Is It Just Me...

or are more YA thrillers and mysteries being written and published?  Maybe I was just not finding them before, but it seems like I have been luckily stumbling upon and more often.  The Cheerleaders is one such book and I recommend it.  Very well done.  Just a little too long for me, for a 5 star as compared to a 4 star.  But definitely will appeal!  She also wrote Little Monsters! 

Secrets

Two Can Keep a Secret was a really good mystery, one that I didn't see coming.  A lot of twists and turns and really believable, I think.  Good, good stuff.  After reading One of Us is Lying, this was top on my to read-list.  And it didn't disappoint.  If you like OOUIL, check it out!

This is My Story, This is My Song

This is Our Story has more to do with this than this.  Although it is MUCH more macabre.  Again, I put 4 stars instead of 5 on a book by Ashley Elston and I just can't put my finger on why.  Probably just the length.  Because the book is written so well.  And I did buy this on audible and I will buy another!  Maybe I think that Elston is such a great writer, I just wish her editor were better.  Or she just wrote short books for losers like me!  Really good book though.  Really good.

Memories

I have talked about my old roommate, Nancy Lou before and how she would often talk about instances in her past and describe them as taking place, "in another life" saying that it was so long ago, it seemed like a wholly different life.  I get that now. 
In another life I was in the play production of Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table.  I had completely forgotten until I started listening to this, the fifteenth in the Hercule Poirot series.
I had probably forgotten not just because it took place in another life but also because my part was very, very small.  I was Mrs. Lorrimer's maid.  Yeah.  Not a big role!
In any case, this is my second Christie book and how I enjoyed it! 

#ReadSomeKimberlyReid!

#Prettyboy Must Die is by Kimberly Reid who also wrote this series which I LOVED LOVED LOVED!  This is what I hope, a great start to a new series! 

People Like Us

People Like Us by Dominick Dunne is a book that I always wanted to read but never have.  And I still haven't.  People Like Us by Dana Mele is the book that I read!  I saw it on the shelf at the library and bought it after reading the reviews.  I am glad I did, but I know I only gave it four stars, just because I think it was a little too long for me.  But I can really recommend it.  I just wasn't SUPER wow'd by it.  But it is really good. 

Monsters Come in All Shapes, Sizes and Ages...

Little Monsters was very good and it kept me guessing.  The only thing that kept it from being a 5 star was that I think it wrapped up WAY too fast at the end.  But maybe that was just because I was sad to see it end?  Very creepy and good book.  At first I thought it was going to be a paranormal thing, but I was glad that it wasn't!  It was also nice to hear all of the Wisconsin references! 

yeah...

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett is the book for Overdrive's Big Library Read.  There are unlimited number of copies of the book available so that everyone can read it at the same time, during the month of October, to promote Overdrive through a "global reading club" kinda thing.  I love the idea!  I just didn't love the book.  Lizzie just seemed a LOT younger than a senior in high school.  I don't know.  I don't know.  She was just so whiny and obnoxious.  She kinda reminded me of Margaret from AYTGIMM.  I really can't recommend this too highly.

Once

I read that Genuine Fraud was written with the idea that it would pay homage, be an update to The Talented Mr. Ripley, I really began to LOVE this book.  There was a movie made of that book in 1999.  And I confess, that is how I came to know the story.  It was only years later I realized it was from a book and a series.  I have not read them, but wow, that movie.  It was a horror movie, I think. 
I really enjoy all of Lockhart's books and this one was one of the best books I have read so far this year.  I don't know if it is a Printz kind of book, but it sure was a great, great, great read that I can recommend.  It was completely creepy and very well written.  I think it definitely should be considered.  It is just so well done, how can it not? 

One of those Things...

I couldn't remember the name, but my AUTHOR friend Rachel knew it right away!  Bone Gap has one of the worst cases of deus ex machina I have ever experienced.  I liked this book--- at first, but then the end completely ruined it for me.  I am so sorry.
But if you don't mind the whole DEM thing, then you will probably like it.
I did learn about prosopagnosia, though.

Do You Want to Know a Secret

Secrets and Lies is the second book in the Truth or Dare series and I have to say, it kept my interest, but I think I have figured it out.  Maybe.  I don't know!  But I think I figured out the bad guy/girl! 

Never Have I Ever

been the first person to rate and review a book on goodreads, until now!  Guys, Lies and Alibis is the latest in the Langdon Prep series by Kimberley Reid.  This is such a terrific series.  All of the things that I've said about the series in the past are true about this latest edition.  Fantastic.  I love, love Chanti Evans.  I can't wait for the next one!

