The Glass Demon, by Helen Grant (409 pages) – Lin Fox finds a corpse, and nearby there is broken glass. There are more deaths, and more broken glass. A sinister thriller, set in Germany, and sort of based on a true story.
First line: ‘If anyone were to ask me, ‘What is the root of all evil?’ I would say not ‘Money’ but ‘Food’.’
Gimme a Call, by Sarah Mlynowski (327 pages) – Devi Banks can use her cellular to talk to herself – from the future! Future Devi tries to stop Present Devi from falling in love with some guy who breaks her heart. Which is reasonable (I would have a LIST of things to tell my younger self), but changing the past mightn’t be so easy.
First line: ‘I should just return Bryan’s watch to Nordstrom and go home.‘
Gentlemen, by Michael Northrop (234 pages) – Three boys suspect their English teacher has something to do with their friend’s disappearance, and to find him they must ‘navigate a maze of assorted clues, fraying friendships, violence, and Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment before learning the truth.’
The River, by Mary Jane Beaufrand (215 pages) – Another chiller/mystery (with an awesome first line). Veronica moves from the city to the country with her parents, and befriends a younger girl whose body is found on the banks of the river that runs through Veronica’s backyard. She become obsessed with solving the girl’s death and its connection to the river.
First line: ‘I suppose there are worse things than being soggy and dateless and shoveling bunny carcasses into a garbage bin on Valentine’s Day, but if there are, I can’t think of any.‘
Wanted : A Pretty Little Liars Novel, by Sara Shepard (259 pages) – This is volume eight in the series about some popular girls who were befriended and tormented by uber-popular-but-missing Alison. It is also the conclusion of the series! Will it end happily?
First lines: ‘They say a picture’s worth a thousand words.‘
Lucy Zeezou’s Glamour Game, by Liz Deep-Jones (319 pages) – This is the follow-up to Lucy Zeezou’s Goal. Lucy ‘Zeezou’ Zoffi is mad for football, but her father – a former Italian soccer star – is against girls playing professional sports. Also, she is a model. This time her parents might be splitting up, and she has to go to Milan.
First line: ‘A barrage of lights flashed in our faces, blinding us, while relentless clicking and snapping sounds polluted the air.‘
She’s So Dead to Us, by Kieran Scott* (278 pages) – Ally Ryan grew up rich, but her father lost all his money and almost bankrupted many others. Now Ally’s back in the swanky Orchard Hill, two years after the event, and all her ex-friends hate her so much and are determined to ruin her chances with dreamy and rich Jake.
*Kieran Scott is Kate Brian’s real name
First lines: ‘“So? What do you think?” Hmm. What did I think? I had to take a moment to sort out an answer to that one. Here’s what I came up with.‘
There aren’t many new books this week. No doubt there will be LOADS next week. Most of this week’s books’ covers have similar colouring! Weird, eh.
Withering Tights : The Misadventures of Tallulah Casey, by Louise Rennison (351 pages) – Louise Rennison is the author of the always-popular Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. This is the first in a new series about Tallulah Casey, who has just enrolled in a Performing Arts College in Yorkshire (hence the title, if you know your classics). The back blurb made me laugh! “Alex had everything a dream boy should have. Back, front, sides. A head.”
First lines: ‘Wow. This is it. This is me growing up. On my own, going to Performing Arts College.‘
Swapped by a Kiss, by Luisa Plaja (344 pages) – Rachel sees her boyfriend, David, kissing their friend Jo, who is the nicest girl at the school. Rachel, enraged, wishes she was Jo and suddenly she finds herself in Jo’s body. Being Jo isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Shouldn’t you just be yourself? Yes.
First line: ‘I am in the doorway of a dance tent and my boyfriend is inside, kissing a girl who is not me.‘
To Catch a Pirate, by Jade Parker (228 pages) – Annalisa Townsend is discovered hiding in the hold of a ship by James Sterling, pirate and charmer. Determined to find her father’s treasure she sets out a year later to try to find Sterling. Will she get the treasure? Or will he also capture her heart with his suave seadog stylings?
First line: ‘Annalisa Townsend didn’t know which terrified her more: the razor-sharp edge of the dagger pressed against her throat or the ruthless glare of the pirate who’d shoved her against the wall with the harsh words, “Hold your tongue or I’ll remove it.”‘
Rebel Girl : Secrets at St Jude’s, by Carmen Reid (289 pages) – Four girls at St Jude’s School for Girls face different problems of various magnitude (Niffy wants to be gorgeous! Min is studying too much and missing out on fun! Amy’s rich dad goes broke! Gina’s got a wandering eye!). So they get in touch with their inner rebel.
First line: ‘Long after midnight, Gina lay wide awake in her narrow dorm bed.‘
Boyology : A Teen Girl’s Crash Course in All Things Boy, by Sarah O’Leary Burningham (167 pages) – This is non-fiction! And it intended to assist teens who want to understand the male psyche. Chapter headings include, ‘The Firsts of First Dates: And the Rest of the Dating Game‘, ‘You Wear the Pants: Setting Your Boundaries‘, and ‘Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.‘
Sam Stern’s Eat Vegetarian, by Sam Stern and Susan Stern (187 pages) – This is the Sterns’ fifth book, and is packed with some very nice-looking recipes. Meat-free, so are probably cheaper to make if you’re on a budget! Which is good.
Sam Stern has a website worth looking at if you want some of his recipes. Or get out one of his other books maybe.
Chocolate Cake With Hitler, by Emma Craigie (204 pages) – Helga Goebbels, daughter of the Nazi’s head of propaganda, spent the last ten days of her life (she was twelve) stuck in Hitler’s bunker. Her parents and the other adults become more and more tense and Helga soon begins to realise that her childhood wasn’t the fairytale it seemed.
First lines: ‘I’m sitting with Papa on a bench beside the sea. I must be about three years old.‘
Spells, by Aprilynne Pike (425 pages) – Laurel is a faerie, placed among the humans when she was a baby. A baby faerie! She still lives in the human world (a boyfriend you see) but the faerie realm is threatened, so she’s got to do something about it.
First line: ‘Laurel stood in front of the cabin, scanning the tree line, her throat constricting in a rush of nerves.’
f2m – The Boy Within, by Hazel Edwards and Ryan Kennedy (330 pages) – Skye is in an all-girl punk band, and her world is turned upside-down when she decides to transition to male. Skye becomes Finn, and his family and friends will need to come to terms with this.
First line: ‘Tick the box. M or F.‘
Where I Belong, by Gillian Cross (340 pages) – Human smuggling, Somalia, and supermodels!
First line: ‘Spin the globe, boy,’ my father used to say.‘
Jaguar Warrior, by Sandy Fussell (212 pages) – Atl is an Aztec boy who runs from captivity (and human sacrifice I think?) towards freedom. Who can blame him!
First line: ‘“Why isn’t that boy dead yet?” When the captain shouts, even the temple walls shiver.‘
Shadow of the Dragon: Book 2 – Elspeth, by Kate O’Hearn (374 pages) – The king’s ‘First Law’ is an incredibly restrictive bunch of rules preventing girls from going anywhere near dragons (torture then execution you see) but Elspeth and her sister Kira aren’t having any of it.
First line: ‘The heavy rain that fell from the stormy skies around them did little to dampen the celebrations of the dragon riders cutting through the thick dark clouds.‘
Witchfinder : Dawn of the Demontide, by William Hussey (337 pages) – The Demontide is coming, and Jake Harker is ‘the only one who can stop it.’ Sounds pretty grim! This is the first book in a planned trilogy. There is an official website here.
