Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez

"Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets. It’s home to the pyschic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom-shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case!

Teenage girls are being mysteriously attacked all over town, including at Nightshade High School, where Daisy Giordano is a junior. When Daisy discovers that a vampire may be the culprit, she can’t help but suspect head cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, who returned from summer break with a new “look.” Samantha appears a little . . . well, dead, and all the most popular kids at school are copying her style.
Is looking dead just another fashion trend for Samantha, or is there something more sinister going on? To find out, Daisy joins the cheerleading squad."

I picked this book up as just a quick read, but was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I like the comedic quality to it. I knew I was reading a young adult book, and it is a very small book but the author did a good job at telling a story, introducing the characters, and ending it in a satisfying way. I easily connected with the main character, Daisy, and completely understood the emotions she was going through. It is the first book in a series, and even thought the book ended on a was that made the book a stand alone, it  also left opportunities for more books. If I come across the others books in the series I may get them, but I probably will not go out and purchase them as a set from a book store or Amazon. If you are looking for a book that you can read in just a few days, that has a little comedic mystery, as well as some supernatural characters, than I recommend this book for you. 

I give this book a three out of five stars.

Fated by S.G. Browne

"Over the past few thousand years, Fabio has come to hate his job. As Fate, he's in charge of assigning the fortunes and misfortunes that befall most of the human race-the 83% who keep screwing things up.

Frustrated with his endless parade of drug addicts and career politicians, Fate has to watch Destiny guide her people to Nobel Peace Prizes and Super Bowl MVPs. To make matters worse, he has a five- hundred-year-old feud with Death, and his best friends are Sloth and Gluttony. And worst of all? He's fallen in love with a human.

Getting involved with a human breaks Rule #1, and about ten others, setting off some cosmic-sized repercussions that could strip him of his immortality-or lead to a fate worse than death."

I was excited to read this book. I thought it was going to be funny and have a lovey dovey ending. I was, of course, wrong. While it did have humor in it, it was at the expense of religious doctrines. (Now I know some people reading this may not be religious and find it humorous, but I am and did not.) But overlooking this, it was an alright, book. What really ruined it for me was the ending. I was hoping for a more stereotypical ending, but did not receive one. So props to S.G. Browne on writing a “creative” ending, but I was so out there for me that it really ruined the story for me. But if you are looking for a humorous book with a surprise ending than you may like it. 

I on the other hand am giving this book a two out of five stars.

The Named by Marianne Curley

"Ethan is a member of the Named, sworn to fight the Order of Chaos, an evil group determined to permanently change the course of history. But he is also a normal high school student trying desperately to keep up with his homework and fit in. When he is assigned to mentor Isabel, a cute classmate and future member of the Named, the line between his two lives begins to blur. So begins an epic quest as Ethan, Isabel, and others travel through time to battle dark forces and protect the future."

The author did a good job mixing, what I feel is different genre's together to tell this story. It gives you a little bit of everything. With saying this I had a hard time deciding on giving this book a four or a five star. After some deliberation I decided on a four star, but that just goes to tell you have good this book is!!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

"Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective…but there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

Since its publication, Stephen Chbosky’s haunting debut novel has received critical acclaim, provoked discussion and debate, grown into a cult phenomenon with over three million copies in print, spent over one year at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and inspired a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a story about what it’s like to travel that strange course through the uncharted territory of high school. The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. Of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Of those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up."

 Before I read this nook I watched the movie first. I thought it was great! So great that I went out and bought the movie the next day, it was also so great that i spent $15 to buy a new copy of the book. Even when I was buying it I thought the price was to steep, but I liked the movie so much that I bought it anyways. So when      I started to read the book i was suprised by the format it was written in. It is made up of letters, and that was not what I was expecting, but as you read on you realize that this was the only way that this story could have been written. I was suprised also how good the writers of the movie stayed close to how the book was written. As we know script writters like to change the story when they make a movie, but with this one they didn't do a half bad job at it. 
My only real complaint about the book was that I wish it was longer. But it is selfish to say that because the story ran its course, I just didn't want to leave the characters yet. I felt like this is book that should be a required reading in High School. There are some parts that maybe a student shouldn't read, but there are other parts that I think could help them with the changes and the choices that they are going to have to make. 

I give this book a five out of five stars!!

Crooked by Laura and Tom McNeal

"

Clara Wilson and Amos MacKenzie are finding their lives turned upside down: by each other, by fickle friendships, by failing families, and by the two meanest brothers in town. As the pressures of high school and home life collide, Clara and Amos struggle to maintain their identities amid the chaos. Honesty may be the answer...but it can be awfully hard to find."

I have not read many, what I call, "Teen" novels. By "Teen" I mean fiction books about life as an average teenager when something out of the norm happens, and I am not talking about meeting vampires and falling in love with the supernatural world. Just regular people that completely possible, although sometimes bad, things happen to them. This is one of those books, and I was impressed by it. I really could not put the book down. I mean I was reading it while waiting for the Super Bowl Commercials to come on. (Yes, that means I was reading it while the game was in play.) I connected with the characters, and wanted the best out come for them. Even though at some points I did not know what the outcome would be. Because in all honesty I cannot remember the last book that I read that the ending was not what I wanted it to be. 


