I’ll admit right away that I was really excited when I saw the ARC for this book and I had really high hopes for it. Keeping in mind that John Barnes‘   tales of the MADMAN underground is one of the best young adult books I’ve ever read, it was hard for me to wait until Losers in Space got to the top of the pile (I know, why wait, right? But sometimes the waiting builds up the anticipation and makes the reward so much better…) So, I was out of the office yesterday and I thought, it’s a perfect day to dive in. AndRead More →

There’s a lot going on in debut author Lissa Price’s dystopian sci-fi action romance Starters.  Within the first 3 pages I wrote “Dollhouse?” at the top of the page, realizing the multiple plot, setting, and character similarities to Joss Whedon’s short-lived TV Series, Dollhouse.  Then there’s the subtle inspiration and re-envisioning of the Cinderella fairytale, with a sci-fi element added in, reminding me of Melissa Marr’s fantastic Cinder.  And of course the post-apocalyptic world, ravaged by the Spore Wars and the smart determined young heroine willing to risk herself to save her younger sibling will be a great “what do I read next?” after TheRead More →

I’ve been looking forward to Cinder: The Lunar Chronicles Book One by Marissa Meyer since the ARC came a few months ago. As the book got closer to the top of my pending stack, I kept glancing at the cover and wondering, excitedly, what the retelling of Cinderella as an android would be like.  So finally, on Tuesday, Cinder was at the top of the pile. I don’t remember much about Wednesday since I spent most of the day reading.  And despite a little awkward editing, I was rewarded for my patience with an engaging, fast-paced, creative story. In this era of re-imagining and retellingsRead More →

*The True Story of My Fairy Godparent, Who Almost Killed Me, and Certainly Never Made Me a Princess Jennifer Van Der Berg isn’t really the kind of girl who wanted a fairy godmother to grant her wish to be a princess.  She certainly isn’t the kind of teen to be swept up, head over heels in love, with the boy of her dreams. She’s pretty average, actually. A little quick to anger sometimes. Really, more of a cynic than anything else. So when the book Born To Be Extraordinary rockets her to fame by completely misrepresenting her “adventure with her fairy godmother”, Jennifer has noRead More →

Cecil Castellucci’s latest is First Day on Earth, a succinct, poignant short novel about a teen who is an alien in his own life. Mal is a loner. An observer of the idiocy of high school, reluctant caretaker of his alcoholic mother, and lonely as hell.  He would never admit that, of course, but  ever since his dad left him and his mom, Mal’s been adrift.  And something strange and secret happened to him out in the Mojave desert that he still can’t get over – he was abducted by aliens.  Trying to survive high school, his messed up home life, and the wrenching pain ofRead More →

Who wouldn’t want a glimpse into their future? To see what your life is like 15 years from now, who your friends are, what your job is, where you live and if you’re happy.  But how do you piece together a true picture of your future if it’s revealed in a list of “friends” you many not even know, photos that haven’t been taken yet, and random tidbits (“Cake for breakfast – yum”) that don’t make sense?  For Emma and Josh in 1996, getting access to their lives in 2011 via an AOL disc that reveals their as-yet-to-be-invented Facebook pages, there are just as many gaps inRead More →

Peter Parker, meet Steve Jobs. In a 21st century twist on the superhero genre, Kevin Brooks gives us iBoy.  Tom Harvey is a average teenager living in the lowerclass section of London, in a housing project rife with gangs, drugs, violence, hopelessness and poverty.   Not one to meddle in affairs that don’t directly impact him, Tom keeps his head down and muddles along.  On a day when he’s going to visit Lucy, a girl in the projects he’s known since childhood, Tom’s fate is sealed: an iPhone is thrown from the 3oth floor, hitting him in the head at 77 miles per hour, fracturing his skull andRead More →

New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater has created something wonderful, enchanting, thrilling, and unique in her latest, The Scorpio Races.  It’s hard to say what I like most about this book – its breathtaking scenery and visceral sense of place; the pulse-pounding thrill of the wild horses racing on the beach; the lovingly crafted, superbly detailed characters (human and horse); the fact that it’s a unique blend of romance, action, coming of age, and fantasy that feels so different from most everything else out on the YA market right now; or maybe, simply, the powerful honesty of a book well written, carefully edited, and lovinglyRead More →

“I wondered if this was what it was like when the end of the world came. A sudden overturning that made every day like stepping alone into an empty room, everything you longed for, every handhold you used to pull yourself along, vanished.” (Stephen, from The Eleventh Plague)  Much has been made in recent months about the darker bent of YA lit and the growing fascination with end-of-the-world scenarios and dystopias taking over the once sunny, wholesome world of tween/YA lit (was it ever really so?).  So I thought it particularly interesting that the 2 books next in my stack to read were both post-apocalyptic stories: AaronRead More →