The Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers by Lynn Weingarten

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What could be worse than being dumped? How about pining all summer for your boyfriend, and then being dumped as soon as he gets back on the first day of school. So Lucy is having the worst first day of school, when she gets an intriguing offer. Three beautiful and charismatic girls offer Lucy a way to heal her broken heart and gain real power. All she has to do is make someone fall in love with her and then break that person’s heart in the next seven days.

The premise of the book did not sound good to me, but I liked Weingarten’s last book “Wherever Nina Lies” so I gave this one a chance. It was surprisingly good. The characters are all believable, and there is some great advice about self-perception, popularity, and guys. The ending is a little sad, but overall I like the story. At different parts of the book you are not sure if Lucy’s new friends are good guys or bad guys. It makes for an interesting read. I would recommend this for girls who like humor, and romance.

Sparks: the Epic, Completely True Blue, (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie by S.J. Adams

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Debbie is a girl with a secret. When that secret is threatened she finds herself thinking about the kind of person she is and what she can do about it. At a loss, she starts a holy quest with some new friends to save a friend from Norman, the most BORING human on the earth, and to find true love.

This book was not what I thought it was going to be. I loved the cover; started reading it without knowing what I was getting into; and could not put it down. I’m not sure what I thought it would be about, but I really liked the book. Debbie has been in love with her best girl friends since sixth grade. When her friend is about to go All The Way with Norman, she feels like she needs to declare her love and hope for the best. To help her out her new friends take her on a holy quest. It’s a great story and I would recommend it to guys and girls looking for a positive story with a gay main character, or to anyone who likes to laugh their butts off.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

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Mia is a beautiful and talented girl. She has a great family, wonderful friends, and a boyfriend who she loves. Everything is going great until an accident puts her somewhere between life and death. Now the only thing left for her to do is decide if she will stay or die.


I usually don't like sad stories, but I loved this. Even with all of the tragedy and drama the book is full of hope. The characters all read true, and the story is believable. There's no white light or flashes of what like might be after death. You get to see what Mia sees and hears while she’s in the hospital bed. You get to live her memories and you get to understand the decision she makes. It’s an amazing story I would recommend to readers 14 and up. Mia is a character who is almost eighteen and she is dealing with life decisions that I think might be hard for younger readers to understand. The romance is not explicit but is more mature than younger readers might be ready for. An excellent book!

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

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This is the sequel to The Maze Runner.  I loved the book.  It has complex characters (including some new people), betrayal, danger, action, and a serious mystery.   This book is about as close to the Hunger Games as you’re going to get these days.  I’m hoping that this will just be a trilogy and that all of the answers will be revealed in the next book.  This book is a must read.  I recommend it for mature 12 year olds and older.  There is a little romance, and lots of violence.   It’s a great survival story and those are my favorite!   

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

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Lena is about to turn 18 and have the surgery that will cure her disease. Everyone gets the surgery so that they will never be afflicted with love. Love is the most insidious disease of them all, because once you have you it; you don’t want to be cured. Everything is going as planned until she falls victim to the disease. Now she will do anything to stay with the guy she loves.

Set in the distant future the government has decided that once cured of love people are more docile and productive. The surgery is compulsory and if you don’t do it you become an invalid. You are no longer part of society, and you are on the run from the law. The book had some interesting ideas, but it’s a romance from start to finish. I never felt much for any of the characters and I wouldn’t say this is a must read. I know a lot of other people who really like the book, but it just wasn’t for me. Maybe because the hype built it up so much, I was expecting more so I was disappointed with the book. I would have liked a little more about the supporting characters, and some background on the society. This is not a book for Hunger Games fans. The action is limited, and the romance is not exciting. I would say for ages 13 and up based on the romance towards the end of the book.

A Kiss In Time by Alex Flinn

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This is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.  Sleeping Beauty is a brat because her parents keep her in the lap of luxury in the palace.  They are so afraid of the curse she can't leave the palace, and has no friends.  So it's no surprise that she ignores the rules, wanders where she is not supposed to be and pricks her finger on a spindle.  Fast forward 300 years and she is found not by a handsome prince, but by a regular guy doing a summer tour of Europe.  She goes to live in his house and the story unfolds.

I was expecting a lot more because I liked Beastly so much, so I was a little underwhelmed.  I didn't really like or feel a connection with any of the characters and the reaction of the parents in the story did not read true at all.  The book was not for me, but it is well written and if you like fairy tale retellings you might enjoy it.

