Croak - Gina Damico

Title: Croak
Author: Gina Damico
Pages: 311
Genre: Young Adult|Paranormal
Publication Date: 3/20/2012 (eARC provided by NetGalley/Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt)
Rating: ***

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby has sucker-punched her last classmate. Fed up with her punkish, wild behavior, her parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than that of shoveling manure.

He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach her the family business.

Lex quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated entirely by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. Along with her infuriating yet intriguing partner Driggs and a rockstar crew of fellow Grim apprentices, Lex is soon zapping her Targets like a natural born Killer.

Yet her innate ability morphs into an unchecked desire for justice—or is it vengeance?—whenever she’s forced to Kill a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again. So when people start to die—that is, people who aren’t supposed to be dying, people who have committed grievous crimes against the innocent—Lex’s curiosity is piqued. Her obsession grows as the bodies pile up, and a troubling question begins to swirl through her mind: if she succeeds in tracking down the murderer, will she stop the carnage—or will she ditch Croak and join in?

Lexington 'Lex' Bartleby is a sixteen year old trouble maker. To get her to change her ways, they send her off to her Uncle Mort's for the summer. Lex's Uncle Mort lives in upstate New York -- on a farm. She is absolutely dreading the trip and the idea of working on a farm. This is, of course, until she discovers what her Uncle Mort really does. He is a Grim Reaper.

This wasn't too bad. A lot of things were a bit predictable but some things were unexpected.

I think it started off pretty well. It was laugh-out-loud funny and I loved the idea of this one. However, Lex truly is a ticking time bomb. She has a horrible temper and attitude (even if her sarcasm is hilarious) and she seemingly has no reason for it. At times I found myself thinking - is that really even necessary!?

Overall the characters were decent. They weren't perfect by any means but they weren't all out horrible either. I liked Uncle Mort and Driggs, who were also pretty funny.

It did end with a big fat cliffhanger as to set you up for the next in the series. With this series, I could take it or leave it. I am sort of on the fence about because I really do want to know how things turn out, but at the same time I'm not so sure since I found myself getting distracted from it easily.

New Girl - Paige Harbison

Title: New Girl
Author: Paige Harbison
Pages: 304
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Publication Date: 1/31/2012 (eARC provided by NetGalley/HarlequinTEEN)
Rating: ***

They call me 'New Girl'...

Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed—because of her.

Becca Normandy—that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy. And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault.

Except for Max Holloway—the boy whose name shouldn’t be spoken. At least, not by me. Everyone thinks of him as Becca’s boyfriend but she’s gone, and here I am, replacing her. I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, when I think of Max, I can imagine how Becca’s life was so much better than mine could ever be.

And maybe she’s still out there, waiting to take it back.

After just finishing New Girl, I feel totally confused and have that thought of 'What...huh?'. I can't say that I totally hated this book but I can't say I loved it either. This was comparable to some kind of whirlwind that is filled with a bunch of what-in-the-world? with flashes and bits of things that keep you reading (this isn't necessarily a bad thing here).

New Girl (you won't be finding out her real name until the end of the book) has just started Manderly Academy and finds herself shadowed by a missing student: Becca Normandy. This book is told from New Girl and Becca's perspective, New Girl in present day and Becca before she went missing.

Okay, I have a few things good bit to get off my chest here. First, I really did not like New Girl or Becca, although half way through I started liking New Girl more and of course, Becca even less. New Girl really, really - and yes, I mean really - needed to grow a backbone and tell people to shut it already. That grated on my nerves something awful. She would let these other students talk to her so horribly and talk behind her back and wouldn't say anything. Luckily, that gets better eventually.

Becca. This girl obviously had no morals or any kind of decency or respect to anyone or herself. I am not even going into this one otherwise it will overtake the whole review.

Max and Johnny were semi-okay. I think they could have been better, but all in all not bad - when they weren't tied up around Becca anyway. Dana was a complete nut case and there were times I would wonder why she wasn't in some kind of counseling or therapy... or perhaps a strait jacket when she went into one of her screaming-crazy-Becca-obsessed fits (although later on I did develop some sort of sympathy for her).

With all that out of the way, I say again, I didn't actually hate this book. There was a great mystery to it, I had to know who New Girl was (not just her name) and I had to know what exactly happened to Becca and why on earth she was such a vile person. At the end though, I still felt like there was something to know that was left unsaid and was left feeling a little uneasy. I don't know if it was the overall weirdness of the story or what. It wasn't written poorly, but the story in itself was strange. I am curious now to read Rebecca which is what this story is based off of.

