By: bookkm,
on 11/29/2016
The Best Possible Answer by E. Katherine Kottaras - just out this month - looks like a teen romance - right?
Crazy life means not as much reading. I can’t stand it. Actually, my girls are reading, I’m not–at least, not as much as I would like. Since my last update I’ve read:
Where Do Belly Buttons Come From? by Jeffery Warren Scott
I Am Abraham by Jerome Charyn
Sleep Tight, Anna Banana! by Dominique Roques
Self-Publishing a Book by Hank Quense
Pioneer Girl by Bich Minh Nguyen
The Coziest Place by Jamie Michalak
The Secret Side of Empty by Marie E. Andreu
A Rainbow of Birds by Janet Halfmann
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool
Steam & Strategem by Chris Hoare
Do’s and Don’ts by Hayley Rose
Murder in the Worst Degree by F.M. Meredith
A Comedy of Erin by Celia Bonaduce
The Author’s Training Manual by Nina Amir
Eat Like A Woman by Staness Jonekos
Directory of Federal Prisons by Christopher Zoukis and Dr. Randall Radic
Man’s Rejection of God by RL Keller
The Education of George Washington by Austin Washington
Pressed Pennies by Steven Manchester
Dad finished off The Candy Bomber: The Untold Story of the Berlin Airlight and America’s Finest Hour by Andrei Cherny, which led to us learning some interesting local history. We didn’t know our hometown of Chicopee, MA was so instrumental in this mission The residents of the city–even school children–got involved in receiving candy shipments and attaching the candy to parachutes for them to be flown out to where they needed to go. He’s now reading Under the Dome: A Novel by Stephen King his favorite author.
The Lil’ Diva has discovered that reading is a great way to pass the time, so she’s devouring books lately. After polishing off the Matched series, she moved on to The Mortal Instruments series. She also read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and saw the movie this weekend. Other books she has read lately: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, the entire Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith. She’s currently reading, Looking for Alaska by John Green.
I’ve lost track of all that the Lil’ Princess is reading. She has no less than six books in her backpack right now. At home, we’ve read The Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes by Marlane Kennedy and last night finished Pie by Sarah Weeks.
That’s it for this issue of From the Family Bookshelf. Hope you’ll share some of your most recent reads.
Infinity (The Chronicles of Nerissette #3)
by Andria Buchanan
Publication: November 5th, 2013 by Entangled Teen
Although she’s still stuck in the magical world of Nerissette, Queen Allie is finally ready to build a relationship with the half hottie, half dragon next door, Winston. But all isn’t really fair in love and war.
Unrest is quickly forming at the borders and soon Allie realizes that the Fate Maker wasn’t the only one who wanted her crown. When her trusted aunt Bavasama sends her troops into Nerissette on a campaign of murder and mass destruction, Allie has a tough decision to make.
She can’t take the chance of letting more people die or letting those she’s lost disappear from memory, but there is more at stake than even she knows. Still, Allie has to do something. And in the process she’ll discover what she’s truly made of when faced with a series of options…each more horrible than the last.
In the Blood
by Sara Hantz
Publication: November 5th, 2013 by Entangled Teen
For seventeen years Jed Franklin’s life was normal. Then his father was charged with the abuse and murder of four young boys and normal became a nightmare.
His mom’s practically a walking zombie, he’s lost most of his friends, and the press camps out on his lawn. The only things that keep him sane are his little sis; his best friend and dream girl, Summer; and the alcohol he stashes in his room. But after Jed wakes up from a total blackout to discover a local kid has gone missing—a kid he was last seen talking to—he’s forced to face his greatest fear: that he could somehow be responsible.
In a life that’s spiraled out of control, Jed must decide if he chooses his own destiny with Summer by his side or if the violent urges that plagued his father are truly in the blood…
Spring Moon (Indiana Teller)
by HRH Princess Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian
Publication: November 5th, 2013 by Entangled Teen
Amid the expansive plains of Montana, the Lykos Ranch stretches for miles. The inhabitants who live in near isolation from the outside world are members of the most powerful clan of werewolves in North America. Among them lives just one human: Indiana Teller.