First line: ‘“HELP! Someone – anyone – please, help me!”‘
Thief Eyes, by Janni Lee Simner (259 pages) – Sixteen-year-old Haley goes to Iceland with her father to try to find her mother, who disappeared there some time ago. She touches a magic coin Hallgerd (Haley’s ancestor – and a sorceress!) that curses her. Haley now needs to break the spell, and sets off with the gorgeous but dangerous Ari.
First line: ‘ Icy rain blew into my hood and dripped down my neck as I knelt on the mossy stones.‘
Bead, Boys, and Bangles, by Sophia Bennett (304 pages) – This is the second book in the Threads series, which is about four girls and ‘their amazing adventure with fashion.’ In this installment Crow’s designs may be manufactured by children in India!
First line: ‘I’ve never seen Crow look so scared. And this time she’s got a point.‘
Greener Grass, by Caroline Pignat (276 pages) – Ireland 1847. The Great Famine! Kit’s family is to be evicted – is there anything she can do to help her family? She will do anything.
First line: ‘They say home is where the heart is. I believed that, once.‘
Borderline, by Allan Stratton (298 pages) – Sami is the only Muslim at his private school. When is father is implicated in a terrorist plot, Sami’s ‘must fight to keep his world from unraveling.’ A thriller!
First line: ‘I’m next door in Andy’s driveway, shooting hoops with him and Marty.‘
Alchemy and Meggy Swann, by Karen Cushman (167 pages) – Meggy is sent from her country village to Elizabethan-era London. From a dire beginning she works her way to improve her lot in the same way that her father, an achemist, attempts to turn base metal into gold.
First line: ‘“Ye toads and vipers,” the girl said, as her granny often had, “ye toads and vipers,” and she snuffled a great snuffle that echoed in the empty room.‘
Burned : A House of Night Novel, by P. C. and Kristin Cast (323 pages) – Book seven in the series, and one of the Most Wanted books this month. Having not read this I do not know what is going on. High Priestesses! Neferet! Bringing back Zoey!
First line: ‘Kalona lifted his hands. He didn’t hesitate.‘
Sources of Light, by Margaret McMullan (233 pages) – Mississippi, 1962, and fourteen-year-old Sam ‘learns to use her camera to look for the shades of gray’ in a black and white world.
First line: ‘The year after my father died, my mother took a job teaching at a small college in Jackson, Mississippi.‘
Spirit Bound : A Vampire Academy Novel, by Richelle Mead (489 pages) – This is the fifth novel in the series. And what happens? ‘Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s and to her best friend, Lissa. But Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he’s out there, somewhere. He has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. Only this time, he won’t rest until Rose joins him–forever.’ So says the catalogue.
First line: ‘There’s a big difference between death threats and love letters – even if the person writing the death threats still claims to actually love you.‘
Hex Hall, by Rachel Hawkins (323 pages) – Sixteen-year-old Sophie discovers she’s a witch, but after screwing up a love spell she’s sent to Hecate ‘Hex’ Hall, a reform school for witches, shapeshifters, and faeries. Also ghosts and a vampire. There’s a mystery predator also.
First line: ‘Felicia Miller was crying in the bathroom. Again.‘
The Reckoning : The Darkest Power, by Kelley Armstrong (391 pages) – Book three! Chloe is fifteen and is a genetically engineered necromancer, and has feelings for a sorcerer and his brother, a werewolf, all the while on the run from the corporation that created her (and the others).
First line: ‘After four nights on the run, I was finally safe, tucked into bed and enjoying the deep, dreamless sleep of the dead … until the dead decided they’d really rather have me awake.‘
Koh Tabu, by Ann Kelley (260 pages) – A group of girls are stranded on an island after their boat is blown off course. It’s all an adventure to begin with but quickly becomes an all-girl Lord of the Flies + Man Vs Wild mashup.
First line: ‘It all began with my mother changing her mind.‘
Rich and Mad, by William Nicholson (341 pages)
The Island, by Sarah Singleton (294 pages)
Ondine : The Summer of Shambles, by Ebony McKenna (291 pages)
Because I Am Furniture, by Thalia Chaltas (352 pages)
Pretty Little Liars is now a television series. It will premier in the US in a few days’ time. This is what it’s about!
Three years ago the leader (Alison) of a group of girls disappears. Now someone calling themselves ‘A’ is threatening to expose the secrets of the group, who all fit the Gossip Girl mold. With a bit of mystery thrown in, the series has been called ‘Desperate Housewives for teens.’
(I wrote that a year ago and now not so sure about the Desperate Housewives reference?) Anyway! You can view the trailer here, at the official site. You have to watch an ad for cheese slices first though. It’s produced by the same people who make The Vampire Diaries, which will screen here eventually, apparently.
The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell is the prequel to the popular and trend-setting Sex and the City, which inspired the ridiculously popular TV series of the same name. The Carrie Diaries follows Carrie Bradshaw in her senior year in high school, so you get an idea of how Carrie became Carrie, how she got to love writing and (maybe) expensive shoes etc. All this with 1980s American culture as a backdrop – the hair, the clothes, the eyeshadow, the music.
Another large load from the new book factory.
Meridian, Amber Kizer (305 pages) – “dark, lovely and lushly romantic” says the cover. Meridian is half human, half angel and she’s packed off to her great aunt’s to come to terms with this fact. Here she must learn how to be who she is, work out how to use her gifts, and deal with the ever-present dark danger of the Aternocti. If you like books like Hush, Hush you might be interested?
First sentence: The first creatures to see me were the insects; my parents cleaned the bassinet free of dead ants the morning after they brought me home from the hospital.
The Mark, Jen Nadol (228 pages) – Cassandra can tell when people are about to die (there’s a glow like candlelight that only she can see). After coming to terms with this fact she sets about working out what this means, and whether she can influence fate.
First sentence: There is nothing like the gut-hollowing experience of watching someone die, especially when you know it’s coming.
The Orange Houses, Paul Griffin (147 pages) – Three outsiders - Mik, who is hearing impared; Jimmi, a street poet; and Fatima, a refugee – form a tight friendship and “set off an explosive chain of events that will alter the course of each of their lives.”
First sentence: Everybody’s eyes were like, Say what?
The Lonely Hearts Club, Elizabeth Fulberg (285 pages) – Penny swears off boys and forms The Lonely Hearts Club which becomes super popular, which is only bad when the founding member of said club finds a boy she kind of likes…
First sentence: I, Penny Lane Bloom, do solemnly swear to never date another boy for as long as I shall live.
Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials, Rosalind Wiseman (279 pages) – Charlie is trying to lay low in high school, since middle school ended up getting a bit ugly, but then her old best friend, Will, arrives back in town and he’s super popular on account of being hot, and Charlie ends up in the thick of things again, which turns “near deadly”. A story of friendship and what happens when you try too hard to fit in.
First sentence: Here’s the deal.
Hold Still, Nina LaCour (229 pages) – Caitlin’s friend Ingrid committed suicide, leaving behind her journal of writings and illustrations, which Caitlin reads and processes in the subsequent year.
First sentence: I watch drops of water fall from the ends of my hair.
The Vinyl Princess, Yvonne Prinz (313 pages) – Allie’s into vinyl and works at a record shop – bliss if you’re really into music. In this environment she works on her Vinyl Princess persona, publishing her first zine, blogging, and finding the true music geeks she knows must be out there. A story riding the Zeitgeist.
First sentence: I sense him in my midst.
The Life of Glass, Jillian Cantor (340 pages) – Melissa is coming to terms with the loss of her much-loved father, and with what it means to be beautiful, on the inside and the outside.
First sentence: The last thing my father ever told me was that it takes glass a million years to decay.
