Flying - Carrie Jones

Mana wakes up from a dream and hears her mom yelling on the phone.  Mana's mom tells her not to worry, it was a telemarketer.  The next day Mana and her mom go to Lyle's track meet.  Lyle is one of her BFF's, and everyone thinks they are together including Lyle's mother.  Lyle does well at the track meet and she thinks about him for the rest of the day.  A few days later her mom has to go into work early, and she will see her at the basketball game.  Seppie, Mana's other BFF, picks her and Lyle up and they head to school.  Seppie and Lyle argue while Mana tries to wake up.  She daydreams about Lyle as being more than just one of her best friends.  By cheerleading practice in the afternoon Mana is still dragging.  She gets through practice and is woken up enough for the game.  At the game she notices a guy in sunglasses who keeps starting at Dakota.  At one point sunglasses guy grabs Dakota and takes him to the locker room area.  Mana and Lyle find Dakota tied up.  Lyle goes and calls the police while Mana lets him go.  China, the guy with the sunglasses, tries to protect her as Dakota's tongue spits green acid at them.  Lyle comes barging in with one of the sheriff's deputies seconds after China and Dakota have disappeared.  After the deputy goes off looking for Dakota and China, Mana explains to Lyle what went on.  He doesn't believe her, and thinks she has a concussion.  They finish cheering the game and Seppie drops them off at Mana's house.  As Mana puts her key into the door it swings open, which concerns Mana as her mom always keeps the door locked.  They go in to find the house destroyed and alien Dakota flying around.  Dakota escapes and Mana wonders if her mom was here when he destroyed the house when Lyle sees her car in the garage.  They search the house for her mom and find a creature with webbed feet in her mom's bedroom.  It attacks them and they kill it with a car.  Lyle says it reminds him of a Wendigo, but all Mana cares about is finding her mom.  They search the house and wait for the police.  They don't find her in the house and then see headlights coming toward the house.  They think it's the police, but men in black suits come out of black vans.  China tells them it isn't the police, and the creature was a Wendigo.  More sirens approach and he tells them they have to leave the scene now.  She and Lyle head to his house.  His mom has a strict no-girl in the house policy, so Mana has to be snuck in.  The police show up and Lyle goes to talk to them.  His parents are upset as is Mana.  She spends the night there and wakes up to Lyle's mom thinking they slept together.  Mana heads back home to get a change of clothes and sees a text from her mom telling her not to come home.  Things will be explained later.  China shows up there to and explains Mana's mother is his partner and they hunt aliens together.  After she gets cleaned up, Mana leaves with China and he tells her about aliens monitoring Earth.  Some are good and some are not.  There is a secret branch of the government that hunts down the bad ones and he and Mana's mother are a part of it.  As China continues to explain everything Lyle pops up in the back of the truck with a gun.  He though she was being kidnapped and was trying to rescue her.  Mana explains that isn't the case and they were heading to try and find her mom.  After everyone has calmed down and guns put down the three of them head to Maine to an underground lair.  Will they be able to find Mana's mother and why was alien Dakota ransacking Mana's house?

 I liked this book, but the first 30 pages seemed slow to me for some reason.  After Dakota is reveled to be alien, and he escapes the story picked up for me.  The story had a Men in Black feel to it with the underground lairs, and working together with some of the alien species.  Mana reminded me of a mix between Buffy and Katniss.  I loved the references to Doctor Who and Star Trek in the book as well.  It looks like it there will be a sequel as the ending leaves the story open to be continued. 

T.B.
10/1/16

Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly

Sometimes you have teen mysteries that take themselves seriously, and sometimes the story is a little bit far-fetched. This story with its quirky characters and adventures puts itself more towards the latter category. At times it's a little out there, but it's an enjoyable ride.

As the new girl in school, Zoe hopes to fit in. The last thing she expects is finding herself connecting with the oddball character of Digby. He has no concept of personal space and has a habit of dragging her into insane situations. Despite efforts to stay away from him, Zoe tags along on Digby's mission to finding a missing girl. It turns out that a number of years ago, Digby's younger sister went missing and he thinks the cases are connected. He has his prime suspects and he'd bound and determined to prove it, even if it means stealing, lying, and breaking and entering. His problems don't end with the doctor he suspects - not when he starts a beef with the mysterious, cultish boy who lives across the street from Zoe. Throw in some drug-dealing, missing ambulances and explosions and you've got the crazy ride Zoe finds herself on with Digby at the helm.

