They're Cousins...Identical Cousin...

AUTHOR: Rallison, Janette
TITLE: My Double Life

Alexa is a smart and likeable teen. She is shy around boys and happens to have an eerie resemblance to the dim-witted pop star Kari Kingsley. When a picture of Lexi is seen by Kara’s manager, Ms. Pomperoy a plan begins to hatch in which Alexa begins to fill in as Kari at smaller events to allow the pop star to focus on her music. Readers discover that Alexa’s true motivation is to continue this charade in order to meet her father, superstar Alex Kingsley.
Rallison attempts to highlight the fast paced lifestyle of Hollywood, filled with glamorous parties, instant makeovers, and love triangles come off as over-kill. The constant introduction of new tribulations for Kara and Alexa to deal with seems heavy handed and forced and storylines about Kara’s supposed shopping and gambling addictions appear to be less than realistic. Readers discover that these are the root of Kari’s financial woes and the reason behind needing to hire a double. Through the twenty page resolution, Kara is in rehab for her addictions, Alexa has a new beau, and her mother and father are beginning to rekindle a relationship.
Fans of Rallison will be pleased with a new addition to her library of chick-lit. However, this novel will not assist her in finding any new audience.

Love is a many splendered thing...

AUTHOR: Cart, Michael
TITLE: How Beautiful the Ordinary

Each story focuses on a different aspect of identity, whether it be gender or sexual. Cart managed to edit a cohesive collection of short stories that is incredibly strong. Readers will be pleasantly that some of their favorite authors are attempting new techniques within the collection, most notably David Leviathan’s non-traditional short story in which he speaks directly to the audience and asks them the difficult questions. Many of the protagonists are secure in their sexuality from the stories inception, however not all of these characters are teens. In fact, many of the protagonists in this novel are young adults and in one case is over forty. In addition, the novels not only tend to range in age but in the graphic nature as well. This novel may find a difficult niche market, however fans of any of these authors would be remiss if they were to pass up this collection.

Death comes calling...

AUTHOR: MacHale, D. J.
TITLE: Morpheus Road: The Light

Fans of MacHale will rejoice in this new series. With a much darker tone than that of the Pendragon books, the Morpheus Road tells of a boy named Marshall, a nerdy boy with very few friends. When his best friend is caught trying to sell counterfeit tickets, his punishment is an entire summer up in a cabin in the woods. Marshall soon realizes that his summer has just taken a turn for the worse and he has no idea just how bad it will get. Something is very wrong, in truth this typical teen that has just unleashed a very dangerous monster and that now his best friend is missing.
Full of the macabre, this novel is truly creepy with strange and mysterious occurrences attempting to help and harm our young protagonist around every corner. MacHale will have readers guessing what is real and what is imagined, but most importantly what is going to happen next. The characters are all extremely well drawn and immediately the readers are drawn in to Marshall’s situation.
Adults play a secondary cast to the happenings revolving around Marshall, and his unwilling partner his best friend’s super hot and insanely popular sister Sydney, yet the plot line is believable enough to keep you wanting more. This is the first book in an anticipated trilogy

Add 2 parts Love and 1 part Death...

AUTHOR: Nelson, Jandy
TITLE: The Sky is Every Where

While attempting to enlighten readers as to the varying affects that death can have on those left behind, Jandy manages to draw readers in with a mix of mystery, romance and grief. Our protagonist Lennie is a talented musician happy to hide in the shadows of her sister Bailey’s vivacious personality. When her sister dies and she is thrust into the limelight she shrinks away, cutting out friends and ignoring her family members. She finds solace in the form of her sister’s boyfriend Toby, and the new musical ingénue Joe Fontaine. As time progress she is able to appreciate the musical talent and grows to love Joe, at the same time she is having an intensely physical relationship with Toby. Lennie knows that her actions are wrong but continues nonetheless.
This novel is overwrought at best. Understanding the after affects of a sibling death seems to get lost in translation. Characters are cliché and flatly drawn, specific plot points are never fully explained, and the idea that grief and physical attraction are somehow intertwined seems heavy handed. The voice of Lennie fluctuates from whiny and love-struck to deeply depressed within a matter of a few sentences. Readers discover that not only were Toby and Bailey destined to be married, but that she was also pregnant with his child.
This novel attempts to cover too many issues and while it makes the story interesting it also allows for the message to get lost. Finding an audience for this novel would be difficult at best, since this is not a traditional love story or even a well told story of grief.

