Book Review | The Reece Malcolm List | Amy Spalding

Apr 26

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | The Reece Malcolm List | Amy SpaldingThe Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding
Published by Entangled Teen on February 5, 2013
Genres: Contemporary YA, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
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four-stars

Things I know about Reece Malcolm:

1. She graduated from New York University.
2. She lives in or near Los Angeles.
3. Since her first novel was released, she’s been on the New York Times bestseller list every week.
4. She likes strong coffee and bourbon.
5. She’s my mother.

Devan knows very little about Reece Malcolm, until the day her father dies and she’s shipped off to live with the mother she’s never met. All she has is a list of notebook entries that doesn’t add up to much.

L.A. offers a whole new world to Devan—a performing arts school allows her to pursue her passion for show choir and musicals, a new circle of friends helps to draw her out of her shell, and an intriguing boy opens up possibilities for her first love.

But then the Reece Malcolm list gets a surprising new entry. Now that Devan is so close to having it all, can she handle the possibility of losing everything?

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Filed Under: 2013 Reading Challenge, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , ,

Book Review | Eleanor & Park | Rainbow Rowell

Mar 18

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Eleanor & Park | Rainbow RowellEleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on February 26, 2013
Genres: Contemporary YA, Young Adult
Pages: 328
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
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five-stars

TWO MISFITS. ONE EXTRAORDINARY LOVE. 
It’s 1986 and two star-crossed teens are smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love–and just how hard it pulled you under.

 A cross between the iconic ’80s movie Sixteen Candles and the classic coming-of-age novel Looking for Alaska, Eleanor & Park is a brilliantly written young adult novel.

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Filed Under: 2013 Reading Challenge, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , ,

Book Review | Also Known As | Robin Benway

Mar 7

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Also Known As | Robin BenwayAlso Known As by Robin Benway
Series: Also Known As #1
Published by Bloomsbury on February 26, 2013
Genres: Contemporary YA, Spies, Young Adult
Pages: 308
Format: eARC
Also in this series: Going Rogue
Also by this author: Going Rogue, Emmy & Oliver
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
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four-stars

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.

Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She’ll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school’s security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , ,

Book Review | How To Lead a Life of Crime | Kirsten Miller

Feb 28

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | How To Lead a Life of Crime | Kirsten MillerHow To Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller
Published by Razorbill on February 21, 2013
Genres: Contemporary YA, Thriller, Young Adult
Pages: 434
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
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four-stars

A meth dealer. A prostitute. A serial killer.

Anywhere else, they’d be vermin. At the Mandel Academy, they’re called prodigies. The most exclusive school in New York City has been training young criminals for over a century. Only the most ruthless students are allowed to graduate. The rest disappear.

Flick, a teenage pickpocket, has risen to the top of his class. But then Mandel recruits a fierce new competitor who also happens to be Flick’s old flame. They’ve been told only one of them will make it out of the Mandel Academy. Will they find a way to save each other—or will the school destroy them both?

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , ,

Book Review | Me, Him, Them, and It | Caela Carter

Feb 25

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Me, Him, Them, and It | Caela CarterMe, Him, Them, and It by Caela Carter
Published by Bloomsbury on February 26, 2013
Genres: Contemporary YA, Pregnancy, Young Adult
Pages: 310
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
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four-stars

ME is Evelyn Jones, 16, a valedictorian hopeful who’s been playing bad girl to piss off THEM, her cold, distant parents. HIM is Todd, Evelyn’s secret un-boyfriend, who she thought she was just using for sex – until she accidentally fell in love with him. But before Evelyn gets a chance to tell Todd how she feels, something much more important comes up. IT. IT is a fetus. Evelyn is pregnant – and when Todd turns his back on her, Evelyn has no idea who to turn to. Can a cheating father, a stiff, cold mother, a pissed-off BFF, and a (thankfully!) loving aunt with adopted girls of her own help Evelyn make the heart-wrenching decisions that follow?

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Filed Under: 2013 Reading Challenge, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , ,

Book Review | Meant To Be | Lauren Morrill

Dec 7

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Meant To Be | Lauren MorrillMeant To Be by Lauren Morrill
Published by Delacorte on November 13, 2012
Genres: Contemporary YA, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question.

It’s one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she’s queen of following rules and being prepared. That’s why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that’s also why she’s chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB (“meant to be”).

But this spring break, Julia’s rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she’s partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.

Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , ,

Book Review | Spark | Brigid Kemmerer

Oct 19

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Spark | Brigid KemmererSpark by Brigid Kemmerer
Series: Elemental #2
Published by Kensington on August 28, 2012
Genres: Contemporary YA, Paranormal YA, Young Adult
Pages: 345
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
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Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally.

Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can’t. Like the fire that killed his parents.

Gabriel has always had his brothers to rely on, especially his twin, Nick. But when an arsonist starts wreaking havoc on their town, all the signs point to Gabriel. Only he’s not doing it.

More than Gabriel’s pride is at stake — this could cost him his family, maybe his life. And no one seems to hear him. Except a shy sophomore named Layne, a brainiac who dresses in turtlenecks and jeans and keeps him totally off balance. Layne understands family problems, and she understands secrets. She has a few of her own.

Gabriel can’t let her guess about his brothers, about his abilities, about the danger that’s right at his heels. But there are some risks he can’t help taking.

The fuse is lit…

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , ,

Book Review | Don’t You Wish | Roxanne St. Claire

Sep 7

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Don’t You Wish | Roxanne St. ClaireDon't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire
Published by Delacorte on July 10, 2012
Genres: Contemporary YA, Time Travel
Pages: 357
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad’s whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she’s Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she’s the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilarating . . . and illegal. Here she’s got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she’s ever seen.

But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she’s offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn’t as simple as you think.

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Filed Under: Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , ,

Book Review | Pushing the Limits | Katie McGarry

Aug 31

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | Pushing the Limits | Katie McGarryPushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #1
Published by Harlequin Teen on July 31, 2012
Genres: Contemporary YA, Relationships, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 392
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

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Filed Under: 2012 Reading Challenge, Reviews, Young Adult Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Book Review | Small Damages | Beth Kephart

Aug 24
Book Review | Small Damages | Beth KephartSmall Damages by Beth Kephart
Published by Philomel on July 19, 2012
Genres: Contemporary YA, Pregnancy, Young Adult
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought it
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
four-stars

It’s senior year, and while Kenzie should be looking forward to prom and starting college in the fall, she is mourning the loss of her father. She finds solace in the one person she trusts, her boyfriend, and she soon finds herself pregnant. Kenzie’s boyfriend and mother do not understand her determination to keep the baby. She is sent to southern Spain for the summer, where she will live out her pregnancy as a cook’s assistant on a bull ranch, and her baby will be adopted by a Spanish couple.

Alone and resentful in a foreign country, Kenzie is at first sullen and difficult. She begins to open her eyes and her heart to the beauty that is all around her and inside of her.

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