Personally, I like my mysteries to be a tab more realistic and serious than this book. You definitely cannot take this seriously. The police would not be so open with their information to some teenagers as they were in this novel and the antics of the characters are just a little too out there - the dramatic breaking and entering of the doctor's office, Digby in his tutu wearing teddy bear costume. He is a true mastermind and enjoyable to read about, but the situations just snowball to the point that you're shaking your head. He has no boundaries and can talk himself in and out of any situation, dragging Zoe and others in with him. In no way is that a bad thing because it makes for a fun read. It's witty and clever and humorous. Not all mysteries need to be dead serious. It just seems a bit unrealistic that a teen is doing all of this and getting away with everything. Then again, it wouldn't be much of an exciting teen novel if they were shut down at every turn.

This book is crazy in a good way. Everything - however off the wall it may be - ends up working together to connect the pieces and solve the mystery. Well, maybe not all of the mysteries. There is still one string left hanging that definitely creates the potential of a sequel. It will be interesting to see what chaos Digby can create next time around.
MMK

Galgorithm - Aaron Karo

After a girl Shane nicknames Voldemort breaks his heart, he becomes a love guru to the hopeless guys at Kingsview High.  Shane has come up with a formula he has named the galgorithm to help out the clueless guys.  He doesn't charge for his services, as he believes this is a calling for him.  His next client is a skinny kid named Reed, who has a crush on Marisol.  She didn't know who he was until Reed accidentally hit her with a tennis ball in gym class.  From there they became friends on social media.  Now in Shane's view he's ready to ask her out.  When he's not giving out advice to the hopeless romantics, Shane spends his time with his best friend, Jak.  They have known each other since they were babies.  As they hang out Jak is telling Shane that Harrison, resident jock, and Rebecca, the one who is involved in everything at school, have hooked up.  They don't understand how, but it happened.  The next day at school Anthony and Brooke a.k.a. Hedgehog and Balloon, tell him they want to set him up on a date with Tristen Kellog, the hottest girl of the junior class.  Shane declines as he remembers what Voldemort did to his heart.  As Shane heads to his next class his old math teacher, Mr. Kimbrough, comes looking for him.  He wants advice on how to ask out the history teacher Ms. Soloman.  Shane tells him to do a group e-mail but put her address in the BCC, so it looks like he's sending the e-mail to the group when it is going to her.  Mr. Kimbrough thanks him and they agree not to mention this conversation to anyone.  On Saturday Shane is helping Reed pick out new clothes.  A few girls overhear Shane and Reed talking, and Shane asks where they got the belt buckle.  The girl with the nose ring points to the display.  Shane asks if it's for her boyfriend and she says no it's for her.  She asks if that is weird.  Shane asks Reed what he thinks and he freezes for a moment.  Then he answers it is weird, but the color doesn't go with her nose ring.  After the girls walk away Reed is amazed at what happened and puts his trust into Shane.  Later that night Shane is hanging out with Jak and asks her if it's a good idea for him to go out with Tristen.  She thinks so and he should go for it.  After school the following week there is a college fair, and this is a good way for Reed to talk to Marisol.  She is with Rebecca and while Shane distracts Rebecca about senior parking, Reed talks to Marisol.  Everything works to a T and Reed gets a date with Marisol. The next day he goes on the double date with Tristan along with Anthony and Brooke.  It goes well and he already has a second date with her.  The following day Shane is held up by Mr. Kimbrough.  Everything went well at the Civil War exhibit and wants to know how to get a second date.  Shane gives him more advice, but is questioning whether his methods work with adults.  Jak is pissed at him as they get to the gym to work out on free passes.  He tells her he got held up in Spanish.  While they are there Tristen is texting him and Jak makes fun of him about his textual relationship with Tristen.  Later that night Shane is driving to the beach to meet up with Adam.  Adam tells him that Olivia cheated on him and ended it.  Shane tells him that everything will be OK and he'll meet someone who understands how busy he is.  The next day Reed is telling Shane about his date with Marisol when Harrison throws a baseball in their direction.  As he comes to get it Harrison is pissed at Reed thinking he was out with Rebecca, when Reed was out with Marisol and Rebecca showed up.  Later while Shane is with Tristan at the mall for their second date they run into Jak.  Tristen invites her to stay for lunch, but Shane communicates with her that he wants it to be him and Tristen.  The following day Jak plays hooky from English class so she and Shane can go get lunch.  When Shane comes out of the bathroom Adam is there hitting on Jak, using some of the galgorithm techniques.  After some awkward moments Jak suggests they hang out sometime.  Adam agrees and heads off to class while Jak and Shane go to lunch. Later on Shane and Tristen head to the movies, but the movie they want to see is sold out.  They head back to her house where she questions him about past relationships.  He realizes that unlike Voldemort, Tristen is into him.  The next day Shane runs into Adam at the beanery waiting for Jak.  Shane waits with Adam until Jak shows up and leaves them be.  After a few days Jak had two more complementary passes for the gym and she and Shane head there to work out.  They make friendly jabs at each other about who they are going out with.  They decide to go to one of the jock parties they hear about the following week.  The night of the party arrives and Jak is drinking like crazy, as she isn't comfortable in social situations.  Adam shows up followed by Rebecca.  Harrison comes over to give them crap about recycling, and then Tristen shows up.  Jak, who has had a lot to drink already, excuses herself and Shane follows shortly after.  Shane ducks into a bathroom after hearing Harrison and Rebecca argue, only to find Jak throwing up in the toilet.  Shane takes her home and as he is getting the vomit stained clothes off of her in the shower he realizes that he has feelings for her.  After this night everything begins to fall apart for Shane. 