Last Night I Sang to the Monster, Benjamin Alire Saenz (239 pages) – Zach is eighteen and in rehab, suffering from amnesia induced by alcohol and depression. With help he can (we hope!) work through it all toward a better life.
First sentence: I want to gather up all the words in the world and write them down on little pieces of paper – then throw them in the air.
Lockdown, Walter Dean Myers (247 pages) – Reese is in juvy and wants to get out as soon as possible, but his friend Toon is getting a hard time and it’s hard being squeaky clean when people want to push you around.
First sentence: “I hope you mess this up!”
Undead Much?, Stacey Jay (306 pages) – zombies running amok again at school, with Megan Berry having to sort out the undead mess, which is hard when one of the undead might be even hotter than your hot boyfriend (and psychic too – how can you be psychic though if you don’t have a brain?).
First sentence: Okay, this was it.
A Voice of Her Own, Barbara Dana (343 pages) – subtitled “Becoming Emily Dickinson”. Emily Dickinson is one of America’s pre-eminent 19th Century poets, an unusual character known for her poems about death (’Because I would not stop for death he kindly stopped for me’ etc), and who wore only white and refused to conform to society’s expectations. A Voice of Her Own brings to life her childhood and her unique voice.
First sentence: It was too dreary, the last of our family’s possessions piled by the side of the road as if Gypsies had relinquished squatter’s rights and were moving on to points unknown.
A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts, Ying Chang Compestine (176 pages) – the cover says “A collection of deliciously frightening tales”. Chinese ghosts, apparently, are a bit of a nightmare unless you offer them some tempting food. Lucky, then, that this collection of short stories also contains recipes.
First sentence (from ‘Steamed Dumplings’): Long ago, in 200 B.C.E., there was a small village called Bright Stars situated in the northern mountains of China, along the midsection of the Great Wall.
Nothing, Janne Teller (227 pages) – translated from the Danish and described as ‘A Lord of the Flies for the twenty-first century’. Pierre Anthon climbs a plum tree and doesn’t come down because life is worth nothing. His friends are, unsurprisingly, concerned for him, so set about proving there is meaning in life by creating a “pile of meaning” in a sawmill, an exercise which sounds pretty cool on face value, but becomes sinister as the friends push each other beyond the limit.
First sentence: Nothing matters.
The Billionaire’s Curse, Richard Newsome (355 pages) – Gerald is a billionaire at thirteen, which sounds pretty cool, but his new status as a billionaire means he must solve a murder, with the help of his friends, because his life is in imminent danger.
First sentence: The clock on the wall chimed twice.
Drama Girl, Carmen Reid (Secrets at St Jude’s, 287 pages) – Gina, Niffy and Amy discover that mixing their home friends and their school friends can be problematic. Drama ensues.
First sentence: ‘Mom!’ Gina Peterson exclaimed, holding her arms wide for a hug.
Hi! Here are this week’s new books.
Watching Jimmy, by Nancy Hartry (152 pages) – Carolyn’s best friend, Jimmy, is assaulted by his uncle, and is left with brain damage. The uncle tells everyone that Jimmy fell from a swing, but Carolyn knows the truth. She must protect Jimmy from his uncle and also try to raise some funds for Jimmy’s brain surgery.
First line: ‘Uncle Ted said Jimmy bumped his head falling off the swing.‘
Alphas, by Lisi Harrison (261 pages) – This promises to be the first in a series by the author of The Clique. It’s set in the exclusive Alpha Academy on Alpha Island, where one hundred girls – all ‘exceptional dancers, writers, musicians, and inventors’ – live a kind of Survivor-esque lifestyle? I feel inadequate just reading the blurb.
First line: ‘There were five Skye Hamiltons in the Body Alive Dance Studio.‘
The Everafter, by Amy Huntly (144 pages) – Madison is dead, and in a vast & dark space she shares with all the things she lost when she was alive. The items allow her to re-experience and even change moments from her life. She consequently learns truths about her life; and ‘the strength of true love even beyond death.’
First line: ‘I’m dead.‘
Perfect You, by Elizabeth Scott (282 pages) – Kate is forced to work with her dad, who has quit his job to sell vitamins in a mall. Her best friend’s new-found popularity means she now ignores Kate, and she doesn’t know how to react when the gorgeous Will shows an interest in her. SO. She tries to stop caring about anyone or anything, which is never a good idea is it? No.
First line: ‘Vitamins had ruined my life.‘
How to Say Goodbye in Robot, by Natalie Standiford (276 pages) – Bea moves to a new town and makes friends with Jonah, a ‘quiet observer’, rather than one of the ‘very cheery, very friendly, very average’ girls she meets on the first day. Jonah’s and Bea’s friendship is intense to say the least. Also they have a thing for Iceland, my favourite country!
First line: ‘Goebbels materialized on the back patio, right before we moved to Baltimore, and started chewing through the wicker love seat.‘
The Dark Divine, by Bree Despain (372 pages) – A supernatural Christian romance (the first, maybe?) about the daughter of a pastor, Grace Divine, and the apple of her eye, Daniel Kalbi, who comes from a line of demon-hunting werewolves.
First lines: ‘”Grace! You have got to see the new guy.” April bounded up to me in the junior hallway.‘
Captivate, by Carrie Jones (276 pages) – The sequel to Need, which is about pixes and werewolves. Pixes and werewolves! Captivate adds valkyries to the mix. Might also be a supernatural romance?
First line: ‘There are these bizarre people who actually like physical education class.‘
The Museum of Mary Child, by Cassandra Golds (329 pages) – Handily annotated by the catalogue: ‘Heloise finds a mysterious doll and is forced to run away, ending up in an orphanage. But one day, she must return to the house where the devastating secret of her past awaits.‘
First lines: ‘A shaft of moonlight. A barred window. A bed of straw, and a young man, little more than a boy, chained to a wall.‘
Rage : A Love Story, by Mary Anne Peters (293 pages) – From the catalogue again, as it can be difficult to summarise a book just from the blurb! ‘At the end of high school, Johanna finally begins dating the girl she has loved from afar, but Reeve is as much trouble as she claims to be as she and her twin brother damage Johanna’s self-esteem, friendships, and already precarious relationship with her sister.‘
First line: ‘I locate the room on the first floor where Mrs Goins asked me to meet her.‘
Wish You Were Dead, by Todd Strasser (236 pages) – An anonymous blogger wishes the school’s most popularist girl was dead, and the next day she disappears. Her friend, Madison, begins to receive notes that say she’s next; she turns to mysterious new student Tyler for assistance with the mystery.
First line: ‘The red taillights of Tyler Starling’s ugly purple car disappeared into the dark.‘
Heroes of the Valley, by Jonathan Stroud (389 pages) – Epic fantasy set in an enormous valley, which was once a wild place besieged by bloodthirsty Trows. Now that it’s much calmer, Halli pines for the olden days of legendary heroes. A chance to go on a daring quest unites him with Aud, a girl as headstrong and reckless as he is.
First line: ‘Listen then, and I’ll tell you again of the Battle of the Rock.‘
Fallen, by Lauren Kate (452 pages) – This book has loads of reserves on it! It looks to be a supernatural romance (a la Twilight etc.) about a girl named Luce, who goes to a new school and meets Daniel, to whom she is irrestibly attracted. He is an angel btw and things get complex.
First line: ‘Luce barged into the fluorescent-lit lobby of the Sword & Cross School ten minutes later than she should have.‘
Manstealing for Fat Girls, by Michelle Embree (256 pages)
Once a Princess : Sasharia en Garde! Book 1, by Sherwood Smith (278 pages)
Twice a Prince : Sasharia en Garde! Book 2, by Sherwood Smith (265 pages)
We’ve had loads of new books lately. Here are more!
