The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

The Unwritten Rule

by Elizabeth Scott  

He's looking at me like—well, like he wants to look at me. Like he likes what he sees, and he's smiling and his eyes are so blue, even in the faint flow of the porch light they shine, and I nod dumbly, blindly, and then grope for the door handle, telling myself to look away and yet not able to do it. "Sara," he says, softly, almost hesitantly, and my heart slam-bangs, beating hard, and this is what it's like to want someone you can't have. To want someone you shouldn't even be looking at.

Sarah and Brianna have always been friends, and it's always gone like this: guys talk to Sarah in order to get closer to Brianna. So even though Sarah met Ryan first, she's not surprised that he ends up with Brianna (even though Sarah has a massive crush on him).

The three of them hang out, and Sarah and Ryan's friendship grows until one night an innocent exchange between them leads to a moment that makes Sarah realize that Ryan might be interested in her after all. But if there's one unwritten rule, it's this: you don't mess around with a friend's boyfriend.

So Sarah tries to resist temptation. But with the three of them thrown together more and more, tension builds between Sarah and Ryan, and when they find themselves alone together at one point, they realize they just can't fight how they feel anymore...

(summary from goodreads.com)

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Yes, another Elizabeth Scott. I decided to give another one of her contemporary teen books a try. This book reminded me a lot of Emily Giffin's Something Borrowed - this is essentially the teen version of that story. I liked it and appreciated the quality - Elizabeth Scott is a talented writer, but I didn't love the subject matter. She is excellent at creating multifaceted characters - the heroine makes mistakes, terrible mistakes, but you still feel for her and want to cheer her on. Ms. Scott makes tangled tales that usually are difficult to conclude with all ends neatly tied, and this book is no exception. I wanted to shake Sarah and Brianna (especially Brianna) and Ryan and tell them all to chill out. For a short book it was emotionally wringing. I liked Stealing Heaven better, but still an enjoyable book to read once.

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: possibly; Lame. Sex: reference to

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Hallowed 

by Cynthia Hand 

For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

In this compelling sequel to "Unearthly," Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are.

(summary from goodreads.com)

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A great second book (following Unearthly) - many questions are answered, the mythology is fleshed out a great deal, and in general it was an extremely satisfying read. Hooray! Second books sometimes tend to slump and be mere place holders in a trilogy but this one added to the existing story rather than tore it apart. Clara is growing into herself and deals with difficult choices and decisions. I wanted to smack her brother upside the head a few times, and still do, but hopefully that will change with the next book. I still really like Angela and look forward to spending more time with her in the next book - I have a feeling there is more to discover about her.

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: none that I remember; Sex: fairly heavy making out

The Wild Queen by Carolyn Meyer

The Wild Queen: The Days and Nights of Mary Queen of Scots 

by Carolyn Meyer 

Mary Stuart was just five years old when she was sent to France to be raised alongside her future husband. But when the frail young king dies, eighteen-year-old Mary is stripped of her title as Queen of France and set adrift in the harsh world, alone. Determined to reign over what is rightfully hers, Mary returns to Scotland. Hopingthat a husband will help her secure the coveted English throne, she marries again, but the love and security she longs for elude her. Instead, the fiery young queen finds herself embroiled in a murder scandal that could cost her the crown. And her attempts to bargain with her formidable “sister queen,” Elizabeth I of England, could cost her her very life.

(summary from goodreads.com)

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I picked up this book because I liked the cover (yes, we've already covered that I will at least preliminarily judge a book by its cover) and I've always been fascinated with Mary Queen of Scots. But why do I let myself get caught up in historical books? Especially historical books that I KNOW don't end happily. I like happy endings. I like people to stay alive and find love and reunite with friends and live happily ever after. Mary Queen of Scots does NOT live happily ever after, yet I've read a few books about her. Each book is as depressing as the last - no matter which book I read, she is still advised by untrustworthy people, lied to and betrayed. It never changes! No more! Historical fiction is great. Fiction based on depressing historical figures is not, which is why I generally avoid books about Anne Boleyn and will now attempt to avoid books about Mary Stuart. For those of you who like well written yet depressing books about real people who lived tragic lives, this book is for you.

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: none; Sex: yes

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper

by Sarah Addison Allen  

The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Chased the Moon welcomes you to her newest locale: Walls of Water, North Carolina, where the secrets are thicker than the fog from the town’s famous waterfalls, and the stuff of superstition is just as real as you want it to be.

