The Amanda Project by Amanda Valentino, Melissa Kantor

Details

Publisher:  HarperTeen (2009)

Pages:  288

Content:  L- Moderate, S- None, V- Mild
Recommended Age:  13+
Source:  Dorchester County Library


Back Cover Description
When enigmatic freshman Amanda Valentino arrived at Endeavor High, she chose three people--Callie, Hal, and Nia--to guide her through the choppy waters of her new school.  Except she didn't tell them about each other.  When Amanda leaves, the three must reluctantly work toghter to figure out why.  But once they start piecing together the cryptic clues that Amanda herself is leaving for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew about her is false.  The more they dig, the mystery of where--and who--Amanda is deepens.

Rating
2.5/5

The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block

Details

Publisher:  HarperTeen (2010)

Pages:  258

Content:  L- Moderate, S- Yes, V- Moderate

Recommended Age:  16+

Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
Liv has a secret.
   Something happened to her when she was thirteen.  Something that changed everything.  Liv knows she doesn't belong anymore--not in her own skin, not in her family . . . not anywhere.  The only time she truly feels like herself is when she's with her boyfriend, Corey, and in the woods that surround her town.
   But in the woods, a mysterious woman watches Liv.  In the woods, a pack of wild boys lurks.  In the woods, Liv learns about the curse that will haunt her forever.  The curse that caused the frenzy four years ago.  And that may cause it again, all too soon.
   While Corey and Liv's love binds them together, Liv's dark secret threatens to tear them apart as she struggles to understand who--or what--she really is.  And by the light of the full moon, the most dangerous secrets bare their claws.

Rating
2/5

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Details

Publisher:  HarperTeen (2011)

Pages:  441

Content:  L- Moderate, S-  Kissing, partial nudity,  V- Moderate

Recommended Age:  14+

Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe.  I wonder whether the procedure will hurt.  I want to get it over with.  It's hard to be patient.  It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet.
   Still, I worry.
   They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness.  The deadliest of all deadly things:  It kills you both when you have it and when you don't.

Rating
3.5/5

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Details

Publisher:  Dutton (2010)

Pages:  372

Content:  L- Moderate swearing, Sexual dialogue, S- Kissing, V- Mild

Recommended Age:  14+

Source:  Dorchester County Library

Front Flap Description

Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more.  So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Etienne St. Clair.  Smart, charming, beautiful, Etienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

   But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true.  Will a year of romantic near-misses end witht heir long-awaited French kiss? 

My Thoughts

Coming soon!

Rating

5/5

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Details

Publisher:  HarperTeen (2011)

Pages:  487

Content:  L- Moderate Swearing, S- Kissing, V- Moderate

Recommended Age:  14+

Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is--no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket.  And it's getting harder.  Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust.  At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.
   As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend.  But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together--and trying to tear them apart.

My Thoughts
Coming soon!

Rating
5/5

Haven by Kristi Cook

Details

Publisher:  Simon Pulse (2011)

Pages:  401

Content:  L-  Moderate swearing, sexual dialogue S- Making out, V- Moderate
Recommended Age:  14+
Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
Violet doesn't understand why she feels drawn to the Winterhaven School.  She just knows it's the right place for her.  When she discovers the school's secret, it all makes sense:  Everyone at Winterhaven has psychic gifts.  For the first time in her life, Violet doesn't have to hide her visions.  She's always seen them as a curse, but now she can hone her ability and try to control it.
   But she's thrown completely off balance when she meets the most alluring--and most mysterious--boy in school.  She's never connected with anyone the way she does with Aidan, and the intensity takes them both by surprise.  But as their relationship deepens, she begins to have visions of Aidan's death--and sees that she's the one who's fated to kill him.
   Violet's never been able to prevent her visions from coming true.  But his time she'll do whatever it takes. . . even if it means sacrificing herself for the boy she loves.

My Thoughts
Coming soon!