Shadowland : The Immortals, by Alyson Noel (339 pages) – This is the third book in The Immortals series. Ever and Damen have lived through many past lives to be together, but a curse inteferes with their long-awaited destiny. Damen ends up in the Shadowland, and Ever meets a magickal surfer named Jude.
First lines: ‘“Everything is energy.” Damen’s dark eyes focus on mine, urging me to listen, really listen this time.‘
Suzi Clue : The Prom Queen Curse, by Michelle Kehm (309 pages) – Suzi Clue solves mysteries, is fifteen, ‘fiesty and fabulous’. As the prom queens fall prey to various mishaps, and the prom is threatened with cancellation, Suzi decides the only way to find out what’s happening is by running for prom queen herself.
First line: ‘Kathryn has never been happier in her whole life.‘
VIP Lounge : A Chole Gamble Novel, by Ed Decter and Laura J. Burns (339 pages) – Chloe Gamble is the hottest thing in Hollywood. She’s a film star and a music sensation, and people around her want in on her money and fame, I guess? The second book in a series!
First lines: ‘Hurricane Chloe. That’s what I called Chloe Gamble in the weeks after she landed her first starring role.‘
The Van Alen Legacy : A Blue Bloods Novel, by Melissa de la Cruz (369 pages) – This is the fourth Blue Bloods book, and continues the story of rich Upper East Side vampires.
First line: ‘“It is said that Allegra’s daughter will defeat the Silver Bloods.”‘
The Secret Life of Prince Charming, by Deb Caletti (322 pages) – All the women in Quinn’s life have had their hearts broken at some stage, and after she herself is dumped, she starts to think that there are no good men. When her no-good father turns up she decides to take the bull by its horns and right her father’s numerous wrongs.
First line: ‘When it came to love, my mother’s big advice was that there were WARNING SIGNS.‘
The Real Real : A Novel, by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (310 pages) – From the catalogue synopsis – ‘When Hampton High senior Jesse is cast in a reality television show along with five other, more popular students, drama on and off screen reveals that what the audience and producers want is not the same as what Jesse wants.‘
First lines: ‘“Single file! Everyone, line up on the LEFT!” Mrs Gesop shouts to be heard over the din of students crowding into the impractically narrow hallway between the stairwell and the auditorium.‘
Gifted : Better Late Than Never, by Marilyn Kaye (215 pages) and Gifted : Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, also by Marilyn Kaye (213 pages) – Books 2 & 3 in the Gifted series, about nine teenagers who are gifted and can read minds, or see into the future, and so forth.
First lines: ‘Jenna Kelly stood at her bedroom window and gazed outside without really seeing anything.‘ ‘Sometimes Emily wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or having one of her visions.‘
The Treasure Map of Boys : Noel, Jackson, Finn, Hutch, Gideon, and me, Ruby Oliver, by E. Lockhart (224 pages)
So many new books!
Everything Sucks : Losing My Mind and Finding Myself in a High School Quest for Cool, by Hannah Friedman (256 pages) – Hannah Friedman re-invented herself when she won a scholarship to an exclusive private school, and soon had a millionaire boyfriend, a designer wardrobe, and became super-popular. This is a true story! And these things come with a cost (addictions, eating disorders, etc.)
Hostage, by Karen Tayleur (191 pages) – Tully is abducted and for 24 hours she is a hostage. The blurb says, ‘Or so she says …‘ Was she or wasn’t she? I can not answer that.
First line: ‘The thing I remember, the one thing that is really clear to me, is that the chemist floor had a large black scuff near the counter.‘
Darkwood, by M. E. Breen (273 pages) – Annie Trewitt is an orphan whose uncle has terrible plans for her. So she runs away, into the forest, where the sinister kinderstalk live, and soon discovers they ain’t so bad afterall.
First line: ‘The sun sets so quickly in Howland that the people who live there have no word for evening.‘
The Book of the Maidservant, by Rebecca Barnhouse (232 pages) – Joanna is maidservant to Dame Margery Kempe, who wrote the first autobiography in English in the mid-1400s. She was very religious! Joanna goes with her on a pilgrimage to Rome but is abandoned in a foreign land, and must somehow get to Rome herself.
First line: ‘My mistress says you mustn’t stare into the fire lest the devil look out at you from the flames.‘
Love You Hate You Miss You, by Elizabeth Scott (276 pages) – Amy’s best friend Julia died in a car crash, and now Amy is struggling to cope with the loss. She feels a bit responsible. But maybe things before the accident weren’t as perfect as she thought?
First line: ‘Dear Julia – Get this, I’m supposed to be starting a journal about “my journey.”‘
Beautiful World, by Anastasia Hollings (209 pages) – Amelia has been moved from boarding school to boarding school (her dad’s an untenured professor) and so never quite gets to get in with all the rich & beautiful people she schools with. She’s also a clever liar! So she gets in with an ‘Upper East Side heiress’ who allows Amelia to live like Blair Waldorf. But only through lying! Might be the beginning of a series?
First line: ‘You’ve seen their faces, perfectly tanned all year-round, smiling at you from the society pages and socialite rankings.‘
Bite Me!, by Melissa Francis (296 pages) -A.J. Ashe is seventeen. Her ex-boyfriend is now her step-brother, and she’s being stalked by a former classmate. She’s also a vampire. Also! She has to save the world.
First lines: ‘My mother’s wedding day. I should be thrilled she’s getting hitched to the man of her dreams.‘
The Set-Up : The Medusa Project : Book One, by Sophie McKenzie (293 pages) – Four teenagers develop psychic powers. (When they were babies they were implanted with the ‘Medusa gene’ by a scientist who has since died.) Someone sinister wants the gene, however, and they will do anything to get it.
First line: ‘I’m Nico and what I’m about to tell you is Secret and Dangerous and True.‘
Breathing, by Cheryl Renee Herbsman (265 pages) – Savannah falls in love with Jackson, a boy who she reckons is different from the rest. He follows his mother’s strict dating rules, and when she’s hospitalised with an asthma attack he stays by her side. But he has to help his family and he mightn’t be back.
First line: ‘Strange feelings come over me sometimes, kind of like deja vu, only before it happens.‘
Purge, by Sarah Darer Littman (234 pages) – Janie is sent to a psychiatric hospital to get help for her bulimia. She’s holding some trauma deep inside her, and in order to stop purging she must ‘fish painful memories out of her emotional waters‘.
First line: ‘At least they’ve given me a journal, even if it’s just a cheapo notebook like everyone else’s.‘
Ice, by Sarah Beth Durst (308 pages) – Cassie’s grandmother used to tell her how her mother made a deal with the Polar Bear King, and Arctic castles made of ice. Now older, Cassie is suddenly made aware that fairytales could be true, and makes her own deal with the Polar Bear King,
First line: “Once upon a time, the North Wind said to the Polar Bear King, “Steal me a daughter, and when she grows, she will be your bride.”‘
Love the One You’re With : Gossip Girl – The Carlyles, by Annabelle Vestry (213 pages) – The Carlyle triplets are off to the tropics for Thanksgiving. They are taking their friends, and as a matter of course there are ’sultry poolside encounters’ and a character named ‘Baby.’
First lines: ‘“So, what’s up for Thanksgiving? What does your family usually do?” Avery Carlyle asked her friends Jack Laurent and Jiffy Bennett.‘
After, by Amy Efaw (350 pages)
After, by Sue Lawson (282 pages)
There’s a whole bunch of new books here, all by Kate Brian. They are all in the Private series, about Reed Brennan and her new school’s elite sorority. She joins them! And they are posh and rich and are called the Billings girls. There are about eleven in the series, and should you want to read them in order they are Private, Invitation Only, Untouchable, Confessions, Inner Circle, Legacy, Ambition, Revelation, Paradise Lost, Suspicion, and Last Christmas, which is actually a prequel.