Grandson of the clan’s leader and offspring of a werewolf father and a mysterious yet human mother, Indiana is rejected by his peers and heads to the University of Montana to find a normal life. Despite warnings from his grandparents, he falls in love with a beautiful human, Katerina.
Before too long, he is the victim of an accident that would have killed him had he not miraculously vanished at the moment of impact. Are these strange occurrences just chance or the machinations of a hidden enemy out to destroy him? Facing his destiny, Indiana will have to choose who to believe, and who to love.
Olivia Twisted
by Vivi Barnes
Publication: November 5th, 2013 by Entangled Teen
Olivia
He tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his, his thumb brushing lightly across my lips. I close my eyes. I know Z is trouble. I know that being with him is going to get me into trouble. I don’t care.
At least at this moment, I don’t care.
Tossed from foster home to foster home, Olivia’s seen a lot in her sixteen years. She’s hardened, sure, though mostly just wants to fly under the radar until graduation. But her natural ability with computers catches the eye of Z, a mysterious guy at her new school. Soon, Z has brought Liv into his team of hacker elite—break into a few bank accounts, and voila, he drives a motorcycle. Follow his lead, and Olivia might even be able to escape from her oppressive foster parents. As Olivia and Z grow closer, though, so does the watchful eye of Bill Sykes, Z’s boss. And he’s got bigger plans for Liv…
Z
I can picture Liv’s face: wide-eyed, trusting. Her smooth lips that taste like strawberry Fanta.
It was just a kiss. That’s all. She’s just like any other girl.
Except that she’s not.
Thanks to Z, Olivia’s about to get twisted.
By: Robin Brande,
on 9/21/2013
It’s here! Book 3 in the PARALLELOGRAM series, SEIZE THE PARALLEL.
I NEVER USED TO THINK OF MY LIFE…
By: Robin Brande,
on 11/5/2012
E-book ISBN: B007IIXZ0O
Print ISBN-13: 978-0615613291
Print ISBN-10: 0615613292
If you haven’t read my paranormal young adult…
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By: Terry Lee Wilde,
on 5/30/2012
By: Robin Brande,
on 3/23/2012
Maybe it’s because it’s spring and that just makes me happy, maybe it’s because the person in the Starbucks drive-through…
By: Robin Brande,
on 3/8/2012
ASIN: B007IIXZ0O
ISBN-13: 978-0615613291
ISBN-10: 0615613292
I died. For forty-two seconds I died.
They were operating…
By: Terry Lee Wilde,
on 8/24/2011
The Scepter of Salvation, Book 1
Princess Talamaya turned 18 in the human kingdom of Damar, just like her twin brother. Only when she comes of age, she must wed the king's choice. When her brother comes of age, he's allowed to sit on the council. But everything changes when a wizard pits beast and man against each other in Inherian--all because of the loss of the Scepter of Salvation and she must return it to their kingdom.
Princess Talamaya and her friends, Lady Kersta and Lady Mexia, must retrieve the Scepter of Salvation when her brother is poisoned.Visions plague Talamaya of a world beyond her own, of a destiny she has to fulfill.
But the barbarian king is also after the scepter, and the black-hearted wizard who is trying to gain control will do anything to keep them from retrieving it.
She must free a knight from his madness.
Help a female dwarf escape from the dwarven mines.
Aid an Amazon fighting the Dark Elves.
Rescue even the barbarian king.
Save a crusty old dwarf from the wolves of Elan Pass.
And outwit the dark wizard once more.
Above all else, she must always take the path of righteousness.
Which is much easier said than done.
Here is the old cover!
And here's the new cover for book 2, The Mage of Monrovia!
By: Robin Brande,
on 8/23/2011
Nothing like a good old-fashioned family medical emergency to throw your schedule out of whack for a while. My…
Matched, by Ally Condie
Dystopias typically exist in a future world where some kind of organizational force tries to control a population whose flaws nearly destroyed life in a previous time. That organization and that control, however, tend to painfully crimp the human spirit. In Matched, the first book in a trilogy, the Officials attempt to control every aspect of an individual’s life: what they eat, what they wear, who they marry, where they live, where they work. By doing this, they intend to eliminate disease, strife, and unhappiness.