I enjoyed this book and was laughing through out.  While it was funny, it was also serious when it had to be.  Especially after Shane realizes he has feelings Jak, and the awkwardness between them after.  No matter who you go out with, the one you might end up falling for is the one you least expect.  The one thing that bugged me was the way the passage of time was done.  Some times I couldn't tell if a few days or a few weeks had passed in some parts of the book.

T.B.
6/20/15

Pretenders by Lisi Harrison

Pretenders is a new series by Lisi Harrison, author of The Clique and Monster High series. This series is filled with a cast of unique characters all trying to make their mark in high school through whatever means possible.

The novel is made up of journal entries from five students who eventually become the “Phoenix Five,” a group of five students who are truly outstanding in school. One student is Lily, a former home schooled girl who just wants to be normal while obsessing over her neighbor Duffy. The boy-next-door is another student whose journal is featured in this book. Duffy is a basketball star struggling to make his mark as a freshman on varsity, especially after learning about his family’s financial woes. He’ll do whatever it takes to stay on the team, even if it means compromising his image for money. He seems to like Sheridan who can be a bit of a drama queen as she tries to find the right persona that everyone will love as she models herself after actors or characters she has seen elsewhere. All she wants to do is fit in and be popular, which is becoming even more difficult as her best friend’s summer friend shows up, proving to be everything Sheridan wants to be. It doesn’t help that her best friend now has a boyfriend, orphan Jagger whose parents are in jail for taking care of a bully. He’s now trying to survive on his own while steering clear of someone who might want revenge for his parent’s actions. Aside from the journals of Lily, Duffy, Sheridan, and Jagger, there is also Vanessa who is struggling to maintain her status as the best-of-the-best, which she feels will keep her parents from fighting. She’s willing to do anything, even possibly illegal activities to maintain her G.P.A. Before long, it seems as if all of the characters are in over their heads, each moment documented in their journals.

This novel does a good job of creating five unique characters, each one individual and fully developed. At times, however, they seem a bit like caricatures and cliches. Duffy is the jock, Lily is the sheltered home schooled kid, Vanessa is an overachiever obsessed with grades, Jagger is the mysterious loner, and Sheridan is the actress. Sheridan to me was the hardest to swallow. Her obsession with being someone else was a bit much to digest. It really went over the top when she wanted to channel “Massie Block from the straight-to-DVD movie The Clique” (59), which is a not too subtle nod to the author’s other series (there is also a Monster High reference later in the book). It read as a desperate move from the author to promote her other works. Plus it alienates people who don’t know her books. The other character Sheridan wants to channel are more pop-culture, but even the Gossip Girl reference will date the book. Her whole character was a little too much, so it was nice come the end when she starts to be more herself than someone else. Lily’s stalker tendencies also got to be a little much, although I’m sure a number of girls can relate to the obsessive quality of having a crush on a boy out of your league - even if Lily takes it to extremes. Jagger is the least developed character, but I think that all works towards him being the most mysterious. The characters become more likable as the book progresses and their true stories develop and grow conflicted. It all culminates to one night when everything gets out of control, and then the book ends in a cliffhanger.

