed me and whose Double Helix surprised me, is turning out to be quite a good writer of sci-fi/fantasy (a genre which probably no one pegged her for at first). This well-paced story features strong everyday characters pressed into extraordinary service. At over 350 pages, this book could have been torturous to read through, but that was not how I experienced it at all. Entertaining and fulfilling.

All the Wrong People Have Self-Esteem, by Laurie Rosenwald

Subtitled, "an inappropriate book for young ladies (or, frankly, anybody else)," this hilarious book is a bit hard to describe. Each page features a collage dedicated to a particular theme (most of them mocking in one way or another what an old friend of mine calls "bow head magazines" - Vogue, Cosmo, etc.). This is a "chick lit" book that mocks even itself and has a bit of bile for even the best intentioned cause (tired of being green? try the purple movement instead!). Witty and on the money, without becoming too precious.

While not full of any deep meaning, this book made me laugh and laugh. And as one of the most original books that I've read in a very long time, I'll give it top marks. I will admit that it may be a special taste (my s.o. couldn't stand it!), but if you have a cynical edge and enjoy a wise cracking humor, you will be able to get into this. And, if not, it really does not take much time to read this one!

Every Soul A Star, by Wendy Mass

Three kids from three different backgrounds: Ally (shy and isolated, she's spent most of her life with her parents and little brother taking care of a campground deep in the woods and now most face the decision of her parents to leave and return to civilization), Bree (spoiled and materialistic, her dreams of becoming a fashion model are destroyed by her parents' decision to pull up stakes and relocate the family to the campground to replace Ally's family), and Jack (a dreamy artist who's never had much interest in science but has been offered the opportunity to skip summer school if he'll accompany his science teacher to the aforementioned campground to help observe a total solar eclipse). Three kids faced with impending huge changes in their lives and the rare opportunity to observe one of the most beautiful occurrences in nature.

A fun and mostly fulfilling read about learning to accept changes and discovering oneself, Mass has delivered another winning novel for middle readers. I was a bit disappointed at how easily the characters changed and I would have appreciated a bit more drama and resistance. That said, Mass brings great creativity to this work (and which novel of hers hasn't been creative and interesting?) and a strong ability with characters. Even Bree, who could easily have been the least likable of the three narrators, develops in a way that makes her sympathetic and identifiable. And while following a convention where each narrator gets to tell the story in alternating chapters can easily get tiring, Mass keeps the pace up. A good read.

What They Always Tell Us, by Martin Wilson

At a party at the beginning of his Junior Year, Alex decided on a whim to swallow a bottle of Pine-Sol. A month later, he is coming to terms with what prompted such a rash act and dealing with the way that his old friends are treating him now. His older brother James has issues of his own, not least of which is a suspicion about the unusual attention that his friend Nathen is paying to Alex. A lonely 10 year-old boy next door plays a role in both Alex's and James's lives as well.

A strange story that can't seem to decide what it wants to be about. Alex's coming-out story is the clearest plot line and would seem to be the focus of the novel, but half of the book is really about James and James's storyline never really seems to go anywhere. The subplot about the boy next door also seems to lead nowhere. None of this is helped by the lack of real character development. As much as we would expect the suicidal and sexual-orientation-questioning Alex to make an interesting character, he stays pretty flat. For me, neither Alex nor James really came alive off the page.

Gossip of the Starlings, by Nina de Gramont

In 1984, Catherine is being given a chance to redeem herself after being removed from her last school for sleeping with her boyfriend. She misses her old friend Susannah, but is quickly befriended at her new school by Skye Butterfield (the daughter of one of the state's senators). Skye is hardly a good influence and quickly leads Catherine into bad old habits that threaten to destroy all of them. In sum, a complicated story about adolescent jealousies told in a past passive voice that implies recollection from a wiser older self.

Overall, this is a terribly dull and boring story. The narrator's passive voice does nothing to help. Billed as YA, the novel is really a wistful adult novel about teens (it's no coincidence that Jacquelyn Mitchard's gushing praise appears on the cover -- only she could write a novel that was similarly dull and age-inappropriate as this!). The characters spend their time waxing poetic with a wisdom entirely inappropriate for their age (and lack to ego-centricity that authentic 17 year-olds would express). And where did all the cocaine come from? I myself went to a private school in New England in 1985 and, while we had plenty of pot and acid, none of us could afford the plethora of blow that these young women plow through! Just give this story a miss! There are plenty of nostalgic stories about teens written by grownups -- most of them are more interesting than this one.