romance

Geek Girl by Holly Smale

geek girl

Ok, I’m a real fan of British things. Like, not in a creepy way… I just think British comedies and romances and TV (hello, IT Crowd and Sherlock) are fantastic. Geek Girl, the first in a series of books from acclaimed British author Holly Smale, is equally wonderful. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I enjoyed it as much as the first book in Louise Rennison’s Georgia Nicholson series (the funniest books I’ve ever read).

Anyway, in Geek Girl we get to know Harriet Manners, a self-proclaimed geek and anti-fashionista, who sort of accidentally gets “discovered” as a model. And not just a little local ad company model, but an international supermodel… which makes you wonder how on earth she thought she could keep it a secret! Serious laugh out loud opportunities and swoony moments with a male model are all through this, along with a good, valuable message in the end.

Because this is the first in a series, I asked Holly Smale if the other books would be coming out quickly here (several are already out in the UK), and she said they’ll be following Geek Girl in the upcoming months. I know that I, for one, can’t wait!

Check out Geek Girl here on Amazon or find it at your favorite book store. It will be out on January 27th, so preorder!

How to Hook a Bookworm by Cassie Mae

bookworm

I’ve been a fan of Cassie’s since her very first release, but I think How to Hook a Bookworm has pretty solidly taken its place as my new favorite Cassie Mae book. The book is funny (I LOL’ed several times while reading it this morning – my kids thought I was crazy), it’s swoony (OMG with Jay and Adam), and it’s relevant (Brea is an impossible not to love, realistic, flawed teenager with problems that face many students today).

The whole “How To” series has been really great, and Bookworm is the perfect ending. While you could pick this up and read it as a standalone, you won’t get everything out of it that there is to get, so do yourself a favor and begin with How to Date a Nerd first. Or, be stubborn and start out with How to Hook a Bookworm. It’ll leave you wanting more and more of Cassie’s books!

When by Victoria Laurie

When

 

This one is hard to explain, so I’m pasting the blurb from Goodreads below, but I’ll just say this first. When was not quite like anything I’d ever read before, and I loved it. It’s intriguing and mysterious and does a wonderful job of making you think as you join Maddie for her exciting adventures. It’s definitely one I’d read again! Check it out here on Amazon or at your favorite book store.

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from Goodreads:

Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father’s premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one.

Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the quickly approaching death date of one client’s young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the when and not the how, she’s unable to offer any more insight. When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie.

Soon, Maddie is entangled in a homicide investigation, and more young people disappear and are later found murdered. A suspect for the investigation, a target for the murderer, and attracting the attentions of a mysterious young admirer who may be connected to it all, Maddie’s whole existence is about to be turned upside down. Can she right things before it’s too late?

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

all the bright places

You guys.

All the Bright Places is the first MUST READ of 2015.

It’s the story or Violet and Finch, who meet each other on the ledge of their school’s bell tower. Finch is a quirky, oddball kind of a guy who’s not well-liked by Violet and her group of friends. He thinks about suicide and often gets right to the brink of an attempt just to see how it feels and if he’ll follow through. Violet is still recovering from a trauma that took her sister’s life the previous year, and sometimes thinks about escaping it all. And so, when they meet on the bell tower ledge, it’s sort of muddy who does the rescuing and who was close to taking their own life.

Now, I know that all sounds pretty serious and depressing, and it is. But I promise, this book is not really depressing. It’s really beautiful. After the bell tower incident, Violet and Finch are assigned to a partner project in which they have to explore local landmarks together and write about them. What results from their assignment is a series of adventures in which we see healing, and friendship, and love… It’s really, truly something special. It wrecked me and filled my heart all at the same time.

I have a feeling that Niven’s book will be talked about a lot throughout 2015 (and beyond). It’s being compared to The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor and Park, and I do see those comparisons, but All the Bright Places is really something new and different and lovely even without the comparisons. In fact, I think it’s even better than the comparisons.

You can find it here on Amazon or at your local book store. Make sure you tweet at Jennifer and welcome her to the world of YA, too – she’s super sweet!