For the most part I wasn’t impressed with the book - at least for three-fourths of the novel. It feels a bit like a watered down attempt at Pretty Little Liars with less extreme secrets. I wasn’t going to pick up the next book, but I might just to see how it all turns out - thanks to the cliffhanger at the end. All of the characters seem to have the best intentions, their desperation just got in the way of making smart choices. We shall see in book two how it all turns out.
MMK

Waiting for You by Susane Colasanti

Waiting for You is all about the complicated life of a teenager. Marisa is dealing with everything most teenagers face - finding a boyfriend and fitting in. She has the slight complication that she has an anxiety disorder which nearly destroyed her freshman year, but now that she’s a sophomore, she’s got it all figured out, or so she thinks. Things start to get complicated when she becomes lab partners with her neighbor Nash. At first it’s an amazing friendship, but then he has to go and like her more than she likes him. Now that friendship is on the rocks. Then she gets her dream boyfriend Derek, but that puts a strain on her friendship with her best friend Sterling who doesn’t have a boyfriend. On top of that, Derek is still awfully friendly with his ex, which has Marisa questioning his commitment to her. To make matters even worse, Marisa’s parents - whom she always thought were the perfect example of parents - are getting a divorce. While Marisa fights to keep her cool through all of this drama and not give into her anxiety and depression, there’s a podcast by DJ Dirty Dirk, the only guy who genuinely seems to understand everything she’s going through.

This novel spans Marisa’s entire sophomore year. You could relate to the characters and cheer for them to figure it all out. While it is jam-packed with drama, it all felt very basic. This is a decent coming-of-age novel for girls struggling to find a balance in high school, friendships and being true to yourself. It is a quick read that hits the bare-necessities of a novel wanting to make a statement about relationships and identity and the things that matter in life. Marisa finds a way to get through all of the drama and her disorder to come to appreciate everything and everyone she has in her life.

MMK

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

The timeless tale of Romeo and Juliet gets a new twist when we discover what happens to their souls after that fateful night in the tomb. Now one is on the quest to insure true love in others while the other is out to destroy it.

Shakespeare's tale supposedly isn't the true telling of the love between Romeo and Juliet. The details are a little sketchy, but it basically ends up that Romeo sells his soul to the "Mercenaries" in order to insure Juliet's happiness, but when she kills herself, her soul joins the "Ambassadors." Now their two souls are on a mission. The Ambassadors fight to bring soul mates together while the Mercenaries are working to tear lovers apart and destroy the Ambassadors. Juliet and Romeo are now on a mission to help/hurt two soul mates. Juliet's soul inhabits the body of Ariel and believes it's her mission to bring Ariel's friend Gemma together with her soul mate Ben. However, Juliet has fallen in love with Ben and he shares her feelings, which isn't right because he belongs with Gemma. In the meantime, Romeo is there getting in Juliet's way. Also, this mission is different than all of their other missions. They are alone, being haunted by specters which can only mean this is their last mission, which doesn't bode well for their souls. Will true love prevail or will their souls be doomed?

This is an interesting book, especially when you see the parallels with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. There's a love element and a creepy element with the specters. Some of the Mercenary and Ambassador elements were a bit confusing, but I listened to this on audio book, so it was difficult to reread. The story pulls you in because you're worried about Juliet and the threat of Romeo and the specters. Then you're wondering how she'll get Ben and Gemma together when Gemma is such an unworthy character, but you're hoping she can find a way to be with Ben because they're such a perfect pair. There's a lot going on, but it all fits together into a intriguing love story that's not overly sappy.

