Now I Know My ABC's

When my dad bought me The Abc's of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro (I have no idea why he didn't mock me for picking out a book with such a girly title), I expected it to be some superficial story that only the likes of Hannah Montana wanna-bes would enjoy. Maybe Disney brainwashed me. Or, maybe I was wrong.

Parker Stanhope is in a bad position. Beginning her junior year, she expects to remain semi-popular and make the varsity soccer team. Imagine her horror when she is only one of two JV players who, well, remain JV players. A junior on the JV team? Parker knew this was the social equivalent to leprosy even before her Queen-B friends begin to ditch her. That's when Parker thinks of the plan.

Her plan involves her older brother's god-like friend, Luke, and the varsity team's kissing booth. But in order to fool her coach and ex-teammates into believing that Luke would really pay $300 to kiss Parker, and ultimately buying her way onto the varsity team, she has to make the kiss look believable. Here's the catch. While she may be a solid soccer player, she is less than solid at kissing. So, she decides to 'take lessons' from her freshman neighbor, Tristan. And to make things even more intense, both Tristan and Parker's families are feuding in a battle comparable to the Montague's and Capulet's.

I think you can understand what's happening, especially with the Romeo and Juliet reference thrown in there. But is Parker willing to risk whatever is left of her reputation for a freshman? Are you willing to go out and buy this book to find out?

Although there were some spots that were utterly predictable, ABC's is a fun, surprisingly deep book. The dialogue between Parker and Tristan will have you smiling, or maybe even giggling, to yourself. I agree with this review, and give it a three and a half out of five. If you're looking for a new, easy read that won't kill off all your brain cells, then this is a great read.

A Blast To The Past

As I was watching the Oscars and looking at all the movies from 2008, I reminisced on all the great books from 2008. So here you go, my top picks from last year!

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

A captivating science fiction thriller from the author of the ever popular Twilight series. Parasites have taken over Earth, and have inserted themselves into the minds of humans...literally. But some people have overcome the force of the invaders and are beginning to rebel. Can both entities cope together in only one body?

The Fortunes of Indigo Skye by Deb Caletti.

Indigo is a normal teenage girl, dealing with her own problems. She's a waitress at a diner where she knows almost everyone and they know her. One day, a stranger walks into the restaurant, and after Indigo warns him not to smoke cigarettes, the man opens up to her and begins to talk to her. After their conversation, he leaves a tip for her. A two and a half million dollar tip. Now, Indigo has to cope with all the challenges and responsibilities that it takes to keep the money while still trying to remain true to herself.

The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

For the people interested in the supernatural, it's a great book. Clary Fray lives an ordinary life, until she sees a group of teenagers killing a demon. As if that wasn't weird enough, she finds out that she's the only person who can see them. After her mother mysteriously disappears, Clary learns that she's a demon slayer, or Shadowhunter. Throw in some werewolves, vampires, and a love triangle, and you've got yourself a fantastic read!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Set sometime in the future, this is a chilling post-apocalyptic read about the new United States, known as Panem, and the yearly hunger game. The hunger games is a reality TV show in which two contestants are selected from each of the 12 districts in Panem. The 24 contestants are sent into an isolated place called the 'arena', where they are forced to fight each other. The winner earns a life of ease and comfort, while the losers are rewarded with death. The book centers around a girl named Katniss who volunteers to participate in the hunger games instead of her sister, whose name was drawn. Katniss must use all of her strength to outsmart the other contestants and make it out as the winner...and the survivor.

To see more fantastic books from 2008, check out the American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults. I hope you find something that will satisfy your taste in books!

Nina May Lie, But This Book Doesn't

Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten, is more or less a thriller. Now, I didn't know this before I bought the book, so I was quite shocked as I began to read on. The description on the inside jacket sounded interesting enough; girl disappears, sister goes looking for girl, mystery mixed with suspense and romance. But one can never judge a book by its description.

Ellie's sister, Nina, disappeared without leaving so much as a note or hint as to where she went. Two years later, everyone has given up hope on finding Nina. Everyone except Ellie. Soon after, Ellie finds an old drawing of Nina's that has a phone number written on it. Ellie follows clue after clue, embarking upon a strange journey away from home. She meets the even more intriguing Sean, who volunteers to assist Ellie in her search. Together, they search for the truth about what really happened to Nina. But people are deceiving, and Ellie soon finds out that she has gotten herself into a bigger mess than she ever expected.

My first impression of this was that it was going to be a typical teen novel. You know, girl goes on journey, falls in love with boy, and then undergoes growth in some way. That all happened in this book, but there was such a big plot twist at the end, that even I was taken by surprise. I started reading it, almost unwillingly because I thought I already knew the outcome. But after the first chapters, I couldn't put the book down. It's well written for it being Weingarten's debut, but there are some parts that are stretched to the point of absurdity. I agree with this review here, and give the book a four out of five stars. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a shocking new book to read.

Yet Another Vampire Series

Bored of the ever popular Twilight, but not of the idea of vampires roaming undetected amongst us mere humans? Well, then the Blue Blood series by Melissa de la Cruz may be the perfect read for you.

Blue Bloods, Masquerade, and the newly released Revelations center around a group of posh New Yorkers attending a private school. Sound cliche? Wait for the twist. They're part of a prestigious clan of born again vampires. They were also originally fallen angels. Is that captivating enough for you?

To add to the drama of being a teenage vampire, one of the main characters, Schuyler (pronounced Skyler) is an outcast who is suddenly cast into the spotlight when her family's secrets are revealed. One by one, her fellow Blue Bloods are attacked and killed by an unknown entity, and it's up to her and her odd assortment of friends to figure out just exactly who, or what, is committing the worst crime of Blue Blood history.