For Real by Alison Cherry

For Real

 

I loved For Real, a new title from Alison Cherry in which we get to follow Claire and her older sister, Miranda, on a seriously fun summer adventure. When Miranda’s boyfriend is found out as a cheater right before they’re supposed to move in together, she moves home and struggles to move on… until Claire comes up with an idea for the perfect revenge. Miranda’s ex is going on an around-the-world race reality show, and without him knowing it, the two girls audition to be one of the last minute replacement teams. They go on the show with the intent to bring Miranda’s ex down, but the fun and bonding they get from the experience is worth far more than the revenge. I’m a fan of the positive sister relationship shown in this, and the strength of the two girls on their adventures.

Find For Real here on Amazon or at your favorite local bookseller.

On the Fence by Kasie West

on the fence

 

I really, really have come to love Kasie West’s contemporary romance titles. Earlier this year, I read The Distance Between Us and adored it. I can’t even count how many of my students have purchased it based on my recommendation, and I’m happy to see it being read in my classroom. This past weekend, I got my hands on her most recent title, On the Fence, and I was not disappointed.

In this one, Charlotte (who goes by Charlie) is a tomboy who has grown up in a family of all boys – her dad, her three brothers, and even the boy next door who’s been around for as long as she can remember. She plays sports, runs a lot, and acts like one of the guys. When she’s forced to get a job to pay for her speeding tickets, the job she gets is in a girly, frilly boutique where she has to trade in her t-shirts and sneakers for skinny jeans and silk blouses. As she struggles to reconcile her tomboy self with her girly self (which is not all as bad as she thought it would be), she comes to realize that her feelings for the boy next door, Braden, are anything but sisterly.

I so appreciate that West writes a fun, contemporary, relevant story while keeping language, sexual content, and drugs at bay. You don’t HAVE to include all of that to relate to teenagers, but they’re so prevalent in so much of YA that it’s like a breath of fresh air to not have to wade through the crud to find redeeming quality underneath. Kasie’s books are great, and I could not possibly recommend them more!

Find On the Fence here on Amazon or at your favorite bookstore.

Paper or Plastic by @ViviBarnes: Cover Reveal!

Paper or Plastic
Release Date: 2015
Entangled Teen
Summary from Goodreads:
Welcome
to SmartMart, where crime pays minimum wage…
Busted. Alexis Dubois just got caught shoplifting a cheap
tube of lipstick at the local SmartMart. She doesn’t know what’s
worse—disappointing her overbearing beauty-pageant-obsessed mother for the zillionth
time…or her punishment. Because Lex is forced to spend her summer working at
the store, where the only things stranger than the staff are the customers.
Now Lex is stuck in the bizarro world of big-box retail. Coupon cutters, jerk
customers, and learning exactly what a “Code B” really is (ew). And for
added awkwardness, her new supervisor is the totally cute—and adorably
geeky—Noah Grayson. Trying to balance her out-of-control mother, her pitching
position on the softball team, and her secret crush on the school geek makes
for one crazy summer. But ultimately, could the worst job in the world be the
best thing that ever happened to her?

Pre-Order Links:
Amazon│B&N│Kobo

About the Author

Originally from East Texas (the accent comes out
more often than not), I now live in the magic and sunshine of Orlando, FL with
my very understanding husband and three kids. I’m an extrovert with awkward
blogging tendencies. My debut novel, OLIVIA TWISTED, came out November 5,
2013 from Entangled Teen!

 

You can connect with me on Facebook,Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest. Or visit the official Olivia
Twisted site atwww.oliviatwisted.com.

Author Links:

photo iconwebsite-32x32_zps1f477f69.png  photo icongoodreads32_zps60f83491.png  photo icontwitter-32x32_zpsae13e2b2.png  photo iconfacebook-32x32_zps64a79d4a.png

Book Blitz Organized by:

It’s @JayeRobinBrown’s very happy book birthday! Yay!

 

 

Wishing Jaye Robin Brown all the best on the publication day of her debut, No Place to Fall! Click the picture to find it on Amazon. You’ll love this!

Christmas is Coming! Book Recs for 2014 are here. :)

Want to get the teens in your life a book for Christmas, but don’t want it to end up like the boxed set of Little House on the Prairie books I got when I was young? (They sat on my shelf, untouched, and collected dust for years… I was so NOT a Little House kind of girl. The lack of electricity and modern conveniences sounded more like torture than anything I wanted to read about.) Anyway, one of my passions is connecting young readers with books they’ll actually enjoy. So, look no further than this list.

