Charlotte's Library

Steel Lily by Megan Curd Source:  Received a copy from author in exchange for an honest review, no compensation. Release date:  August 12th, 2013 Edition:  Ebook Genre:  Young Adult/Fiction/Dystopia Rating:  Brittany: 5/5               Michelle: 4.5/5 Synopsis via Goodreads:  AVERY PIKE is a commodity. No, more than a commodity. Her existence is guarded at all costs. She’s a water Elementalist, the strongest of her dwindling kind. She creates steam to provide energy to fuel Dome Four: the only thing standing between humanity and an earth ravaged by World War III. No steam, no Dome. No Dome, no life. Or so she thinks. That is, until a mysterious man offers her a way out of having to donate steam. A way to escape the corrupt government of Dome Four. While the offer seems too good to be true, Avery is intrigued. But when she arrives to her new home, she realizes the grass isn’t any less dead on this side of the fence. ...

Kiss Me, Kill Me written by Lauren Henderson While I am not a fan of the marketing angle taken from this book (Really? A book called " Kiss Me, Kill Me" with a trashy romance novel cover?), I will concede that it wasn't the story I expected. I thought it would be mindless trashy romance, and for that reason, it took me a while to get into the story. I was thankfully proven wrong. Kiss Me, Kill Me is much more an action/mystery novel than a romance novel, sort of Ally Carter with a regrettable little bit of Gossip Girl mixed in. Some of the storytelling was a little bit shaky, not too compelling, focusing a little more on the life of a rich socialite than anything else, but overall, I was pleasantly surprised. I was, yet again, disappointed to see that the story was stretched out to fit a series, but like Ally Carter said at LitDay, if a series is going to be stretched out, romance cannot be the driving force, and I'm glad Lauren Henderson took that route in h...

I have a large backlog of reviews that need to be written, so I'm knocking out a bunch by featuring a specific author today. :) Nancy Werlin! Are You Alone on Purpose? This was Nancy Werlin's first book, which is glaringly obvious in some ways, as her writing has drastically improved since this book's publication. Instead of the supernatural books she's recently been putting out, this squarely fits into the realistic YA box. The book itself pushes the envelope, even looking at the title, with more provocative language than you'd see in many books. It all serves an important purpose (no pointless swearing or anything like that), and in the end, emphasizes the importance of certain scenes with that content, making it far more realistic than many YA books on the market. I spent a great deal of time while reading this book thinking about how drama-starved we are as readers. Werlin's book moves along at a slow pace, I will say that, but it depicts the average ...

Matched written by Ally Condie Seriously, if I read one more YA dystopian novel where a significant plot rotates around a love triangle... This felt like reading The Hunger Games all over again, except where Suzanne Collins made the vital distinction of making it a survival story first, romance second, Condie did not. This book certainly focuses on a fascinating premise--what would living in a utopian society where each citizen's life was meticulously planned out be like, and what would its eventual downfall be? The book capitalizes on the "matching" phenomenon of the society intensely, this idea that a government would determine an individual's perfect romantic match. Most other aspects unfortunately fall to the wayside. There are hints of a brewing revolution, cracks in the system, but nothing comes to fruition until the last few chapters. Matched would have been a much more interesting book if the main story focused on the societal flaws and brewing revolut...

The Last Little Blue Envelope written by Maureen Johnson I always thought the prequel was awkward and over-romanticized. I felt like I was reading a travel guide rather than a YA novel. Even from the start of this book, though, I could tell that Maureen has had time to develop her voice as a writer, and I found the sequel to be much more enjoyable than its predecessor. I loved the little added twist known as Oliver who was added to the story of the 13 th envelope. He was a great addition to the quirky little cast of characters Maureen had previously set up. This book managed to pick up plot details that were left unsolved in the previous book, which made for a thoroughly satisfying conclusion. I ended up completely loving the sequel, and I’m incredibly glad Maureen decided to give it another shot. Totally worth it. Rating: 5/5 I got this book from...: Amazon