Rating
3.5/5

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Details

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster (2011)

Pages:  358

Content:  L- Mild, S- Kissing, Mention of sex, V- Moderate
Recommended Age:  15+
Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
What if you knew exactly when you would die?
   Thanks to modern science, every newborn has become a ticking genetic time bomb--males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty.  In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
   When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege.  Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose:  to escape--to find her twin brother and go home.
   But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom.  Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments.  With the help of Gabriel, a servant she is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

My Thoughts
Coming soon!

Rating
5/5

Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Details

Publisher:  Dial (2008)

Pages:  384

Content:  L- Mild, S- Kissing, V- Rape

Recommended Age: 14+

Source:  Dorchester County Library

Front Flap Description
Lucy Scarborough is seventeen when she discovers that the women of her family have been cursed through the generations, forced to attempt three seemingly impossible tasks or to fall into madness upon their child's birth.  How can Lucy succeed when all of her ancestors have tried and failed?  But Lucy is the first girl who won't be alone as she tackles the list.  She has her fiercely protective foster parents beside her.  And she has Zach, whose strength amazes her more each day.  Do they have enough love and resolve to overcome an age-old evil?

My Thoughts
Coming soon!

Rating
3/5

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Details
Publisher:  HarperCollins (2010)
Pages:  480
Content:  L- Moderate Swearing and Sexual Dialogue, S- 1st & 2nd base, V- Mild, Other- Lots of teenage drinking and some drug use
Recommended Age:  15+
Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
What if you had only one day to live?  What would you do?  Who would you kiss?  And how far would you go to save your own life?
   Samantha Kingston has it all:  the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High--from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot.  Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.
   Instead, it turns out to be her last.
   Then she gets a second chance.  Seven chances, in fact.  Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death--and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

My Thoughts
Overall, I liked this book, but the biggest problem I had with it is that I never really liked the main character, Samantha, all that much.  It was very difficult for me to empathize and live vicariously through a character who was so different from me.  I guess the fact that she was so self-centered and mean was part of the point of the story- it provided room for her to learn and grow throughout the book.  Still, even by the end, I couldn't relate to her very well.
   However, despite Samantha's challenging personality, the book was well-written and cleverly constructed.  The emotional phases that she went through while having to repeat her last day over and over rang true, and the decisions that she made each time made sense in the context of her personality.  The author certainly placed her in a number of unexpected situations, and while she did not make the same choices I would, it was interesting to see how her character and outlook developed and changed as the events of each day unfolded.
   While I didn't love the characters (her friends were every bit as bad, or worse than she was), there were still plenty of funny moments, and sweet moments, and thought-provoking moments. It won't make my list of favorite books, but it was put together well enough that I'm planning to try another book by Lauren Oliver- Delirium.  If it is as good as this one, it will be worth my time.

Rating
4/5

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Details

Publisher:  HarperCollins (2010)

Pages:  440
Content:  L- Moderate swearing, S- Kissing, V- Moderate
Recommended Age:  14+
Source:  Dorchester County Library

More to come!

Rating
4/5

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (Sequel to Hex Hall)

Details
Publisher:  Hyperion (2011)

Pages:  368
Content:  L- Mild Swearing, S- Kissing, V- Moderate
Recommended Age:  14+
Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.
   That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.
   Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.
   But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

My Thoughts
As mentioned in the post title, this is the sequel to Hex Hall and something very rare for me happened in this case- I liked this book even better than the first book.  Usually for me, the most fun part of an urban fantasy story is when the main character is first discovering their powers and realizing that the world is much more magical and complicated than they had originally known.  I also enjoy the beginning parts of the romance subplots when there is so much tension and uncertainty.  Sometimes all of this is covered in the beginning novel of a series, and it feels like in subsequent books the author is just coming up with new adventures and problems to tackle without really developing the characters any further.  This was not the case in Demonglass.  Sophie's journey of discovery continues in this book and broadens beyond the scope of what she knows of her family and school, and her tentative romance with Archer is still full of tension and uncertainty.
   Like the first book, this one contains plenty of action, plenty of mystery, and a host of complex characters.  Demonglass is not a complete story in itself, however.  If you haven't read Hex Hall already, you will definitely want to read that one first so that you are not lost- the plot of this story relies heavily on events that took place in the first book.  And the book leaves off on a great big cliffhanger- there's a definite The Empire Strikes Back vibe.  I will definitely pick up book three (Spell Bound) when it comes out (March 2012).
  

