Look For Me By Moonlight by Mary Downing Hahn

Here’s a small blurb off of the Amazon page for this book: Cynda's mother and stepfather are travelling, leaving her with her father and his second wife in a remote inn. When a strange older man comes to stay, Cynda becomes involved in his otherworldly charm, entering a dangerous world where she becomes more alienated from her family and in deeper trouble than ever. A tense plot evolves. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

This book was published in 1995. It was pre-Twilight, and yet it too is a vampire tale. Very different than Twilight though. I liked this book, so much in fact that I read it in one day. It held my attention. I liked the fact that the poem “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes is quoted in it, hence the title. And yes, I can totally see how a 17 year-old girl could be drawn to a man who’s 30. Especially if, said man knows the things to say to lure a girl away. I even remember when I was her age, feeling some of the emotions poor Cynda felt. I would say this book age range would be 12 and up. I’ll give it 3 roses.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Here’s a blurb from Lauren Oliver's website: Samantha Kingston has it all: the world’s most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.


Instead, it turns out to be her last. Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Let me say, this book was long. I don’t mean just long, I mean loooooonnnnnngggg. The first part was so hard to get through because I truly couldn’t stand ANY of the girls. And with 80-something page chapters, it was kinda’ painful. Mainly Lindsay but the rest weren’t much better. I finally emailed a friend (who I won the book from; thanks TK!) and asked, does this girl get any nicer because if she doesn’t, I’m done. By the way, go check out TK Richardson's website if you haven't.  Her book Return the Heart is coming out soon.  Anyway, back to Before I Fall.  She assured me that about page 272, Sam was nicer. I read on. Yes, Sam got nicer, but the fact that these girls were so cruel really bothered me. I liked Kent quite a bit, but he was really the only redeeming character. I will say that the last portion of the book went rather quickly.  I was happy to see Sam getting together, albeit for a brief time, with Kent.  Thankfully, I don’t remember people being that cruel in high school. I think if they were, everyone probably would have opened a big can of whoop ass on ‘em and that would have been the end of that. Seriously though, I remember sticking up for kids who might be getting a hard time from someone. All I could think was, they’re a human being too. One could hope this book would give kids pause, before being cruel to their fellow students. While those four years seem so important at the time, they’re so quickly put to the back of the line as adult life begins. It would sad to be known as a horrible person for those four years. I give this one two and a half roses.

The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by Kody Keplinger

I shamelessly ripped this blurb off of Amazon: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Websites for author: http://www.kodykeplinger.com/

                               http://kodymekellkeplinger.blogspot.com/

Now for my part – I came by this book via the YA Highway blog; it's the only ARC I've ever won. :)  I LOVE this book! I can so relate to being the Duff. In reading this, we come to learn that we all feel like the Duff at one time or another. The concept of a Duff reminds me very much of a partially written novel that I have going on right now as well. Bianca is smart, tough, and sassy. She has spent too long guarding her heart to just hand it over to a slimey womanizer. She’s got great friends that support her and look out for her. Remember that one guy in high school, the one you knew was not the nicest guy, but you just couldn’t help yourself being totally drawn in to him. Yeah, well Wesley is THAT guy. On the surface he’s not a good guy. But things are rarely only surface deep. While reading this book, I kept thinking of a saying that I’m a big fan of, “No matter where you go, there you are.” In other words, avoiding, running from, or otherwise not dealing with things, doesn’t make them go away.

Note: This book has a lot of swearing and a lot of sex! I would say about 17 and up.

This one gets four roses!

Show Some Gratitude

I’ve been reading quite a few debut authors lately and as a writer I always, always read the acknowledgements. I have since I can remember anyway. When I was much younger I would read through the sometimes little cryptic messages of “Thanks to my dearest John for pulling me through that night when things were so horrendous.” or the not so mystical “Thanks to my family for putting up with my writer’s insanity.”.  I loved reading them, still do, now I am sure to note said agents name. I view them more as a tool these days, but I still like to see the heartfelt thanks on the page. However, I’ve started to notice that some books lack acknowledgements. I wonder when is it that they stop being included.

I’ve been standing in the bookstore with two books in my hand, trying to make a decision. It’s seriously like Sophie’s Choice sometimes. I almost feel a part of me being torn away at having to put the book back onto the shelf. If there was ever an argument for me being born wealthy, this is it.  I carefully place it back on the shelf, promising to come back for it later, and usually do. Anyway, I digress. I was standing there holding two books in my hands trying to make that faithful decision. I turned to the acknowledgement area for one and briefly read through. I searched for that section in the other and found it to be absent. That made my decision for me.  I know it sounds trivial, maybe, but it wasn't to me in that moment.  I chose the one with acknowledgements for the time being. Yes, I will return for the other before too long, but felt it could wait.

