Girl Stays in the Picture

Girl Stays in the Picture

Melissa de la Cruz

Simon and Schuster

$16.99

June 2009

FTC: This is a library book. I did not receive it from the publisher or author.

Characters 15/20

Plot 10/20

Setting 15/20

Cover 20/20

Ending 20/20

Total grade: 80% B

Total rating: 14+

Summary: (Amazon)

The newest rich girls series from de la Cruz (Au Pairs, Blue Bloods) cuts between the points of view of three teenagers: pop star Devon, celebutante Livia and Casey, assistant to singer Summer Garland, Devon's rival. The three girls converge on the French island of Saint-Tropez for the summer-where egos collide and designer outfits compete on a regular basis-and manage to become friends. Tabloid excerpts, blog entries and magazine articles between chapters provide a paparazzi-eye view of the girls' back-stories and report juicy, hyped-up gossip on their nights out, drinks imbibed, possible love affairs and exaggerated, nasty interactions. All three struggle with insecurities about their success (or lack of it) under the constant watch of the gossip-hungry. Those hoping for a new spin on the genre needn't bother, though there is enough boy-drama, label dropping, club hopping and backstabbing to satisfy those addicted to Gossip Girl-style series-and better yet, it all takes place on the French Riviera.

My Thoughts:

I adore the Au Pairs series so I was hoping this would be just as great. It was good but it didn’t match up. The plot lacked anything super new from the typical “rich girl” story. The characters were similar to many books. I felt that she should have mixed things up a lot more. Maybe I am being too picky but I wasn’t looking for a common book. I recommend this as a beach read!

Quotes:

Here is a random quote I found by opening to a random page:

So this is why dresses like this cost three thousand dollars instead of three hundred

Must Monday

Here is what I'm waiting for this week.

Summary: Barnes and Noble
carlett Hughes is overly involved in the lives of everyone around her, especially her neighbors, including: a young goth girl who chalks her very traditional wishes on the sidewalk; a forgetful mailman; and an older couple whose main excitement in their lives are the formal-sounding scam emails from foreign lands promising large sums of money.

But when Scarlett's sister, Juliet, returns home from school--pregnant and surprisingly married to a sweet, handsome boy who she seems to have no interest in, but who is hopelessly in love with her--Scarlett is thrust solidly into her own life, and forced to take a look inward for the first time.

The Six Rules of Maybe is about the necessity of dreams, as well as the necessity of facing reality and speaking the truth.

Why? It just looks flat out adorable!

BUY IT TOMORROW!

Beautiful Stranger

Beautiful Stranger

Zoey Dean

Little, Brown

$9.99

August 2008

FTC: This is my book. I did not receive it from the publisher or author.

Characters 20/20

Plot 15/20

Setting 15/20

Cover 15/20

Ending 20/20

Total grade: 85% B

Sexual content: 10/20

Violence: 5/20

Drugs: 5/20

Underage drinking: 15/20

Swearing: 10/20

Total rating: 15+

Summary: (Amazon)

Anna decides to take an end-of-summer getaway-to get away from her drama-filled LA life. So she packs her Louis Vuitton, grabs her close friend Sam, and heads to the Big Apple. Between trips to the Met and shopping at Bendel's, the girls are living the A-List life on Anna's home turf. But their trip isn't exactly a vacation. Sam is here to spy on Eduardo and decode his recent strange behavior. Will what she discovers send her hopping on the next private jet back to Beverly Hills? And who is the beautiful stranger who appears on Anna's Upper East Side doorstep? Anna begins to wonder whether she wants to head back west again-especially since Ben seems to have moved on . . . with someone who isn't a stranger at all. When it comes to the A-List, there's drama coast to coast.

My Thoughts:

I love the A-List series but to be honest they all started going down after book six. I should have just let it all end there. It would have made me feel so much better about this series. I feel as if the author is struggling to keep the story going at this point. Everything has to be so dramatic and over stated which is super annoying. I just want a good story, not a soap opera.

If you like long series keep reading on to this, if not, quit at book six!

Quotes:

Here is a random quote I found by opening to a random page:

There were chuckles around the room, the sophisticated laughter of the upper ten percent.

Second Summer of the Sisterhood audio book

Second Summer of the Sisterhood Audio Book

FTC: This is a library audio book. I did not receive it from the publisher or Author

Total grade: A

Total rating: 13+

My Thoughts:

This is not going to be a typical book review. I am basically going to discuss the tone and personality of the reader compared to the desired tone and personality within the pages.

I actually loved the woman reading the book. I felt that she really got into character and enjoyed the book just as much as when I’d read it myself.

I recommend reading the book then listening. You will get so much out of this wonderful book!

Give up the Ghost

Give Up the Ghost
Megan Crewe
Henry Holt
$17.99
September 2009
FTC: I received this from the publisher with the understanding that I would provide an honest review for no compensation.