Rating
4.5/5

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Details

Publisher:  Feiwel and Friends (2010)

Pages:  484

Content:  L- Mild swearing, Sexual dialogue, S- Kissing, Nude Cuddling, V- Moderate
Recommended Age:  15+

Source:  Dorchester County Library

Front Flap Description
Three angels--Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer, and Bethany, the youngest and most human--are sent by Heaven to bring good to a world falling under the influence of darkness.  They work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and most dangerous of all, their wings, all the while avoiding all human attachments.
   Then Bethany meets Xavier Woods, and neither of them is able to resist the attraction between them.  Gabriel and Ivy do everything in their power to intervene, but the bond between Xavier and Bethany seems too strong.
   The angels' mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening.  Will love ruin Bethany or save her?

My Thoughts
This book had a good premise and definitely held promise.  The execution, however, fell short.  There were a number of problems, the most notable being the pacing.  The first 130 pages or so were basically filled with repetitive and overly flowery descriptions of everything the main character, Bethany, was experiencing.  Since Bethany was a seventeen-year-old angel visiting earth for the first time, the author went into excruciating detail about everything she sensed- how loud the wind was, how soft the pillows were, how the oatmeal tasted, and on and on and on for a hundred pages.  Now, I will grant that Adornetto is skilled at descriptive writing--she just does way too much of it and I found myself skimming to get to any action.
   Another issue is that there are minor contradictions all over the place.  For example, Ivy and Gabriel had lived on earth many of different times, yet didn't know why they started feeling weak part way through the day, and they discovered that, Oh! we have to eat multiple times a day to fuel our human bodies.  This should have been something they already discovered on one of their many other visits to earth.  The book was littered with such contradictions.
   Character development was also generally weak.  The main character, Bethany, was super-well developed, but it was like Adornetto spent all of her energy focusing on Bethany's character and she neglected to develop the rest.  Her friends were mindless and flat, her sister and brother were a little better developed, but still lacking depth, and the bad guy (who had black hair, wore black clothes, and had a snake tattoo) was predictable.  Also, although we knew pretty much every thought that Bethany had, her character didn't seem to do much.  She was on an angelic mission to earth, yet she spent most the book getting in touch with her human senses and mooning over the unbelievably perfect Xavier.  Apparently, her mission on earth was to fall in love with him so deeply that the forces of evil could not withstand it.  Sigh.
   I didn't 100% hate this book.  I really think that somewhere in there is a good story and I believe that there is promise for Adornetto as an author (I later found out that she was only 17 when she published this book).  The main problem was in the editing.  This could have been a decent book with some heavy editing, but it's like the publishers just took the first draft, checked it for spelling and grammar (which were excellent), and rolled it out.  Definitely a disappointment.

Rating
2.5/5

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Details

Publisher:  Atheneum (2010)

Pages:  543
Content:  L- Mild, S- Kissing, V- Moderate
Recommended Age:  14+
Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
Cheerleader Isobel Lanely is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due--so unfair--on the day of the rival game.  Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he'd rather not have anything to do with her either.  But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can't help but give this enigmatic boy with piercing eyes another look.
   Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen.  Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.
   As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined and that the most frightening realitites are those of the mind.  Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.
   His life depends on it.