So Much Closer written by Susane Colasanti I love Susane Colasanti's books, as I've mentioned in previous reviews. It is so evident through her writing that she has worked with teens and really understands them. The characters she creates are realistic and complex, rather than shallow caricatures. Having read her blog, this book reads as the epitome of all that she is. Set against a New York backdrop, filled with cute teen romance and more references to The Office than you've ever seen in a book before, So Much Closer is sure to satisfy your need for fluffy romance accompanied by a journey of self-discovery. Colasanti's books are mature and subtly complex. You can read them as simple love stories if that's what you're in the mood for, but there's so much more hidden under the surface. Though on the surface, it might seem like this is a book about a girl moving to New York City chasing the boy of her dreams, beneath that, it's about a girl learnin...

Shine written by Lauren Myracle Lauren Myracle is back with a dark mystery, revolving around a hate crime in a small, Southern town. It's really amazing to see the tremendous scope of writing Myracle is capable of--from lighthearted teen girl drama in the Internet Girls series, to the horror story in Bliss , to this new mystery. Personally, I think she should stick with the latter two, as there are so few writers out there capable of pulling off such captivating, deep writing so well. I've owned this book for a while, but it wasn't until the recent kerfuffle with the Wall Street Journal article that I decided to read the book. The article singled out Myracle's novel for its content, claiming that it is too dark for teen readers. While there are more drug references than you'll find in most other YA novels, I actually learned that meth use/abuse is pretty rampant in small Southern towns, which I never knew before. It becomes a key factor in the events of the st...

Abandon written by Meg Cabot I never thought this day would come. The day I got tired of Meg Cabot's writing tropes. Maybe it says more about me than anything else, which is a scary thought, since she's the one who really launched my love of YA, but it's a scary day, no doubt. Ordinarily, there's some kind of extra spark, something beyond the typical Cabot love story, but I just wasn't feeling it this time. Part of it can be attributed to the same complaint I've addressed towards other books recently--dragging a book out to fit a series, rather than fitting the story into however many books it needs. I felt like this book moved along much slower than the typical Cabot book. The other thing I felt was similarities here and there between this adaptation of the myth of Persephone...and Cabot's other mythical adaption--found in Avalon High . Avalon High is one of my favorite books by Meg Cabot, and that would probably be due to the fact that it is extr...

Bumped written by Megan McCafferty I have no gripe with the plot of this book, nor the characters. I thought the alternate futuristic vision of a teenage pregnancy obsessed universe was fascinating, and masterfully developed by McCafferty. This was a good book on every account but one--the fact that it, like many others we are seeing nowadays, is regrettably not a standalone book. The story is laid out, and most major plot threads are resolved. Done with. So why is it that the author/publisher seem to think there is more to tell? I'd much rather be talking about the social and political significance of a novel such as this, but apparently, the story this book set out to tell isn't complete, so instead, I'm sitting here, complaining about the fact that the story isn't done, even though it should be. This story would have worked well as a stand-alone. As more than one book though? No way. The only story left to tell is overly-contrived and pointlessly drawn out....

Shiver Written by Maggie Stiefvater I've had this book on my to-read list since it first came out with rave reviews. I never really picked up on the fact that it was about (were)wolves. That right there should have been my first hint of distaste. Everything in the YA literary world now seems to be compared to Twilight , which did seem to relaunch the "paranormal romance" genre, and I hate to go back to that old trope, but let me just say that while the writing was arguably better than Stephenie Meyer's, Maggie Stiefvater's Grace and Sam made Bella and Edward's relationship seem safe. Other reviewers have pointed out that the writing was overly descriptive, and I do agree with them on that point. The story took a very long time to get to a point (this seems to be a Thing nowadays. Why are so many authors gravitating towards writing trilogies and unnecessarily stretching stories thin?) and once it did, the explanations were lacking. Like I'd mentioned...