Romance...Blomance----(puke)

AUTHOR: Balog, Cyn
TITLE: Sleepless

In the ever increasing collection of paranormal romances Sleepless falls quickly to the middle of the heap. Told in alternating chapters, Balog introduces us to Eron and Julia. Eron DeMarchelle is a Sandmen, a demure and sophisticated creature that aids in putting helpless humans to sleep and protecting them from themselves. Julia is an innocent human whose long time boyfriend has recently died in a horrible car accident.
After one hundred years of service Sandmen are granted a fresh start, a chance to live the life the lost, only after they train their replacement. Enter Griffin, a brash and abrasive Sandmen in Training, more concerned about sneaking into the bedrooms of his more attractive charges, than fulfilling his duties.
Some readers may be intrigued by the introduction of the Sandmen and the art of putting people to sleep. However, very little of the back story is explained. Eron is perhaps the most well developed character, and readers will be charmed by his

I hear voices....

AUTHOR: Nolan, Han
TITLE: Crazy

Jason is a likeable protagonist who uses humor as a way to deal with the problems that life is throwing at him. After the death of his mother, the only woman that could keep his father “normal”, it quickly becomes Jason’s sole responsibility to keep what is left of his family together, even if that means having a father who sees images of Greek Mythology and refuses to take his medicine, no heat, no money and barely any food . Secretly, Jason is hoping that someone will take notice of his actions in school, but only after he is referred to an at-lunch counseling group does he truly recognize the dangers that this possesses. Nolan navigates the difficulties of high school, death, divorce, drug addiction and mental instability through Jason and his friends. Readers are exposed to a very real and dramatic view of a life surrounded by mental illness and all that in entails. Through it all Jason understand the true meaning of a family and the importance of having a healthy support system.

War...What is it good for?

AUTHOR: Scott, Elizabeth
TITLE: Grace

This dystopian novel explores the ideas or religious zealotry, while putting a human face on both sides. Grace was given away by her father to the Angels to be trained for one goal, to become a suicide bomber and take out an important person in the government. Unable to give her life for something she does not believe in, she flees aboard a train, only to discover that the person she is traveling with is one of the most dangerous men in the country. As they travel close to the border, Grace learns more about the man she is traveling with and how they share more in common than either had thought possible.

Scott does an exceptionable job at portraying the sheer dedication of suicide bombers and idea that people that are so vastly different can share things in common.

Well I'll be a Monkey's Uncle...err, brother

AUTHOR: Oppel, Kenneth
TITLE: Half Brother

When forced to reconcile the idea of humanity, 13-year-old Ben Tomlin learns to appreciate family members in whatever size, shape and species they come in. Zan was taken from his mother after only a few days and given to the Tomlins to be raised and cared for as their own. Zan which happens to be short for Tarzan is a chimpanzee. As Zan grows, his new family attempts to teach him sign language and to test to see if it is possible for chimps to learn language.
As time passes, Ben sees Zan as more of a little brother and less and less as a science experiment, his sentiment is not shared by his father. While Zan is learning words and sign and beginning to combine them to form thoughts, he also begins to demonstrate typical animal characteristics and after a while it is decided that Zan must be sold. Oppel makes this story compelling and interesting, while the books setting 1970’s Canada is a bit unfamiliar and at times awkward, the story of Ben and Zan is heart wrenching and will force readers to ask what makes a creature human.

Rainbow Farts and Tasty Brains

Holly Black (Team Unicorn) and Justine Larbalestier (Team Zombie), introduce readers to an interesting mix of short stories from today’s preeminent Young Adult Authors, such as Scott Westerfeld, Meg Cabot, Cassandra Clare and Libba Bray. Each story is introduce by the duo and paired with an image of a zombie or unicorn, so as to encourage the avoidance of reading about the “lesser creature”. Overall this book was entertaining and should find an audience with any fans of the supernatural

