If You Like: Stories About New Adulthood

"If You Like…” is a feature highlighting blogger recommendations for books, authors, TV shows, movies, and music based on the things you already know and love.

This week's recommendations are all books, movies, TV shows, and music that feature "New Adulthood," the twenty-something years...the transition to college...becoming a real adult. A seriously underrepresented section in YA Literature! For our recommendations, check here!

The Faceless Ones

The Faceless Ones
by Derek Landy
Skulduggery Pleasant, book three


Valkyrie screamed, sprinting toward Skulduggery.
He looked up and reached out to her, but it was too late.

If you've read the other Skulduggery Pleasant books by Derek Landy (and you really should have read them by now), you've seen it all before: Some bad guy wants to bring about the end of the world, and Skulduggery and Valkyrie fight valiantly to stop it from happening. A few people get hurt, sure, but everything's all right in the end.

Well, not this time. (description from Amazon.com)

Though I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, I found it really hard to get into the third. I don't know if it was because I was reading it at work and so only read a chapter or so at a time, but there were a LOT of characters to keep track of and the plot didn't suck me right in.

I did like that Valkyrie is starting to have to reconcile her "real" life with her magical one. I also really liked the plot in the last quarter of the book. There were some cool chase scenes, but overall I was a little disappointed in this book.

However, the very end has a great hook and I may have to pick up the next one just to see what happens next. We'll see...

My Life in Pink and Green

My Life in Pink and Green
by Lisa Greenwald

Twelve-year-old Lucy Desberg is a natural problem-solver. At her family’s struggling pharmacy, she has a line of makeover customers for every school dance and bat mitzvah. But all the makeup tips in the world won’t help save the business. If only she could find a way to make it the center of town again—a place where people want to spend time, like in the old days. Lucy dreams up a solution that could resuscitate the family business and help the environment, too. But will Lucy’s family stop fighting long enough to listen to a seventh-grader? (description from Amazon.com)

This was a very cute tween read. Perfect for a girl that wants to learn to become more confident in her own abilities. Great for a tween who's just starting to think about boys.

Lucy is a very sweet and smart girl. She makes a goal for herself and she sticks with it. She treats everyone as well as she can, even if she doesn't like them. She wants the best for her friends and family.

This is one of those books that you will breeze through and just end up smiling when you are done reading it. It probably won't stick with you forever, but if you're looking for a "beach" type read, this would be a great choice.