Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine has a strange title, but I promise it will make perfect sense when you've read the book. It's also one of the many books that looks like "chick-lit" but ISN'T. Valentine also wrote Me, the Missing, and the Dead (I told you about that a few months ago. A few weeks ago? You don't really expect me to keep track, I hope), which I couldn't put down.
Rowan's brother is dead. Her father is gone. Her mother won't get out of bed. And Rowan is raising her little sister, Stroma, and trying to keep it all together.
She's waiting in line when a boy walks up to her and hands her a photo negative, claiming she'd dropped it. Knowing she hadn't, Rowan tries to argue, but in the end, keeps it. Once developed, she discovers a mystery.
The Treasure Map of Boys: Noel, Jackson, Finn, Hutch, Gideon--and Me, Ruby Oliver by E.Lockhart, is the third Ruby Oliver book.
This is one series you'll want to give a chance, even if you're not the pink-girl-book kind of person. Why? In short, E. Lockhart is squirt-milk-out-your-nose hilarious. She takes funny to places it's never been before, and her novel The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks made me laugh so hard I felt like I'd done a thousand sit-ups the next morning (did you know you could pull your abdominal muscles when you laugh? You can. It is a painful discovery).
So if you are drawn to humorous books, give Ruby Oliver a chance. She won't disappoint.
From Frewin Jones' Faerie Path series, The Seventh Daughter*...
and The Immortal Realm
We have Bleach 10 (more volumes to come).
The sequel to Rules of the Road (some of you might remember that from Battle of the Books this year), Best Foot Forward. Both are by Joan Bauer. But you Battle alumni should have known that already.
It is on my reading list. But someone else gets it first. Because I am Nice.
Spells, the sequel to Wings, by Aprilynne Pike
Because you ASKED, I got it in hardcover--because, again, I am Nice. This installment continues Laurel's story as she struggles to balance her human life with her faerie identity. She doesn't want to leave her home--or David, her human boyfriend--behind. When she's summoned to Avalon, though, Laurel meets the faerie sentry Tamani, and is instantly drawn to him. Now Laurel must choose, and deal with the heartbreak that could result.
The Chaos Walking series continues with The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness.
Todd is running with the wounded Viola, but the two find themselves captured by Mayor Prentiss. Todd and Viola are separated, and he is imprisoned while the Mayor reveals his horrifying new order. Todd has no idea where Viola is, if she is safe, or if she is still alive. He doesn't know who the Answer are. And then the bombing begins.
The third book in this series, Monsters of Men, is due out September 28, so if you haven't started reading this series, now is the time. I've got Monsters of Men preordered for us, so watch for it on the new book cart after its release!
Have you read this yet?
You should. Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter, Gallagher Girls book four.
I got hit by a car while reading this book. I couldn't put it down, so I was reading it and walking, and all of a sudden, out of the blue, BAM!
It didn't really hurt all that much. It was mostly just a nudge, not even enough to really bruise. I was so surprised; I looked up from my book and realized--
The car was standing still.
I had walked right into it, while it sat parked in a spot in a space in the lot, just as it was supposed to be. It wasn't even pulled up too far or at a funny angle. It was just like all the cars around it.
And we have all of Lurlene McDaniel's Angels in Pink series, Raina's Story, Holly's Story, and Kathleen's Story.
Three best friends Raina, Holly, and Kathleen sign up as volunteers at Parker-Sloan General Hospital at Raina's persuasion. The three girls find romance, discover family secrets, and cope with tragedy as they grow closer together.
Next we have Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard--or, to clarify, we have Pretty Little Liars, Flawless, Perfect, Unbelievable, Wicked, Killer, and Heartless--the first seven books in the series.
Now, I have a little confession to make.
Those covers kind of freak me out.
You know how some dolls aren't cute at all, but kind of scary? Or really scary? The dolls on these books look mean, but not frightening, until you flip the books over and look at the back covers.
You see, the dolls on the covers were made to look identical to the models featured on the back, and it's CREEPY. I've taken to referring to them as The Demon Barbie Doll Books, so don't be confused if I call them that in the future. That's what the publisher gets for putting evil looking Barbie-esque dolls right there on the cover.
As I'm sure you already know, there is a television series based on Shepard's PLL books on ABC Family. I have only seen one episode, because I don't have cable or satillite at home, but it seemed good. It had a Desperate Housewives kind of feel to it--miserable girls with dark secrets who have everything they want but still aren't content, mostly because of the secrets.
Spencer, Aria, Emily and Hanna are all best friends with Alison, who they refer to as A. The five of them share a secret, something none of them talks about. Each of the girls loves A, but one day A vanishes without a trace and the girls feel something that surprises them a little. Relief. Because as wonderful as A was, bright, popular, the center of attention, she was also cruel and manipulative, someone they feared as much as admired.
The real mystery is how A went missing--what happened to her, and how were her friends involved?
Hey, don't look at me! I just started the first book.
*A.R. Quiz-takers BEWARE. The Seventh Daughter was not always the title of this book! The title USED to be The Sorcerer King, but it was SWITCHED in order to confuse you and make you think this book isn't worth any A.R. points when, in fact, it IS! Just look up The Sorcerer King when you want to take the quiz. And, for the record, the reading level is 5.8 and it's worth 12 points.
