The Selection

The Selection by Kiera Cass is a dystopian romance that takes place in a strictly regimented society where citizens have no choice as to their lot in society.  America is a five, both of her parents are artists and she has grown up in poverty.  She is secretly in love with Aspen, a six who is destined to work as a servant his entire life and who is forbidden to America because of his caste.  When a letter comes in the mail inviting America to enter a contest to become the newest princess America reluctantly applies and finds herself flown into an extravagant bachelor like contest to win the heart of the prince.  Will she be able to leave her childhood love and move on? 

This was a strange strange book that I couldn't put down.  I sped through the book finishing it in less than a day all the while being amazed with the the absurdity of the concept of a dystopian dating reality show.  I liked America as a character but found the other characters to be one dimensional.  There's the nice one and the bitchy one and many many who aren't important enough to get a real personality.  The two leading men are interesting enough but I didn't find myself rooting for one over another.  The book ends on a cliffhanger with no real resolution which is frustrating.  This story is being made into a pilot for the CW this fall.

Appropriateness:  There are a few heavy makeout scenes and discussions of virginity.  Nothing that is shocking and it's easily skimmed or skipped.  While America is a teen, her life is more like that of a girl in her young twenties and thinking of marriage than a teen which will make the book attractive to older YA's and the crossover audience.  I recommend this book to readers 13+

Review copy provided by Amazon Vine

Never Eighteen

Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic tells the story of Austin who has a few things to do before he dies.  Austin and his friend Kaylee, the best friend whom he has secretly loved travel around the state to do some things that he needs to do before he dies.  Trying to help people move on and fix their lives.

This is an interesting book that tries to get the reader to think about the mistakes that are made in life and the need to fix them. Austin and Kaylee are interesting characters and the love story is predictable but sweet.  I didn't find the plot particularly engrossing however I think that fans of this type of story (Nicolas Sparks fans) will enjoy the book.

Appropriateness:  This is a book with a lot of adult content.  There is sex (with condoms yay!) and a bit of drunkenness (with a mention of the designated driver yay!) .  I would recommend this book to teens 14+ who are fans of sweet and sad stories.

Review Copy Provided by Amazon Vine

Croak

Croak by Gina Damico follows Lex who is sent to live with her uncle after a turbulent year where Gina's anger consistantly gets the best of her.  When she arrives in her uncles hometown she finds that things are not as she thought they would be.  Her uncle is a Grimm Reaper and he is going to teach Lex how to kill.

I loved this book.  The mythology was original and interesting.  I loved tough girl Lex and the other teens that she worked with.  The mystery was interesting and kept me guessing.  The ending is clear and fulfilling enough to not feel like a cliffhanger but there is still plenty of mystery to be explored.

Appropriateness:  This is a great book for teens that is mature enough for older teens to enjoy.  There is no real adult content although the teens do drink a mythological substance recreationaly while hanging out in a bar like setting.There is a bit of a romance but not enough to turn off readers who are not interested in romance.  I would recommend this book to readers 13+

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The Springsweet

The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell is a sequel to The Vespertine.  This book follows Zora who moves in with an aunt in Oklahoma shortly after the landrun following the death of her fiancee.  Zora finds that this new frontier dangerous and difficult but filled with interesting people.  Zora soon finds that she has the ability of a springsweet, one who can locate water, and finds herself in a love triangle between the man who is right socially and the man that is right for her heart.

I loved this book.  While it was a sequel to The Vespertine it felt more like a companion novel which has a character from the original but does not continue the original story.  The historical setting was written well allowing the reader to feel like they are in the frontier setting.  The book is short and the plot engrossing leaving me with a story that I could not not put down.  Both this book and The Vespertine reminded me of the historical romance novels that I loved and adored as a teen (but without all the sex.)

Appropriateness:  This is a wonderful historical romance that teens will love.  There is no alcohol or drugs.  There are a few sections where it could be implied that more happened than just kissing but it is left to the imagination.  I would recommend this book to readers 13+

Something To Hold

Something To Hold by Katherine Schlick Noe tells the story of Kitty a white girl who moves onto an Indian reservation in the early 1960's with her father who works for the forest service.  Kitty's year starts out very rocky, she feels like an outsider in a world she doesn't understand.  She soon makes friends and finds herself confused by the differences in the way she is treated compared to her Indian classmates and neighbors.

This is a fantastic book, based on the authors own childhood, that explores what life was like for those on the reservation.  This is the type of book that belongs on a library shelf to be explored by kids for years to come.  It presents several complex issues such as racism, child abuse and injustices that Native Americans had to deal with.   I enjoyed Kitty's story and finished the book without putting it down.

Appropriateness:  There are some difficult topics in this book (addiction, abuse, racism) that are handled very appropriately for the intended audience although some adult discussion to the full context of these issues would be helpful for readers to get a full understanding of the topic.  Kitty is eleven and there is no romance.  I would recommend this book to readers 9-14.