Total grade: C

Total rating: 13+

Summary: (Amazon)
A supernatural twist on the "Mean Girls" plot provides page-turning action. Cass McKenna sees ghosts. Her first spotting was her sister Paige, who failed to pass on to the afterlife following a drowning accident. Unfortunately for Cass, Paige and the ghosts that inhabit her school are her only friends. A junior-high bullying incident left her jaded and angry, and as revenge, she uses her supernatural informants to spill her classmates' juiciest secrets. When the student council VP discovers her covert ability, Cass unwillingly helps him contact his dead mother, leading to changes in her social status. Cass isn't the most lovable of protagonists, but her resentment is well developed and convincingly sustained throughout. Mysterious plot elements and the budding relationship between Cass and the VP will quickly engage reluctant readers

My Thoughts:
This book was not for me, I will admit that right off. I am not a paranormal fan but there have been a few lately that I actually LOVED. This was not one of them. I felt that the only real aspect of this book was paranormal. There seemed to be no close to life things I could connect to. There for I would only recommend this to fans of paranormal literature.

Quotes:
Here is a random quote I found by opening to a random page:

Back when we were innocent kids.

The Diamonds

The Diamonds

Ted Michael

Delacorte

$8.99

April 2009

FTC: This is my book. I did not receive it from the publisher or the author.

Characters 15/20

Plot 10/20

Setting 15/20

Cover 15/20

Ending 20/20

Total grade: 75% C

Total rating: 13+

Summary: (Amazon)

At Long Islands’s private Bennington School, the Diamonds rule supreme. They’re the girls all the boys want to date and all the girls want to be. And fortunately for Marni, she’s right in the middle of them. Best friends with the ringleader, Clarissa, Marni enjoys all the spoils of the ultrapopular: boys, power, and respect. But then Marni gets a little too close to Clarissa’s ex-boyfriend, Anderson.

Wrong move. The Diamonds don’t touch each other’s exes.

And just like that, Marni is jettisoned from Diamond to lower than Cubic Zirconia.

But Marni isn’t about to take her ouster lying down. She has dirt on the Diamonds, and she’s not about to go down without a fight. Everyone knows, the only thing strong enough to cut a Diamond is another Diamond.

My Thoughts:

I read this after finishing an A-List book and so much of it reminded me of the A-List. I may be judging it harder because of that but to be honest I didn’t really like it a ton. It was okay but not great! The characters weren’t super connectable and the setting was typical for “rich girls”. I would recommend this to people who won’t read the A-List series. Younger teens may also connect easier.

Quotes:

Here is a random quote I found by opening to a random page:

“Who knows what’ll happen when he finds out its missing.”

Wednesday Wishlist

Here is what I hope to buy this week.

Summary: Barnes and Noble
hloe-Grace can't help it—she's spectacular. How could she not be with celebrity parents who have been the queen and king of Hollywood for years? And Chloe is a celebrity all unto herself as well— she's the first celebrity-adopted kid in Hollywood. But now Chloe's sixteen, and she is tired of every undesired moment of the world's attention. She wonders what it would be like to be a "normal" kid in a regular school. To really understand it, though, she would need to go undercover. So after getting a "make-under" at the hands of her mother's fabulous stylist, she enters the "real" world. But she soon finds out that there is just as much drama there as there is in Hollywood....

Why?
I love this cover and the plot sounds fresh!

North of Beautiful

North of Beautiful
Justina Chen Headley
Hachette
$16.99
February 2009
FTC: This is a library book, I did not receive it from the publisher or author.

Characters 10/20
Plot 15/20
Setting 15/20
Cover 20/20
Ending 10/20
Total grade: 70% C

Total rating: 12+

Summary: (Amazon)
Terra's body is very nearly perfect, except for the port-wine birthmark on her left cheek, which several surgeries have failed to remove. It is the teen's final semester of high school and she looks forward to college where she can study art and escape from her bullying, verbally abusive father. Over the Christmas holidays, Terra and her mother get into a car accident and meet Jacob, a Goth Chinese boy with a cleft lip, and his adoptive mother. The women immediately strike up a supportive friendship, while Terra and Jacob grow close. When Terra's brother, who lives in Shanghai, sends her and her mother tickets to visit, and Jacob's mother wants to try to track down Jacob's birth mother, they decide to travel together. But what about Erik, Terra's enamored but slightly clueless boyfriend?

My Thoughts:
I hate to do this. I am usually generous with my reviews, but this book did not cut it for me. I knew so many people who “LOVED” this book but I can’t see why. I am happy I read it but I would not go buy it. I thought the plot was lacking and something about the characters just made me not like them. Every review I have seen for this book has been A’s or 5 stars. That’s what made me pick up this book. I think young teen girls should read it, it addresses body issues, but get it from the library first just to make sure its your kind of book.

Quotes:
Here is a random quote I found by opening to a random page:

“Trust me, I never thought I would,” I said, and all but sprinted back to the bathroom.