Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick

Ever since her mom's boyfriend kicked them out, Amber Appleton, Bobby Big Boy--her dog, and her mom  are living in Hello Yellow, her mom's school bus. After her mom dies, Amber gets adopted but struggles to get back on her feet.  On top of all of this, her dog needs surgery.  Will Amber ever find the hope she needs?  Find out in this great book!

Sorta Like a Rock Star
Teen book review by Megan Regan

Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Part 1 by Akira Himekawa

In The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Part 1, Link is in Hyrule Castle with Zelda.  Then Link pulls out the Fourth Sword and Dark Link appears.  Link turns into four different Links: Blue Link, Red Link, Green Link, and Purple Link.  They can not defeat Dark Link who captures Zelda.  They must get the four gems but they become separated out at sea.  Eventually, Red finds Blue and then they find Purple Link too.  Blue and Red Link think that Green Link is dead.  I think Green Link is headed to Death Mountain to capture the last gem.  Find out what happens next in Part 2!

Teen Review by Amanda D.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Even though Charlie, Vera’s longtime friend, is dead, he keeps appearing to her. Sometimes she sees dozens of Charlies at one time filling up the back seat of her car and forcing her to put on a local heavy metal station she hates. The last thing nearly everyone remembers about Charlie is a horrible crime he supposedly committed the night he died, but Vera can’t see how the accusation could be true. Vera’s dad wants her to forget about Charlie and focus on school and her job working as a pizza delivery driver, though she refers to herself as a pizza delivery technician. Vera’s thoughts about Charlie are further complicated by the fact that some time before he died he ditched Vera to hang out with the stoners at their school.


Please Ignore Vera Dietz was an honor book for the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. It’s one of those rare books that upon finishing I wanted to reread immediately. Despite the serious sounding subject matter, the book is really a dark comedy. Vera’s voice is distinct, funny, and believable. The novel mainly tells Vera’s side of the story, but the point of view switches at times to Charlie, who is referred to as the dead kid, or Vera’s dad, who contributes several flow charts to help illustrate his views on life. This hybrid of mystery, comedy, and the coming-of-age novel is well worth the time.

John

Monday, July 11, 2011

Die for Me by Amy Plum

After her parents are killed in a car accident, Kate Mercier moves to Paris with her older sister, Georgia, to live with their grandparents.  While Geogia enjoys Parisian nightlife, Kate spends her time alone in cafés and museums until she meets the handsome and mysterious Vincent.  Kate and Vincent begin dating but things become difficult when Kate discovers that Vincent isn’t entirely human.  When Georgia gets involved with Vincent’s sworn enemy, Kate and Vincent’s relationship takes a dangerous turn.

The most intriguing thing about this paranormal romance is the new creature the author has created: the revenants.  Vincent and his friends were once human but they all risked their lives and died while saving the lives of other humans and have now become immortal beings called revenants.  Revenants use their immortality to save human life wherever they can and they fight against the evil Numa--immortals who try to destroy humans.        

The Parisian setting and the dashing and handsome Frenchmen add to the romance.  Die for Me is the perfect book for Twilight fans.   

Kimberly                    

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

In Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens, an airplane carrying a group of teenage beauty pageant contestants crashes on a deserted island.  Only about a dozen of the beauty queens survive and are subsequently forced to use their unique talents to survive on their own.  They must also battle with an evil corporation that is planning an illegal arms deal with an Elvis-impersonating dictator and they must try not to get their hearts broken by a gang of hot, reality tv show pirates.

Beauty Queens is just as absurd as Bray’s Printz award-winning Going Bovine (about a boy with mad cow disease who is on a quest to save his life) but it’s also just as humorous and heartfelt.  Bray satirizes everything from pageants and the cosmetics industry to consumerism, reality television, politics and religion while exploring issues of gender, race, and sexuality--and it’s all  hilarious.

Kimberly