But, of course, it doesn’t work. The individual’s desire for freedom is stronger than the desire for bland happiness, as it turns out, and as we all know too much power in the hands of the few tends to corrupt. In Matched, a seventeen-year-old girl has been officially “matched” with her intended husband, but there seems to be a catch–a second intended has somehow slipped into the picture which conspires to cause her to question the life the Officials have arranged for her. Once that question arises, the desire to make her own choices and pay her own dues can no longer be corraled.
For a dystopic novel, this story has an unusual sweetness. There is a lot of kindness and genuine caring among the characters. The depiction of two young people falling in love is very tender; the conniving of the Officials almost takes a background role. I think middle school girls who like books about relationships will want to read this book and the theme of independence and making your own choices is strongly appealing to young teens. It is not a challenging read by any means and may appeal even to reluctant girl readers.
Gaby
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 3/1/2011
Today we wrap up our Youth Advisory Board series on relationships and romance. Christopher Walcott shares his perspective on how dating has progressed from the time when his parents dated to now — and it’s not all sunshine and roses. He... Read the rest of this post
By: Anastasia Goodstein,
on 2/23/2011
Teen romance is less "Romeo and Juliet" and more "Weird Science" these days — declarations of love come via computer instead of in person (and you can forget about moonlit balconies). It's not all bad, though, says Youth Advisory Board member... Read the rest of this post
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By: Dejah Leger,
on 1/12/2010
Basic idea: boy turns to wolf every time it gets too cold.
Imagine if Twilight's Jacob character was an emo teen who turned into a regular old wolf (instead of a werewolf) and eventually would get stuck forever as a forest-dwelling howler and you've got Sam, one of two mains characters in Shiver. Grace has watched a certain yellow-eyed wolf roam outside her home ever since she was bitten by a pack of wolves as a child. The affinity she feels for this certain wolf becomes realized when she discovers that he is, in fact, a shape-shifting boy named Sam, and the two develop a plodding smooch-filled teen relationship that largely involves him waiting in Grace's car while she goes to high school. As is my major complaint with most teen books, the parents are conspicuously infantile or absent. In this case, the parents are artistic dingbats who are never home and when they are home tend to do weird things like paint in the nude and forget to make dinner, which makes it very easy for Sam and Grace to develop a lets-play-house relationship. Maybe there really are parents like this. I don't know. Even being raised by a single mom as a teen I wasn't allowed to have my bedroom door closed with my boyfriend over, so maybe it's just outside of my reality.
Anyway, the language is lovely and the first half of the book is especially well-written. It invokes the feel of the stark northern mid-west (think Leif Enger's Peace Like A River>. While not fully developed, the characters are thoughtful and interesting and the premise of the wolf transition is a new take on the ever-popular werewolf theme. If you're on Team Jacob and need some good werewolf filler, go ahead and pick it up!
…that is 800 million times more original, creepy, and moving than TWILIGHT, rent LET THE RIGHT ONE IN.
But oh my god, it scared the crap out of me.
Best scene, according to me: a discussion about what “going steady” means, held between two twelve-year-olds. One of them is a vampire who is rather covered with blood during this conversation, but the conversation is played straight teen angst and joy. Best part: the characters are totally believable, but there’s such a mismatch between the content of their words (going steady doesn’t mean anything) and the emotions that come along (one of them, in particular, in disbelieving ecstasy at the decision to do it). It’s an in-character incongruity, and it’s awesome.
Best scene, according to my boyfriend: Let’s just say it involved body parts. And not in a “now they’re trying to make you think about sex” way, in a “oh my god, all these people are going to die” way. He called it HEATHERS-esque.
Also: watching this movie really makes me realize how BUFFY/ANGEL’s occasional little glamorous tricklets of blood do not do justice to what would be gushing around and messing up everyone’s clothes and faces if there were real vampiric consumption taking place.
Also also: I liked the way the movie gives its own take on some of the vampire canon while making it a genuinely cool scene, instead of a belabored “Now we’re going to explain why vampires can’t do X.” Well done. (You know, I hope this post makes any sense since I am trying so hard not to ruin anything. Spoiler-free is the way to be!)
