Book Reviews by Young Adults
RSSSneak Peek Reviewers Club A couple things in this month's books caught me completely by surprise. For instance, in Whitley Strieber's latest novel, Melody Burning, there's "a mega-handsome wild boy" who lives in the walls of an apartment building. And in Gina Damico's Croak, a teen transforms herself into the Grim Reaper. New and original stories always seem to catch teens' attention-so authors, give a listen. Don't serve up the same old, same old. Teens want to be surprised, delighted, and satisfied, just like the rest of us. STRIEBER, Whitley. Melody Burning. Holt, December 2011 .Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9327-8. G You can tell that Strieber is a virgin to the YA book world, but the concept of the story is still compelling. Melody's personality is easy to fall in love with and the couples' love story will capture teens' attention. The cover is eye-catching, too. The text just needs a lot of cleaning up. Strieber needs to realize that you don't have to repeat yourself for teens to understand the plot. Also, the events in the beginning and the end of the book happen very fast, and I was so confused I had to reread the chapters to sort things out. But I was impressed by how the story turned out. Also the fact that it was originally the author's wife's idea touched my heart. Strieber will soon be a YA master!-Andriana M., age 14 HOCKING, Amanda. Switched (Trylle Trilogy, 1). St. Martin's Griffin, January 2012. Tr $8.99. ISBN 978-1-250-00631-8. Switched is the first volume of a series that promises to be both romantic and fairytale fantastic. Wendy is difficult to relate to and a bit selfish. She always needs rescuing and is more than happy to let everyone else do everything for her. The story line is very interesting, though, since trolls aren't typically portrayed as beautiful or kind. Yet, in Switched, some of the characters are very compassionate and loving. The best part of the book is the ending. I personally find it very annoying when authors leave off with sad cliffhangers or something completely unrelated to the main story. Switched leaves you feeling content, but also curious to see what the next book has in store.-Rachel A., age 17 DAMICO, Gina. Croak. Houghton, March 2012. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-547-60832-7. This is a great mystery, especially for older teens. And as Lex slowly finds the answers to her own mystery, readers will be surprised by the outcome-just like Lex. Overall, this is an amazing novel. It's the author's first, and she did a great job of creating a suspenseful love story that's, at times, even humorous. Readers will easily find themselves wishing that they were in the story. This is the first book of a series, and I can't wait for volume two, which I know will be as great as the first one.-Wesley L., age 16. KACVINSKY, Katie. First Comes Love. Houghton, May 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-59979. It took a while for this book to get interesting but I still wanted to know how the story ended. The reader will get caught up in the characters' lives. This book is really surprising. It's a love story that really never gets told. This book is interesting because it makes you think about whether you should give up your dreams because you're in love. The characters seem to find out who they really are by the end of the story. Most teen books aren't like this-it seems to have less dialogue.-Leilani D., age 16. This article originally appeared in School Library Journal's enewsletter SLJTeen. Subscribe here.
r 8 Up-This beautiful book depicts the love story between a Miley Cyrus-type star and a troubled boy living behind the walls of her apartment complex. Our teen star, Melody, is convinced that someone is stalking her behind her walls and is automatically judged as crazy by her manager and manipulative mother. Melody's stalker turns out to be a mega-handsome wild boy who has forgotten his whole identity while hiding from his father's killer in the Beresford apartment complex. The two finally meet and instantly fall in love, only to be disrupted when a former pyromaniac and new manager of the Beresford finds Melody's mystery boy and takes him into a foster home. But that doesn't stop this wonder boy; he saves Melody's life from the burning walls of the apartment complex.
Gr 9 Up-Seventeen-year-old Wendy Everly has led a normal life except for one thing-her mother tried to kill her. Wendy has never understood why-until she realizes that she's not really human. Wendy discovers that she has a strange power that can bend other people's will to her own. To make things even worse, there's a new boy in school who seems to know everything about Wendy, including her mysterious power! Will Wendy ever find out who she truly is?
Gr 8 Up-Lex has a very quick temper, which usually leads to violence. Her family is so worried about her that they decide to send her to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer in upstate New York. While she's there, Lex discovers a whole new world she never knew existed. In the land of Croak, she learns about the art of Killing-taking people's souls after they die. And as she becomes a Grim Reaper, the world around her quickly changes. As Lex learns more about Croak and the people around her, she soon discovers mysterious events that can make even a Grim Reaper fear death.
Gr 9 Up- Gray is the dark moody type who likes to keep to himself and doesn't want to get in anyone's way. Dylan is the opposite of Gray-she's loud and outgoing. She doesn't care what people think her. She doesn't want to be the life of the party, but she does want to live life to the fullest. No one can hold her back. For the summer, Dylan goes to watch over her aunt's house in Phoenix and she starts talking to Gray. At first they don't click-Gray believes this chick is insane and Dylan wants to know why Gray is so quiet and always serious. Then, as they get to know each other, they become close. Somewhere down the line, they fall in love. But that's not what the future holds for them. Love never lasts, right?
