Truth About Twinkie Pie

TITLE: The Truth About Twinkie Pie
AUTHOR: Kat Yeh
RELEASE DATE: January 2015
PUBLISHER: Little, Brown and Company
PAGES: 342 pages
GENRE: ChickLit
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 6+

SUMMARY: GiGi (born Galileo Galilei) moves from a South Carolina trailer park to Long Island when her sister DiDi wins a big baking contest and can finally afford to send her little sister to a prep school that is worthy of GiGi's intellect. While DiDi works in the saloon, GiGi goes to school determined for a fresh start. She changes her name to Leia and even becomes friends with the most popular boy in school, Trip. But this new friendship also comes with a new enemy: Mace who is intent on ruining Leia's dreams of a better life. 

WHAT I LIKED: Throughout the book Gigi uses her mom's recipes to compare to her own situations in life. I really loved this because by the time I finished reading, I wanted to make some of the recipes myself!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: This book has a slow start. Too often I have students return it after only reading the first couple of chapters. The story seems a little immature for my junior high students, but after giving a short book talk on what else the book has to offer, students are intrigued and usually give it a second chance. All I have to say is, stick with it, the story gets really good about half way through. 

READALIKES: Genuine Sweet by Faith Harkey, The Battle of Darcy Lane by Tara Altebrando

BOOK TRAILER: not the official book trailer, but a good one created by Tobie Cattarin

A Court of Thorns and Roses

TITLE: A Court of Thorns and Roses
AUTHOR: Sarah J Maas
RELEASE DATE: May 2015
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury
PAGES: 419 pages 
SERIES: A Court of Thorns and Roses book 1
GENRE: Paranormal, Fantasy
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 8-12

SUMMARY: Feyre's homelife is depressing, their house is barely standing, her father can no longer work due to his injuries, her mother is dead, and her sisters treat her like trash; but still Feyre cares for them. One day while out on a hunt, while she is preparing to shoot a deer, a large wolf approaches, only considering her own protection, she shoots the wolf through the eye. Well, this wasn't any wolf walking through the forest, this was a Fae in his wolf form and according to the accords between the Fae and the Humans, it is a life for a life. Now the High Fae, Tamlin is demanding her life as punishment. He takes her into his kingdom, in the Fae world, and  Feyre must figure out how to survive long enough in this strange land before she can return to her family.

   

FAVORITE QUOTE: "I was as unburdened as a piece of dandelion fluff, and he was the wind that stirred me about the world." (Maas, ) 

WHAT I LIKED: This story is kind of like a retelling of the classic fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast. But in this story, the beast is a fae and the beauty is a tough

READALIKES: Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, Graceling by Kristen Cashore

SERIES UPDATE: Book Two: A Court of Mist and Fury releases May 3, 2016

BOOK TRAILER: I wasn't able to find an official book trailer for A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I was able to find a video of the author, Sarah J. Maas, describing the book. 

I'll Give You The Sun

TITLE: I'll Give You The Sun
AUTHOR: Jandy Nelson
RELEASE DATE: September 2014
PUBLISHER: Dial Books
PAGES: 371 pages 
GENRE: Realistic Fiction
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 9-12

SUMMARY: Jude and Noah are twins and the very best of friends, together forever; until their mom dies in a car accident and both their lives spiral out of control. Noah was supposed to be the artist, but now he gets his thrills by jumping off the highest cliff to the water below. Jude was used to be confident and popular, but now she prefers to be alone while haunted by the ghost of her mother. Can the two put their past behind them in order to move forward together? 

   

FAVORITE QUOTE:  "Or maybe a person is just made up of a lot of people," I say. "Maybe we're accumulating these new selves all the time." Hauling them in as we make choices, good and bad, as we screw up, step up, lose our minds, find our minds, fall apart, fall in love, as we grieve, grow, retreat from the world, dive into the world, as we make things, as we break things. " (Jandy, )

WHAT I LIKED: I really enjoyed the different point of views: Jude as a seventeen-year-old and Noah's story being told from when he was fourteen. It helped you see how the past affected the future for both of the story lines.

