Not the typical fluff, but still YA
931724
Aside from the grammatical errors, I actually liked the book. It would definitely read better if the errors were fixed, but overall, the story flowed pretty well.

Barbie is a girl with a troubled home life. However, to make things more complicated, she has an autistic brother that relies on her so running away isn't something she can do. Her dad and his, are not in the picture and their mom is a drinker. Barbie is the beautiful girl from the wrong side of the tracks who lives life her way. Everyone thinks she is easy and does drugs, and she doesn't really do anything to dispel those rumors. She kind of encourages them.

Dylan is a boy who lives the completely opposite life from Barbie. He comes from a stable home, with his little sister and both parents. However, he isn't the popular kid. He is smart, but extremely rigid. Because he was picked on when he was younger, he does everything he can to walk a straight line so as to not bring back any negative treatment.

Their two worlds collide. Although they have known each other most of their lives, Barbie and Dylan are very different people and when she needs his help with tutoring, things really start to get interesting. He doesn't want to do it, but agrees when she promises to help him snag his "dream" girl. The one that does not know he exists. The girl who is not so perfect herself, but he doesn't see it. As you can imagine, things don't go exactly as planned and eventually the two will develop feelings for each other, but like most teens, after a lot of misunderstandings and bad decisions, the two will end up feeling hurt and betrayed.

I didn't always agree with Barbie's decisions, but can definitely see where she was coming from. She had a lot to deal with, and did it her own way. She was truly a very strong personality. I was more bothered by Dylan and the blinders he wore. He saw only what he wanted to see and because of his insecurities, lost the people that knew him best and still liked him.

At the end, they were both still making mistakes. I think she was unfairly harsh with him...his choice resulted in something better for her even if she did not know it at the time. And him....how do you not work harder to win back your best friend and to walk away from someone you know you don't really care for? Cause Katie is definitely not a nice person and Third, although he made some mistakes too (um, how do you not tell your best friend what is going on?) was still his best friend. He had his quirks, but was one of the most likeable characters. I don't think he always helped though, and in some cases actually did help to confuse the situation.

I guess this is where book 2 comes in.
3247018
Not my usual genre, very much a YA  book, but surprisingly fun for a fast read. Got this free for the kindle, I may even buy the second book if it's cheap.
4626500
Not overwhelmingly dense, but also not a quick read.
3184182
I have a soft spot for YA novels about teenage writers, especially novels where the MC's stories begin colliding with their reality. When Scarlett's favorite TV show is canceled, she turns to writing about her real-life classmates because she's too bummed to write fanfic. Although the story-within-a-story format doesn't come across as very engaging here, and I would've liked to see Scarlett's peers discover that she was using them as fiction fodder a little earlier, I still found a lot to like about this.

Scarlett's insights into suburban life were unexpectedly clever, even if they weren't exactly humorous, and her voice leapt off the page. I loved that she wasn't a shrinking violet, and that she pushed back against people who treated her badly. Between her hard-working but immature mom, her brainiac best friend, and her secretly nerdy former friend turned crush who turns popular, there weren't all that many truly original characters in Scarlett's world. And honestly, I didn't care one bit.

What made this story shine for me was the idea that everyone has hidden depths, and Scarlett's friends and family are no exception. All of them have layers of hopes and dreams beyond what Scarlett sees or knows, and watching her uncover those layers was wonderful. There are any number of stories about quirky, outcast teenagers who believe that they're superior to the people around them as a way to cope with feeling excluded. It was really, really refreshing to read about a character who learns to come down off her high horse, stop over-simplifying the people around her, and accept that being less judgmental and more inclusive might actually make her more friends.
3998657
this book is quite good, but it has some fluff in it that isn't extremely important to the storyline.
614117
I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did. Yes, the reading level is closer to young adult than adult, but I found it engrossing nevertheless (not everything we read has to improve our minds!). And yes, the plot can be simplified to "misfit youth finds acceptance via a renegade dragon"--but I STILL enjoyed it. For a simple romp through fantasy-land, this one is a keeper.
3500487
As a fan of Julie Halpern's other YA novel,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Get-Well-Soon/dp/B005MZ7W1S/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Get Well Soon</a>, and as a nerd, I had a feeling I would enjoy this book.  And I did: it was entertaining and funny, just as it is meant to be.  However, I was hoping the characters and message would be more fleshed out.