Also there is a spin-off series, as is so often the case! This series is the Privilege series; Privilege, Beautiful Disaster, and Perfect Mistake. The titles are a little grim, and that is because the books are also a little grim! It’s as if Patricia Highsmith wrote Gossip Girl, maybe?
These are this week’s new books. Some are long-awaited! Some aren’t, but may be very good. I remember when Twilight and The Book Thief came out – they sat on the shelves for ages before they became super-popular. You just never know, do you.
I Will Always Love You : A Gossip Girl Novel, by Cecily Von Ziegesar (387 pages) – Here it is; the latest Gossip Girl book. What happens? I think they’re at college, which is what the Americans call university, and this book follows the original gang when they’re home for the winter break.
First lines: ‘“You awake, Scout?” Blair Waldorf awoke from a nap to the sight of her boyfriend, Pete Carlson, gazing down at here.‘
As You Wish, by Jackson Pearce (298 pages) – Viola’s boyfriend broke up with her, sadly. But! She accidently summons a genie, named Jinn, with whom she begins to fall in love. So to keep him around she delays her third wish.
First line: ‘All I’ve learned in today’s Shakespeare class is: Sometimes you have to fall in love with the wrong person just so you can find the right person.‘
Alex Rider : Crocodile Tears, by Anthony Rider (388 pages) – HERE IT IS! The seventh Alex Rider book. It’s in great demand so won’t be on the shelf for aaaages. Alex Rider is a teen who moonlights as a secret agent for the British government. He’s not too fond of the situation but I bet he secretly loves the gadgets.
First line: ‘Ravi Chandra was going to be a rich man.‘
Vacations from Hell, by Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Mlynowski (280 pages) – This is a collection of short stories about vacations from hell. They are ghost stories! Just in time for the Xmas holidays.
Tempted : A House of Night Novel, by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast (319 pages) – The blurb for this is difficult to summarise! So here is the catalogue description. ‘Zoey Redbird, High Priestess-in-training, finds herself juggling three guys–one of which is so into protecting her that he can sense her emotions. Meanwhile the dark force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading, and only Zoey has the power to stop the evil immortal Kalona who is behind it. Will Zoey have the courage to chance losing her life, her heart, and her soul?‘ WILL SHE?
First line: ‘The night sky over Tulsa was alight with a magical crescent moon.‘
Don’t Judge a Girl by her Cover, by Ally Carter (263 pages) – This is the third Gallagher Girls book. The Gallgher Academy for Exceptional Young Women trains girls into spies. One of them – Morgan – must help her pal-with-a-stalker, Macey, whose father has been nominated for the US presidency.
First lines: ‘“We’re moving.” The man beside me spoke into the microphone in his sleeve, and I knew the words weren’t for me.‘
Invisible I : The Amanda Project – Book 1 , by Melissa Kantor (292 pages) – Another difficult book to easily summarise, but luckily there is an interactive website! It sells itself, really.
First line: ‘Why is it that when you don’t want to think about something, you can’t stop thinking about it?‘
Fortune’s Folly, by Deva Fagan (260 pages) – Fortuna tells fakes fortunes so that she and her father can eat. But when she tells Prince Leonato his fortune, she must make sure it’s fulfilled or her father gets it. There’s a magic sword, a wicked witch, and a golden shoe. Oh and she falls in love with the prince! I hope it ends happily.
First line: ‘Life would have been much easier if I believed in fairy tales.‘
Sacred Scars : A Resurrection of Magic – Book 2, by Kathleen Duey (554 pages) – From the catalogue again (it’s difficult to summarise 554 pages): ‘In alternate chapters, Sadima works to free captive boys forced to copy documents in the caverns of Limòri, and Hahp makes a pact with the remaining students of a wizards’ academy in hopes that all will survive their training, as both learn valuable lessons about loyalty.‘
First line: ‘Sadima sat cross-legged on the cold stone, just outside the cage.‘
Betrayals : A Strange Angels Novel, by Lili St. Crow (296 pages) – Werewolves (in this they’re called ‘wulfen’, singular ‘werwulf’), vampires (or ‘djamphirs’) and orphans (also called … oh wait) – this has it all. ‘Suspenseful and action-packed.’
First line: ‘Windshield wipers struggled back and forth, clumped with snow.‘
Blood Promise : A Vampire Academy Novel, by Richelle Mead (503 pages) – This is book four in the series. Rose has to kill her one true love, Dimitri, who has turned bad. Awkward! Probably for the best though.
First line: ‘Once when I was in ninth grade, I had to write a paper on a poem.‘
In brief:
Breathing Underwater, by Julia Green (201 pages)
Rosie and Skate, by Beth Ann Bauman (217 pages)
Taylor Lautner : Me & You, by Josie Rusher (60 pages)
Still going.
Almost Perfect, Brian Katcher (357 pages) – Logan begins a relationship with Sage, sort of, only to discover that she’s a boy (transgender). Obviously this is a major thing for him to work through: will he be able to maintain a friendship with her?
First sentence: Everyone has that one line they swear they’ll never cross, the one thing they say they’ll never do.
Demon Princess: Reign or Shine, Michelle Rowen (284 pages) – Nikki finds out that her absent father is the demon king of Shadowlands, so she follows the bearer of the news there to find out more (the bearer happens to be cute). As you’d expect with hereditary titles, her father’s keen for her to take the throne.
First sentence: “That guy is staring at you.”
Archenemy, Frank Beddor (370 pages) – the gripping conclusion to The Looking Glass Wars. Something strange is happening to Wonderland, and it’s not just Arch declaring himself king. Conundrums of evaporating puddles, shimmering portals, assassins, metamorphoses, action aplenty. The dude on the cover has got the coolest suit of armour and gun thingy ever.
First sentence: Alyss of Wonderland raced up the front walk, using her imagination to unlock the door and turn the latch.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Nagaru Tanigawa (200 pages) – First published in Japan in 2003 and described as “the phenomenon that took Japan by storm” which is super cool. Haruhi and Kyon set up an after school club, as you do, all very usual. Unusually, Haruhi has the power to destroy the universe.
First sentence: The question of how long someone believed in Santa Claus is a worthless topic that would never come up in idle conversation.
Punkzilla, Adam Rapp (244 pages) – Jamie, who is Punkzilla, embarks on a road trip to visit his brother who is dying of cancer. Along the way he catalogues, in epistolary fashion (letter writing), the gritty, freakish and interesting people he meets along the way.
First sentence: Hey, I’m finally writing you back.
One Wish, Leigh Brescia (311 pages) – An overweight teenager who determines to do something about this, and is largely successful, learns that the grass is not necessarily greener on the skinny and beautiful side of the fence, particularly when you go to great (dodgy) lengths for your new svelte body.
First sentence: Nobody ever asks you if you want to be popular.
Darke Academy: Secret Lives, Gabriella Poole (267 pages) – The first in a series which I’m going to describe merely by quoting the tagline on the cover (and you can do the rest): “You’ll be dying to join the chosen few.” Good news is the next book, Blood Ties, is less than six months away.
First sentence: “Hey, is that you?”
Tricks, Ellen Hopkins (625 pages) – A novel in verse, interweaving the stories of five different teenagers. Sounds clever, quite serious subject matter.
First sentence: But do they know how / to craft fiction?
Little Black Lies, Tish Cohen (305 pages) – Sara is at a new school in a new town, which seems like the perfect recipe for starting again and leaving behind her difficult past, especially with the help of a few fabrications of truth: popularity awaits. But then a dethroned popular girl starts getting suspicious.