Was expecting something else...

Beth Fantaskey is a wonderful writer and gracious and kind woman.   I don't "know" her but I have met many authors over the years and meeting Ms. Fantaskey was a delight.   Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, Jessica Rules the Dark Side and Jekel Loves Hyde were books that I absolutely loved.  I couldn't put them down.  It has been so long since Fantaskey had a book, I just couldn't wait to read Buzz Kill. 
I had expectations that were way too high and that was very unfair.  That's why I didn't rate this as high as her other books. 
Buzz Kill can't be compared to Fantaskey's other books.  This one is completely different.  While the others were paranormal, fantasy-type stories, this one is a mystery that will appeal to those who like the Red Blazer Girls or the Gallagher Girls or the newer, Also Known As series by Robin Benway.  For me, it just didn't work.  Millie is seventeen, the only child of the mayor of their small, Pennsylvania town.  Her father is also the assistant football coach.  The head coach is murdered and her father is one of the main suspects.  Millie is determined to prove her father innocent and find out who the real murderer is. 
I will buy it though, because I know it will appeal to others.  I hope that Fantaskey will return to her paranormal writing.  I would love to hear how Jessica is doing!  Millie was sort of the anti-Jessica.  Very unappealing and whiny. 

Who Cares?

Yes so Truth or Dare is a bit like Pretty Little Liars!  Who cares!  It is great fun and a page-turner for sure!  I enjoyed this book so much and I kept on reading.  It has the spoiled rich kids and the kids from the poor side of town.  The rotten parents and good parents and evil stalker who is playing a game of truth or dare that is truly evil.  And it is a series.  Great stuff, great fun for summer or any other time.  If you liked Pretty Little Liars you will like this, too!

The only bad thing about reading a Langdon Prep book

Is that when you are done with it, you have to wait so long for the next one!!! It seems like it took forever for Sweet 16 to Life to come out! As I have mentioned, Chanti Evans is one of my most favorite detectives, and the only female one, now that I think about it. This one takes place totally on the Ave, and features MJ heavily. Marco is back and Bethanie is still gone. I miss her. I hope that she isn't gone for good, but it seems likely. I missed the surroundings of the school, but the mystery was good and the books was suspenseful, well written and funny, like always! Keep em coming!

Original and Creepy

This month I read Fracture by Megan Miranda and I really enjoyed it so I was excited to see Hysteria on netgalley.com.  Hysteria is definitely one I will buy and recommend to folks at the library.  This is the story of Mallory who killed her boyfriend, Brian, in self-defense.  After that, naturally, she can't go back to school or even live in her home town because Brian's mother and brother, Dylan are angry.  Brian's mother beings to stalk Megan and throw red paint on the family's home.   

Mallory's parents send her to a New Hampshire boarding school, the same school her father attended. At boarding school she feels that she is still being stalked, perhaps by Brian's mother, perhaps by something even worse.  

One of the particularly rotten students Mallory's new school ends up stabbed to death, in Mallory's room.  Of course, suspicion falls on Mallory.  

This book kept me guessing up until the end.  There is a bit of romance, as Mallory is reunited with a young man she met a few years before, the son of her father's best friend.  The character of Mallory can be really unlikeable, but that's okay.  She is very human and real.  Her best friend is also very cool.  

Very good story, and I read it quickly.  Looking forward to more from Miranda.  

Also it is set in New Hampshire!

It's Not Butter...It's Parkour!

What We Saw at Night drew me in immediately.  It is set in Northern Minnesota, an area I know and love well, and filled with intrigue, I was turning the pages (virtually) quickly.  The book is the story of three teens with Xeroderma Pigmetosum, a rare genetic disorder that means they must live in darkness, because being in the sunlight is lethal.  At first it might not seem too bad to have to stay out of the light, but as you learn their stories, through the POV of high school senior, Allie, you come to understand what a troubling disorder it is.  The teens never think much about what they want to be when they grow up, who they will marry, where they will live, because odds are, they won't be living that long.   

One of the teens, a mysterious girl named Juliette, takes up the art of parkour, which is also featured in My Life as a Stuntboy, and the three friends spend their nights climbing buildings and bridges and practicing.  Then they witness what may or may not have been a murder.  And somehow Juliette is involved with the suspect.

The mystery is good, but the end kind of unravels for me.  I do blame it on myself, as I am not a patient reader and I thought it was a little drawn out.  Still I will buy this book for the library and recommend it because it is well written and deals with interesting and unique issues.   

New Series to Love!