My Thoughts
If you read the front flap description, then you will have a good idea what is going on.  If not, this story will probably be a big mystery to you since nothing really gets explained until about 3/4 of the way through the book.  But it's a good story.  This book contains all the elements of good urban fantasy in an original way.  There are no vampires, werewolves, faeries, etc, in this one- instead, there are creatures based on the works of Poe and intertwined with the author's own imagination. 
   For the first part of the book, the fantasy elements are light, with more focus on the relationships between Isobel, Varen, and her friends.  Although the reactions of the some of the characters to certain situations seem extreme, at least they are interesting and provide Isobel an impetus for developing her relationship with Varen.  And Varen is a particularly complex and interesting character, so the interactions with him were fun to read.  (And in case you were wondering, yes, he is hot, in a dark sort of way). 
   The last quarter of the book pulls the characters full force into the fantasy world.  Although I was happy to finally have some things explained, I found the last about 70 pages kind of tedious.  It was like when someone describes their dream to you- it's interesting for about 30 seconds and then it just feels rambling and boring.  I know this was the big climax part of the book with all the action, but it read like listening to a dream and I grew impatient with it (incidentally, this same issue is why I eventually gave up on Alyson Noel's Immortals series and Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy- too much time spent in a weird, boring dream world).  I feel like the book would have been better had there been more fantasy explained earlier on and less later.
   Despite the somewhat unbalanced feel of the book, I felt a connection with the main characters and I liked the dark, eerie atmosphere and fantasy incarnations.  I'm not sure whether I'll pick up the sequel when it comes out, but this one was definitely worth a read.

Rating
4/5

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Details

Publisher:  HarperTeen (2010)

Pages:  335

Content:  L- Mild, S- Kissing, V- Paranormal injuries and death

Recommended Age:  13+
Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal.  Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.
   Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies.  She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths.  Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
   So much for normal.

My Thoughts
I'll admit that at the start I was slightly annoyed by Evie (yes, another Evie- and don't even get me started on the recent overusage of the name Will in YA fiction), with her rhinestone covered taser, slangy, casual narrating, and obsession with all things pink.  But I quickly looked past her silly teenage girl exterior and fell in love with her.  Although she can be quite dangerous when she tries, there is an innocence and honesty about her that make her lovable.
   Also lovable is Lend, the mysterious shapeshifter who breaks into the agency where Evie lives and works.  Despite the dangerous and terrifying events that are taking place in the paranormal world around them, Evie and Lend manage to find a lightness and sense of wonder around each other that is endearing and fun.
   This book is packed with paranormals- werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters, faeries, mermaids, and on and on- a little something for everyone.  I appreciated how the author took the time to develop each of these species and the systems of magic instead of relying on old stereotypes and premade versions of them.  Although they were based on traditional depictions, they were different enough to give me, the reader, a new, interesting world to discover.  And while Evie's story and identity are entwined with the faeries, there is a fresh and original take on her connection to them (because, let me tell you, if I read one more book where some teenage girl discovers that she is the long-lost daughter of Queen Titania and King Oberon and now she must return to the faerie realms to help resolve the battle between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. . . . sigh).
   I was very pleased with this book.  It was not super heavy, although there were some dark forces at work in this world.  But it was fast-paced and fun, and I had a difficult time putting it down when bedtime rolled around.
Rating
4.5/5

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Details

Publisher:  Razorbill- Penguin Group (2011)

Pages:  398

Content:  L- Mild, S- Nudity, Teen kissing, Adult sex, V- Punching, Attempted rape, Suicide, Murder

Recommended Age:  16+

Source:  Dorchester County Library

Front Flap Description
Amy and her parents believe they will wake on a new planet, Centauri-Earth, three hundred years in the future.  But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, cryo chamber 42 is mysteriously unplugged, and Amy is violently woken from her frozen slumber.
   Someone tried to murder her.
   Now, Amy is caught inside a tiny world where nothing makes sense.  Godspeed's 2,312 passengers have forteited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader.  And Elder, Eldest's rebellious teenage heir, is both fascinated with Amy and eager to discover whether he has what it takes to lead.
   Amy desperately wants to trust Elder.  But should she put her faith in a boy who has never seen life outside the ship's cold metal walls?  All Amy knows is that she and Elder must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

