Shark Girl

 Title: 
                                                 Shark Girl

                                                 Formerly Shark Girl

                                      Author: Kelly Bingham
                                      Previous Work: None

                                      Summary: Jane Arrowood has her life pretty much figured
                                      out. She has a huge crush on a guy named Max (which she
                                      knows won't ever lead to anything) and she's going to be an
                                      artist when she grows up. Then she is attacked by a shark,
                                      forcing the doctors to amputate half of her right arm. Jane
                                      starts to doubt her goals in life, and begins to wonder if it
                                      isn't time to be more realistic.

                                      Rating: 3.
                                      Awards: (For Shark Girl)
                                   
                                     Oprah's Book Club for Kids

                                     Best Books For Young Adults Nominee

                                     The Schneider Family Book Award Nominee

                                     Iowa Teen Choice Book Award Winner

                                     And many more!

                                     (For Formerly Shark Girl)

                                     Bank Street's Best Books For Children List

                                    Opinion: I normally don't like books that are written as
                                    poetry.At all. I usually find them incredibly depressing with
                                    plots that are hard to follow. The poems just don't lend enough
                                    substance. However, I make an exception for these particular
                                    books. The poems actually tell what is happening, not just
                                    Jane's feelings. I like the plot line, and Jane's struggles with
                                    herself and those around her. These were good books; they just
                                    lacked something to make them great.
                               

Birthday Part 3

 Title: Willow Falls Series:
                                               
                                               11 Birthdays

                                                Finally

                                               13 Gifts

                                               The Last Present

                                      Author: Wendy Mass
                                      Previous Work:

                                                       Twice Upon a Time Series

                                                       A Mango Shaped Space

                                                       Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

                                                       Every Soul a Star
  
                                                       The Candymakers 

                                                       And too many more books to list

                                       Summary: 
                                     
                                      11 Birthdays- Amanda and Leo have been best friends
                                      their entire life, but they have a horrible fight for a year
                                      before their eleventh birthday. Amanda just wants to get
                                      her first birthday without Leo done and over with. When
                                      she wakes up the next day, it's her birthday again. What's
                                      going on?

                                      Finally- Rory has been waiting her whole life to turn twelve.
                                      When she turns twelve she can do all the cool things she
                                      wants to. Like sitting in the front seat, or getting her ears
                                      pierced. But seemingly, everything on the list goes wrong
                                      and Rory is beginning to think growing up isn't what she
                                      thought it would be like.

                                      13 Gifts- When Tara tries to steal her school's goat, she's sent
                                      to Willow Falls to do her penance. She finds herself indebted
                                      to Angelina D'Angelo, who gives her a list of wacky items to
                                      gather. With the help of new friends David, Rory, Amanda,
                                      and Leo, she might find the items she needed- and possibly
                                      more.

                                     The Last Present: Amanda and Leo need to travel to the past
                                     to save Grace, who is in a coma. They must place a
                                     benediction on her three times to save her- or so Angelina
                                     D'Angelo says. All is not as it seems, and the two must
                                     decide what is the right thing to do.
                                     Rating: This series is (overall) a 4.
                                     Awards: 
                                     (For 11 Birthdays- wins, not nominations)

                                     2010 Northborough  Southborough Children's Book Award

                                     2011 Massachusetts Children's Book Award

                                     2011 The Black Eyed Susan Award

                                     2011 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award

                                     2012 South Carolina Children's Book Award

                                     2012 Oregon Readers’ Choice Award

                                     2012 Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award

                                     2012 Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Award

                                     2012 Tennesee Volunteer State Book Award

                                     2012 Young Hoosier Award

                                     2012 William Allen White Children’s Book Award

                                     2012 Alabama Camellia Children’s Choice Book Award

                                     2013 Maud Hart Lovelace Award

                                     (For 13 Gifts)

                                     2014 Garden State Children’s Book Award

                                     Opinion: These books were really popular when I was
                                     younger, but I was never interested in reading them. Their
                                     popularity dimmed and I stopped hearing about them.
                                     One day I was in the library, and saw Finally. I thought,
                                     "Why not?". I read it  and never went back. Wendy Mass
                                      has a way of weaving memorable stories and characters
                                      that grab you and don't let go. I've now read seven of her
                                      books total and can't recommend them more.

                                   

In a Well-Ordered Universe

 Title: Since You've Been Gone
                                    # of Pages: 449
                                    Author: Morgan Matson
                                    Previous Work: 

                                                      Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

                                                      Second Chance Summer

                                    Summary: Emily's best friend Sloane disappears just before
                                    the best summer of their lives. All she leaves behind as
                                    explanation, is one of her lists of crazy tasks, that she used to
                                    make when Emily went on a trip. Now Sloane is gone and
                                    Emily is convinced if she completes the list, she'll find her.
                                    With the help of honors student Frank Porter, Emily is
                                    determined to finish the list- even if it means facing some
                                    of her greatest fears.

