New YA: May 8-14.
New hardbacks:
School Spirits (Hex Hall Novel, A), by Rachel Hawkins:
Speaking of P.E., in order to help Izzy pass as a normal teenager, her mother buys a whole ton of television boxed sets of CW-esque shows. Understandably, Izzy finds them all totally addicting, but also understandably, not remotely helpful in understanding the life of the average American teenager: ...in all the TV shows Mom had gotten me, people usually just spent P.E. talking under the bleachers, or meeting up with their secret boyfriends.
The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed), by Page Morgan:
Page Morgan’s The Beautiful and the Cursed marks the first time I've seen a gargoyle as a romantic lead, and the fact that the heroine is almost more drawn to Luc Rousseau’s gargoyle side than to his human side gives it a nicely gothic flavor. There are some steamy scenes that are quite effective, the sense of time is interesting—a scene that focuses on one character is often followed up with one about another character during the same period of time—and...wow. I’ve run out of nice things to say.
The Caged Graves, by Dianne K. Salerni:
I love the love story, which is the antidote to instalove. Without getting too spoiler-y about it—there IS a love triangle, but as we’re dealing with an arranged marriage, the triangle works because it allows us to see Verity really, truly, make her choice—it’s a love that grows slowly and steadily, and Salerni highlights the joy of falling in love with an extended family as well as with a future mate.
The Cydonian Pyramid (Klaatu Diskos), by Pete Hautman
Formerly Shark Girl, by Kelly Bingham
Golden, by Jessi Kirby
The Sweet Dead Life, by Joy Preble
Towering, by Alex Flinn
Truth or Dare, by Jacqueline Green
Under the Light, by Laura Whitcomb
The Waiting Tree, by Lindsay Moynihan
Winger, by Andrew Smith
The Year of Luminous Love, by Lurlene McDaniel
Yellowcake, by Margo Lanagan
Kindness for Weakness, by Shawn Goodman
The Language Inside, by Holly Thompson
Out of this Place, by Emma Cameron
Parallel, by Lauren Miller
The Rithmatist, by Brandon Sanderson
The Rose Throne, by Mette Ivie Harrison
The Rules for Disappearing (Rules, The), by Ashley Elston
Spirit and Dust, by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Follow Me Down, by Tanya Byrne
New paperbacks (that I've read):
The Color of Rain, by Cori McCarthy:
There are aspects of Rain’s character that are bound to trouble some readers, and she very definitely makes some choices that those same readers will find equally troubling. Other readers—myself included—will root for her throughout, and find her especially appealing since, unlike the stereotypical Fiery Redhead, she’s capable of playing the long game: First and foremost, she’s a survivor, and as we all learned from Katniss Everdeen, survivors are not always all that easy to like.
Ladies in Waiting, by Ms. Laura L. Sullivan:
The author never comes close to condescending to her audience. As I've already mentioned, she doesn't pull punches in regards to sexual content—Charles II's court was full of scandalous scandals, and he, himself fathered at least a dozen children (all illegitimate) with seven (or eight?) different mistresses—but it should also be noted that she never resorts to infodumps, either (readers will either get the joke about Caligula or they won't). And, despite the assumptions that some peoplemake about the YA, the vocabulary is joyous.
The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls, by Julie Schumacher:
Yes, it sounds suspiciously like The Breakfast Club. Yes, they do do some bonding. Assumptions are made based on appearances, and those assumptions are proved wrong. (It's rather fitting that they spend so much time by the pool. You can see to the bottom, so you think you know everything about it, but that's never really true, is it?*) But the tone is very different, and while in The Breakfast Club, the characters Get It All Out There and by the end, There Are No Mysteries, this book does not answer all questions raised.