Overall though, it's an interesting book and ends with enough of a cliffhanger to pull readers in for the sequel - Romeo Redeemed.
MMK

Fall From Grace - Charles Benoit

When Sawyer meets Grace for the first time it is at Model UN being held at East High School. She plans on stealing the North Korea treaty for the United States. The only reason for doing this for fun and she is bored. Grace ropes Sawyer into helping her, and after she leaves him a thank you gift in his locker. He admits to himself that it was fun. After this little adventure Sawyers life goes back to normal. His shifts at the ice cream store, hanging out with his girlfriend Zoë, and having his parents make all the important decisions in his life. For example: where he's going to college and what classes he should take during his senior year. A few weeks later Grace pops in at the ice cream shop he works at. She says she's researching law loopholes at the library, but Sawyer isn't believing her. A few days later while Sawyer is at the library doing his career project, he runs into Grace again. They make small talk and plan on meeting at her aunt's apartment to watch The Sting. The watch the movie and afterward he drives her to the library near where her aunt lives where she plans on stealing a painting from the library. After the trip to the library she randomly calls him at odd hours like 1 or 2 in the morning to come and get her. He doesn't ask any questions, but he still has them. Between the random trips to pick up Grace, his father pestering him about calculus, and Zoë asking him questions about who the girl is he's hanging out with Sawyer has forgotten all about the career project. Right before Thanksgiving break Grace plans to steal the painting from the library. All Sawyer has to do is drive her back to her aunt's place. It takes longer for her to get back to the car than she planned, but she has the painting. A few days later Grace and Sawyer are casing the museum because Grace has a plan to steal a painting from there. In the early morning hours on Black Friday Grace attempts to rob the museum. Sawyer goes there because he's worried about her. They end up getting caught and Sawyer is charged with attempted robbery. Sawyer now has a choice to make. Option one: testify against Grace, who he's only known for a few months, and have nothing on his record. Option two: he doesn't testify against Grace, has a record, and possibly faces jail time. Sawyer's life is in his hands. Which would you choose?

I like the way Benoit takes some one who is set on a path in life and throws in a totally opposite person into their life. Sometimes we need that randomness and unexpectedness to make life a little more exciting. Even if it is doing something that you may not ever consider doing on your own. Sometimes when you are with that one person you just say to yourself I'll do it for them.

T.B. 8/16/12

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - Jesse Andrews

Greg has kept to himself most of his high school life.  He isn't that good looking, and trying to talk to girls or get them to notice him has blown up in his face.  He is nice to the jocks, the geeks, the stoners, and everyone else.  His only real friend is Earl.  They have been making movies together since middle school.  Greg's first day of senior year goes really well until he gets home.  His mom tells him Rachel has acute myelogenous leukemia.  Greg hasn't really spoken to Rachel since sixth grade when he tried to get with one of her friends by flirting with her.  His mom nags him to call her and hang out.  When he finally does call the conversation is very awkard.  Each day for the next week he calls Rachel, but she just hangs up on him.  One day she doesn't hang up and invites him over to her house.  Greg starts hanging out with Rachel, and some of the time she would come over to his house.  Greg's mom lets it slip that he and Earl make movies, but lets no one see them.  At school he and Earl start hanging out with Rachel and a few of her friends.  Greg and Earl visit Rachel the night before she goes in for chemotherapy.  The next day they head to Earl's house and Greg gets into a scuffle with one of Earl's brothers and Greg goes to the hospital with a broken arm.  When Earl visits he tells Greg that he gave Rachel ten of their movies to watch.  His whole family visits him in the hospital and so does Rachel's friend Madison.  She tells him what a good friend he's been to Rachel and how happy she is.  Greg doesn't believe her, but her friends have seen how happy she is.  He visits Rachel before he leaves the hospital and she tells him how good the movies are.  He thinks she's just being nice, but Rachel really believes the are good.  After he leaves the hospital he continues to visit Rachel, and his grades and school work suffer.  In the midst of all this crazyness Madison approaches Greg about making a movie to cheer Rachel up.  As much as Greg has tried to remain invisible through out high school, this movie will make him be remembered for a long time. 

I really enjoyed the sarcasm and snarkyness of Greg.  I really felt like I was back in high school again.  The book was written in a way that made you feel like you were there in the story right along with Greg, Earl, and Rachel.  I recommend The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  Here's the link to my review I did earlier this year: http://www.poplarcreekspeak.blogspot.com/2012/01/fault-in-our-stars-john-green.html

T.B. 7/10/12