                                    Rating: This is a five!
                                    Awards: None (at least not yet)

                                    Opinion: This book quickly became one of my all time
                                    favorites. It seemed like it would be aggravating, but it wasn't.
                                    The book  was funny and real. By the end, I felt my heart ache.
                                    This is the story of pride getting in the way of a great
                                    friendship. It is the tale of not giving up on someone, no
                                    matter the cost. In short? It was absolutely amazing.

Summer Romance Reads Part 2

 Title: Catch a Falling Star
                                     # of Pages: 300
                                     Author: Kim Culbertson
                                     Previous Work: 

                                                     Songs for a Teenage Nomad

                                                     Instructions for a Broken Heart

                                                     The Liberation of Max McTrue 

                                    Summary: Carter "Hobbit" Moon likes it in her town of Little,
                                    California. She doesn't mind Hollywood coming to film, but she
                                    isn't starstruck. When she gets an offer to be paid to pretend to
                                    be movie star Adam Jake's girlfriend, she agrees to the job. Her
                                    family needs the money. But what will happen when the lines
                                    between real and fake are blurred and Carter starts to fall for
                                    Adam?

                                   Rating: This is a 4.
                                   Awards: None.

                                   Opinion: This book was a lot better than I thought it would be.
                                   It was kind of predictable, but I still liked it. My favorite touch
                                   was the blog post at the end of each chapter. All in all a good
                                   summery romance.

Summer Romance Reads Part 1

 Title: The Selection Trilogy-
                                      The Selection
                                     The Elite
                                    The One
                                   (There are also three novellas: The Guard, The Prince, and (soon
                                    to come out) The Queen)
                                   Author: Kiera Cass
                                   Previous Work:
                                                   The Siren
                                                    In the Clearing (short story in Brave New Love)
                     
                                  Summary: America Singer has never wanted to be "selected".
                                  To compete for a man she's never met and a crown she doesn't
                                  want,while 35 other girls fight desperately for the same goal. It
                                  would mean leaving her family and her secret love Aspen. And
                                  what if she ends up wanting her new life more than the old one?

                                  Rating: This is a 4.5.
                                  Awards: None

                                 Opinion: I really enjoyed this series. I had been thinking the
                                 whole "love triangle thing" was overdone, but this one worked. I
                                 loved America's personality, and the two guys were great.
                                (Although I have to say, I'm partial to Maxon, the Prince.) I also
                                 liked that the book wasn't entirely about the romance. That can
                                 be tiring. People compare this book to Matched or Hunger
                                 Games, but personally, I think it stands on its own merit.

Repousser

 Title: Belle Epoque
                                      # of Pages: 336
                                     Author: Elizabeth Ross
                                     Previous Work: None.

                                     Summary: Maude Pichon feels trapped in her life in
                                     Brittany. She runs away to Paris, only to find she can't make
                                     enough money to live. The Durandeau Agency provides
                                     interesting opportunities for plain or ugly women- of which
                                     Maude is.  They can be paid to be a companion to a socialite,
                                     called a foil, making them seem more attractive. Maude
                                     becomes a companion to Isabelle Dubern, but Isabelle doesn't
                                     realize Maude is being paid to be her friend. The longer the
                                     deception goes on, the more Maude has to lose.

                                     Rating: 2.
                                     Awards: 

                                     Junior Library Guild Selection

                                    2014 William C. Morris Award Finalist

                                    Opinion: This book was just okay. The premise was
                                    interesting.The historical timing was nice (who knew people
                                    thought the Eiffel tower was an eyesore?). The characters
                                    and ending, however, were predictable and forgettable. This
                                    can pass a rainy day, but you won't remember much about it
                                    afterwards.

Pandora's Box

 Title: Doomed
                                     # of Pages: 472
                                     Author: Tracy Deebs
                                     Previous Work: 
                                                    
                                                      Tempest Series

                                                      The International Kissing Club
                                                      (As Ivy Adams with Shellee Roberts and Emily
                                                      McKay)

                                     Summary: With a mom in Alaska and a dad who's been
                                     absent most of her life, Pandora is craving birthday wishes.
                                     So when she finds an attachment with pictures and birthday
                                     wishes from her dad, of course she opens it. This unleashes
                                     a computer virus on the world, which can only be solved by
                                     playing a virtual reality game made by Pandora's dad. Is he
                                     a genius or a maniac? Pandora needs to find out.

                                     Rating: This is a 3.
                                     Awards: 
                                     YALSA
                                     Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers Nominee, 2014

                                    Opinion: This book was nerve-racking, romantic, and
                                    really good.  I didn't like that Pandora
                                    didn't carry her own weight. She keeps telling Eli and Theo
                                    that she can take care of herself, but she really can't. I also
                                    disliked a heavy environmentalist message and way too
                                    many characters from Greek Mythology. The author really
                                    needs to get her own monsters. If it weren't for those facts,
                                    this would be an exceptional book.