First sentence: “What the…?” Gripping the vinyl passenger seat of the VW bus, I try not to hit the window as my father takes a corner too fast in his rush not to be late for our first day at Boston’s illustrious Anton High School.
That’s it for now. Yet more to come!
Here’s a small amount of new stuff (no book covers though, as the server’s currently down). The little hooks are how we rate the first sentence.
Fade, by Lisa McMann (248 pages) – the sequel to Wake. Cassandra Clare calls the book “shuddersome”, which is kind of a cool word. The dream catchers Janie and Cabel must expose something horrid that’s going on at Fieldridge High.
First sentence: Janie spirits through the snowy yards from two streets away and slips quietly through the front door of her house.
Hate List, by Jennifer Brown (408 pages) – Val’s boyfriend, Nick, uses a list he and she created (of things and people they hate) to mow down their classmates in the cafeteria. The story is about Val coming to grips with her role in what has happened, the loss of her boyfriend, and how to move on.
First sentence: The scene in the Garvin High School cafeteria, known as the Commons, is being described as “grim” by investigators who are working to identify the victims of a shooting spree that erupted Friday morning.
Killer, by Sara Shepard (A Pretty Little Liars novel, 321 pages) – the sixth book in the series, the first paragraph on the dust jacket says it all: “In picture-perfect Rosewood, Pennsylvania, ash-blond highlights gleam in the winter sun and frozen lakes sparkle like Swarovski crystal. But pictures often lie – and so do Rosewood’s four prettiest girls.”
First sentence: What if, all of a sudden, you could remember every single second of your entire life?
When Irish Guys are Smiling, by Suzanne Supplee (211 pages), and The Great Call of China, by Cynthea Liu (246 pages) – these two titles are part of the series S.A.S.S., or Students Across the Seven Seas, about girls (mostly I think) who go on exchange, experience culture shock, learn about themselves, meet cute guys, and all the other things you’d expect.
Ember Fury, by Cathy Brett (232 pages) – Ember Fury’s parents are celebrities, and they are more interested in their own rise to the top than they are in Ember. So Ember – who hates the whole celebrity world – is a pyromaniac.
First sentence: ‘Fizzzzz … crack … whoosh … It was a tiny tongue at first, then it spread like a rippling, orange blanket over the floorboards and poured itself up the walls.’
Brainjack, by Brian Falkner (438 pages) – Sam Wilson, brilliant teenage computer hacker, has a go at the computer systems of the White House. This reckless obsession leads Sam into a dangerous world of ‘espionage and intrigue; of cybercrime and imminent war.’ Dangerous, sure, but pretty exciting you must admit.
First sentence: ‘On Friday, on his way to school, Sam Wilson brought the United States of America to its knees.‘
Mwah Mwah, by Chloe Rayban (263 pages) – Hannah’s plans for the holidays are foiled by her mother, who sends her off to Paris for a fortnight. Hannah isn’t too happy as she will have to stay with the unpleasant Matthilde (although I think we’d all like to grin and bear it if it means a couple of weeks in Paris).
First sentence: ‘”Mayjesweesewer. Annaseraravy! Weegrobeezoo. Abeeantow.”‘
Swerve, by Phillip Gwynne (228 pages)
Trashed (A Year in Girl Hell), by Meredith Costain (151 pages).
At long last – the latest, newest books. In no particular order.
Stargazer, by Claudia Gray (329 pages) – This is a sequel to Evernight. Bianca’s parents are vampires, and she’s destined to become one (they’re glam vampires, rather than the scarier, cadaverous vampires, probably). But she falls in love with a vampire hunter, which throws a spanner in the works.
First line: ‘Frost began to creep up the walls.‘
Twenty Boy Summer, by Sarah Ockler (290 pages) – Sixteen-year-olds Anna and Frankie go to California for a holiday. They conspire to find a boy for Anna’s first kiss, but Anna has a secret – she’s already had a boyfriend, and it was with Frankie’s brother Matt who died tragically a year ago. Quite sad.
First line: ‘Frankie Perino and I were lucky that day.‘
Faketastic : A Frenemies Novel, by Alexa Young (244 pages) – Halley, Avalon, and Sofee (!) are all friends. Then enemies! Then friends! This is the second Frenemies book, and it looks like there will be more.
First line: ‘“Isn’t it amazing?” Avalon Greene breezed up behind Halley Brandon and gave her best friend’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze.‘
The Warriors of Ethandun, by N. M. Browne (371 pages) – the third and final book in The Warriors Trilogy. Unfortunately, we don’t have the second book, but we do have the first. Two time-travellers return from King Arthur’s era to the present, but are unable to fit back in. So back they go! This time they’re up against Vikings and something more …
First line: ‘Dan stepped out of the Veil of mist.‘
Bridge of Tears : Usagi Yojimbo vol. 23, by Stan Sakai (246 pages) – This is the latest Usagi Yojimbo collection. It’s a graphic novel, and the series is outstanding, even if you don’t usually like comics. I promise.
Zelah Green, Queen of Clean, by Vanessa Curtis (245 pages) – Zelah Green has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and is always, always on the watch out for dirt and germs. Her stepmother sends her to a camp to try to help her, and there Zelah meets Sol, who is gooorgeous. He doesn’t speak however.
First line: ‘My name is Zelah Green and I’m a Cleanaholic.‘
After Dark : A Vamps Novel, by Nancy A. Collins (180 pages) – The third in The Vamps series. The ultra-rich and ultra-dead girls of the exclusive Bathory Academy in New York are a little Gossip Girl, and a little Twilight, if that makes sense.
First line: ‘Cally had been to Rauhnacht parties before, but none as elaborate as this.‘
Renegade : Hell’s Underground 3, by Alan Gibbons (359 pages) – ‘Entertainingly gruesome’, ‘definately scary’, gripping, action packed story’. The book has a very creepy skull on the cover also. We’d love someone to review this for us!
First line: ‘Chaim Wetzel learned at an early age that the streets of London were as likely to be paved with horror as with gold.‘
New Girl : a Secrets at St Jude’s novel, by Carmen Reid (331 pages) – Gina spent all her money on clothes and failed at school, so her mother sends her to a boarding school in Scotland. Which is quite a contrast to California.
First line: ‘Gina Peterson didn’t hear the electric gates slide open, or the silver Mercedes convertible purr through into the drive.‘
Thirst No. 1, by Christopher Pike (564 pages) – This collects the first three books of a series originally published in the mid-90s, the The Last Vampire.
First line: ‘I am a vampire, and that is the truth.‘
Tuck, by Stephen Lawhead (443 pages) – The third book in the King Raven series, which are based on the legend of Robin Hood. Good historical fiction!
First line: ‘King William stood scratching the back of his hand and watched as another bag of gold was emptied into the ironclad chest: one hundred solid gold byzants that, added to fifty pounds in silver and another fifty in letters of promise to be paid upon collection of his tribute from Normandie, brought the total to five hundred marks.‘ phew
Revolver, by Marcus Sedgwick (219 pages) - The Arctic Circle, 1910; Sig, a teenaged Swede, is stuck in a cabin with the frozen corpse of his father. Sound grim, and can only get worse before it gets better. Full of twists! Here’s a glowing review.
First line: ‘Even the dead tell stories.‘
The success of the Gossip Girl series has led to a number of similarly-themed series. They tend to have several things in common: the main characters are girls, who are rich, or share the same social circles as the über-rich, and they go to an exclusive private school; the books are usually set in (or near) New York; and most of the characters favour style over substance (afterall, it’s difficult to be friendly towards someone in a denim skirt). Sometimes they’re undead, or even just dead.
