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Tyler is caught between the girl he has and the girl he wants. Since the very first day of freshman year, he’s been completely, head-over-heels in love with beautiful, wounded, and enigmatic Becky.  He yearns for her, creates endless stories about who he believes she is and the perfect romance they’d have if she would just notice him, and goes through his high school days telling himself that it’s enough to be be her only friend.  And since winter break of freshman year, he’s been in a comfortable, all-too-easy, autopilot relationship with Syd.  Syd is smart, mature, and for reasons Tyler can’t explain, into him.Read More →

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Just finished reading, and loving, the advance reading copy of Fat Cat, the second novel by Arizona’s Robin Brande. (due from Random House in Oct ’09) Catherine (Cat) is a smart, wise-cracking, funny high school junior who is trapped in a fat suit. She wishes there was a way to unzip the suit and start living her real life; but instead she’s trapped in a body that keeps her from being the person she longs to be.  Start of junior year and she’s in for a tough year:  lots of AP classes, no real social life to speak of (except her awesome best friend Amanda),Read More →

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We just love Tucson author & illustrator Chris Gall!  His books are awesome, his art is amazing, and he’s a funny guy.  His new book, Dinotrux, is due out in June 2009 and the rights have been acquired by Dreamworks for a full-length, 3-D animated feature.  Yeah Chris!  Check out his blog for an animated trailer of the book, which will, of course, confirm your suspicions – that prehistoric trucks once roamed the earth!  Posted by CoriRead More →

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Just One Wish is a romantic comedy, with a sensitive side.  All of the characters are likeable.  The main character, Annika, is a girl struggling with her brother’s cancer.  She feels like she can and must help her brother by granting him a wish from her imaginary genie.  His wish ends up being way more than she expected.  But since she is willing to do almost anything for him, she sets off to grant his wish.  Because of her “can-do” attitude, she gets into so many situations that almost force her back home without being able to grant her brother’s wish.  It is fun toRead More →

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If I Die In Juarez, Arizona author Stella Pope Duarte’s most recent novel is a compelling fictionalization of the grotesque and inhumane murders of young women in Juarez, Mexico.  The interwoven stories of three young women caught up in the gritty, desperately poor, and corrupt world of Juarez evoke feelings of helplessness, anger, and ultimately resignation in the reader.  I was captivated by the story because it felt so real. Forced out of the house by her alcoholic mother, 13-year-old Evita takes to the streets and struggles to survive, falling into prostitution and drug trafficking. Petra, Evita’s beautiful 19-year-old cousin, moves with her family from a mountainous region of MexicoRead More →

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 Wake 17-year-old Janie has a secret. She enters people’s dreams. She doesn’t want to, but she can’t stop it.  And it’s really annoying when it happens when she is at school, or work, and especially when it is a nightmare.  Things get complicated when she befriends Cabel. Some of his dreams are about her.  And some of his dreams are frightening.  When they end up in a dream together, they learn each other’s secrets.  Can they help each other? This was a quick, enjoyable read.   Due to some language and mature situations it is recommended for older teens and adults. http://www.lisamcmann.com/ Posted by MichelleRead More →

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Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer’s much-anticipated follow up to her highly successful novels Twilight and New Moon, continues the saga rich with vampires, werewolves, and Bella Swan, the girl who loves them both. Picking up right where New Moon left off, Eclipse is filled with danger, intrigue, fighting and plenty of suspense. While the plot is riveting and the book is a page-turner that is almost impossible to set down, Eclipse differs from the first two books in the amount of background and character development Meyer provides. Not only does Meyer delve more deeply into the mythology of the werewolves and vampires, she also picks out individualRead More →