The A-List: Hollywood Royalty: Sunset Boulevard, by Zoey Dean
Dean, Zoey (2009). Sunset Boulevard (A-List: Hollywood Royalty). NY: Poppy. 304 pages.
As you know, I’m a sucker for a series; therefore, I was super stoked when I finally found the second installment of the “A-List” spin-off series, “A-List: Hollywood Royalty,” at the library. Set in the Hollywood/Los Angeles/Beverly Hills of the “A-List” series, “Hollywood Royalty” [...]
Into the Wild Nerd Yonder, by Julie Halpern
Halpern, Julie (2009). Into the wild nerd yonder. NY: Feiwel and Friends. 256 pages.
Fifteen-year-old Jessie has always suspected that she is, at heart, a nerd: an ace in all the advanced classes at school, Jessie occasionally sits in on drums for her older brother’s punk band but attributes her ability to her math skills. Somehow [...]
The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness
Ness, Patrick (2008). The knife of never letting go. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. 479 pages.
So, you know how I tend to avoid both critically and popularly acclaimed (by my peers, at least) novels? In the case of Patrick Ness’s The knife of never letting go, I’ve been proven a major rube. I just finished the [...]
Touch, by Francine Prose
Prose, Francine (2009). Touch. NY: HarperTeen. 272 pages.
This is another one of those books about which I disagree with one of the major review sources–in this case, Booklist–who gave Francine Prose’s third (I think) YA novel a starred review. Here’s the thing: I think that, in the case of Prose, the author’s reputation has preceded [...]
Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson
Anderson, Laurie Halse (2008). Chains. NY: Simon and Schuster. 320 pages.
Does the fact that I didn’t fall in love with Laurie Halse Anderson’s National Book Award honor title mean that I’m a bad person? To tell you the truth, I thought that the historical fiction was a bit manipulative (particularly the end of the first [...]