Love my latest Kindle checkout from the library!  Kimberly Reid's My Own Worst Fremeny, the first in the Langdon Prep series.  The second one just came out and I'm totally buying it tomorrow and ordering the series for the library.
This first book was such a great one.  The main character, Chanti, is clever, kind, ornery, and all of the things that make a main character appealing.
Chanti comes from a transitional neighborhood in Denver and when she gets in some trouble over the summer, her mom decides that she will be attending the snooty Langdon Prep on a scholarship.  There are all kinds of trouble waiting for Chanti at Langdon and mysteries to solve.  I hope that each of the books has a mystery to it, that would be really cool, but even if they don't, I'll be reading the rest!  The book concludes with discussion questions dealing with some of the issues that Chanti faces like friends who get into trouble, dumping old friends to get cooler ones, racial and economic profiling, and  the relationship between police and society.  What a great, great book! 

Watch those Sharks

Usually I just put a picture of the book's cover on a review, but Variant is the perfect example of a book jumping the shark so I had to include a pic of The Fonz.

Variant is written by Robinson Wells, the brother of Dan Wells who wrote I am Not a Serial Killer. Despite my years of research, I have not been able to confirm or deny that the Wells Brothers are related to Dawn Wells. Or Wells Fargo, for that matter.

Variant is the story of Benson Fisher, a foster kid who applies to a private academy to escape the miserable foster homes he has been in before, which, if we believe a lot of what we hear about some foster parents, we know that this part of the book is probably realistic fiction. Benson arrives at Maxwell Academy to find that there are no teachers, no adults at all. There are just 77 kids, each of whom belong to one of three gangs. Benson wants to GET OUT, but most of the other kids seem content or defeated. No one is sure why they are there, perhaps it is a training camp, though all they do is play paintball sometimes, or maybe it is a psych experiment. One gang seems to be the "do-gooders" communicating with the Iceman, who visits via closed circuit tv and computers to tell the students what their daily schedule will be. This group, The Society is content to just take things as they are. Havoc, that's the "bad guys" gang. They wear chains and have ink tattoos and like to cause trouble. The third group, the Vs, are just kind of there. They try to keep the peace, but they want to get out, someday and so they don't kiss butt like the Society does.

One of the most bothersome things about the book is that it says "V's" when referring to this group. Doesn't that imply possession? The V's cat. The V's chair. Should it just be "Vs"? Like CDs and 80s music? Not "I have a lot of CD's." and "I liked the 80's."

Maybe I am wrong but I looked in a couple grammar books and they agree with me.

So it was so annoying to see "The V's were in the room." The V's WHAT was in the room??? No, just the V's. Oh, you mean just the Vs!

The other bothersome thing is that Benson is supposed to have come from Pittsburgh. He says that he lived in foster homes in Elliot, the Bluff and South Side and then says that these are not top Pittsburgh tourist destinations. I would suggest that the South Side is one of the more popular tourist destinations in Pittsburgh. The Bluff, which is better known as Uptown, is actually a very small area of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University and Mercy Hospital taking up quite a bit of it. There are law offices, and the Armstrong Tunnel. Not a lot of residential stuff going on there. It is 1.5 miles in size. Some of DU's frat houses are there though...and given what we know about some foster care businesses, I guess that they might put a foster kid under the care of a frat. Maybe that's where Benson was.

So I took a lot of time saying what bugged me about the books...but still I really did like it. I mean, did Happy Days stop being fun to watch after Fonz went out in his shorts and water skis? No!

The book kept me reading and I will be reading the sequel.

There's a Killer on the Road

So I Hunt Killers doesn't come out until next month, I got a copy at Midwinter and I just finished it today and I when it comes out I want to recommend it to everyone who enjoys the Dexter series and doesn't mind a very twisted and dark story. At first I was a little annoyed that it was so Dexter-like but then I reminded myself that there's nothing new under the sun and that I found myself just getting lost in this really well written and suspenseful book by Barry Lyga.

Jazz is the son of the worst serial killer the US has ever known. When Jazz's Dear Old Dad, Billy, was doing his horrific work, he was also grooming Jazz to become just like him. Now that Billy is in prision, and Jazz is almost 18, Jazz is worried that he will become like his monster-dad and he spends most of his days making sure that he doesn't. Enter a new serial killer in Jazz's small town and Jazz gets into his head that if he can catch this serial killer, maybe he can escape his father forever.

That's a way-simple plot summary, there's a lot more to the story and it is story well worth reading! It is much better than I am Not a Serial Killer, even though I liked that, too. This is just a really good book, if you have a strong tummy!