So, this novel is narrated by a teenager named Jessie.  Halpern has given her a voice that almost always comes off as authentic.  And, of course, she has given her a very witty, funny voice.  Anyway, Jessie is starting to feel distant from her two old friends, girls she's been around forever.  Among other things, they've tried to punk-ify themselves, and that just doesn't feel like Jessie's thing.  She's slowly slipping into the nerdy Dungeons and Dragons crowd.  Her story involves her struggle to accept that her "uncool" friends are actually nicer and more fun to be around than her "cool" friends.

This makes for an entertaining read, but the whole idea of figuring out who your true friends are has been done many, many times before in YA novels.  And I don't think this one does anything special to make it stand out from the crowd.  It's the typical story of accepting change as you grow up and being true to yourself.  And, to be fair, that is a good message.

I think my main concern with this novel is how, on one hand, it seems like it should be read by tweens and young teens.  It's a very light, easy read, even by YA standards.  Plus, I'm sure a younger person wouldn't mind at all if the central message is somewhat simple, clearly developed.

On the other hand, you PARENTS out there may object to some of the content.  (This paragraph contains slight spoilers.)  For one thing, there is a sizeable amount of cursing.  I, for one, think it adds to the authentic voice of the novel, but I'm sure some parents out there would be displeased with it.  Next, the book doesn't skirt around the issue of sex.  One character gets an STD, and, in this case, I wouldn't say sex is being encouraged.  She's kinda pathetic and portrayed as such.  They also blatantly say that she should have used a condom.  Another character, though, openly admits that he's taking the emotional part of his relationship to a girl slowly, but not the sexual part.  And Jessie is well aware of this character's "escapades," though not at all disturbed by them.  Is the book saying that having sex as a minor is fine as long as you wear a condom and are at least a bit emotionally involved?  What age group is this book appropriate for?  I've put forth the evidence, but it's up to parents to dish out a verdict.

And, speaking of romance, the book has a boy who is perfect--save for his clothes.  This adds up to a pretty generic love subplot, one that might delight younger readers anyway, but might seem painfully clich to people who have lots of YA novels under their belt.  I also thought the book lacked a crescendo, a moment when everything came to an emotional high.

On the bright side of things, I do like how the relationship between Jessie and her older brother pans out.  It's very cute: you can feel their genuine bond.  Yet, it never came off as forced or melodramatic.  Plus, Halpern recognizes that, even if a teenager is no longer friends with someone, they can at least be at peace with each other.  And, to reiterate, the book is very funny.

I know people tend to perceive three-star reviews as negative, but don't get that impression.  Even if it does little to stand out, this is still an entertaining, funny book.
3774169
I very much like that things in life aren't always black and white and I really enjoy when a story reflects the complexity that is found in life..even if it is a fantasy read. The characters in this book are multifaceted and layered and that makes this story an interesting read. Even the few stupid girl moments are made more palatable by the fact that things are not always as clear cut as they seem, that distinction is what makes this book different from a lot of other cookie cutter YA storylines out there. I really enjoyed this read and I am very much looking forward to the next book.
1351300
I know it's young adult, but so is Harry Potter and I loved those books.  When I saw my twelve-year-old had checked it out of the library, I thought I'd try it. It's well-enough written for what it is.  It's a 13-year-old girl's fantasy, with all the teen angst overlaid with some ESP.  I won't be reading the rest of the series or anything else by this author, although I have an idea my daughter will and I'll encourage that. Everyone needs a little escapism once in a while and it's not drivel. Unlike a lot of other "young adult" novels that seem to be written by people with the brains of a chickpea, Stiefvater can write and can spin a yarn.  It's just not a yarn that could draw in many adults.
3195447
While this book was sweet for the most part, it wasn't really plausible. It was not really a novel, but rather an adolescent fairy tale. The writing quality was decent and the editing good, with the exception of using possessive nouns instead of plural. It's the sort of book you might want to curl up with on a dreary afternoon when you're in between serious books. I don't think I'll be re-reading it any time soon.
2060731
I waffled on reading this one for a bit, but I ended up really enjoying it. At first I was still concerned with the fact I learned more about Chinese culture from one quarter of Chinese than the author seemed to have encountered in her research, though I am willing to ignore that to an extent because of the whole "Earth goes Kaboom, here's the aftermath" side of things. Still would have liked proof she had actually Done the Research, but hey, its YA, can you even ask for that anymore?

