Absent

Absent
by Katie Williams

Publication date: May 21, 2013

When seventeen-year-old Paige dies in a freak fall from the roof during Physics class, her spirit is bound to the grounds of her high school. At least she has company: her fellow ghosts Evan and Brooke, who also died there. But when Paige hears the rumor that her death wasn't an accident—that she supposedly jumped on purpose—she can't bear it. Then Paige discovers something amazing. She can possess living people when they think of her, and she can make them do almost anything. Maybe, just maybe, she can get to the most popular girl in school and stop the rumors once and for all. (description from Amazon.com)

This book is short, but very good. It doesn't flinch away from the harsh truth of death and how other people perceive you...or how you perceive them. This story feels really genuine. The teen ghosts' despondency, Paige's quest for justice, vengeance, and the way that she yearns for acknowledgment from beyond the grave will definitely pull in most readers. As each student, both the living and the dead, finally find what they need to move on, you will not be able to put the book down until the very end. I know I couldn't!

There is some drug related content and other mature themes, so this would not be a great book for young readers, but it is extremely well done in the way that it does handle the situations with drugs, hooking up, homosexuality, and suicide. 

Full disclosure: ARC received to review for SLJ

Anya's Ghost

Anya's Ghost
by Vera Brosgol

Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn’t kidding about the “Forever” part . . . Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who’s been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya’s normal life might actually be worse. She’s embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she’s pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend—even a ghost—is just what she needs. Or so she thinks. (description from Amazon.com)

This was a great graphic novel!
I loved the awesome drawing style (see!!)

Anya is Russian so she's curvy, much to her dismay. I loved that the author/artist drew her that way. I loved how she was also able to make Anya's ghost transform from a scared little girl who'd been locked away for so long, into a monster that is threatening Anya's very existence!

The storyline was also exciting and a great platform to make Anya appreciate not only her life, but herself so, SO much more. A really well done book!!

Populazzi Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Populazzi
by Elise Allen

Cara has never been one of those girls: confident, self-possessed, and always ready with the perfect thing to say. A girl at the very top of the popularity tower. One of the Populazzi.

Now, junior year could change everything. Cara’s moving to a new school, and her best friend urges her to seize the moment—with the help of the Ladder. Its rungs are relationships, and if Cara transforms into the perfect girlfriend for guys ever-higher on the tower, she’ll reach the ultimate goal: Supreme Populazzi.

The Ladder seems like a lighthearted social experiment, a straight climb up, but it quickly becomes gnarled and twisted. And when everything goes wrong, only the most audacious act Cara can think of has a chance of setting things even a little bit right. (description from Amazon.com)

A mostly hilarious (only slightly cringe-inducing) roller coaster ride through the rungs of popularity! Wow. Elise Allen nailed the clique scene at most high schools. You've got the populazzi (also known in popular culture as the perfects/the plastics/the elite/the upper eschelon), your cool outsiders, your cool club based cliques, your not so cool club based cliques, your fringe kids, and your dorks. Yup. It's all there and it's all realistic. I was amazed how quickly this book threw me right back in to my high school years...hence the cringes.

Allen's writing is fresh and fun. The cringes were all due to my memories, not the story, I promise! Though there are moments when I felt bad for Cara and her best friend Claudia...they just want to fit in sooo badly. I've totally been there. It takes a lot of guts to stand out and just be yourself. I have to say that some of my favorite characters in the book were the kids who just did that. They were just into what they were into and they didn't care what anyone else thought. Kudos! If we all could be that self possessed in high school the world would be a much better place!

Anyway, Cara's journey up the ladder to the populazzi is fun to read, funny, and rings totally true. The dialogue works, even in the quirky discussions where Shakespeare is sprinkled in, or kids randomly drop into song. The interactions between the teens absolutely reminded me of my high school years, including the embarrasing moments... I loved how Cara sees and experiences all different sections of the high school experience before figuring out where she really feels comfortable. It was a fun journey.

Want to climb the rungs of popularity to mingle with the populazzi? Enter to win a free, finished copy of Populazzi! Leave me a comment with your name and an email address before Monday, August 22nd. On Tues., August 23rd, I will randomly choose a winner and contact them for their address (must be US/Canada only per publisher, sorry!). Good luck!!!

Full disclosure: review copy received from publisher

The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie

The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie
by Jaclyn Moriarty
Companion book to The Year of Secret Assignments

Bindy Mackenzie is the smartest girl at Ashbury High. She memorizes class outlines to help her teachers. She records transcripts of everything said around her. She offers helpful critiques for her fellow students. And she wears crazy nail polish to show she's a free spirit.

But then Bindy's life begins to fall apart. She can't stop feeling sleepy and she fails an exam for the first time ever. And--worst of all--she just doesn't care. What could be the cause of all these strange events? Is it conspiracy? Is it madness? Is it . . . murder?

Lots of people hate Bindy Mackenzie--but who would actually want to kill her? The answer is in Bindy's transcripts. The detectives are her fellow students. But Bindy has made every one of them into an enemy . . . and time is running out. (description from Amazon.com)

As with The Year of Secret Assignments Moriarty's companion book is made up of letters...or in this case, memos. Here there are also emails, philosophical musings, and Bindy's favorite pastime...transcripts. I love getting to learn a story through people's written interactions. I think it's really interesting and fascinating in the modern world with so many possible forms of written interaction.

In fact, when I "read" this book, it was actually as an audio book and this is one case where I really feel that you get more out of reading the text. There were parts where the narrator had to emphasize words in strange ways in order to let the listener know that something was different in the written form, but she could not explain it. It definitely felt in spots like you were missing a whole layer to the story. I actually ended up picking up the book afterwards to flip through and visually explore the text.

