We're an Open Book
Release date: July 10th 2012
Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like
her sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts
flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it
takes to feel special…even if that means
betraying her sister.
But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming and comes at a
dangerous price.
…
“I was horribly bookish, to the point of coming right out and saying it, which I knew was not socially acceptable. I particularly loved the adjective bookish, which I found other people used about as often as ramrod or chum or teetotaler.” ― David Levithan, Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares
Synopsis: “I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”
. . . Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?
Dash and Lily are two very different New York City teenagers whose lives become entangled by a red Moleskine notebook. Together they search for the meaning of family, love and the power of words. Dash and Lily is a quirky, fun contemporary that I think would be perfect for Christmas time.
Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is the sophomore contemporary romance from the writing duo best known for Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. I’ve never read any of Rachel Cohn, but from the two Levithan novels I’ve read this is exactly what I expect. A great novel with an interesting premise and a few laughs along the way. …
Synopsis :It’s always been just Kate and her mom–and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won’t live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld–and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.…
That’s family for you. Can’t live with them, can’t murder them.”
― Holly Black, Black Heart
Synopsis: Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.
Our favorite coffee addicted charming anit-hero, Cassel Sharpe is back for a Curse Worker’s finale where the stakes are higher than ever before for Cassel, his friends, and his family.…
Release Date : May 1st 2012
Synopsis: What if there were teens whose lives depended on being bad influences? This is life for sons and daughters of fallen angels in Sweet Evil. Tenderhearted Southern girl, Anna Whitt, was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage, and her will-power is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.
Sweet Evil is a provocative paranormal romance with angels, demons and a sinful twist.
The paranormal concept behind this novel is something different than what I have encountered while reading paranormal romance. In the novel Nephilim, the children of fallen angels, live on Earth and embody a sin. Their most important work is to pull humans into sin. Sweet Evil explores the concepts of nature versus nurture ideas of sin. The book made me think about how we make sense of the bad things that others do.
Higgins writing is fun and addicting, and will appeal to teens and YA readers. However I did feel like some parts of the plot were spoon fed, we are told too much instead of being shown and allowed to create our own opinions.
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“A world of nevers under a never sky.”
– Veronica Rossi, Under The Never Sky
Synopsis : EXILED from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland–known as The Death Shop–are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild–a savage–and her only hope of staying alive.
Under The Never Sky is a post-apocalpytic road story sprinkled with dystopian elements. The female protagonist, Aria lives a safe and secure life in underground pods, spending her days in vitural realms. Perry lives on the outside or “The Death Shop” a world filled with tribal warfare, Aether storms and savagery.When their worlds collide they learn they may not be as different as they thought.
The novel starts out a little shaky to me, almost everything in the story is told or explained immediately, in an almost checklist like fashion. There is very little mystery and I would have liked to slide easier into the story. Once we get past the introduction the writing does get better and the story begins to take shape.
Basically, Aria and Perry each have their own plot MacGuffin that propels them to journey together in search of what they are looking for. While this jump starts the plot it isn’t my favorite set up.
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