The Ghosts of Ashbury High written by Jaclyn Moriarty I had read and enjoyed Jaclyn Moriarty's The Year of Secret Assignments many years ago, and, since then, had also read all of her other books. In preparation for The Ghosts of Ashbury High , I decided to reread her previous books, all set in Ashbury High. The thing you have to love about Moriarty's books is her ability to interweave plots but still have each story definitely hold its own. Characters from one story will unexpectedly cameo (or even play a large role) in the next. Bindy Mackenzie, annoying transcriber from The Year of Secret Assignments suddenly has her own books, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie. This book goes back to featuring some of our favorite characters from The Year of Secret Assignments , but throws two new characters in the mix, Amelia and Riley. Amelia and Riley have a strange air of mystery around them, throwing the school into mass speculation and rumors of ghosts in their midst. This is the...

Anna and the French Kiss written by Stephanie Perkins I picked this book up after many mentions by John Green in his popular vlogbrothers videos. I figured, hey, a new YA novel, highly recommended by an awesome author? Sure, I'll give it a try. The writing in this novel is spectacular, I'll give it that. As John Green said, it is like his and Maureen Johnson's writing had a baby, and that baby was this book. However, when it comes to the story itself, I wasn't thrilled. Don't get me wrong, it was a cute story, but good? Meh. Anna and the French Kiss falls back on typical YA tropes, and maybe I just read too much YA lit, but really? A French boarding school with a hot guy who just happens to have a British accent? It's starting to sound plot-wise like the very Nicholas Sparks (I'm assuming it was Nicholas Sparks, although I could be wrong) novels Anna makes fun of. I felt like too much of the focus was on the love trianglequadranglepolygonthing,...

currently reading: Dragon Rider -Cornelia Funke want to read: What else, Mockingjay ! reading next: Probably going to reread the first two Hunger Games books Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie written by David Lubar As always, it's really great to see realistic YA geared towards high school boys, about a high school boy who doesn't quite fit in and is just learning his way around the ways of his new high school and in a way, his new life. If you're a reader in high school, or about to enter high school, it's a neat look at a little bit of what high school life might be like, and if you're out of high school, well, it's a good reminder of a place you are probably really glad to be rid of. I've read books about awkward girls and popular girls in high school, but other than John Green's books, it's a rarity to read about a regular, albeit slightly-awkward, young boy maneuvering through high school. To me, this was a boy-version of The Princess Diaries , wi...

Kissing Kate written by Lauren Myracle I suppose this is one of the very few LGBT young adult books I've read, and like any other book, it had its strengths and weaknesses. The thing that definitely stuck out with this book was the vital element of realism. The moments described in the book are very down-to-earth, honest moments that teenagers experience, no matter their orientation. One of the things I didn't really like about Lauren Myracle's Internet Girls series was that, while funny and good reads, they were nothing like what I experienced during my teenage years. Moments of that series were extremely overdone and overdramatic. Kissing Kate was more down-to-earth and, in my opinion, a more genuine portrayal of the average teen's life. On the other hand, while being honest and down-to-earth, this was definitely a unique book in terms of content. It was one of the earlier mainstream LGBT YA books out there, and it goes more in depth covering the full length of...

Get Well Soon written by Julie Halpern You all know how much I adore books that address teenagers dealing with mental illness, so it's no surprise that this book struck such a chord with me. It greatly helped that it was also written in epistolary form, and if there's any form of book I love most, it's by far epistolary. I love letters, I love writing letters, I love getting letters (who doesn't?), and I love the small glimpse I get of another person's life by reading letters, even if they happen to be fictional. I had read this book and Ned Vizzini's wonderful It's Kind of a Funny Story around the same time, and they are the only two YA novels I've read that do take place in a psychiatric hospital ward. Vizzini's novel appealed to me more, but I was really glad I got the chance to read Halpern's as well. She brings up some really great points throughout the novel, such as the idea of eliminating stereotypes. Her character, Anna, finds her...