Anyway, the story ended up being fascinating. After I got past my slight confusion at the beginning of the text and after I got past Bindy's slightly overbearing personality, I got totally sucked into the plot. As more and more was revealed about Bindy's life, her relationship with fellow students, her secrets, I became enthralled. From the outside, I was as put off as her fellow classmates, but once I'd gotten her back story, once she'd opened up, I actually empathized a lot with Bindy. I remember quite a few times that my reactions to classmates and groups were just the same as hers. I hope I wasn't quite as superior sounding!

With the way that Bindy appears to be slowly losing her mind - a stress induced condition - it was really, really intriguing to consider the possibility that Bindy might actually be in danger. That someone wants to kill her. I loved how it all wound together in the end. The way that her classmates and family end up helping Bindy was really satisfying, too. Very well done.

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ

The Queen Bee of Bridgeton

The Queen Bee of Bridgeton
by Leslie DuBois
Dancing Dream series, book one

When fifteen-year-old Sonya Garrison is accepted into the prestigious Bridgeton Academy, she soon discovers that rich girls are just as dangerous as the thugs in her home of Venton Heights. Maybe more so. After catching the eye of the star, white basketball player and unwittingly becoming the most popular girl in school, she earns the hatred of the three most ruthless and vindictive girls at Bridgeton. Can she defeat the reigning high school royalty? Or will they succeed in ruining her lifelong dream of becoming a world class dancer? (description taken from Amazon.com)

This was the story of a driven, passionate girl who hopes that her dancing can take her out of the ghetto. Sonya is a strong, compassionate, hopeful girl...and a great character to read about. Her motives are always clear and honorable, her passion for dancing is palpable, and her longing to be accepted and loved is heartbreaking.

Sonya begins to dance at age 8 and by the time she is 16, her dream is to attend a prestigious dance school in Rome to help her career as a professional ballerina. The dancing scenes were lovely, full of terminology, but never confusing, and solidly illustrating how devoted Sonya is to her dancing. Even when she begins dating a very intriguing boy, she never truly loses sight of her dancing dreams. Her passion even inspires those around her to become better people.

The juxtaposition of the Bridgeton Academy and Sonya and Sasha's roach-ridden apartment life in Venton Heights perfectly illustrates why both Sonya and Sasha have developed into the girls that they are, both driven to leave the ghetto behind, and why they will never truly be accepted at Bridgeton if anyone learns of where they live. It's sad to realize that race is still an issue and it's good that those feelings, of not being white enough, of not being black enough, are explored in books like this one. It really made me smile when Sonya realized that not everyone would judge her because of where she grew up...that she could be accepted for exactly who she was as a person. :)

I cannot wait to see what happens to Sonya next - where her dancing can truly take her!

Full disclosure: E-book provided by the author for review

Three Quarters Dead

Three Quarters Dead
by Richard Peck

Kerry is chosen by the coolest clique in school and so she thinks life has finally begun. But then it seems all over when her three friends are killed in a shocking car accident. Or are they? Only weeks after the accident, Kerry receives a text from one of the girls: We're all 3 here at my aunt's in the city. Take the 3:50 train. B there.
(description taken from Amazon.com)

This book made me angry. Kerry made me angry. I wanted to reach through my stereo and shake her. The worst part...some of my anger stemmed from the fact that I'm pretty sure I might have behaved just like she did when I was still in high school. For that, I give Peck major kudos. He has tapped into some real feelings, some real clique scenarios from teen life.

I still want to throttle Kerry, though. She is SUCH a pushover. Even in the conclusion of the story, she doesn't really save herself...yes, she stands up for herself (to an extent) but it just wasn't a really satisfying character growth at all. She's like a wet dishrag. Ick.

I was disappointed also with the supernatural segment of this story. Though the concept was sort of cool, it was only introduced very late in the story and not fully explored. There are definitely a LOT of better books available in this genre.

Full disclosure: Audio book sent to review for AudioFile magazine
2011 Zombie Reading Challenge title

Scandal

Scandal: Private book 11
by Kate Brian

After her terrifying Carribean vacation, Reed can't wait to get back to campus and resume her normal life of classes, shopping trips with the Billings Girls, and late-night gossip sessions. But when she arrives at Easton, she gets the shock of a lifetime.

Billings House is gone.

The administration has razed the scandal-rocked dorm and separated the Billings Girls. Outraged, Reed takes immediate action, turning Billings into a secret literary society - with a whole new set of rules. Eleven spots are open to any girl strong enough to endure the initiation. Every girl on campus wants in, and it's up to Reed to pick the best and brightest. And only the strongest will survive...

Okay, so I am totally addicted to this series. I practically drool when the new book comes out...every time! There is just something compelling about trying to figure out exactly how much disaster Reed can survive. The girl has been drugged, almost killed multiple times, backstabbed by best friends...and she keeps coming back for more! Plus she goes through boys like they're candy.

I know, I know...not great morals to be putting out there as examples, but I just can't help but devour these and as an adult, I don't have to worry about being able to discern that what I read in a book is not always the right behaviour to emulate! This is a series to pass on to girls who like Gossip Girl (though I didn't, hated the books, but LOVE the TV series).

What I loved about this particular entry into the series was that Reed took back the "Billings" label and made it her own. She stands up for what she believes in and takes the Billings Girls back to their roots as an organization made up of smart, loyal, nice, and brave women...not just the girls on campus who are connected (like a cashmere mafia!). Unfortunately, this doens't seem to work out...

Holding my breath already for Vanished in November.