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

Catching Up, Part One: Blakley-Cartwright, Kagawa, Caletti

This is Part 1 of "Catching Up" - Where I will review three books at a time, covering what I have read from the end of March until today. These reviews will be shorter than usual.

For this installment I will cover The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa, Stay by Deb Caletti, and Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright.

The Iron Queen - Julie Kagawa

2011 - Harlequin Teen

Read: April 5, 2011

Review: With

every book in the Iron Fey series, I love Prince Ash more and more. I feel like this book in the series really stepped up the action with all of

the fight scenes and battles that took place. Meghan really stepped up and started to learn to use her powers and fight for herself, rather than letting boys fight her battles for her, which had begun to wear on me in the previous books. I am really looking forward to the next book and reading about Ash's quest. Julie Kagawa's writing in this series has been just amazing. I originally hadn't liked the idea of the story, but had heard such great things that I set my judgments aside and picked up the first book... and became completely consumed with the story and characters. I definitely recommend this series to people who love fantasy but also people who love a good romance as well.

Stay - Deb Caletti

2011 - Simon Pulse

Read: April 7, 2011

Review: I have been a big fan of Deb Caletti for years, since I first read Honey, Baby, Sweetheart as a teenager. In Stay, we follow Clara as she moves to the beach with her father to get away from her ex-boyfriend Christian, who has become obsessed to the point of danger with her. Caletti writes relationships so well, not just romantic relationships but just the relationships all people have with each other - fathers and daughters, friends, etc. And her side characters always get me, especially Clara's father and Finn and Finn's siblings (and the seagull!). I really felt like I understood Clara and connected with her as a character, which I think is such an important part of YA lit. The way Caletti strings words together is just amazing.

Red Riding Hood (movie version) - Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

2011 - Poppy

Read: April 7, 2011

Review: This was, surprisingly, not as bad as I had been expecting, especially because it was written after the movie was written. It was a quick read, and not very challenging, but the story flowed and Blakley-Cartwright did a great job of putting a preexisting story into her own words and still making it sound believable. And, I honestly didn't know who the wolf was. However, I was rather annoyed that I had to go online to read the "bonus chapter" in order to find out who the wolf was and how the story ended. I recently watched the movie, and have to say the book was much, much better than the film was, so I really commend Sarah Blakley-Cartwright.

To learn more or purchase these titles:

The Iron Queen

Stay

Red Riding Hood

Bleed - Laurie Faria Stolarz - 2006

Title: Bleed

Author: Laurie Faria Stolarz

Year: 2006

Date Read: 1-26-2011

Overall: * * (2/5)

GoodReads Blurb: Over the course of a single summer day, ten teenagers in Salem, Massachusetts, will discover important truths about themselves and each other.

There is Nicole, whose decision to betray her best friend will shock everyone, most of all herself; Kelly, who meets the convicted felon she has been writing to for years; Maria, whose definition of a true friend is someone who will cut her. Then there is Sadie, a chubby eleven-year-old whose mother forces her to wear a “please don’t feed me” sign stapled to her shirt; while Joy, a fifteen-year-old waitress hoping for true intimacy narrowly escapes a very dark fate. Derik discovers that his usual good looks and charm won’t help him hold onto the girl he wants, while nineteen-year-old drifter, Mearl, is desperately looking for a place to call home. Sean is torn between his loyalty to his girlfriend and the possibility of finding something more with her friend, while Ginger’s single-minded pursuit to bring down her nemesis only proves that they may be more alike than she thought.

Seamlessly woven together, this incredibly powerful and compelling collection of stories chronicles the very real trials of today’s teen experience.

Plot: * * (...Was there one?)

Characters: * * (Undeveloped)

Style: * *

My Review: I really was not a fan of this book. I felt like there might be more than one chapter from each person's perspective. Instead, it was a bunch of short stories, that sort of intertwined, but didn't really. They weren't long enough to have any message or conclusion. Really, each of the character's was just a tidbit crazy, and they all kind of needed a reality check. I think if this book had a little more depth and a little more of a plot line and an end point, it could have been really interesting. I was curious about how each character would end up. Instead, their stories are just left off in the middle. I'm assuming Stolarz wanted to leave her readers with questions, but I really didn't gain a connection to any character with the exception of 11 year old Sadie. I would not recommend this book to others. I will stick with the Touch series though, because those books have good strong characters and plot lines.

To Buy: Amazon

Currently Reading:

For School: Forever by Judy Blume, Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

Other: XVI by Julia Karr

Book Read in 2011: 9

Assigned Reading Book Reviews

As a heads up, I will be adding a different style of book review for the books I read for grad school. I may still give them a rating and my usual style of review, but instead of focusing on my likes or dislikes of the books, I will be focusing more on what they offer to the YA population and then might do updates to those posts after we discuss the books in class, adding in other classmates' opinions and theories. I am far more interested in other people's opinions than in my own.

I am not really a big fan of picking apart the books I read, as I would rather enjoy them (or dislike them) for my initial feelings or thoughts towards them. Digging into books feels like putting words into the author's mouth, because unless they have clearly stated it somewhere, there is no way to know their true intentions or if any insight or knowledge we gain from a book was the author's desired intent or if it is just a reflection of ourselves, the readers.

These posts will be scattered throughout my usual book review posts, and I will make note in the post title if it is a book for class.