My Thoughts
Yes, this book is as exciting as it sounds in the front flap description.  There is a hint of romance, but the story focuses more on unraveling secrets and figuring out how to deal with life in the claustrophobic, dystopian society aboard the spaceship.  The narration of the story alternates between Elder's and Amy's point of view and it is interesting to see how Amy, who was born on Earth, and Elder, who was born on the ship, view and react to various elements of ship life.
   Like any good dystopian novel, this book raised a number of social, political, and ethical questions, and while the characters in the book attempted to resolve them in various ways, there was still a good deal of uncertainty at the end.  I found this approach appropriate as there are rarely certain answers to such questions in real life.  There was a tremendous amount of description of the flaws in the society the author created- it was quite frightening and disturbing at times.  But while the leader, Eldest, was portrayed as a villain, the author also gave insight into why he made the choices he did and what it cost him.
   As far as the murder mystery elements were concerned, most of it was pretty obvious, although there was a twist at the end that took me by surprise.  My main problem with that part of the story is that once it was discovered that someone was trying to unplug and kill the cryogenically frozen passengers, Eldest put very little effort into discovering who was doing it, and no effort into guarding or protecting them.  With his compulsive need for control over every element of life aboard the ship, this made no sense whatsoever to me.  Still, there were so many other things going on the book that this flaw did not completely ruin it- it was just sloppy.
   Overall, I found it an intriguing and engaging read.  Although it is marketed to teens, it definitely contains some mature elements that would be more appropriate for an older audience.  But there is a good mix of action, intrigue, and moments that just make you think.  Definitely worth a read.

Rating
4.5/5

Sometimes I get super busy

Okay, so I didn't actually finish Blue Flame.  I started it and it was fairly good, though a little slow.  But then I got super busy- I made a couple trips to Hilton Head, I threw a Harry Potter party, etc, etc- and when everything calmed down, Blue Flame was due back at the library and I wasn't overly interested in it anymore.  So maybe I'll return to it in the future, but in the meantime, I am on to other books.

Blue Flame by K. M. Grant (Book One of the Perfect Fire trilogy)

I never finished reading this book, but if you've read it, let me know what you think!

Publisher:  Walker & Company (2008)
Pages:  246




Front Flap Description
Many years have passed since the Occitanian knights killed Richard the Lionheart while trying to protect the Blue Flame--sparked at the moment of Christ's death--from falling into the wrong hands.  Now it is in danger once again as enemies from the North draw near, preparing to stake their claim to the Flame's promise of power.
   In the midst of the looming battle, lifelong friends Raimon, son of a Cathar weaver, and Yolanda, daughter of a Catholic count, are falling in love.  But the arrival of an inquisitor to their beloved Castleneuf changes everthing, as his search for the Blue Flame endangers their relationship, their families, and their very lives.
   This deadly religious crusade sets boy against girl, family against family, neighbor against neighbor, South against North.  Though many seek to possess the Blue Flame, only one person is destined to wield its power to save the people and sovereignty of the Occitan.

Immortal by Gillian Shields

Details
Publisher:  Katherine Tegen Books (2009)
Pages:  360
Content:  L- None, S- Kissing, V- Mild
Recommended Age:  13+
Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming.  When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed.  Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness.
   Evie's only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance.  As Evie's feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past.  And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl--a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister.  Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control.  And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate.