It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots.

But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it.

For the bones—those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms on Walls of Water seventy-five years ago—are not all that lay hidden out of sight and mind. Long-kept secrets surrounding the troubling remains have also come to light, seemingly heralded by a spate of sudden strange occurrences throughout the town.

Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living.

Resonant with insight into the deep and lasting power of friendship, love, and tradition, The Peach Keeper is a portrait of the unshakable bonds that—in good times and bad, from one generation to the next—endure forever.

(summary from goodreads.com)

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I didn't realize I had read several of Sarah Addison Allen's other books years ago until I looked her up on goodreads. No wonder I enjoyed this book so much! She is a talented writer that weaves sweet stories about love and self discoveries. There is usually a bit of the mystical threading through her books, which makes them that much better. I really liked the Peach Keeper - it's about the power of friendships and love and being happy with who you are. A cute, sweet story. Now I want to reread all of her books in order so I can catch the easter eggs in each of the books.

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: don't think so? Sex: yes, but within YA strictures even though it doesn't have to be, except for one makeout scene.

Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Grace

by Elizabeth Scott  

Grace was raised to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom. In search of a border she may never reach, she travels among malevolent soldiers on a decrepit train crawling through the desert. Accompanied by the mysterious Kerr, Grace struggles to be invisible, but the fear of discovery looms large as she recalls the history and events that delivered her uncertain fate.

Told in spare, powerful prose by acclaimed author Elizabeth Scott, this tale of a dystopian near future will haunt readers long after they’ve reached the final page.

(summary from goodreads.com)

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I picked up this book the same time I picked up the last Elizabeth Scott - let's just say I had to get through a few book piles before I geared myself up to read this one. I liked it better than Living Dead Girl - still gritty and a piece of harsh realism, but better. Elizabeth Scott is a fascinating and gripping writer. I prefer her books that deal with less serious issues than pedophilia (Living Dead Girl) or cults/suicide bombings (Grace), though Grace in particular brought up a lot of interesting points about the lies told by both sides and using violence as a weapon.

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: can't remember, don't think so. Sex: reference to off-scene rape, abuse, sex

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth 

by Carrie Ryan

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?
 

(summary from goodreads.com)

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Ack! How in the world did I get involved in a zombie book? Ugh! It was on my "to read" list and I borrowed a digital copy from my library and started it before realized what the subject matter was. If you like zombies and shuffling death and the hopelessness and desperation born of never ending hordes of creatures who steal the humanity from your loved ones, then this is the book for you!! This was a well written book with a rich world building but just NOT my cup of tea. I hate zombies. They tend to inhabit sad and depressing books. I will probably skim the next two books to see if there are any happy endings for the characters, mostly because they are already on my kindle. But if they are like this book, they will be about heroines who are finally triumphant but sacrifice way too much to get there. Carrie Ryan is master of the undead - unfortunately it is a skill I can't fully appreciate. Now I need to find another dragon book to wash my mind of zombies ...

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: none; Sex: innuendos

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

The Blue Castle

by L.M. Montgomery

Valancy lives a drab life with her overbearing mother and prying aunt. Then a shocking diagnosis from Dr. Trent prompts her to make a fresh start. For the first time, she does and says exactly what she feels. As she expands her limited horizons, Valancy undergoes a transformation, discovering a new world of love and happiness. One of Lucy Maud Montgomery's only novels intended for an adult audience, The Blue Castle is filled with humor and romance.

(summary from goodreads.com)

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This is one of my favorites of all time and probably one of my top 5 most read books - I had a good time rereading it for the millionth time a week or so ago. I fell in love with Anne of Green Gables eons ago and remember going to the book store with my mom (possibly BDaltons? Waldenbooks? This was pre-Barnes and Noble and Amazon! I'm pre-historic!) and getting the list of L.M. Montgomery books available. I saved up my money and ordered every single one. Directly from the book store. (Yes, people actually used to do that.) I can't even remember how old I was - late elementary school? Early middle school? Anyway, moving on. The Blue Castle is one of the few adult books L.M. Montgomery wrote and it is sweet and touching and darling and adorable. A very lovely, light romance. Read it! All the preciousness of Anne of Green Gables rolled into one 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 an adult book, but could be YA or Juvenile. Violence: none; Profanity: none; Sex: none