New YA: March 22-31.

New hardbacks:

Avenger (Halflings Novel, A), by Heather Burch

Black Helicopters, by Blythe Woolston

Dear Life, You Suck, by Scott Blagden

Going Vintage, by Lindsey Leavitt

If You Find Me, by Emily Murdoch

Impostor, by Jill Hathaway

Period 8, by Chris Crutcher

Shadow on the Sun, by David Macinnis Gill

Wasteland (Wasteland - Trilogy), by Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, by Meg Medina

You Know What You Have To Do, by Bonnie Shimko

New paperbacks (that I've read):

A Touch of Scarlet, by Eve Marie Mont:

Emma's narration never really gels into a consistent, believable voice. She ranges from snarky-casual to super-duper stiff and formal (with the occasional infodump), and there's a lot of telling rather than showing, especially when it comes to the interactions and relationships between the characters. Michelle's storyline (along with the student protest and the alternaprom and the end of Dr. Overbrook's arc) never completely integrates with the rest of the story, and so it feels at best, like it should have gotten its own book, and at worst, extraneous. (And, in terms of plotting, very afterschool-specially.)

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden), by Julie Kagawa:

Like so many Mysterious Vampire Heroes before him, [Kanin} is cold and aloof, but betrays his carefully hidden feelings through regular Eyebrow Quirks and Faint Smiles. He’s fond of long-winded exposition, tortured by a guilty past, doomed to forever obsess about righting the wrongs he’s done, says things like “My road must always be traveled alone,” and probably wears a lot of black silk shirts.

Masque of the Red Death, by Bethany Griffin:

While the atmosphere really is wonderfully done—Araby's narration fittingly shares that muffled, deadened quality—and I very much appreciated Griffin's writing, I can't say that Masque of the Red Death was an entirely enjoyable read. (Which isn't necessarily a necessity in a book, of course. But, you know. It's a factor in recommending it to other people.)

The Selection, by Kiera Cass:

America is infinitely slappable, as are BOTH love interests. (Duh. OF COURSE Maxon falls for her, so there's a love triangle!) The characters act more in keeping with what is convenient for the storyline—for instance, when America tries to warn Maxon about the super-duper bitchitude of one of the other contestants, he pulls the I'M ROYALTY AND YOU'RE NOT, THEREFORE YOU CAN'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT routine, even though up until then, he'd sought out her opinion about stuff like that—than with their own personalities, and most of America's major decisions seem to be based more on who she's angry with at the time than in any sort of logic.