Overall, I would say read at your own risk. It's not one I would run out and demand people to read, but at the same time I wouldn't say never read it, just to enter with caution.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne - Kady Cross

Title: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne
Author: Kady Cross
Pages: 78 (Kindle)
Genre: Young Adult/Steampunk
Publication Date: 5/1/2011
Rating: ***

Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined…

This was a pretty decent read. I was struggling with whether or not to give it 2 stars or 3, but decided on 3 in the end just simply because it has gotten me interested to continue reading The Girl in the Steel Corset again, which I had picked up a couple of times but haven't finished.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne is somewhat of a mini-mystery. We are introduced to Finley - a young woman with some incredible abilities. When we first meet her, she is in the process of being fired from her job for hitting a governess. Eventually, she acquires another job, which is to be a companion to Lady Morton's daughter, Phoebe.

Throughout the story, we are basically led along to discover the true motives of Phoebe's fiance.

One thing I can say I was not crazy about was Finley's constant talk to herself of 'there's something wrong with me, I'm not normal, I have a dark side, blah blah...' It might just be me, but it grated on my nerves a little after the first few comments made about this. In general, I did like Finley, so don't get me wrong there. It was this one minor thing I had issues with.

Overall, this wasn't bad and the good news is that it is free (ebook only). You can pick that up here.

Crossed - Ally Condie

Title: Crossed
Author: Ally Condie
Pages: 367
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian
Publication Date: 11/1/2011
Rating: ***

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

I really and truly have mixed feelings with this second book in the Matched Trilogy. Sure, I liked it enough to continue reading and I definitely want to read the next book, which is supposed to come out in November of this year.

First, Crossed started out a bit on the slow side. It took me a little longer to really get into it, then once I did, it would slow the pace down again. I enjoyed it, but a lot of it seemed to just be thrown in there to lead up to the final book in the trilogy.

We are filled in a little on the history of the Society and life outside it, but naturally I have more questions about it. I'm still anxious to see what is going to happen with Cassia, Ky, and Xander. I want to know more about the Society and how it came about. There is so much I am wanting to know, and am honestly having flashbacks of the Fallen series in that I am left with a million questions.

Crossed is also told from two different points of view - Cassia and Ky's. I liked this except for the fact that sometimes I wouldn't realize who was the one narrating. I think it could have been a little better done in that it would have been easier to tell if it was Cassia or Ky. However, we still get to learn more about Ky and the world he is from.

At the end, I wouldn't have too high of expectations, but it isn't terrible. It was just a bit disappointing, but I'm hoping things will be resolved in the final book.

Bad Taste in Boys - Carrie Harris

Title: Bad Taste in Boys
Author: Carrie Harris
Pages: 201
Genre: Young Adult/Urban Fantasy
Publication Date: 7/12/2011

Someone's been a very bad zombie.

Kate Grable is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steroids are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe--not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah . . . not even Kate!

She's got to find an antidote--before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town. . . and stay hormonally human

Geeky girl. Crush-able guy. High school.

and... Zombies.

This was a fun, light read. At 201 pages, I finished it in one sitting. With all the dystopians with more serious tones (which I love) this was a nice change of pace for me. Kate is our main character in Bad Taste in Boys. She is an intelligent, quirky girl just trying to make through high school when something goes horribly wrong with the high school football team. The football players have managed to turn into zombies and now Kate has to figure out how to stop them.

There were quite a few moments when I laughed out loud. Even some of the more "gross" parts were funny. The good news is there isn't really a cliffhanger ending, which with all the series/trilogies I have started lately, is a pretty nice change.

Some parts were predictable and some parts caught me by surprise, but it was enjoyable. I look forward to the next book in the Kate Grable series.

What I give this book:

Beauty Queens - Libba Bray

Title: Beauty Queens
Author - Libba Bray
Pages: 390
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: 5/24/2011

The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program--or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan--or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again.

This novel turned out a lot differently than I had expected. It was a little darkness, a lot of humor, and fluff.

After half-way through the book, I was like, yeah this is going to be a 4/5. I was sucked in, it was quite funny, and just entertaining in general. Unfortunately, the last half just fell out. I was disappointed because Beauty Queens had such potential at the beginning, but then just kind of fizzled out. I wouldn't recommend this for younger readers either; sexual scenes, profanity, and even a scene where they are accidentally high off of some unknown fruit. This stuff doesn't typically bother me, but I thought I would bring it to attention as some readers are and I wanted to let it be known for the younger readers as well.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate this one, it just ended up not being as good through the end as it was to start with. It just seemed to veer off into left field. I'm on the fence on recommendations.