currently reading: The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner want to read: Mockingjay , by Suzanne Collins Once Was Lost written by Sara Zarr I was really glad to see a religious YA book, but not at all religious in the traditional sense. There is nothing preachy about this novel. It's a beautiful story about a girl struggling to find her sense of place in her religious community, trying to figure out how to juggle a life, religious and otherwise, while having to be the preacher's daughter required to appear with a sort of socially preconceived demeanor. It's laughable to think that teenagers don't struggle with religion. The teenage years are when kids grow up and begin to really think for themselves, and begin their own religious journeys as opposed to the ones their parents simply brought them into. I'm really glad that Sara Zarr wrote such an open, honest book about how a teenager deals with those questions and developing that religious identity. She does so in a...

Wherever Nina Lies written by Lynn Weingarten If there's one thing I've got to say about this book, it's that it's misleading marketed. Look at the cover. Does it scream "plot-twisty horror thriller" to you? The cut-out ransom letters do look suspicious, but the color-scheme just makes the book look like another fluffy teen YA. NOT SO. (Although I actually do really love the cover, I just find it misleading.) I'm in no way saying that John Green's Paper Towns was a gender-specific book, but this really read like a version of Paper Towns (plus creepyness) written specifically for girls. You have the John Green-esque road trip combined with really great writing, throw in a spooky disappearance, and you get this fantastic book. So, you know, it's late at night and I sit down to read some fluff fiction. This story ends with me staying up far too late, scared out of my mind, but absolutely unable to put the book down. It delves right in to...

What Happened to Cass McBride? written by Gail Giles The only strength What Happened to Cass McBride ? had was its writing. Everything else was utter garbage, especially the plot. Let's do the good first, before we get to my massive list of complaints, shall we? The writing style was very unique, dotted with cutesy little phrases here and there, making for a poetic read. Other than that, the only other thing I can positively remark on was my like of the fonts that allowed for easy differentiation between characters. Alright, so, the negatives. First of all, this is a murder mystery of sorts. So it's very strange that the story is set up in such a way that the reader knows pretty much all along who the culprit is, instead of finding out at the very end. Most of the plot is laid out very early on, which eliminates a lot of the drama and suspense that a good murder mystery should, in my opinion, contain. I'm sure it was done to set the book apart from others in the ...

Runaway written by YA writing goddess Meg Cabot Man, I missed Meg! I was so excited to see what would happen in the final installment of this series, especially with the semi-cliffhangery ending of the 2nd book. It wasn't one of my favorite series by Cabot, not by far, but it held my interest, and I did keep reading, and I'm glad I did so. Right off the bat, my first thoughts before reading were a hope and a prayer that Meg would include Christopher through the whole book, instead of just bringing him in for a satisfying romantic conclusion, and I was very glad to see this hope come true, as he is my favorite character of the series. I did feel that he acted strangely out of character at random times, but it was still nice to see more of him, and I liked how his and Em's relationship evolved and grew through the duration of the novel. Overall, it was a good novel, I was glad to see it be very high-paced. I wasn't really a fan of everyone randomly pairing up at th...

By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead written by Julie Anne Peters It is kind of difficult to review this one without touching on what happens at the end, so read at your own risk, I suppose? I kind of have a thing for books with characters dealing with depression and other mental illnesses, since I have seen so many people go through similar situations. I am really glad to see the genre rising in popularity, written both well and not-so-well. It's amazing (and at the same time, sad) to see how an author can put themselves into that kind of mindset and come out with a great work of fiction. My point, I suppose, is that these books are what teens need, just as there's recently been an explosion of fiction featuring LGBTQ teens , teens have to know that there are others, even if they just exist in a book, dealing with similar issues, reassuring the readers that there is still hope. While Julie Anne Peters writes an incredibly touching story about a teenage girl struggl...