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Archive for November, 2010

QuickReview: The Ex-Games by Jennifer Echols

Nov-25-2010 By Keri
Book #116 of 2010
Title: The Ex-Games
Author: Jennifer Echols
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: September 8, 2009
Grade: B+
Comments: Hayden loves to snowboard but her fear of heights is holding her back. Her ex-boyfriend from 7th grade, Nick, antagonizes her until she agrees to compete against him in a snowboarding competition, and if she can’t beat him in both events, the tiebreaker involves a big jump that she’s never done before. That’s not the only leap Hayden will have to take, since their flirtation is increasing by the minute and she needs to figure out if she can put their past behind them and conquer her own fears.

This story is cute and like all of Jennifer Echols’ books has a ton of chemistry between her romantic leads. I enjoy that in her books the romance isn’t the destination of the book but part of the journey.

I am an Amazon Affiliate (in order to use their photos mostly, but the occasional gift card is nice). If you make a purchase after clicking on a photo, I will receive a small portion of the purchase price.

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QuickReview: Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett

Nov-24-2010 By Keri
Book #115 of 2010
Title: Butterfly
Author: Sonya Hartnett
Publisher: Candlewick
Pub Date: August 24, 2010
Grade: B+
Comments: This is a somewhat odd story about a family. The main character is Plaum who is turning 14. She befriends the woman next door Maureen who has a young son and a husband who travels for business frequently. Over the course of the story we learn more about Maureen and the impact she has on the family, as well as Plum’s relationship with her friends.

This is a story that’s much more about mood and sentence level writing than plot so if my summary seems terrible that’s why. I can’t really say I enjoyed reading this book, as I found all of the characters (except possibly Cydar) to be unlikeable. It was well-written certainly and the sentence level writing was gorgeous, but I like character and plot more than prose, so it wasn’t able to move me.

I am an Amazon Affiliate (in order to use their photos mostly, but the occasional gift card is nice). If you make a purchase after clicking on a photo, I will receive a small portion of the purchase price.

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QuickReview: Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Nov-16-2010 By Keri
Book #114 of 2010
Title: Fixing Delilah
Author: Sarah Ockler
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: December 1, 2010
Grade: A
Comments: After her grandmother’s death, Delilah and her workaholic mother move into the grandmother’s house for a summer to settle her estate with Delilah’s tarot card reading aunt. Delilah had spent summers at her grandparent’s house as a child, but that ended eight years ago, after a fight broke out at the grandfather’s funeral, and she never saw her grandmother again. One benefit to coming back is meeting up with her childhood friend Patrick, who has grown up to be a very sweet and handsome boy. Delilah spends her summer making friends and trying to figure out the mysterious secrets that tore her family apart.

I loved this one. The characters were great, the story was engaging and the romance was sweet. This was a book that I wanted to finish right away and was annoyed when I had to get back to work. I loved 20 Boy Summer and this one was just as good.

Reviewed from ARC provided by Little, Brown

I am an Amazon Affiliate (in order to use their photos mostly, but the occasional gift card is nice). If you make a purchase after clicking on a photo, I will receive a small portion of the purchase price.

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QuickReview: Shipbreaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Nov-13-2010 By Keri
Book #113 of 2010
Title: Shipbreaker
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: May 1, 2010
Grade: A-
Comments: Nailer works as a Shipbreaker, taking apart old oiler ships for a crew, the leader of which makes money by selling the parts. It is hard, dangerous work but there aren’t many other options in this future environmentally damaged world. When he and his friend find a recently shipwrecked ship, they think this will be their ticket to riches and the easy life, except that they find a teenage girl on the ship who is still alive. Nailer makes the decision to save her and his life is forever changed.

I wasn’t expecting to like this one so much, but it won me over (at least, once Nailer got off the ship and I realized there was romance potential in the book). The characters are strong, the world is well described, and I can’t wait for the sequel.

I am an Amazon Affiliate (in order to use their photos mostly, but the occasional gift card is nice). If you make a purchase after clicking on a photo, I will receive a small portion of the purchase price.

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QuickReview: Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Nov-8-2010 By Keri
Book #112 of 2010
Title: Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares
Author: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: October 26, 2010
Grade: A
Comments: This tale alternates the perspectives of Dash and Lily in this lighthearted holiday romance story. When Dash finds a mysterious notebook at the Strand, he follows the instructions and ends up corresponding with Lily. The two teens are essentially alone over the Christmas holiday and they fill their time by writing to each other and concocting a scavenger hunt for each other.

I loved Nick and Norah and hated Naomi and Ely, so I had high hopes for this one but was realistic that it might not work out. My fears were unfounded as I found this story to be quite sweet and lovely. If you can handle precious sixteen year old New York City hipsters, you will love this story.

I am an Amazon Affiliate (in order to use their photos mostly, but the occasional gift card is nice). If you make a purchase after clicking on a photo, I will receive a small portion of the purchase price.

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QuickReview: Happyface by Stephen Emond

Nov-4-2010 By Keri
Book #111 of 2010
Title: Happyface
Author: Stephen Emond
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: March 1, 2010
Grade: A-
Comments: After his parents divorce, the narrator and his mother move to a tiny apartment and he starts a new school. Determined to fit in with his peers, he gladly takes on the persona of Happyface when cute, popular Gretchen gives him the moniker. He writes and draws in his journal, telling his story of hanging out with the cool kids, falling for Gretchen, and his many friends. But even though things seem to be going well for him, there is a lot of sadness lurking underneath; his father is MIA after the divorce, he won’t speak with Chloe, his former crush and best friend, he fights with his mother constantly, he’s doing horribly in school and Gretchen seems to be leading him on. It’s a tough but important year as Happyface tries to figure out his place in the world and deal with the feelings he’s kept buried for some time.

I actually gave up on this book in the early stages, but I went back to it at the urging of some colleagues and I’m glad I did. Happyface is really delightful and even though I could have done without the handwriting font (reminds me of the Baby-Sitters’ Club and I used to skip those pages), I loved the layouts and illustrations. The reveal of what actually happened over the summer was well done and I liked the supporting characters quite a bit. You could definitely hand this to fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, a few years later when they’re starting to grow up.

I am an Amazon Affiliate (in order to use their photos mostly, but the occasional gift card is nice). If you make a purchase after clicking on a photo, I will receive a small portion of the purchase price.

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