My mind kept returning to the absent acknowledgements. When is it okay to stop thanking those who helped you through the publishing of a book? Yes, I know it’s redundant to thank you parents if it’s your eighteenth book, but isn’t there someone you can thank. For heaven’s sake, the editor at the very least, and I’m sure your agent would still appreciate a mention. There are people who helped you do research or your critters or betas. It just saddened me to see blank, empty pages in the back.

So what do you think? Is it okay not to acknowledge anyone? Is there a point it should stop? Am I just ridiculous? Tell me how you feel about it. Oh and if you do...thanks!

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

Here’s a brief snippet about Shade from Ms. Smith-Ready’s website: First in a young adult urban fantasy series about a world of ghosts only the young can see.

When Aura’s boyfriend meets a most untimely end, she is forced to reconsider her relationship with the living and the dead.

A sequel, Shift, will be released May 2011.

I loved this book. The characters felt so realistic and I liked them. While they didn’t always make the choices you wanted them to make, you still cared for them deeply. Ms. Smith-Ready’s dialogue feels natural, not at all forced. Her characters are frustrating, heart-warming, humorous, and loveable; all the things you expect teenagers to be. I enjoyed the references to various groups like The Pogues and Flogging Molly, great music that I love.  You could feel Aura’s struggle with releasing Logan and going on with her life. I’m sooo excited to see there’s a sequel due out in May of 2011. I wish I didn’t have to wait that long, but it will be worth the wait. I’m looking forward to seeing how Aura and Zachary’s relationship develops. I would highly recommend this book. It gets a four rose rating!

The cover is okay. I do wish a bit more of the girl’s body was visible on the cover. It cuts her off short in my opinion. I’ve noticed several covers that are similar to this as well.

Connecting with Books in your Teens

I just got word that Ira Levin’s This Perfect Day is going to be re-release in paperback November 15, 2010. I remember that I completely LOVED this book. The thought of not even having a name of your own, but merely a ‘nameber’ and a computer that tracks your every move, was thought provoking and a little freaky to my teenage mind. I remember really pulling for the main character Chip (a nickname his grandfather gave him), who’s trying to connect with a group of rebels he’s heard about. I’m excited to re-read it again and see how my adult mind interprets things.


Here’s a blurb: Considered one of the great dystopian novels-alongside Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange and Aldous Huxley's BraveNew World -Ira Levin's frightening glimpse into the future continues to fascinate readers even forty years after publication. The story is set in a seemingly perfect global society. Uniformity is the defining feature; there is only one language and all ethnic groups have been eugenically merged into one race called "TheFamily". The world is ruled by a central computer called UniComp that has been programmed to keep every single human on the surface of the earth in check. People are continually drugged by means of regular injections so that they can never realize their potential as human beings, but will remain satisfied and cooperative. They are told where to live, when to eat, whom to marry, when to reproduce. even the basic facts of nature are subject to the UniComp's will-men do not grow facial hair, women do not develop breasts, and it only rains at night. With a vision as frightening as any in the history of the science fiction genre, This Perfect Day is one of Ira Levin's most haunting novels.

Did you ever read this book?  What did you think?  What book did you really connect with as a young adult?  Have you gone back and re-read a book from those years and was your interpretation any different?

The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard

Here’s a snippet off of Ms. Hubbard’s website: Seventeen-year-old Colt has been sneaking out at night to meet Julia, a girl from an upper-class neighborhood unlike his own. They’ve never told anyone else about their relationship: not their family or friends, and especially not Julia’s boyfriend. When Julia dies suddenly, Colt tries to cope with her death while pretending that he never even knew her. He discovers a journal Julia left behind. But Colt is not prepared for the truths he discovers about their intense relationship, nor to pay the price for the secrets he’s kept.


Colt struggles with how to cope with the loss of Julia and appear unaffected to the rest of the world. How do you grieve over someone you weren’t even supposed to know? He also has quite a bit of guilt, feeling that the argument he was in with Julia prior to the accident, contributed in some way to her death. He’s torn between the connection he feels to Julia through a journal of letters she wrote to him, and his desire to go on with life, to feel again. Julia and Colt come from different worlds. Her family is very affluent and his is poor. He starts to realize that those labels (the haves and the have-nots) fade quickly in the light of the real world. So to quote the great John Lennon, “And, in the end, the love you take - Is equal to the love you make.”

I liked the fact that the main character was male. It provided a great change of pace for me. The characters were great. I liked it a lot but didn’t fall in love with it. I’m not sure why, but it just didn’t really get to that point with me. I would recommend reading it for sure. There wasn’t much in the way of swearing but there was some sex. I would say 16 and up.

I’ll give it 3 roses.