READALIKES: Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Proxy

TITLE: Proxy
AUTHOR: Alex London
RELEASE DATE: June 2013
PUBLISHER: Philomel Books
PAGES: 379 pages
GENRE: Science Fiction
OVERALL RATING: 2/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 8-12 (language) 

SUMMARY: Knox is a playboy, he likes to party, loves the girls, and never gets in trouble. When he steals his dad's car, takes it off autodrive and crashes, instantly killing his passenger, there is no punishment for him. Instead, Knox's proxy Syd is the one who receives the punishment. As Knox watches; Syd is tied up, electrocuted, branded and punished to manual labor in a work camp... all for something a kid he has never met did. So what happens when by some small chance, Knox and Syd finally meet? 

   

FAVORITE QUOTE: "He laughed at himself for thinking about Mr. Baram's weird saying and picked up an ancient plastic pen that had rolled out of one of the bins. He mindlessly clicked the back of it to make the little tip go in and out with a satisfying sound. Why did they even have this antique? Who knew how to write by hand anymore?" (London, 43)

WHAT I LIKED/DIDN'T LIKE: I was not a big fan of this book. The high-tech dystopian society was kind of cool. But it seemed like there were a lot of questionable gaps. The beginning of the story would mention one thing and you would have to wait till several chapters later as to find out why. I never felt any bond toward the characters. It's not like I was tearing up when a character died. Another thing that really bothered me was the language. You would think in this futuristic world, they would come up with new curse words. The author created several new terms, but still felt the need to add curse words so that I don't feel comfortable allowing my middle grade students to read the book. 

SERIES UPDATE: Book 2: Guardian out in May 2015

READALIKES: Red Rising by Pierce Brown, The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

The Crown

TITLE: The Crown
AUTHOR: Kiera Cass
RELEASE DATE: May 2016
PUBLISHER: HarperTeen
PAGES: 279 pages
GENRE: ChickLit
SERIES: The Selection series
OVERALL RATING: 5/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 7-12 

SUMMARY: In the finale to the beloved Selection series, Eadlyn must choose her fiance from the Selection, cope with her mother's sudden heart attack, survive without her twin, Aaron, and run a country of people who don't exactly like her. She has to make a lot of tough decisions, but eventually she learns that listening to your heart is sometimes more important than listening to your head.

FAVORITE QUOTE: "Maybe it's not the first kisses that are supposed to be special. Maybe it's the last one."
   

WHAT I LIKED: This book made me emotional. I won't say it was a tear jerker (spoiler alert), no one dies. But for every decision that Eadlyn had to make, I felt like I was right there beside her supporting her and I got a little teary eyed a couple of times. But that is what I love about a book, if reading a book can make me feel emotion for the character, then it automatically becomes a five in my opinion. And yes, there were also times when I caught myself laughing out loud.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I can honestly say that Eadlyn did not choose the suitor that I wanted for her. I liked that throughout the book you really had no idea who she was going to choose. As she says multiple times, the top five are all front runners. I knew who I wanted her to pick (which I won't say to avoid spoilers) but I was very happy with who she did choose in the end. Honestly, I really wish The Crown wasn't the end. I would like to see what Eadlyn and her fiance do with their kingdom.

BOOK TRAILER: uploaded by EpicReads

We Are All Made of Molecules

TITLE: We Are All Made of Molecules
AUTHOR: Susin Nielsen
RELEASE DATE: May 2015
PUBLISHER: Wendy Lamb Books
PAGES: 248 pages
GENRE: Realistic Fiction, Comedy
OVERALL RATING: 3/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 8-12 

SUMMARY: Stewart is a socially awkward boy genius, Ashley is the most popular girl in school. Their worlds collide when Stewart and his dad move in with Ashley and her mom. Stewart always wanted a sister, but Ashley doesn't want to be seen with him in public. When Stewart's bully starts dating Ashley, Stewart thinks this can work toward his advantage. But when Stewart finds out what Jared, the bully, really thinks about his semi-stepsister, Stewart begins to wonder if he should step in and help the girl who makes his life hell every day.

FAVORITE QUOTE: "I have to wait another two years before I can hire a lawyer and get unconstipated." Just an example of how much an airhead Ashley is. 
   