These books aren't bad, they just aren't the best. If you're actually looking for a good vampire thriller, then you might be disappointed in Blue Bloods. Drama, fashion, romance, and teenaged stereotypes are thrown in, making it more like a juicy WGN hit show than anything else. The first book was catchy enough, but as the series progressed, the attempt at including historical and biblical facts was confusing and made me want to just skip past certain chapters. If you're not looking for a hard read, but want something a shade more scary than Twilight, then go buy this series at your local bookstore or online:

Blue Bloods Masquerade Revelations

Beautiful Americans

When you think of Paris, I bet the first thing that comes to your mind isn't a group of four American teenagers. In Beautiful Americans by Lucy Silag, a group of high school students have the opportunity to study abroad in none other than the city of love. Everyone has a secret; some are just more scandalous than others.

The book follows four main characters. First, there's Alex, the spoiled New York girl who thinks she can take Paris by storm. But when things don't go her way, she might just do anything to get it all back. Enter her 'best friend' Zack, a not out of the closet gay, who is only too willing to help Alex with her crimes. Then there's Penelope Jane, aka PJ. She's running from her problems at home (which aren't even revealed until the last chapter) and ends up running away from the program. Lastly, there's Olivia, the dancer from sunny California. Her dream is to get a scholarship at UCLA, but when she's given another opportunity, she may just go against her parents' wishes.


The book changes narrator chapter by chapter, allowing the reader to have a glimpse into the lives of each character. It's fine at first, but as the book goes on, chunks of the story are left out because of this gap. To add to that, the character's voices all seem the same, making the story line confusing if you don't pay attention. The characters throw around French phrases, which adds to the whole setting, but there's no English translation. I was more than lost at a few parts. Overall, the whole idea was entertaining, but you could tell that it was Silag's first book by the way it was almost forced into a cliffhanger. I'll be looking out for the next book, which will hopefully make up for this half-hearted attempt. If you want to know more, this review goes into more detail.

A Hundred Years Before Gossip Girl

Ever wondered what Gossip Girl would be like in the late 1800's? The Luxe by Anna Godbersen is everything that Gossip Girl is, but set in the time period of 1899 Manhattan. If you thought the people back then were all prim and proper, then think again.

The story follows several socialites and their rise (and fall) to fame. First, there are the ruling Holland sisters, whom you can't help but side with throughout the whole book. The eldest, Elizabeth, sets the plot when she goes missing. The gossip columns proclaim her as dead, but there's more than meets the eye.

Enter the misleading best friend. When Elizabeth goes missing, Penelope plays the perfect role of the grief stricken friend. But in this book, everyone has a juicy secret. Whether it's the annoyingly jealous maid, or the spirited younger Holland, the book will have you on the edge of your seat.

I read this book a few months ago, and I was immediately hooked. I'm a big Gossip Girl fan, and this is much more entertaining than the normal high school drama. The fact that it takes place in 1899 gives it a unique twist, and the characters are so life like that it's impossible to not want more. The only bad thing is that the ending is a cliffhanger. I had to wait a while for the second book, Rumors, to come out so I could pick up where the story had abruptly ended. If you don't mind the suspense, then this book is a great guilty pleasure when you're not in the mood for a predictable 21st century high school story.

Read The Luxe and Rumors? Be sure to check out the newest book, Envy, now in a bookstore near you.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Don't be fooled by the long and wordy title; this book is a fast paced adventure that will keep you hooked. The setting is at a fancy boarding school where secret societies lurk undetected by most students. It is here that the main protagonist, Frankie Landau-Banks, decides to take matters into her own scheming hands. When her popular senior boyfriend begins to cancel all of their plans to hang out with his friends, Frankie gets suspicious.

After following him and remembering stories from her alum father, she finds out about the all-male society called The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. Sounds puerile, doesn't it? Well, it is. There really isn't any point to the Order, as far as I could tell. Their whole purpose was basically just to see how many rules they could break doing stupid things such as painting the statue in front of the school. Although there were a few confusing parts, the whole idea was mildly entertaining.

Frankie gets annoyed at the lack of girl power in the Order. So, she hatches an evil plan that essentially allows her to get unknowing control over the society. I had to admire Frankie's intelligence, even though I didn't like her annoyingly critical self. Long story short, things didn't work out the way she wanted, but I'm not going to spoil the rather unexpected ending.

Want a full review? This review gives a more in depth summary of the book. I agree with the author of the review that the novel is mainly about how Frankie's only crime is outsmarting boys. The author, E. Lockhart, outdid herself with a book brimming with all the possible potential that a girl could have. Guys may not find that appealing in a book, but the pranks and witty commentary are enough to grab anyone's interest. All in all, I'd give it a four out of five stars.

More Historical Fiction!

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner takes place in 1789 France. It tells the story of an orphaned boy named Yann Margoza, who can read minds and imitate any voice. He is raised by a dwarf named Têtu and together they work for a magician. But when they are summoned for a performance at the sinister Count Kalliovski's, the night only ends with the mysterious murder of the magician. That night, Yann meets Sido, the daughter of a foolish aristocrat. Sido helps Yann escape the treacherous Count, and they part ways only to meet again a few years later. As the story goes on, Sido is in danger of being killed during the Reign of Terror, and it's up to Yann to save her while also trying to solve the mystery that has been shrouding him since the day he was born.

It's a story of suspense, magic, action, and a hint of romance. I didn't know if I'd like it or not because it's historical fiction, and I usually think historical fiction is boring. But it's packed with sudden plot twists and every character has some form of secret. Even if you too have doubts about historical fiction, you should pick this book up in your free time. You won't regret it!

Read some more reviews here.