This is W.A.R. by Lisa & Laura Roecker

(Soho Press, Inc.)

Willa Ames-Rowan is dead. After climbing into a boat with James Gregory, she is dead. Everyone knows he killed her but since the Gregory family, specifically James’s grandfather the Captain runs the town and the Hawthorne Lake Country Club, no one dares say so. The Gregory family is great at throwing money at their problems to make them go away. Willa’s best friends: Lina, Sloane, Rose & Madge now seek to destroy the Gregory family, not just James but his reckless brother Trip too. They start a war…

Feeling mixed on this book. I was hoping for some more suspense than you really get from it. A few chapters in you know who really killed Willa, it was just too clear. The most frustrating thing is when the girls got together to start their plans for revenge, never did they go over what happened that night to each of them. That would have saved them so much trouble and would have ultimately saved them from some really dumb plans to “destroy” the family. What is beyond dumb is that Madge knows who the real killer is but lets the girl keep thinking its James. Money is thrown around like nothing. The girls are supposed to front $25,000 to enter this war against the Gregory family. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that these teen girls can get a hold of $25,000 without parent permission or interference, insert eye roll here. The author gave the girls each part in the book to sort of dive into who they were. The most likeable characters, in my opinion, are Lina and Sloane. I think they embody and say things that are very relatable for teen girls, but they also grow to accept themselves which is always a good message. The best I can say about this book is that if you like soap operas, this is for you. You’ll get frustrated at characters for not doing the obvious thing and you have the made for TV drama of the scandals at the rich country club.

AB

Prom & Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

This is a quick and enjoyable read that anyone who enjoys Jane Austen will appreciate.

Lizzie Bennet is an outcast at Longbourn Academy because she is one of the dreaded "scholarship" kids. Teased and harassed on a regularly basis, Lizzie can't help but have her defenses up when around fellow students with money. Forced to join her best friend Jane at a reception between their school and Pemberly Academy (a reception in preparation for the ever popular prom), Lizzie meets Jane's beau Charles Bingley and his friend Will Darcy. At first Lizzie thinks Darcy might be nice, but then he proves to be just like all of the other people with money and her defenses shoot up. No matter what Darcy does now, Lizzie won't bend and when things fall apart for Jane and Bingley and the sneaky George Wickham enters the picture, Lizzie doesn't know who to trust or who to believe in. Can she let go of her pride and prejudices to see Darcy's true character?

This novel did a great job capturing the story of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in a modern time where it's not about finding a husband, but a prom date. It was a pleasant surprise to see familiar characters pop up in new ways. That's definitely not to say that someone unfamiliar with the original tale can't enjoy this novel. It just goes to prove how Austen's tale is truly timeless. Everything flowed nicely and fit logically. At times it felt like the language was off, but I don't know if that was just how I read it - sometimes I find an English accent going off in my head, especially if I'm reading something Jane Austen. Therefore, I don't know if this was just the way I read it or if the language was stilted - like she was trying to throw in some of that formalized talk like from the original novel. It wasn't anything, though, that distracted from the whole of the novel (nor the excessive use of exclamation marks at certain unnecessarily points).

I've always been a fan of Pride and Prejudice so reading this book was a treat. It was a quick read and I really didn't want to put the book down (if only I didn't have a bedtime). Any fan of Jane Austen or chick lit will enjoy this book.
MMK

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

After reading multiple adult fiction books in a row, it took me by surprise to return to young adult fiction just because of how simplistic some of the writing is. This novel is an interesting idea but it's just so basic in terms of storyline with minimal conflict. Just the same, it's a nice quick read and sometimes you need a break from the heavy books.

Jane Turner works at a coffeehouse and believes she can define people based on the drink they order. She takes this belief one step further and tries to hook up people based on compatible drinks. After a few great connections, her boss gets wind of it and turns Jane into a promo for the holidays were you can get a drink and a love connection. In the meantime, Jane has connected her best friend Em with a friend from college - Cam - and has a tiny tinge of jealousy that they're hitting it off so well. At the same time, she can't exactly figure out what's going on with Will, the really hot guy who always comes in and flirts with her. Then she gets featured on a hit TV show and her little hobby might be more than she can handle.

This book was cute. It is an interesting idea that our drink choices might define us, but it's all too easy - especially when all of her connections work out so wonderfully. Can she really be that dead on based on people's coffee choices? Come on! Then there's only about ten pages of actual conflict at the end of the novel because Cam seems to have more feelings for Jane than he does for his girlfriend and there goes Jane and Em's bff status. It's too typical and everything ends up happily ever after - even the mean girl starts to sing a different tune. Maybe my expectations are too high and I'm looking for more than just a quick summer read, but this book could have stepped it up a little. Just because it's a fun romance doesn't mean it can't have depth or a lot of conflict. True there was the "what's up with Will" conflict and the "this is too much for me to handle" but it was all so simple and easy. Clearly I'm expecting too much but why not? Teenagers can handle it and if you pass it off as so easy, you risk misleading them.

Was the book good? Yeah, it was a nice quick read. Could it have been better? Yeah, I think so. Should I read it? If you like fun chick lit you'll enjoy this book.
MMK

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Sparks wrote this novelization of a movie after he wrote the script for the movie starring Miley Cyrus.

This is another teenager sent to get to know absent parent story. I just wrote about Beige by Castellucci. In this story Ronnie is a rebellious goth girl and her father has a terrible secret. Things get off to a bad start when Ronnie meets the equally rebellious Blaze and scary Marcus at about the same time rich, perfect, athletic boy runs into her causing her to dump her drink down her front. There is also a sweet younger brother Jonah aged ten but sometimes sounding much younger or older.

Rather too easily Ronnie connects with Will the perfect boy rather than Marcus though Marcus and Blaze are always in the background, always causing problems.

Will and Ronnie further connect over their efforts to protect endangered turtle nests and their work at the local aquarium. Ronnie feels sorry for Blaze and tries to befriend her only to get in trouble with the law.

Jonah and his father are making a stained glass window for a church which was largely ruined by a fire of suspicious origins.

Ronnie was a concert pianist with great promise before her father left home, in her anger she abandoned her piano playing. Her father, also a concert pianist still plays and Ronnie is hateful about this.

Those are all the various conflicts that play themselves out in this lightweight story that is more popcorn & peanuts than Escargot and Caviar.

Sparks doesn't seem to have the dialogue of teens down very well, wording sometimes sound very stiff and old fashioned. I think Jonah's dialogue suffers too. Having said that teens who have enjoyed other Sparks novels should like this one as well. Its teary eyed chic lit with a little spirituality thrown in.