Cinder strays far enough from its premise as a retelling to be engaging, but yet again, a YA novel hinges on the relationship between the protagonist and the male love interest. The world building had far more cohesion and stuff going on that in most pseudo science fictional YA settings, which again, was somewhat interesting.

I was also slightly disappointed with the fact that it is the first installment in a series, but again, its YA, what am I expecting? Overall, a quick, rather engaging read, even though my first reaction on finishing it was to pick up "The Diamond Age," because I was curious what effect nearly 15 years would have on the kind of technology portrayed in a superficially similar world would be.

The answer? Not that much-- though Diamond Age actually bothers hypothesizing how such tech would work--radio antennas having to be a certain size! How quaint! But yes, Cinder is very clearly a lay person writing science fiction novel, which isn't necessarily a bad thing....except when you can directly compare it to one that, well, isn't. Still a fun read, but lacking
2386241
I enjoyed this story a lot despite not generally loving alternating characters. I think part of why I enjoyed that perspective in this book is that none of the stories go quite where you expect them to. This story isn't usual for fantasy and invites relatively few comparisons to other fantasy novels. It deviates a lot from the path you expect books to follow, but I think it's in a very positive way. I can't say much more without spoiling anything, but I definitely suggest reading this series.
1877945
For some reason I didn't realize this was a YA book before  I bought it. But putting that aside, it was still a good read. The characters were more developing than developed and this is something I like to see. Character development as well as plot development makes you want to keep going with the book, and may help overlook other flaws. Sometimes the pace did lag. There was some angst, but it did not overwhelm. While dark, it is not as "brutal" as the title leads you to believe, or least compared to other dark fantasies. After reading this I'd want to go on to the next book too.
2315573
This is a pretty neat YA title. The stories may not have been 100% unique, but, they were fun, reminiscent of the kind of stories that we used to tell each other as kids.

I see that Nance has recently put out a second Daemon Hall book. I will definitely be reading the follow-up.

4 STARS
3788646
Not typically my type of book, but it kept my interest because it wasn't completely predictable.
1691736
I like the story length, and it isn't your typical fantasy vampire storyline. The ending of course runs into three more books but its a good young adult read.
2541565
Forever Twelve, by Meg Kimball, is not the type of book I would normally read. It seems like it is geared toward the YA crowd, but after reading it, there's a sense that it's more for the adults, at least those who want to remember what is what like to be twelve again.

There are parts of Forever Twelve that get a little tedious, and there are few pieces of dialogue that definitely don't sound like twelve-year old girls talking (though I admit I'm not now nor have I ever been a twelve-year old girl). However, except for these minor flaws, most of the book is delightful, and though it's not action packed, most of it moves along very nicely.

The best thing about Forever Twelve is the characters. They are so well crafted that you can virtually see and hear them as you read. The two main characters, Andi and Corey, are different, but very much the same  twelve-year old girls! Their ordinary yet exciting adventures are interesting, and the backstory of their lives is both sad and heart-warming. Their families are well-developed and provide a compelling framework for each girls outlook on life. The minor characters  friends, parents, teachers are also created and developed with care

Though you may not be riveted to Forever Twelve, you will find it a surprisingly interesting page-turner, and you will delight in the depth and clarity of the writing. Even if this isn't the type of book you normally read, I suggest you give it a try. You just might be surprised how much you like it!