So here’s a list (in no particular order):
1. The Gossip Girl - The series so popular it’s now a television series! It’s set on the Upper East Side of Manhatten, which is New York’s Oriental Parade, only vastly more wealthy and stylish. No beach, however. The books are about a group of friends/enemies, their designer clothes and parties. The Gossip Girl herself anonymously writes about them. The school is called the Constance Billard School for Girls. There’s a gazillion books in the series.
2. The It Girl - The ‘It Girl’ in the title went to the Constance Billard School for Girls but was so poorly behaved she was sent to the very exclusive Waverly Prep boarding school. She will do anything – anything! - get to be one of the Waverly elite. This series is one of the two Gossip Girl spin-offs (all were created by Cecily von Ziegesar, but most are written by other people).
3. Gossip Girl: The Carlyles - The Carlyle triplets move from Nantucket to NYC after the death of their grandmother. They go to Constance Billard (and St. Jude’s School for Boys, for one of them is a boy) and quickly prove to be even more vicous – and fabulous - than Serena, Blair, etc. (Official website for Gossip Girl.)
4. The Ashleys, by Melissa De la Cruz - At Miss Gamble’s Preparatory School for Girls the three reigning princesses of popularity are all named Ashley; hence ‘The Ashleys’. New-comer Lauren is determined to enter their group. This series is set in San Francisco, and not New York, which is a shame but there you have it. (Official website.)
5. The Clique, by Lisi Harrison - The Clique are a group of girls who are the top of the popularity food chain at their private school. The books are notable (according to the Library School Journal) for the characters’ cruelty. Awesome! It’s set in Westchester County, New York, where the X-Men hang out (incidentally). Who would win in a fight? The first book was made into a direct-to-DVD film, newly arrived at the library. (Official website.)
6. Inside Girl, by J Minter – Fourteen-year-old Flan Flood’s family are all incredibly beautiful socialites, but she decided to break with tradition and goes to a typical public school. It’s a spin-off from another series by J. Minter, The Insiders, which is more in keeping with the other series in this list. Set in and around lower Manhattan. (Official website.)
7. Pretty Little Liars, by Sara Shepard - Three years ago the leader (Alison) of a group of girls disappears. Now someone calling themselves ‘A’ is threatening to expose the secrets of the group, who all fit the Gossip Girl mold. With a bit of mystery thrown in, the series has been called ‘Desperate Housewives for teens.’ (Official website.)
8. Blue Bloods, by Melissa de la Cruz – Set amongst Manhattan’s elite teens, Blue Bloods throws vampirism into the mix. (Official website.)
9. Vampire Academy, by Rachelle Mead – St Vladimir’s is a private academy (in Montana, not NY) for vampires and the half-vampires who protect them. The series is notable for being set in a gritty and dark world which doesn’t hold back. Perhaps not so in keeping with this list, but the academy is about as exclusive as it gets and one of the main characters is a princess. A vampire princess. (Official website.)
10. The Luxe, by Anna Godberson – Most reviewers remark that this series is essentially Gossip Girl - Manhattan, rich glamorous people, and so on – set in 1899. I’m not sure what the ‘Luxe’ in the title refers to, but funnily enough 1899 was the year that Lux soap was launched in the UK. (Official website.)
This is probably part 1 for this week’s new YA titles.
What World is Left, by Monique Polak (215 pages) – Anneke and her family are removed from Holland to Theresienstadt, a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Anneke manages to survive through the darkest horrors by doing whatever it takes.
First line: ‘My bed is warm and cozy.‘
Sharp Beats : A Mickey Sharp Novel, by Dominic Barker (235 pages) – Mickey Sharp is a private eye for teenagers, but this time he may have bitten off more than he can chew. This is the latest in a series.
First lines: ‘Dum. Da da dum. Da da dum. Da da dum.‘
Envy : A Luxe Novel, by Anna Godbersen (403 pages) – This is the third Luxe novel, which are essentially ‘Gossip Girl set in the 19th century’. In Envy Miss Diana Holland, whose family’s fall from grace two months previously so shocked New York’s corset and crinoline-clad elite, has begun again to stir the waters of Victorian prudery.
First line: ‘“Surely a girl as lovely as you, a girl who personifies loveliness itself, should not be hidden away on a night like this, on a night when everyone wants to see a fine figure and starry eyes, and where yours are the starriest of all.”‘
Intensely Alice, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (269 pages) – It’s summer and Alice McKinley has a lot planned – she volunteers at a soup kitchen, does something wild and wonders about her visit to Chicago to see her boyfriend, Patrick. This is – I think! – the 24th Alice book.
First line: ‘“We’ve got to do something wild this summer.”‘
Along For The Ride, by Sarah Dessen (383 pages) – From the library catalogue’s description: ‘When Auden impulsively goes to stay with her father, stepmother, and new baby sister the summer before she starts college, all the trauma of her parents’ divorce is revived, even as she is making new friends and having new experiences such as learning to ride a bike and dating.’
First line: ‘The e-mails always began the same way. “Hi Auden!!!”‘
Dope Sick, by Walter Dean Myers (186 pages) – From the library catalogue’s description again (sometimes it’s easier to copy & paste) – ‘Seeing no way out of his difficult life in Harlem, seventeen-year-old Jeremy “Lil J” Dance flees into a house after a drug deal goes awry and meets a weird man who shows different turning points in Lil J’s life when he could have made better choices. ‘
First lines: ‘My arm was hurting bad. Real bad.‘
Dido, by Adele Geras (259 pages) – This is a retelling of a classical story, about a queen and a servant who both fall in love with the same chap. Adele Geras has written two other, similar retellings; Troy and Ithaka.
First line: ‘You knew that you were in a dream when the edges of everything you gazed at were blurred and when figures bent and blended into the background and arrived and disappeared magically, moving in a way that wouldn’t be possible in normal life.‘
Siggy and Amber, by Doug MacLeod (226 pages)
Taking The Plunge, by Helen Bailey (297 pages) – The fourth book about Electra Brown.
All book titles link to their catalogue entry.
Wicked : A Pretty Little Liars Novel, by Sara Shepard (310 pages) - This is the fifth in the Pretty Little Liars series of books. See the official website for more information, or look for it on central library’s revamped series shelves in the YA area.
First line: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly what people are thinking?‘
Reality Check, by Peter Abrahams (330 pages) – College football star, Cody, has everything. An injury puts an end to the season’s sport and his girlfriend, who has gone to boarding school across the country, disappears. Cody then discovers his inner detective when he attempts to find her.
First line: ‘Except for football fridays, Cody Laredo’s favourite day of the school year was always the last.‘
Adored : An It Girl Novel, created by Cecily von Ziegesar (224 pages) - This is the eight It Girl novel, and having not read any of them I can not even begin to summarise it. But! Don’t hesitate to look for them in the Central library’s wonderful new series area!
First line: ‘Jenny Humphrey leaned against a dark oak window frame in Dumbarton 303 on the Tuesday evening after Thanksgiving break.‘
Some Kind of Wonderful : An Inside Girl Novel, by J. Minter (242 pages) – Fran Flood, fabulous Manhattan socialite, heads to the beach to work for the summer at a resort. He ex-best friend is also going, unfortunately. Stink! See the new YA series area at the central library for the others in the series etc. etc.
First line: ‘Like it or not, my life changes fast.‘
The Phoenix Files : Arrival, by Chris Morphew (295 pages) – The first book in a ‘thrilling new series’. Luke moves to a town called Phoenix, where there are no cars, phones, or Internet. He discovers that someone is planning to wipe out the human race in 100 days … and Phoenix is the safest place in the world.