Note: All of these purchase links will take you to Amazon, but most of these titles should also be available at your favorite book store. Happy shopping!

For those who have enjoyed The Hunger Games:

The Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth. I can’t say enough good things about these books… I have tons of respect for Roth as a writer, for Tris Prior as an unforgettable and selfless protagonist, and for the fact that Theo James is in the movies (but who wouldn’t love that, right?). This series is intense, but it’s appropriate for middle school readers and up.

The Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis. It’s futuristic and fascinating and well written all the way through. It’ll grab any reader’s attention from the very first chapter, which will stick with you long after you finish reading it. Again, this series is appropriate for middle school readers and up.

For girls who love a good romance:

On the Fence or The Distance Between Us by Kasie West. Or both of them, because once you read one Kasie West story, you’ll want more and more and more. Both of these titles feature good, healthy relationships and strong female characters who, of course, want love and romance but don’t become weak and brainless in the quest for a boyfriend. These are good for 8th grade and up.

Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg. Told in a unique way using two points of view and a series of flashbacks, Better Off Friends feels like a conversation the reader gets to be a part of, and the effect is nothing short of charming. Also good for 8th grade and up.

For the music lovers:

Are You Experienced? by Jordan Sonnenblick. I’ve been a long-time fan of Sonnenblick’s work. This story involves a little time-traveling back to the days of Woodstock, where the main character ends up hanging out with his family members when they were teenagers. It’s a cool book with a positive message. Because of the Woodstock content (which is not nearly as graphic as it could have been), this is a high school and up book.

No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown. This one’s fun and sweet and inspirational as the main character draws on old standards and bluegrass to highlight her sweet NC mountain voice. Highlighted on She Reads earlier this fall, this is perfect for those teenage girls who dream of making it some day.

For those who enjoy a good mystery/thriller:

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. This story took me so much by surprise! I loved the story and the mystery and the creepiness… and the twist ending left me absolutely speechless. This is one for high school and up.

Golden by Jessi Kirby. I’m a pretty serious fan of Jessi Kirby (the one she has coming out next April is absolutely fantastic – I can’t wait to share it with you guys). In Golden, she weaves Robert Frost poetry into a cleverly written mystery with elements of romance and adventure. Plus, the cover for this is so gorgeous no girl would be able to resist it.

For girls who dream of a Hollywood love connection:

Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson. This is a super sweet and thoroughly enchanting story of a summer in a small town, where a movie is being filmed. A local wholesome local girl is hired to pose as the film’s bad-boy heartthrob’s girlfriend in an effort to clean up his image, but things don’t stay that simple. Good for 8th grade and up.

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith. I have so much love for this book, and the cover instantly draws in any reader. It’s also told in a somewhat unconventional way, beginning with a series of e-mails that accidentally go to the wrong person, so it has a fun feel to it. This is perfect for high school and up.

For those who would enjoy a classic, but who don’t know where to start:

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. One universal trait of teenagers is the awkward feeling of not really belonging. This book was written by Hinton when she was a teenager herself, and I have yet to talk to a teenager who didn’t really enjoy it. If you get this one, make sure you grab the movie, too!

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. These days, it’s hard to turn on the TV or scroll through your twitter timeline without seeing talk of racism and prejudice related to Ferguson, or to any number of other incidents. To Kill A Mockingbird is all about compassion and love in the face of hatred, making it an essential read for the modern teenager.

The Body Electric by Beth Revis

The body electric

Beth Revis has a unique ability to write YA scifi that is truly accessible and enjoyable by those, like me, who don’t typically enjoy scifi. I really loved this, right down to the constant references to pastizzi that had me making ghost-shaped cheese pastizzi (see pic below) for Halloween dinner. The story here is exciting, fun, action-packed, sweet, and a little disturbing all at the same time. I’ve long been a fan of Beth’s Across The Universe trilogy, so seeing something new from her was exciting!

Find The Body Electric here on Amazon!

Ghostly Pastizzi