Drink, Slay, Love

Drink Slay Love by  Sarah Beth Durst

Of course this is a vampire romance.  Of course you don’t need another gutsy-comedic-teenage heroine.  Except you do.  Pearl is truly a unique find.  

Pearl comes from a long line of vampires.  She is a “born,” not “made” vampire.  Her parents expect a lot from her.  They don’t expect her to claim that she was stabbed by a unicorn as she was about to “snack” on her favorite ice-cream guy.   

Except it did happen.   

Now she can apparently cope with daylight.  This is not a desired trait in the vampire world; it seems more than a little traitorous.  

Pearl uses her new skill to her advantage to set up a “feast” for the incoming vampire king:  a whole horde of teenagers during prom night.  

Except that the closer they get to prom, the more she feels that she is beginning to “care” for other people, which is also not a desirable vampire trait. And she still sees “Mr. Sparkly-and-Pointy”- what does he want and why can’t she catch him?

Of course there are stereotypes;  of course Evan is too good to be true (we ARE reading about vampires…) 

Of course you see the plot twists coming.  That may just have been planned.  

The geek connection, while formula,  is hilarious.

The story is fresh, fun, and full of great lines.  Say yes to this vampire/unicorn/romance, and then go read Durst’s more serious books.

Ages 12 and up.

Ask the Passengers

Ask the Passengers by  A.S. King

“Justin and Kristina have been doing this dating thing since mid-sophomore year, so the people-being-overly-nice-to-Justin thing extends to her. Sometimes, it even extends to me, too, if I show up at times like this when they are mobbed in the parking lot, but today I don’t feel like it. They’re all probably saying, “Hope you win Homecoming king and queen! You’ve got my vote!” and stuff like that. I decide to get in my car and wait for the activity buses to leave. I reach into the glove compartment for a bottle of Rolaids and shake out three to chew on.”

Astrid and her father used to build picnic tables and birdhouses.  Now she lies on the picnic table, sending her love to the passengers on the planes overhead and making up stories about them.  Life at home right now is pretty loveless.  Her mother is the ultimate workaholic bitch; her father is dealing with life through marijuana; her younger sister is the ultimate daughter/soccer player.  

Astrid herself is an honors student with two gay best friends, disguising themselves as the ultimate boyfriend/girlfriend/Homecoming king/queen while having affairs.  Astrid is concerned about herself turning inward much of the time, articulating this nicely.  She loves Dee, a girl with whom she works, but doesn’t necessarily want to be forced into the “gay corner.”  She is confused with no one to turn to.

The story is thorough and subtly satisfying.  Within her dysfunctional family, Astrid is able to cope, even knowing she needs help, and love.  She wants to understand her life and those around her while not adhering to any stereotype.  Although she thinks she might be gay, Astrid has teen reactions to sex at too fast a pace.  Teachers’ reactions to Astrid, and students’ reactions to teachers are sometimes blatant, and sometimes subtle.  This all forms a great mix of important issues and memorable characters.

A teen’s search for identity, self-discovery, and love are themes incredibly well done, with humor and understanding.    Ages 12 and up.

The Tragedy Paper

Tragedy Paper by  Elizabeth Laban

The Irving Boarding School for high school students becomes the backdrop for this tragedy.  

The story is told by Duncan as he moves into his new room as a senior.  It is tradition that the exiting senior will leave a “gift” for the incoming senior. These have been everything from a book to a bottle of (illegal) scotch.  

Duncan’s gift was a series of CDs.   Not the music kind.  The “tell-all story” kind.  

Tim Macbeth is about to explain everything that happened to create a yet-to-be-understood incident last year that everyone knows about, won’t talk about, and nobody understands.

This could have been a good book.  The story was certainly unique.  

It was lacking several YA must-haves, however.  The first of these is the need to care about the characters, and the bottom line is that we just don’t.  Tim and Vanessa never seem real.  Vanessa seems like she cares for Tim, but not much. She doesn’t try to understand his albinism; but he never tries to explain it to her or to anyone else. 

Duncan and Daisy also never quite click.  Their reunion is too easy, too quick, too emotionless.  Patrick is the stereotypical jock/nemesis.  He does the kinds of things you would expect.  Readers never become invested in any of these characters.  

The second issue is medical.  There are YA books that deal with medical issues, so we learn about that issue through a character.  We learn very little about albinism, other than Duncan is alternately ignoring it so he can fit in or obsessing over the fact that Vanessa can’t love him because he is an albino.

YA novels should have an ending that surprises us.  The Ethan Frome (Wharton) -like ending should have made us flinch at least, but it makes us like Tim even less.

There were some nice scenes with Duncan’s teacher.  Some conversations between Daisy and Duncan approach teen issues.  There are some interesting references to recognize:  names aligned with tragedy; allusions to other novels.  It’s a quick read to get you into the school year.  Ages 12 and up.

Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity  by Elizabeth Wein

audiobook read by Lucy Gaskell and Morven Christie

The spy known officially as "Verity" begins her story by confessing that she has always pretended to be heroic.  Yet, when captured by the Gestapo behind enemy lines, the narrator freely admits that she, under pressure of captivity and torture, promptly betrayed wireless codes, details about Great Britain's homeland security and airfield defenses, and more.

In bits and pieces, scribbled away on scraps of paper, a story emerges.  But the story is not the one that the Nazis thought they were getting.

Code Name Verity isn't just blazingly fabulous historical fiction for teens, featuring two strong and capable girls.  There is also action, suspense, and plenty of twists in the unreliable narrative.  This is a story of friendship, choices, and--no matter what Verity says--this is a story of courage.  

Descriptions of violence, treachery, and torture are intense but not graphic--much is left to the imagination of the reader.  