What I give this book:

The Dead and the Gone - Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Dead and the Gone
Susan Beth Pfeffer
308 pages

Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life as We Knew It enthralled and devastated readers with its brutal but hopeful look at an apocalyptic event--an asteroid hitting the moon, setting off a tailspin of horrific climate changes. Now this harrowing companion novel examines the same events as they unfold in New York City, revealed through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican Alex Morales. When Alex's parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland, and food and aid dwindle.
With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful new novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.

The Dead and the Gone is a companion to Life As We Knew It. This one follows Alex Morales and his two sisters as they fight to survive in New York after an asteroid hits the moon knocking it closer to the earth.

This book follows over roughly the same time span as Miranda's story and you go through the same basic events again, with the exception of it being in a big city rather than a small town.

Alex's parents are missing now, his older brother is in the Marines, where they aren't certain. It is up to him to take care of his younger two sisters, Briana and Julie in this new post-apocalyptic world. There is the same food problems, flu problems, epidemics, etc. as there was in the first book, only we get to see it all through the eyes of Alex.

I did enjoy this, but not as much as I would have liked since there weren't really any new big events happening, but rather the same ones in a different perspective. Alex didn't annoy me quite as much as Miranda, but he still had his moments and in the end was trying to do the best he could as a seventeen year old young man looking out for his younger sisters.

I think you could get away with reading either this or Life As We Knew It first since they are completely different stories (with the same events of course). Now, I am looking forward to reading the last book in the trilogy to see if things turn out better than where I left Miranda and Alex!


What I give this book:

Stay - Deb Caletti

Stay
Deb Caletti
313 Pages

Clara's relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it's almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is—and what he's willing to do to make her stay.

Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won't let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....(Goodreads)

This one I enjoyed more than The Nature of Jade, definitely.

I loved how it went back and forth from the past to the present, showing how the relationship developed between her and Christian. You could see how she went from head over heels for him to becoming very... robotic and trapped in his vicious cycle of jealousy, possessiveness, and well, craziness.


What I give this book:

Torment - Lauren Kate

Hell on earth. That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students -Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous. What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else? The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.


This one didn't have as much of a slow start as Fallen, and I can honestly say I can't wait to read on in Passion (and I will explain why). I did like this one better than Fallen, even if I have a few complaints. I will get those out of the way first.

The one thing that drove me batty is being in the dark about things just as much as Luce. Of course, I guess this is a good way to keep a reader interested. Another thing is that there was another love triangle (ugh - more Luce and Daniel!), but that is my personal preference. In some aspects it left me confused because of the things I still don't know, but I am hoping that Passion will answer a good bit of things for me, which is why I can't wait to read it.

I loved the moments between Luce and Daniel (yes, call me a sap) and that maybe their love isn't always picture perfect, even with it being fiction and him being an angel, with this it makes a little easier to relate. He was gone a good bit of the book, but it made the few moments they had together better for me. Although, I would have to say that her whining about things could have been played down a little.

I loved her new friends in this book, Shelby and Miles. They were fantastic. Shelby is sarcastic, sometimes a bit harsh, but also funny and still a reliable friend. Miles is also a great and loyal friend (who has a thing for Luce naturally and obviously from the get-go). You'll just have to read for yourself. ;)

Ultimately, I just hope that the next in the series will finally unlock a lot of the questions Luce (and myself!) has about her past, about Daniel, and well, pretty much everything.

What I give this book:

Fallen - Lauren Kate

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story. (BarnesandNoble.com)

This is a tough one. I would say for about the first half of the book, I took it slowly. It was a slow start and I could easily put it down and just read it casually. However, when things picked up, it threw me in! I was literally reading late into the night, wanting to know what was going to happen next. One moment, I was just reading lightly, learning about Luce, the school she was at, her friends, and her obsessing over Daniel. The next, my eyes were glued wanting to know more and more and more.

One thing I did not like: it didn't open up into the really good stuff until toward the end. Once I really was drawn into it, it was cut off, with a cliffhanger naturally, to set things up for Torment. At the same time, I'm glad it didn't give absolutely everything away at once or too soon, but maybe a little sooner would have been okay.

All in all, I did enjoy this one, even if was the slow reading at first or the can't-tear-myself-away reading at the end.


What I give this book: