One staple of contemporary young adult literature is the beach setting. Jenny Han makes great use of the beach setting in her novel, The Summer I Turned Pretty, which explores the changes that come with adolescence and young love. Every summer Belly and her family stay at her mom’s best friend Susannah’s beach house at […]
Being Friends With Boys Terra Elan McVoy Book Review
June 21, 2012
When it comes to YA contemporary fiction, there is no opinion I trust more than Shanyn’s. One of the authors she consistently recommends is Terra Elan McVoy. Of course, I immediately jumped on the chance to read Being Friends With Boys which explores the complications that can arise with having only male friends. Atlanta teen […]
The Bad Apple TR Burns Book Review
June 14, 2012
The Bad Apple by TR Burns (Tricia Rayburn) is the first of a middle grade series called The Merits Of Mischief. Seamus Hinkle finds himself at Kilter Academy after accidentally killing a substitute teacher with one bad throw of an apple. To outsiders, Kilter looks like the harshest reform school on the block. To the […]
The Celery Stalks At Midnight James Howe Book Review
June 8, 2012
No matter how you slice it, the fact of the matter is that I am a fan of both zombie vegetables AND mystery solving animals. I also quite like old school book covers and vampiric rabbits. Of course, I really took to The Celery Stalks At Midnight by James Howe, third in the Bunnicula series, […]
Kill Switch Chris Lynch Book Review
May 29, 2012
Kill Switch is Chris Lynch’s latest young adult book. It is a character study about two males – one young and one old- and delves into what makes a person flip their switch into violent mode. Daniel, referred to as Young Man is the narrator of Kill Switch. He spends a lot of time with his aging […]
When You Were Mine Rebecca Serle Audiobook Review
May 28, 2012
We all know the story of Romeo and Juliet — heck I had to read it in high school – but what about the minor characters? Rebecca Serle examines the character of Rosaline, Romeo’s love interest pre-Juliet against the modern backdrop of high school in Southern California. When You Were Mine is a heartbreaking read that […]