Posted in I learned it from Joss Whedon, Meyer, Stephenie, Twilight series
By: Trisha, Gayle, and Jolene,
on 9/26/2008
Simone Elkeles’ Perfect Chemistry is a teen romance full of clichés, melodrama, an unrealistic denouement, and a completely over the top epilogue. And I freaking loved it. Ate it up with a spoon like it was an ice cream sundae.
I was initially wary because Perfect Chemistry utilizes the same alternating narrators format as Leaving Paradise, this time switching between Alex, Hot Latino Tough Guy Gangbanger (with a brain), and Brittany, Popular Perfect Blond Rich Girl (with a secret). Forced to become partners for the entire year in their chemistry class, Alex and Brittany start to see each other past the rumors and stereotypes and façades they’ve erected. Do I need to spell out what happens next?
In any case, Alex’s chapters were…better than Caleb’s in Leaving Paradise. Oh, there were still parts that had me shaking my head, wondering, “Dude, what kind of guy talks like this?” but it happened less often than Leaving Paradise. As for the rest of the book, for a story that’s supposedly about two teens who learn to see past stereotypes, most of the secondary characters were stereotypical. The plot points alternated between the ridiculous and the predictable, and the epilogue ranks right up there with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as my least favorite epilogues of all time.
And yet, I was totally sucked into the story. Elkeles had me hooked and I have no idea how she did it. Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. I think Elkeles does emotion well, despite (or is it because of?) all the melodrama. Ultimately, though, there’s just something about her writing that that makes me need to keep reading, regardless of all the problems I may have with the book, though I cannot identify what that something is. I had to finish the book, had to find out if Alex and Brittany would end up together.*
There’s a lot of crude language in this book—I did mention Alex is in a gang, yes?—and, well, let’s just say this is definitely a romance for more mature teens. It won’t change anyone’s mind about romances, by which I mean girls looking for a romance will adore it and those with less patience for its bad boy/good girl setup and occassionally unrealistically (there’s that word again) sentimental dialogue, not to mention the way it romanticizes the bad boy and gives false hope about the possibilities of reforming them, won’t. If you don’t think much of romances to begin with, this is definitely not the book I’d recommend to change your mind. I have a hard time picturing this one in school libraries, and I think it will be one of those books readers either love or hate, especially judging by the other reviews I’ve read, at Teen Book Review and Semicolon (warning: spoilers!).
Perfect Chemistry will be published on December 23.
* Can I call this Diana Palmer for the high school set even though I utterly failed in my attempt to read a Diana Palmer book? Just based on this statement about a Palmer book: “it was crazy and insane and it made no sense and yet I still loved it”?
By: Trisha, Gayle, and Jolene,
on 5/25/2008
Calling all band geeks! If you’re a band geek and control freak like I was in high school you are going to love, love, love Band Geek Love by Josie Bloss.
High school senior and trumpet section leader Ellie Snow has prepared herself for the perfect marching season when something or rather someone unexpected comes into her life. Ellie is assigned a newbie trumpet player, Conner, the week before the first game. It doesn’t help that Conner is distracting in the most desirable way, he’s HOT!
Ever since a freshman year disaster with Jake’s older brother and then trumpet section leader Nathan, Ellie has decided to remain single and unencumbered by the likes to high school romance. Will this new kid Conner change her tune about high school romance? And is it true what they say about trumpet players? Are they good kissers? To find out read Band Geek Love by Josie Bloss.
Band Geek Love is scheduled for release July 1, 2008 from Flux.
Also check out Little Willow’s review and interview with author Josie Bloss.
By: Terry Lee Wilde,
on 3/12/2008
Just received word The Wild Rose Press wishes to contract Deidre's Secret, a teen paranormal romantic suspense. When Deidre Roux begins having premonitions of danger, watch out! But can she convince her new friend, Mark Cummings, to believe that she truly sees a world of danger headed their way before it's too late?
By: Amy C. Moreno,
on 7/27/2007
Take a look at these Readymechs. They are free flat, readymade toys that can be printed on paper. Amazing designs. I found them through Michael Surtee's blog again...DesignNotes. Fwis is a graphic design group in Portland, Denver, Cupertino and Brooklyn.
That’s a lot of reading going on. Sounds like fun. :)