End of Summer pt. 2: Want to go Private? - Littman & Never Have I Ever - Shepard

Want to Go Private? - Sarah Darer Littman

2011 - Scholastic

Read: August 25, 2011

Review: This book was not easy to read. Not that the language was difficult, or that it was bad, but that the material was really hard at times. This is a story about a girl, Abby, who ends up a victim of an internet predator, goes to meet him, and the aftermath of these events. The writing was actually very simple, in a purposeful way, and this was a book that had a very clear lesson to take away. Many novels have some type of underlying message, but this message was a clear warning to young teens that may be in the same place that Abby was: lonely, vulnerable, and looking for a friend. I would definitely suggest this as reading to current teens.

Never Have I Ever (The Lying Game # 2) - Sara Shepard

2011 - HarperCollins

Read: August 30, 2011

Review: I still have so much fun reading Shepard's books. The plot and characters are very different from the Pretty Little Liars series, but many elements are the same: surprise, shock and awe, fake killers, etc. In the PLL series, there were some parts I was able to guess at, but so far The Lying Game books have me stumped, and I am very excited to keep reading. In great contrast to Want to Go Private?, this book (and series) does not have a strong lesson to learn, that I can see. And I really think that's fine, because it's a fun story and the writing is strong, even when silly.

Currently Reading: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

End of Summer: Love Story - Echols & Forever - Stiefvater

Love Story - Jennifer Echols

2011 - MTV

Read: August 10, 2011

Review: I have been a HUGE Jennifer Echols fan since I first read Going Too Far, and then my love grew when I read Forget You. However, I wasn't as big of a fan of Love Story as I was anticipating. I liked the characters, and I enjoyed Echols writing, but I didn't like the story. I didn't like how the meat of the story, the really important parts, were told in short stories "written" by the characters. I felt like it was kind of an experimental novel style, and I would have much rather gotten to know the characters more through their interactions, instead of their stories for creative writing class. If you haven't read any of Echols' work before, I would start with this book and then read the other two.

Forever (Wolves of Mercy Falls # 3) - Maggie Stiefvater

2011 - Scholastic

Read: August 2011

Review: I really enjoyed the ending to this trilogy. I was skeptical of this novel, because I didn't really like Linger, the second book, very much. I felt like it was just a switch-around of Shiver. I really liked Shiver though, and I wanted to finish out the series. I was very happily surprised with the turn of events in Forever, and I loved that Cole became such an important character. Cole was the only thing that kept me going in Linger, so to see him really come into his own and be as important as Grace or Sam was really nice for me. I like Stiefvater's writing style, I think she does a wonderful job crafting difficult relationships and friendships. I am interested in reading her past books, too. I saw her at a book talk a few months ago, and she was surprisingly funny, a trait I'd love to see carry through more in her writing.

Up Next: Want to go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman, Never Have I Ever (Lying Game # 2) by Sara Shepard