Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

The Immortal Rules 

by Julie Kagawa  

 

To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for… again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins.

 

(summaries from goodreads.com) 

 

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Hmm. Vampire meets post apocalyptic dystopian, this book is about a harsh world. Not a lot of happiness, a lot of death, a few "really??" moments. I liked it but didn't love it, though it was refreshing to read a book that didn't idolize vampires. It will be interesting to see where this series goes.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: yes; Profanity: yes; Sex: mild

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

by Morgan Matson 

 

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

(summaries from goodreads.com) 

 

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Honestly fantastic. Made me want to hop in a car and travel the United States. It was also a great memory trip - I have been to so many of the places Amy and Roger traveled to, ate much of the food they experienced, and loved enjoying it again through "their" eyes. I thought it was only missing Rita's Italian Ice and Fluffernutters. This was a fun contemporary "journey" book, I loved both characters, there was pain and joy and growth and all that good stuff that makes for a great read, and now she needs to write another book NOT featuring them but giving us a nice glimpse of a happy cameo. Okay?

Postscript: AFTER I finished this book and reviewed it I realized I had another book from this author already checked out from the library, and YES, there was a cameo! Brief but perfect. Thanks.

 

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: none; Profanity: mild; Sex: yes

How To Ruin ... by Simone Elkeles

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation

by Simone Elkeles

 

Moshav? What’s a moshav? Is it “shopping mall” in Hebrew? I mean, from what Jessica was telling me, Israeli stores have the latest fashions from Europe. That black dress Jessica has is really awesome. I know I’d be selling out if I go with the Sperm Donor to a mall, but I keep thinking about all the great stuff I could bring back home.
Unfortunately for 16-year-old Amy Nelson, “moshav” is not Hebrew for “shopping mall.” Not even close. Think goats, not Gucci.
Going to Israel with her estranged Israeli father is the last thing Amy wants to do this summer. She’s got a serious grudge against her dad, a.k.a. “Sperm Donor,” for showing up so rarely in her life. Now he’s dragging her to a war zone to meet a family she’s never known, where she’ll probably be drafted into the army. At the very least, she’ll be stuck in a house with no AC and only one bathroom for seven people all summer—no best friend, no boyfriend, no shopping, no cell phone…
Goodbye pride—hello Israel.

How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation 

by Simone Elkeles

Guess who's jetting to the Holy Land this summer!

Remember me, Amy Barak-Nelson—a.k.a the queen of disaster? In case you forgot, my boyfriend Avi is in the Israeli army. A visit is definitely in order.

Somehow my grandmother convinced me to sign up for two weeks of pure hell in a military training base. Getting up before dawn, peeing in a hole, and playing war games in the desert isn't my idea of fun. But what's worse? Our team leader turns out to be Avi!

 

 

 

(summaries from goodreads.com) 

 

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Again, not quite sure how this got on my to-read list - truly one of the mysteries of the universe. And of course when I grabbed this one I also picked up (what I thought was) the second at the same time because it was there and that's just what I do. And then even though the main character in the first drove me crazy and made me feel much more Mother Of Annoying Teen than swept away in the story, I still read the "second" one because it was short and I had it. And … I liked it! Much better than the first. In the first Amy came off as a teen that yes, came from a difficult family dynamic, and yes, had a lot of issues, but mostly struck me as spoiled and whiny and so so annoying. The entitleness overshadowed the feisty spunk. But by the "second" book (actually turned out to be the third, who knew! I hate reading out of order, alas) the entitleness and annoying whining were more understated and you could appreciate Amy's quirkiness, though she still obsessed about her boobs way too much. The best part of both books was that they took place in Israel, so it was fun to travel around and "visit" places I remembered from studying abroad there long long ago. Will I read the 2nd book? Possibly, if I see it on the library shelf, just waiting to be taken. But I don't think it will go on my to-read list.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: moderate; Profanity: yes; Sex: no but much much discussion

Awaken by Meg Cabot

Awaken

by Meg Cabot  

 

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, the dark reimagining of the Persephone myth comes to a thrilling conclusion.

Death has her in his clutches. She doesn’t want him to let go.

Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera knew by accepting the love of John Hayden, she’d be forced to live forever in the one place she’s always dreaded most: the Underworld. The sacrifice seemed worth it, though, because it meant she could be with the boy she loves.

But now her happiness — and safety — are threatened, all because the Furies have discovered that John has broken one of their strictest rules: He revived a human soul.

If the balance between life and death isn’t fixed, both the Underworld and Pierce’s home back on earth will be wiped away. But there’s only one way to restore order. Someone has to die.

 

(summary from goodreads.com) 

 

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Meg Cabot, you have redeemed yourself. I almost gave this series up after the last book but decided, since in general I love your stories, and since you are probably one of the authors I most often recheck out from the library (yes, "recheck out" is TOTALLY correct terminology), I would read this final book in your Abandon series. And I loved you! Again! Pierce became the strong heroine we knew she could be, John was given some humility and much more likeability, and the story was happily wrapped up. This is definitely a trilogy to read all at once rather than piecemeal. 