WHAT I LIKED: Normally, it is easy for me to say I love the characters of the books I read. However, with this book, it was not the case. Stewart is a total nerd, who is socially awkward, and has a hard time making friends. Ashley is a total airhead who doesn't care who she puts down, as long as she maintains her spot on the social ladder. For the first several chapters, I absolutely hated both of the characters. However, the alternating point of views helped ease the annoyance of each character's story. It was nice to hear about one situation from Stewart's point of view and then hear the same situation told from Ashley's point of view in the next chapter. Overall, the message of the story is clear, and you're able to see the aspects of bullying from several different aspects up and down the social ladder.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: When I purchased this book for my middle school library, all of the reviews recommended it for grades 7-10. It was even part of the state of Texas's Lone Star Book List for 2016. I do not feel this book is appropriate for seventh graders. It's really pushing it for eighth graders. There are a lot of cuss words in the book (I always ask why the author feels the need to do this. Adding curse words into a book automatically makes me think it is not middle school appropriate). There are also mature scenes that involve drinking, and sexual situations (rape). 

READALIKES: The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten

Darkest Part of the Forest

TITLE: The Darkest Part of the Forest
AUTHOR: Holly Black
RELEASE DATE: January 2015
PUBLISHER: Little, Brown, and Company
PAGES: 328 pages
GENRE: Fantasy
OVERALL RATING: 5/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 9-12

SUMMARY: Hazel Evans and the rest of the residents of Fairfold know all the rules: Don't go out after sunset on a full moon, Don't act like a tourist, Don't go into the woods, and definitely Do not make a deal with one of the Fair Folk. But other than that, Fairfold is a great place to live. All of the kids hang out at the glass casket of the horned boy, drinking and dancing, as if it is the most normal thing in the world. Because in Fairfold it is. But Hazel understands the negative side of Fairfold and she will do everything it takes to protect it. As a child, she carries a golden sword and slays the monsters that terrorize her town. But after a few years of slaying monsters, she breaks the number one rule and now has seven years to pay the price. 

FAVORITE QUOTE: "They were in love with him because he was a prince and a faerie and magical and you were supposed to love princes and faeries and magic people. They loved him the way they'd loved Beast the first time he swept Belle around the dance floor in her yellow dress. They loved him as they loved the Eleventh Doctor with his bow tie and his flippy hair and the Tenth Doctor with his mad laugh. They loved him as they loved lead singers of bands and actors in movies, loved him in such a way that their shared love brought them closer together." (Black, 85-86)

WHAT I LIKED: Starting from the first page, I absolutely loved the town of Fairfold. I even went as far as doing a Google search to see if there really was a town with the same name! I didn't find anything. And its not like I would go visit if I had found it, because the book is very specific about what happens to tourists in Fairfold! I mean, seriously; faeries, changelings, water hags, barghests, horned boys and Alderkings. What more could you ask for? 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I didn't like the ending, as in the book had to end. It ended with such a "Happily Ever After" that I was disappointed there was no room for a sequel. Holly Black, if you're reading this, could there ever be a continuation to the story of Fairfold? What happens to Ben and Severn, Jack and Hazel? 

READALIKES: Modern Faerie Tale series by Holly Black,  Need series by Carrie Jones

BOOK TRAILER: 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

TITLE: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
AUTHOR: Becky Albertalli
RELEASE DATE: April 2015
PUBLISHER: Balzer + Bray
PAGES: 325 pages 
GENRE: Realistic Fiction, Humor, LGBT
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
APPROPRIATE AGE: grades 9-12

SUMMARY: Simon is an in-the-closet, high school junior with a secret online boyfriend named "Blue". The only thing Simon knows about Blue is that they go to the same school. Life is perfect, until one of his secret emails falls into the hands of the wrong person. Simon must find a way to come out before he is pushed out. 

WHAT I LIKED: I really enjoyed the story, the character of Simon, the humor, and the pure awkwardness of Simon's love life (or lack of one). I really think that every high school student, straight or gay, needs to read this book. To be able to see how Simon copes keeping his biggest secret, and the huge burden he feels of telling people; I believe would be a huge eye-opener to people on both sides. 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:  I didn't like the language. There were a lot of curse words in this book, which made it inappropriate for my students in 7th-8th grade. I would have really liked making this available in my school library, but couldn't for that one reason.

READALIKES: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

BOOK TRAILER: none found