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon

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Rene is a typical California girl. Her long hair is wild, she loves the beach, and she wears cut offs and flip flops every day. Her parents are amazing, and her life is a happy one. On her sixteenth birthday everything she knows changes. After a tragedy befalls her parents she is sent to live with her grandfather in Maine, then later to a boarding school. When strange things start happening to the students in the school Rene tries to understand what is happening and help.


The story is a romance. She meets a boy on her first day at school, and they have a kind of love/hate relationship that soon turns to just love. It is a little reminiscent of Twilight with the boy who likes her so much he needs to stay away. Rene is a strong character who tries to solve a mystery and be kind to everyone. I liked the story and would recommend it to girls who like supernatural romances. It’s an interesting take on the genre. Romance is kept PG13, no cursing.

Crave by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

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Shay is the Sick Girl. She can’t do anything that her friends can do. She can barely make it through a whole week of school before she needs another blood transfusion. She was born sick and it continues to get worse. When her stepfather adds something to her transfusion, she starts feeling stronger and more willful. She loves the new transfusions because she is stronger, but also because she starts having visions of Gabriel. She sees his life and she wants more. What is in the new blood transfusions and who is Gabriel? When Shay starts looking for answers she never expects what she finds.


This was a fun read. I knocked it out in one day and I liked it. There is a little romance, some teen angst, and a very interesting take on an old story. Twilight fans will like this book. (It’s better written than Twilight but just as readable.) This first book has set up a squeal that I’m sure we will be seeing soon. I recommend this to anyone who liked Twilight and to anyone who likes supernatural romances. There is some drug use, drinking, and sex so it’s not for everyone, but it’s a good and compelling read that kept me up past my bedtime to get to the end of the story.

Girl Parts by John M. Cusick

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How many friends do you have on Facebook?  50?  100?  1000?  Can they sit with you at lunch? Can they give you a literal shoulder to cry on?  Are online friends as real as in the flesh friends?  This book gives a little glimpse into a very near future world.  The teens are dealing with the reality of a life lived mostly online.  

David and Charlie live in a nice town in nice houses.  They have parents and go to the same school.  David is super cool, has online friends, and in school friends.  Charlie likes to be alone all of the time.  According to the school shrink they both have the same problem, “dissociative disorder”.  The shrink prescribes a "Companion".  A realistic girl doll to help them learn to make human connections.  When Davids doll gets separated from him craziness ensues.  She meets Charlie who declined a Companion.  

I liked the book.  It is funny, insightful about the way that boys and girls misunderstand each other, and it gives guy readers a glimpse into the mind of girls.  (Here’s a hint; Even robot girls have feelings.)  I would recommend this to teen guys and girls.  There is some cursing, sexuality, and drinking.  So if that’s not for you don’t read it.  If you are mature enough to handle those things, read the book.  You will love it and you will laugh out loud. 

Check out this book trailer featuring the Author:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3vFUuHvvok

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan

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Bronwen is a rich girl in a rich town and she is convinced that she was switched at birth.  Her mother is polite, blonde, and focused on being perfect.  Bronwen is brunette,  likes reporting, and hates that her family never talks.  

The story starts with a prom night break up between Bronwen and her boyfriend Chad.  She meets Jared soon after that and they have a romance that really is True Love.  When he proposes it could be the start of a whole new life, with the family she always wanted.  Is it possible for all of your dreams to come true at age 18?  

I read this book in one night.  I loved the story and Bronwen’s sarcastic voice as she tells the story.  This would be a great mother daughter book club book because of the strained relationship between Bronwen and her mom.  If yo have ever had to make a decision about your future you will love this book.  It’s also a good read for girls who don’t understand what they might be giving up by being a couple.  This is a well written and insightful book, without preaching to the reader.   

The Turning Book 1: What Curiosity Kills by Helen Ellis

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“Don’t worry Kitty, There’s no such thing as vampires.”  This is a great opening line for a book...What follows is Mary’s story.  When the stray cat brushes her legs with his tail,, and she starts to sprout orange fur, she knows that something about her is different.  When Nick, the super hot guy from school, tries to explain everything to her, she is exposed to the dangerous world of stray cats and New York back alleys.  Twilight fans will like the undercurrent of romance, and girls will like the varied strong female characters.  Fans of the Erin Hunter Warriors Series and everyone who likes felines will like this take on cat fiction.  

This was an interesting book.  The end was fun and a little cute.  This book is a quick and interesting read.  I loved Ms. Whiskers and all of the librarians.  It seems like this will be a series, since this one is called “Book 1”.