Review Copy obtained from Amazon Vine

Last Chance

Last Chance by Nora McClintock follows Robyn a dog bite victim who is forced to spend her summer volunteering at am animal shelter after she is arrested during a protest.  Also working at the shelter is a group of teens who are part of an anger management program rehabilitating abused dogs.  When Robyn thinks she sees one of the boys stealing she'll have to figure out if people really can change.

This was a pleasant but unremarkable book.  The mystery and the bad boy semi-love interest was fairly predictable.  I did enjoy reading about the animal shelter and think that kids who are interested in dogs would probably really enjoy this book.  While I was interested in the book I didn't find myself itching to finish or unable to put the book down and it took me several days to finish.

Appropriateness:  There is no adult content in the book.  I would recommend this book to readers 12+

ARC provided by netgalley

Fever (Chemical Garden)

Fever by Lauren DeStefano is the second book in the Chemical Garden trilogy.  This series follows Rhine who lives in a world where everyone is infected with a virus that kills men at 25 and women at 20.  This book catches up with Rhine and Gabriel right after their escape.  They travel to New York in search of Rhine's brother facing many speedbumps on the road.

This book was fairly typical for a second book in a dystopian.  Girl leaves previous environment, girl meets many questionable characters and faces a lot of danger and finds herself confused about her relationship.  While I wasn't astounded or surprised by the book and again found myself rolling my eyes at the decisions the heroine made I did like the book and the world continued to fascinate me. If you liked the first book in the series you will enjoy this one also.

Appropriateness:  The world that Rhine lives in is one that is filled with sexual exploitation.  Women are bought and sold and kidnapped for sex and to be impregnated.  There are no sex scenes in the book but sex is a big part of the plot and there are several situations where Rhine is at risk to be raped.  I would recommend this book to readers 14+

Take a Bow

Take a Bow by Elizabeth Eulberg follows a group of students in their Senior year at a competitive performing arts school in New York City.  The story revolves around Emme a shy composer who slowly comes into her own and learns to stand up for herself.  The story is told through the eyes of Emme and several of her classmates: Sophie, her best friend whom she'll have to come to realize is using her.  Carter, Sophie's boyfriend and child star who is not sure if he wants to be an actor and Ethan who has always cared about Emme.

This was a fantastic contemporary novel about older teens.  I loved Emme's growth throughout the book as she learns to stand up for herself, believe in herself and become the performer that she never knew she could be.  The performing arts school felt like a real place and the author did a good job creating a school that seemed real and had the students doing high school level work.  I sped through this book finishing it quickly.

Appropriateness:  This is a book about teenagers that act like teenagers.  There's alcohol abuse (which is in every case depicted as stupid and destructive) and some discussions of sex.  I would recommend the book to readers 13+

Bewitching

Bewitching by Alex Flinn is a combination of several retold fairy tales that all involve Kendra the witch.  The story starts with Kendra discovering that she is a witch after saving her brother from the plague that has killed most of her small town.  She then comes into contact with another witch who lives in a gingerbread house, a girl with a wicked stepsister, a mermaid.

This was a frustrating book that was also very good.  It was essentially a collection of short stories retelling various fairy tales and each of the tales were interesting and fun to read.  However, the way the book was formatted was very frustrating.  The book starts with the tale of Hansel and Gretel in the middle ages and then moves to the present to tell half of a Cinderella tale and then takes breaks throughout that story with short retellings of other tales throughout Kendra's history.  While each of the tales themselves are interesting the way they are all sliced together is jarring and took me out of the story, stalling the plot and slowing the book to a stop.  I would recommend this book because I loved each of the stories I just wish that the author had published them as a group of short stories instead of the way they were formatted.

Appropriateness:  There is no adult content in this book.  This book reads a little older than Flinn's last book Cloaked but is still appropriate for that audience (as well as the older teen audience).  I would recommend this book to readers 12+ who are fans of fairytale romances.   

Radiate

Radiate by Marley Gibson features Hayley a girl who decides to try out for the cheerleading squad for her senior year in high school.  After making the team and going through grueling summer practices she notices that there is something wrong with her leg and makes an appointment at the doctor.  She soon finds out that she has a tumor on her leg.  Haley fights through her cancer, refusing to give up on cheerleading and ultimately inspiring her entire community.

I almost didn't read the book because the blurb on the first page of my ARC said something about how the book could show readers the power of positive thinking and my first reaction to that was barf, sounds like too much cheese for me.  However, once I got into the book I couldn't help but be hooked by Hayley's story.  While there were a few things that bothered me (Hayley being so uneducated and unrealistic about her disease, her obsession with popularity) for the most part I felt myself really being drawn into her story and inspired by Haley's actions (even more so when you read the note at the end written by the author's mother and find out that the story is a fictionalized account of the Author's her own disease).  Her classmates act in realistic ways and she has to deal with classmates that are less than supportive.  While the book is tough it's not a book that readers will cry their way though.  I couldn't put this book down and finished it very quickly.

Appropriateness:  There are some party situations with underage drinking (which Hayley does not partake in).  Hayley is seventeen however she acts younger than her age.  I would recommend this book to readers 12+ 

Review copy provided by netgalley