Title: Broken Soup
Author: Jenny Valentine
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5
Why I Read It: I enjoyed Me, the Missing, and the Dead by this author, and this is her latest novel released in the US.

Summary: Rowan’s older brother is dead. Her father has left. Her mother sleeps all day, leaving Rowan to take care of her little sister. So when a stranger at the store insists she dropped a photo negative, she doesn’t have the energy to argue with him. But then she can’t get that mystery photo out of her mind. And who was that boy anyway?

Review: I luuuuurve this book! The story unfolds a little at a time, luring you deeper and deeper into what Rowan is going through. I admire how the author strings you along and keeps creating mystery in your mind. Jenny Valentine, please hurry and write more!

This is the type of novel I would love to diagram or use to practice plot-boarding.

Here’s a little from the first page to whet your appetite:

It wasn’t mine.

I didn’t drop it but the boy in the line said I did.

It was a negative of a photograph, one on its own, all scratched and beaten up. I couldn’t even see what it was a negative of because his finger and thumb were blotting out most of it. He was holding it out to me like nothing else was going to happen until I took it, like he had nothing else to do but wait.

I didn’t want to take it. I said that. I said I didn’t own a camera even, but the boy just stood there with this “I know I’m right” look on his face.

He had a good face. Friendly eyes, wide mouth, all that. One of his top teeth was chipped; there was a bit missing. Still, a good face doesn’t equal a good person. If you catch yourself thinking that, you need to stop.

Now go and read the rest!

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Title: Wintergirls
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5
Why I Read It: Because everyone was raving about it, among other reasons.

Summary: Lia and her best friend Cassie made a pact to become skinny together. But then Cassie drops Lia, and a few months later Lia finds out Cassie has been found dead.

Review: I didn’t want to read this. I knew what it was about—a girl with an eating disorder—and I didn’t want to knowingly subject myself to that world of pain.

But then I went to my favorite locally owned bookstore to hear Laurie Halse Anderson speak. I got there too early and didn’t have anything to read with me, so I picked up Wintergirls and read the first 15 pages. It took all my self control to put it back on the shelf and wait for it to come in at my library.

I finished this book in less than 24 hours, on a workday no less. Lia was so real to me that when I wasn’t actually reading, she’s all I could think about: Would she pull through? How long til she hit bottom? Would it be too late?

Lia’s story haunted me because I know that countless girls out there have stories just like hers. Now that I have a daughter, this issue hits close to home. I can’t protect her from the impossible idea of “beauty” on TV, in magazines, from other kids. What can I do as a parent to foster a healthy body image? I really don’t know.

Reading Lia’s story convinced me that not knowing the answer to that question is unacceptable. So if you know of any good nonfiction books on this topic, please let me know.

I highly recommend this amazing book. And when you’re done reading it yourself, lend your copy to a parent you know.

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Title: Jellicoe Road
Author: Melina Marchetta
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5
Summary: At a boarding school in the Australian bush country, Taylor Markham has been selected as the reluctant leader to represent the school in negotiations with their rivals, the Townies and the Cadets. But when the only adult in her life disappears and Taylor finds out the Cadet leader knows her better than she’d like, will she be able to hold it together and protect her kids from retaliation?

Review: When I finished Jellicoe Road, I smiled and set it down on my nightstand. Not 30 seconds later, I picked it back up and started reading it again from the beginning. The last time I did that was with the fourth Harry Potter. Actually, that might be the only other time I’ve ever done that.

So yeah, you could say I sorta liked this book…if for no other reason than I loved it. I actually convinced my hubby to read it, and he reads like one book every 6 months so it better be good if it’s going to join that exclusive club.

This book is the type of book that’s so incredibly well written so as to make me completely question my ability to ever achieve something even 1% as good.

This is just from page 2, and there’s more where that came from, I promise. The narrator is talking about having survived a car crash where her parents were driving.

Someone asked us later, “Didn’t you wonder why no one came across you sooner?”

Did I wonder?

When you see your parents zipped up in black body bags on the Jellicoe Road like they’re some kind of garbage, don’t you know?

Wonder dies.

But don’t take that one snippet to mean this book is all depressing. It’s not at all. It’s heartbreaking, yes, but also hopeful. And funny.

I’m going to sleep on it, but this one might just make my list of top 10 all-time YA favorites. And thank you to whomever submitted a suggestion for me to read Saving Francesca. I definitely will.

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Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5
Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world, the government picks two children from each of its territories to participate in The Hunger Games—an annual fight-to-the-death reminder that the government is in control, just in case you forgot. When Katniss’s 12-year-old sister gets picked in the fatal raffle, Katniss volunteers to take her place without a moment’s hesitation. But does she have what it takes to fight for her life?

Review: I was initially reluctant to read this one because it sounded so damn depressing. But after reading so many glowing reviews, I decided to give it a whirl. And boy, am I glad I did.

Yes, the world of Panem is grim. Yes, kids getting randomly picked to fight each other to the death is morbid. But this is a crazy good story. During the Games, I found myself getting ready to turn to the next page before I was even done reading the current page.

Collins manages to explore the idea of kids being pulled into violent conflict without hitting you over the head with the real-world parallels. Which is more fun because you get to come up with the parallels yourself and feel wicked smart for it.

The love triangle just broke my heart. Unlike some other recent YA love triangles (*cough* Twilight), I actually felt torn between the two love interests! Plus, the kissing scenes were yummy.

I cannot wait until the next in this series, Catching Fire, comes out.

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Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 5/5
Summary: Katsa is Graced with the ability to kill, which her uncle the king exploits for his own gain. She has no friends—how could a wild, predatory animal have friends? Then one day, she meets another Graceling who not only challenges her idea of friendship but her idea of herself. And it just so happens he’s pretty darn cute, to boot.

Review: OhmygoshIlovedthisbooksooomuch. I’ll try to stop gushing and write a coherent review, but…sigh. I was sad to let this one go.

Just a few of the things I loved loved loved:

• The world—I always get a little nervous when I start a fantasy book because the author can get so wrapped up in naming things and creating their own little world that it takes away from the story of the characters and their struggles. Not so with this book. The world is there, but you aren’t hit over the head with it. So the result is that it feels real. Within the first few pages, I felt like I was there.
• The strong main character—Actually, the strong female main character. And I’m not talking the ability to kill. Katsa is a girl who knows what she wants and isn’t going to let other people tell her how to live her life.
• The romance—Yum.

I can’t wait for the next in this series!

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