First line: ‘The end of the world is one of those things that you never really expect to end up being your problem.‘
The Awakening : Book 2 of The Darkest Power, by Kelley Armstrong (360 pages) – Chloe is able to see and raise the dead, thanks to being genetically altered by some sinister scientists at birth. She’s on the run now with three similarly gifted teens; a sorcerer, a witch, and a werewolf.
First line: ‘When the door to my cell clicked open, the first thought that flitted through my doped-up braind was that Liz had changed her mind and come back.‘
Carter Finally Gets It, by Brent Crawford (300 pages) – From the catalogue: ‘Awkward freshman Will Carter endures many painful moments during his first year of high school before realizing that nothing good comes easily, focus is everything, and the payoff is usually incredible.’
First line: ‘In the back room of the Pizza Barn, with only two weeks before the start of high school, my boys and I are at the Freshman Mixer.‘
Love is Hell, by Melissa Marr, Scott Westerfield, Justine Larbalestier, Gabrielle Zevin, and Laurie Faria Stolarz (263 pages) – A collection of short stories about love – with a touch of the supernatural.
Everything is Fine, by Ann Dee Ellis (154 pages)
Starclimber, by Kenneth Oppel (390 pages) – This is the sequel to Airborn and Skybreaker. Matt and Kate travel are astralnauts on board the spaceship Starclimber. An exciting race to the stars turns ‘into a battle to save their lives.’
First sentence: ‘Rising into the wind, I flew, Paris spread before me.’
Twilight : Director’s Notebook, by Catherine Hardwicke (163 pages) – The story of how they made the film. We wrote about it here.
Revelations : A Blue Bloods Novel, by Melissa de la Cruz (264 pages) – The third novel in the Blue Bloods series about vampires. Is Schuyler Van Alen a Blue Blood, or a sinister Silver Blood? ‘Romance, glamour, and vampire lore …’
First sentence: ‘On an early and bitterly cold morning in late March, Schuyler Van Alen let herself inside the glass doors of the Duchesne School, feeling relieved as she walked into the soaring barrel-ceiling entryway dominated by an imposing John Singer Sargent portrait of the school’s founders.‘
Glass Houses : The Morganville Vampires Book One, by Rachel Caine (247 pages) – This was the runner-up to the Selector vote-for-a-new-series thing we ran not so long ago. It seemed pretty good (and is very popular in the US) and worth getting. The Texas town of Morganville is home to a large number of vampires, who lived in peace with the resident mortals. Until the evil Bishop arrives, that is …
First sentence: ‘On the day Claire became a member of the Glass House, somebody stole her laundry.‘
Alligator Bayou, by Donna Jo Napoli (280 pages) – Set in Tallulah, Louisiana, the US, in 1899. A Sicilian family is caught in the middle of tensions between the black and white communities. Disaster dogs their family at every turn.
First sentence: ‘The night is so dark, I can barely see my hands.‘
Perfect Match : An Inside Girl Novel, by J. Minter (227 pages)
Inside Girl : An Inside Girl Novel, by J. Minter (229 pages)
Girls We Love : An Insiders Girls Novel, by J. Minter (215 pages)
The Inside Girl series won our Selector competition a few months ago, and they’re finally in! The third title is part of the parent series that a reader recommended we get.
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, by Helen Grant (342 pages)
The Good Daughter, by Amra Pajalic (314 pages)
The Lucky Ones, by Tohby Riddle (211 pages)
Cracked Up To Be, by Courtney Summers (214 pages)
Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson (278 pages) – Lia’s best friend Cassie has died from anorexia, and now Lia faces the same fate. ‘One girl’s chilling descent into the all-consuming vortex of anorexia.’
First sentence: ‘So she tells me, the words dribbling out with the cranberry muffin crumbs, commas dunked in her coffee.’
Because I am Furniture, by Thalia Chaltas (352 pages) – Anke’s father is abusive, though only to her sister and brother. She gradually learns that she can be heard when she joins the volleyball team. Written in poems.
First sentence: ‘I am always there.‘
Hero Type, by Barry Lyga (295 pages) – Kevin heroically (though accidently) saves someone’s life, and during the unwanted publicity he is photographed being ‘unpatriotic’.
First sentence: ‘ Everywhere you go, it seems like there’s a reminder of what happened, of what I did.‘
Diary of a Chav: Keeping it Real, by Grace Dent (233 pages) – This is the fourth book in the ‘Diary of a Chav’ series.
The Ant Colony, by Jenny Valentine (215 pages) – from the author of Finding Violet Park. The Ant Colony in question is 33 Georgiana Street in London, a house populated by a disparate bunch of people who seem to get on with their lives without disturbing others, but it doesn’t take much to stir the pot.
First sentence: I saw a girl.
The Bone Tiki, by David Hair (303 pages) – Matiu steals a bone tiki from a tangi (which you think would be a bad place to start). Soon he’s running for his life, in reality and in a world where myths and legends are real and terrifying.
First sentence: ‘Dear Mum, I hope you are OK, and liking it in Taupo.’
Inside Girl: All That Glitters, by J. Minter (229 pages). The series that won our Selector vote-off earlier this year. Flan’s been ’slumming it’ at a downtown school. When she’s back in her uptown neighbourhood she finds the experience has changed her, and tensions run high.
First sentence: ‘Repeat after me,’ SBB said.
Take a Chance on Me (Gossip Girl: The Carlyles), by Annabelle Vestry (240 pages) – the third in the series, and it looks like the triplets’ love lives need sorting out, which will be well documented by the gossip girl, no doubt. The book begins with a quote from Hamlet.
First sentence (from the non-GG bit (which was waaay too long for me)): ‘Ow!’ Owen Carlyle grunted as a bagel hit him hard, square in the center of his broad shoulders.
Extreme Kissing, by Luisa Plaja (327 pages) – Bethany and Carlota go on a crazy life-changing adventure in London using their favourite magazine as a guide. Kissing is involved, among other things.
First sentence: Are you stressed to the max?
Fire Song, by Libby Hathorn (141 pages) – Ingrid’s family has imploded, and when her mother asks her to do something she knows is wrong, Ingrid finds herself isolated, trying to help her mother and stick to her principles.
First sentence: From the back verandah, Ingrid Crowe watched her dog Blackie chase a stray bird across the garden.
Changeling, by Steve Feasey (266 pages) – the book finishes with a rather menacing “to be continued”. Trey is about to discover – if the back cover is anything to go by – that his friend Lucien is a vampire and he himself is a werewolf.
First sentence: Trey Laporte opened his eyes, wincing against the assault of the late-morning sunshine on his retinas.
One-Way Ticket, by Iona McNaughton (198 pages) - Meg’s happy in Toronto, but when her grandparents send one way tickets to New Zealand for her and her father she finds herself having to adjust to a new country, new school… and a new woman in her father’s life.
First sentence: It’s the same every year.
Also in: a new copy of Nicola and the Viscount, by Meg Cabot, first published in 2002.
The latest additions to the YA DVD collection;
Mirror Mirror (PG) – There are 20 episodes in this double-disc DVD about two girls, separated by 100 years, who can travel through identical mirrors to the other’s time.
Doctor Who – The Next Doctor (PG) – This is the 2008 Xmas special. Cybermen stalk through Victorian London and the Doctor encounters another Doctor.
Archies (G) – A collection of the first series of the Archie animated show. It’s from 1976!
The Clique (PG) – A group of rich girls + one new not-so-trendy girl = this Tyra Banks produced series.
Scary Movie 3.5 (M) This is the ‘longer, funnier’ version of Scary Movie 3.
ReBoot : Daemon Rising & My Two Bobs (PG) – ReBoot was the first full-length CGI television show and ran from 1994 to 2001.
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