I will always applaud authors who collaborate to write a novel. Especially husband and wife (ditto to him for letting his wife's name be first!! :} ) I have tried writing with others and it is not the easiest thing in the world, or the next easiest, or the next easiest after that! I would probably read this book again, but maybe in a few years or so.

So after all of that I am giving this book a 4 out of five stars.

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

"Sixteen–year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom fills her prescription for antibiotics. Before Cheyenne realizes what’s happening, their car is being stolen. Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne, but once his dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes—now there’s a reason to keep her. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare? Because she’s not only sick with pneumonia—she’s also blind."

I liked this book quite a lot. It is more for later middle school/junior high book, but I still 

enjoyed the read. With it being for school aged readers it was a easy read. The topic was 

not an real easy one to write, so I amend the author for choosing it. When looking at one

 other books she seems to choose the same topic area. It would be a great way to show 

students that anything can happen and anyone can change. If the author wanted to change 

the audience she was writing to from student to adult, I believe that she could do so and the

 book would be just as good if not better. I would definitely recommend this book to others 

who like suspense, courageous characters, and difficult obstacles.

I gave this book a three out of five.

Being by Kevin Brooks

"

It was just supposed to be a routine exam. But when the doctors snake the fiber-optic tube down Robert Smith's throat, what they discover doesn't make medical sense. Plastic casings. Silver filaments. Moving metal parts. In his naked, anesthetized state on the operating table, Robert hears the surgeons' shocked comments: "What the hell is that?"
"It's me," Robert thinks, "and I've got to get out of here." Armed with a stolen automatic and the videotape of his strange organs, he manages to escape, and to embark on an orphan's violent odyssey to find out exactly who--exactly what--he is."

I had great hopes for this book. After reading the back I couldn't wait to find out what the 

mystery was. This book reminded me of a young version of the Jason Bourne series. It had 

the same sense of urgency to know what was going to happen next, who were the good 

guys and who were the bad, all tied in a mystery of who or what Robert Smith is. While the 

story line was interesting, the books lacked in other areas. The author was good at 

describing things but at points he gets so descriptive that I would lose what he was talking 

about and could not picture it at all. He also had the story moving fast, but it seemed like it 

took him a long time to get where he wanted the reader to go. While it was an interesting 

novel, it did not turn into a favorite. It would be a good book for adventure spy types that 

don't mind the perfect ending. 


I give this book a 2 out of 5 stars.

Singer of All Songs by Kate Constable

"Calwyn has never been beyond the high ice-wall that guards the sisters of Antaris from the world of Tremaris. She knows only the rounds of her life as a novice ice priestess, tending her bees, singing her ice chantments, and dreaming. 

But then Calwyn befriends Darrow, a mysterious Outlander who appears inside the Wall and warns of an approaching danger. To help Darrow, to see the world, and perhaps to save it, Calwyn will leave the safety of the Wall for a journey with a man she barely knows--and an adventure as beautiful and dangerous as the music of chantment itself."

I really enjoyed this book. It kind of suprised me. It was not a hard read, and I was 

ingrossed  in the story line very quickly. It has a good adventure and not much lovey dovey 

stuff in it. (So it would make it a good read for boys too!) It is a trilogy, but this book really 

can stand on its own. This is the authors first book and you really cannot tell it is. I have 

read first novels before and it would be painfully obvious that it is. But this one you could 

not, which I really liked.

I give this book a three out of five stars.

The Accomplice by Kathryn Heyman

"This is the story of one of the most shocking events of the seventeenth century: the wreck of a Dutch ship, the Batavia, off the west coast of Australia, and the extraordinary events that befell its stranded survivors. It is also the story of Judith Bastiaansz, sailing with her family to a new life, who is caught up in something well beyond her experience: first infatuation and then, perhaps, something far more dangerous. Combining a gripping narrative with vivid historical detail, this is a beautiful, terrifying, deeply moving novel of love and anarchy. "

 I bought this book a while ago, and at the time I was really into reading Historical Fictions. So after reading the back of the book I thought that this was going to be great. But again I judged the book by the cover, and was wrong. Firstly, it took forever for the story to start. I was pushing ,myself to read and become engaged in it for the first hundred pages or so. Now this a, what I call average, average size book. So I was close to half way through it before I really started to be interested in what was happening.  The second thing was that, in the beginning, she keeps jumping from the past to the present without any explanation. So you are left floundering to figure out at what time the story is taken place in. This just contributed to the hardship it was to get into the book. I wanted the main character to have a stronger presence, but did not get what I wanted. I felt she was a meek character, and although she did survive the hardships in the story, she did not become a stronger person or really grow. She stayed the same. I was disappointed in this book, and did have to force myself to read to the end.

I give this book a one out of five.