 

(Note: I reread this trilogy soon after reading this book, thinking I would like the 2nd book better but was still put off with the "oh woe is me" of Pierce and the manipulative machinations of John. So if you liked the first one, I promise the 3rd is much better than the 2nd.)

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: moderate; Profanity: yes; Sex: yes, not descriptive

 

Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

The Spectacular Now

by Tim Tharp

 

This National Book Award Finalist is now a major motion picture -- one of the most buzzed-about films at Sundance 2013, starring Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller.

SUTTER KEELY. HE’S the guy you want at your party. He’ll get everyone dancing. He’ ll get everyone in your parents’ pool. Okay, so he’s not exactly a shining academic star. He has no plans for college and will probably end up folding men’s shirts for a living. But there are plenty of ladies in town, and with the help of Dean Martin and Seagram’s V.O., life’s pretty fabuloso, actually.

Until the morning he wakes up on a random front lawn, and he meets Aimee. Aimee’s clueless. Aimee is a social disaster. Aimee needs help, and it’s up to the Sutterman to show Aimee a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper. But Aimee’s not like other girls, and before long he’s in way over his head. For the first time in his life, he has the power to make a difference in someone else’s life—or ruin it forever.

(summary from goodreads.com) 

 

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This book made me wonder what standards are used to consider a book a "National Book Award Finalist"? Really? It's like they found the edgiest, "coolest" book, the one that was so far from the standards of a normal YA book, and picked it. I had to check the spine several times while reading it to verify it was still considered YA. It is about a charming teenage alcoholic who drags down a wholesome girl and then lets her go when he realizes he is ruining her life. (Um, sorry for the spoiler.) Rife with casual alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and teen sex. And of course it's been lauded because it's so "realistic" - meaning at the end of the book, our charming teenage alcoholic is STILL a teenage alcoholic, just less charming. I like reading fiction because it's not real. I like people bettering themselves and working hard and having fairy tale endings. This is not that book.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: mild; Profanity: yes; Sex: yes

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

Rampant 

by Diana Peterfreund

Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns...

Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. Fortunately, they've been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.

Or not.

Astrid had always scoffed at her eccentric mother's stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend—thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to the prom—Astrid finds herself headed to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries.

However, at the cloisters all is not what it seems. Outside, the unicorns wait to attack. And within, Astrid faces other, unexpected threats: from the crumbling, bone-covered walls that vibrate with a terrible power to the hidden agendas of her fellow hunters to—perhaps most dangerously of all—her growing attraction to a handsome art student ... an attraction that could jeopardize everything.

(summary from goodreads.com) 

 

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 My first thoughts on reading the back of the book - "This is a UNICORN book? Full of vicious man eating unicorns? And unicorn hunters? Not interested." But it was already home from the library, at the top of my book stack, so I thought I'd take a chance. Glad I did, especially since many of the reviews on goodreads weren't that flattering. Was it my favorite book of the year? No. But it was still a violently interesting read, extremely unique, and full of truly kicka** heroines. Glad the 2nd one is the next in my book stack …

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: heavy; Profanity: none that I remember; Sex: yes, including date rape, more descriptive than normal for a YA

 

The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

The Lost Gate

by Orson Scott Card

Danny North knew from early childhood that his family was different, and that he was different from them.  While his cousins were learning how to create the things that commoners called fairies, ghosts, golems, trolls, werewolves, and other such miracles that were the heritage of the North family, Danny worried that he would never show a talent, never form an outself.

He grew up in the rambling old house, filled with dozens of cousins, and aunts and uncles, all ruled by his father.  Their home was isolated in the mountains of western Virginia, far from town, far from schools, far from other people.

There are many secrets in the House, and many rules that Danny must follow.   There is a secret library  with only a few dozen books, and none of them in English — but Danny and his cousins are expected to become fluent in the language of the books.  While Danny’s cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see.

Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny  as well.  And that will lead to disaster for the North family.

(summary from goodreads.com) 

 

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Oh yes, another Card book with another underage teenage boy with more power than he knows what to do with. I don't think I've ever noticed his "type" before - how unobservant of me! I enjoyed this book, as I do most Card books. The main character was a little too young for me, but thankfully they age pretty quickly. I really enjoyed the world he created, the way he used to incorporate myths/gods/magic into contemporary society. It took me way too long (um, the end of the book?) to realize that the character of Wad (I figured out who he really was the whole time) was in "Westil" or some similar place rather than earth, even though it was pretty obvious. Duh. There were a few "Oh my glory stop hitting us over the head that this is an ADULT book" moments, not very natural feeling. 

It will be interesting to see where this series goes. And again, like all Cards, there is the potential for some awful Closure. (Yes, Closure absolutely NEEDS a capital letter. It's vital.) Come on, Card, you can do it. For the first time in your book history, please close a series in a nice neat pretty bow.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is an adult book, so everything is NOT within YA strictures. Violence: mild; Profanity: yes; Sex: present but not descriptive