Very highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  

And yes:  there's no sex in this book.  No romance at all, in fact (although the companion book forthcoming in September 2013 promises a bit of romance).  However, Code Name Verity is bound to be controversial, so we're including it on the list as a book our readers will want to know and share.

A Confusion of Princes

A Confusion of Princes  by Garth Nix

audiobook read by Michael Goldstrom

Khemri tells the story of the three times he has died, and the time in-between those deaths.

Born a Prince in an intergalactic empire that identifies millions of princes as possible heirs to the ruling Emperor, Khemri's first challenge after emerging from a sheltered childhood is to survive the assassination attempts by other potential heirs.  His early training and biological enhancements make him "better than human," but it takes hostile aliens, rocketship battles, cybernetic gadgetry and a pretty naval reserve officer from a backwater fringe planet to teach Khemri how to be human.

With many nods to classic science fiction traditions in literature (Robert A Heinlein, Andre Norton and Isaac Asimov are obvious influences) and film (Star Wars, 2001, and many others), this rousing space-opera will appeal to readers who like a lot of action, a little introspection, and a touch of romance (and a few incidences of Star Trek sex as well--how appropriate!) 

The book--and the audiobook--are highly recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.  

The Wells Bequest

The Wells Bequest  by Polly Shulman

The New York Circulating Materials Repository is back!  This library doesn't just lend out books.  It also lends out significant (and sometimes magical) objects found in books and stories.  In The Grimm Legacy (2010), we learned that the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected more than just fairy tales--they also collected magic carpets, talking mirrors, and many other objects found inside the stories.  

Now, NYCMR head library page Jaya and new-hire Leo explore the contents of the Wells collection: powerful objects straight out of classic science fiction novels.  These include robots, rockets, submarines, a shrink ray and, of course, a time machine.  When another library page threatens to destroy New York with Nicola Tesla's death ray, Leo and Jaya must use the time machine and their own wits (and knowledge of literature) to preserve history.

Delightful, fluffy fiction for book lovers and library geeks.  No sex, cussing, or bloodshed.  A few kisses, a little bit of romance, and a lot of fun.  

Recommended for readers ages 12 to adult.

Gorgeous

Gorgeous  by Paul Rudnick

If Doctor Faust and Eliza Doolittle (portrayed by Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady") wrote a book together, that book might be the first half of Gorgeous.

Sorting through stuff left behind after the death of her beloved, morbidly obese mother, Becky Randle discovers a phone number concealed within a jewelry box.  Calling the number sets off a whirl of events, leading Becky to the hidden enclave of a mysterious-yet-ubiquitous clothing designer.  Tom Kelly proposes to create three dresses for Becky that will transform her into Rebecca, the most beautiful woman in the world.  The catch?  Becky must fall in love and marry within a year.

Somewhere along the way, the story gets a bit muddled, but the strong, sarcastic voices of Becky, her best friend Rocher, and charming Prince Gregory of England rescue the book from the round file.  This book is full of snarky commentary about money, beauty, talent, fame, social class, and social responsibility, wrapped in an over-the-top, unconventional narrative.  

Lots of cussing, lots of glamour, and some sexual situations on page, including the "outing" of a teen heart-throb.  

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult--those who enjoyed Beauty Queens (Bray, 2011) will love this.

The Testing

The Testing  by Joelle Charbonneau
In this futuristic dystopia, the environment has been trashed by careless humans, and only by careful husbandry are people able to survive now.  16-year-old Cia has been chosen for the Testing: if she passes, she will be one of the very few students allowed to attend the University to become world leaders and scientists.  Cia's father is a University graduate, but his memory has been wiped out; the only advice he can offer Cia is to trust no one.

Cia quickly realizes that her father was right to warn her.  But she will need more than caution to survive the Testing. 

This fast-moving story of betrayal and survival will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games.  First in a series.

On-page violence, some kissing. No cussing, no sex.  Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.

Sweet Peril

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

Maybe we should just start skipping the middle novel in a series?

Sweet Peril picks up where Sweet Evil ended.  Anna is still pining for Kaiden, who keeps her at arm’s length. 

 The only new piece of information is that Anna is “the one.”  The one nephilim that will end the reign of the dukes and send them to hell, releasing the nephilim to live their own lives.  For this they must have allies, and Anna spends the rest of the book finding and aligning them.  The end. 

Gone is the sexy, steamy interplay between Kaiden and Anna, replaced by the fact that Anna now has to remain a virgin if she is to wield the sword of truth. (which won’t be wielded until the third book!)  With that knowledge, the tension is simply gone.  There are some interesting scenes between the two but Anna’s choice is not real as it was in the first book, and this unspoken necessity makes the scenes more boring. 

That said, there is plenty of action, including further understanding of Kopano, traveling with her to find nephilim who will aid them.  And if you loved the first book, you will still want to read this one.  But do it quickly to get to the real ending!

Keeping the Castle

Keeping the Castle  by Patrice Kindl

17-year-old Althea needs to marry for money. 

She knows that the fate of her noble-but-impoverished family as well as the fate of the family castle depends on her ability to make a successful--i.e. a wealthy--marriage match.  At first, Althea is willing to marry anybody who is rich enough to pay the bills and repair the dilapadated ancestral home, but gradually she realizes that she would prefer to marry someone who is not only rich, but also well-bred, well-educated, well-mannered, good-looking, and smart enough to recognize those virtues in Althea herself.

Fans of Jane Austen's literary world will adore Althea and her eccentric family, and astute readers will immediately identify the character she should marry, even when Althea seems impossibly blind to his fine qualities.  This quick, charming book can also be a stepping stone to the world of Regency romance made so popular by Downton Abbey.

No sex or cussing (heavens forbid!); the sweet and funny romances in this story will mostly appeal to gently reared female readers ages 12 to adult.