My Thoughts
Let's start with the good.  I loved the atmosphere- the moors, the sea, the old abbey, the lake, the ruins.  It was such a darkly romantic setting and I longed to wander the grounds at night.  This was enhanced by the language of the story, which flowed nicely- the imagery was beautiful, the descriptions and dialogue felt natural, and it was easy to forget the words on the page and just get lost in the story.  I also enjoyed the main character, Evie's, interactions with the other students.  Her friendships and enemyships rang true and I could empathize with her loneliness in coming to a new, strange school so far away from home.  I also appreciated how neatly intertwined the stories of the past were with the stories of the present- a difficult task for an author and one executed well.  
   I did, however, have a few difficulties with this book.  The major issue for me was Evie's relationship with Sebastian.  I never trusted him, I never felt that he was a good enough person to form a romantic bond with, and I could not understand why Evie became so immediately attached to him, apart from the fact that she was lonely and he was handsome and intriguing. 
   Another problem was with the interspersed journal entries of Lady Agnes from the 1800's.  They did draw nice and, as it turned out, integral parallels with the story happening in the present, but I felt that they were sometimes too long and too frequent, thus detracting from the momentum of the main storyline.  They also tended to reveal too much information too early, so that the reader understood what was happening with Evie way before she caught on.
   My final issue may be one more of taste than execution.  As far as fantasy is concerned, witches and ghosts are definitely not my favorite supernatural beings, and as this book focused heavily on both, I did not find it as interesting as other types of stories.  (Just to be clear, I'm not biased against all books containing witches and ghosts- I love Harry Potter and that series contains many of both.  I also thought Paula Morris's Ruined was a good ghost story.  But the ones in HP were fun.  I'm not into covens of witches who call on the elements and perform sacred rites and such- just not my thing).
   While I wrote far more about the negative elements of the story than the positive, that does not mean that I didn't think it was good.  I did enjoy it and definitely thought it was worth reading once.  But I think the story ended in a fine place and I'm not going to bother with the sequel if there is one.

Rating
3.5/5

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Details
Publisher:  HarperTeen (2011)
Pages:  448
Content:  L- Sparse light swearing, S- Kissing, V- Mild paranormal
Recommened Age: 14+
Source:  Dorchester County Library


Front Flap Description
Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel.  Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.
   Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town.  When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place--and out of place at the same time.  Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
   As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make--between honest and deceit, love and duty, good and evil.  When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

My Thoughts
While perusing the shelves of my library, I was drawn to this book by its gorgeous cover.  I know they say never to judge a book by its cover, but I admit that a beautiful cover combined with an intriguing one-word title gets me every time.  I had not heard of this book previously, so I had no expectations.  But I had hopes.  I hoped this would be a unique and interesting take on angels, I hoped the author would create a rich world that would pull me in, and I hoped the romantic aspects would be realistic and fun.  I was not disappointed.
  The majority of the story takes place in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and although I generally detest cold climates, I found myself wanting to ski and cozy up in a nice log cabin.  The main character, Clara, is very likeable and relatable, and the author portrays her honestly.  The leading men in the book are also very crushworthy- especially Tucker (in my opinion).  And the supporting characters- friends, family, classmates, etc. are well realized and fill out the book nicely.
  And then, of course, there are the angels.  I have read many books featuring fallen angels, and this is not like any of them.  This is likely due to the main angelic characters in this book being "angel-bloods" and not full angels.  They are very human with some extraordinary talents.  And of course, you can't have a good urban fantasy without a dark side, and Hand provides some not-so-good angels as well (that's an understatement- her Dark Wings are quite evil).
  This is not an overly fast-paced book, but in this case I didn't mind.  The author created a world that was developed well enough that I didn't mind settling in and enjoying the slice-of-life moments.  Overall, I was pleased with this book and how it handled the interweaving themes of destiny vs. agency, duty vs. love, and deception vs. trust.  And while the plot of this story wrapped up nicely, it certainly left a good deal of mystery.  I eagerly await the sequel.
   And if you have read the book and want to hear more of my thoughts on it, click here and join the discussion.

Rating
5/5  Loved it!

Ready to start blogging it up

About a year ago, I considered starting a reading blog.  I had just finished a ton of great books and I was eager to share.  But then I thought, "I've already read most of the good books.  What will I have to read and write about in the future?"  That was possibly the most ridiculous thought I've had in my life.  I have read so many great books since then, and there are so many more I am excited to read. 

Most people who know me know that I love to read, and they frequently ask me if I've read anything good lately.  I tell them that I have, but then I blank on the titles.  So this blog should be a good resource for keeping track of what I'm reading.  I have read hundreds and hundreds of YA books, and I can't possibly go back and write about them all, so I will only focus on the books that I am reading currently.  If you have read any of the books on this blog, please contribute to the comments- I'd love to hear what you think.  Happy reading!