Love is....Complicated

Having just discovered that his girlfriend of three years has been cheating on him, 18 year old Logan Witherspoon is depressed. Spending his mornings waiting to glimpse his EX, exit the bus proves that things couldn’t get much worse. Pessimistic Logan thinks this is how he’ll spend his senior year of high school until he discovers the eccentric and captivating beauty that is Sage.
Entranced by her beauty and charm, they become fast friends until one fateful kiss and the discovery that Sage is really a boy. Frustrated and filled with thoughts of rage and confusion, readers will empathize with Logan as well as the alienated Sage. The two reunite as friends as Logan begins to understand and accept Sage for what she really is; a transgendered teen. As time passes romantic feelings emerge between the two and one fateful night while the two are away on a trip to explore the university both plan to attend in the fall, the two consummate their relationship. Logan is unable to deal with the budding relationship and again becomes uncomfortable. It a moment of frustration and fear he severs all ties to Sage. Sage is the victim of a brutal beating and Logan is left with feelings of guilt when she attempts to take her own life.
Readers will be able to learn from the experiences of Logan and Sage in a setting that is accessible and removed. While some situations should not be encouraged (Sage receives estrogen hormones from Mexico via the mail), much of the violence and sex is occurs off the page. Katcher creates very realistic character in both primary and secondary characters. While the nature of the story is intense, it will expose readers to the plight many transgendered individuals face in a way that is accessible.

One Summer, Two Brothers and Serial Killer

Told through multiple perspectives, this novel is intense from beginning to end.
The story opens as two brothers Jonah (16) and Simon (14) attempt to move their dead horse off the side of the road. Having left the shamble of a house for greener pastures, the two boys decide that their only future lies in Arizona. With only a few belongings and the letters of the letters from their brother Matthew serving overseas; the boys attempt to walk/hitchhike from the Texas/New Mexico border to their destination. As the boys begin their journey they are picked up by Mitch a free spirit with a murderous streak and Lilly a pregnant woman to California so that she can abort the baby. As the story progresses, the relationship between Jonah and Simon becomes further strained as Simon begins to act more and more like Mitch; until Jonah is pushed from a bridge as retribution for sleeping with Lilly. Now separated, Simon is aware of the monster he is riding with, and Jonah is determined to save his brother.
Smith deftly leads the reader through the twist and turns of the journey slowly releasing Mitch’s true intent as well as Matthew’s full story. All the primary characters are extremely well developed and while the ending is graphic and suspenseful. Reader come to discover that the true reason Simon and Jonah are headed to AZ is to meet up with their brother who is attempting to defect from the war, only to discover that Matthew committed suicide three months earlier. Smith attempts to juxtapose the mental breakdown of Matthew and the hopelessness he is experiencing in the war with the experiences of Jonah and Simon.
This novel is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, graphic scenes of violence are throughout the novel and readers are forced to unravel all the mysteries at the authors pace. This novel is excellent, but not for all people.

Victim or Hero....You Decide

The story opens as Valerie Leftman is preparing to return to school after a school shooting that left many dead and others including herself injured; perpetrated by her now dead boyfriend Nick. Readers soon discover that the list of targets was created in part by Val in the form of a Hate List; a list of all the people that have ever wronged her of Nick.
Each chapter is introduced by a newspaper-type article relaying pieces the events of the fateful day in May. As Valerie attempts to rebuild a life by returning to school she is forced to face blame and hatred over the event, loss of friendships, guilt over the shooting and loss of a first love. As the story progresses we learn that Valerie was unaware of Nick’s plan, yet feels responsible for the events that occurred. She attempts to grieve over her lost love all while learning to accept that these events were not her fault. Through the help of her caring psychologist and one of the intended victims, Valerie is able to move past the guilt and grief and become a stronger person.
Brown does not shy away from the graphic representation of school violence and creates realistic high school setting; before and after the event. Valerie and Nick are well drawn allowing them to be flawed yet in the same instance human. Brown does not vilify Nick for his actions, and allows reader to see him as Valerie had before the shootings and helps reader to understand her grief. While many of the adults are flat and underdeveloped they are not perfect either. Val’s mother has difficulty dealing with her daughter after the events, and Val discovers that her father is having an affair and still blames his daughter for the events that took place. Positive adults do exist and perhaps the most touching relationship in the novel is between Val and her therapist, an individual who understands her better than she understands herself.
At the conclusion, this novel will have readers emotionally raw, yet inspired and guaranteed to leave a lasting impression.