Life As We Knew It

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Not often does a book touch me so much that I can't stop thinking about it. Even less often does a book scare me so much that I can't stop thinking about it. Life As We Knew It is one of those rare books.

This is the story of Miranda, a girl from Pennsylvania, and her family. It is not your typical story about a family and its dysfunctions, but more a story of survival. You see, in Miranda's world the moon has crashed into a closer orbit to the Earth and it has drastically changed the climate of the world.

The moon has caused huge tidal waves, destroying Australia, Hawaii, other islands, and America's coastal states. It has also caused devastating earthquakes and great volcanic eruptions. You may wonder how this all affects someone in Pennsylvania. Well, the ash from the volcanoes has blackened out the sky. This makes it extremely cold (think nuclear winter) and since there is no sunlight, plants can't grow.

Miranda's family has no electricity, no heat, everyone around them is dying, and they are running out of food and water. To find out if Miranda and her family survive, you will have to read this book. I warn you, this book is not for those who get scared thinking about a post-apocalyptic world.

Flirt: Write Here, Right Now

Flirt: Write Here, Right Now by Nicole Clarke

Sixteen-year-old Melanie "Mel" Henderson loves her granola-eating, free-spirit life in Berkley, California. To everyone around her, she lives a charmed life. A life that has just got better thanks to her winning a prestigious internship at a New York fashion magazine called Flirt. Melanie's dream in life is to be a writer and she sees this internship as a stepping stone to her journalistic career.

However, Melanie is about to slip off that stepping stone. She starts off by coming in late for her first day of work, did I mention that she was a little drunk on champagne as well, to top it all off, it turns out the cute older guy she flirted with (and drank the champagne with) on the plane works at Flirt. Let's just say she doesn't make the best first impression with her new boss, Josephine Bishop.

One of the bright spots in Mel's bad first day is meeting her fellow interns and roommates. You see during this summer long internship Mel and five other girls will live in a loft with a housemother. Her roommates come from all over the world. Olivia is from England, Kiyoko is from Japan, and Alexa is from Argentina. Her other two roommates, Charlotte and Genevieve are from Connecticut, but they aren't exactly friendly to Mel.

In fact, Mel is about to learn that life in the New York fashion magazine world is a lot different than Berkley, California. To find out what happens to Mel and her fellow interns, and what backstabbing Genevieve and Charlotte are up to, you will have to read, Flirt: Write Here, Right Now.

Just as a note, this is the first book in a series. It is also a lot like The Devil Wears Prada for teens.

Point Blank

Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz

This is the second book in the Alex Rider series (see my previous Stormbreaker blog for the first book). Just like the first book, Alex Rider is thrust into another spy mission by MI6. This one takes him to the mountains of France and a boys' school called Point Blanc.

Alex is sent to Point Blanc when the fathers of two of the pupils are murdered. Alex quickly learns that this is not your average Prep School. It only has seven boys enrolled at a time, they are all delinquents, and they are all the children of rich and powerful parents.

Alex is forced to taken on the identity of Alex Friend, the son of a wealthy English noble. However, the fictional Alex Friend is nothing like the real Alex Rider. Alex has to change his entire appearance and attitude to appear the part of a troubled teen.

This book is action-packed and hard to put down. Like any spy book, some of the events are unbelievable, but there is depth in Alex's relationship with MI6, which we begin to explore in this novel. Beware when reading this book that the ending is a little bit of cliffhanger, presumably to be picked up in book three, Skeleton Key. I will do a blog on that book as soon as I have read it. Overall, another great teen spy book.

Wuthering High

Wuthering High by Cara Lockwood

Oh my gosh, I couldn't put this book down!!! This is one of the best teen books I have read in a while. Sure, it might not be what you would call high quality literature, but it was such a fun book.

Wuthering High is the story of Miranda, a girl who is sent to the remote Bard Academy. It is a school for delinquents, but Miranda doesn't feel that she belongs there. You see, all 15 year-old Miranda did was crash her dad's BMW and max out her stepmom's credit card. No big deal, right?

Well, Miranda is in for more than a strict boarding school. When she gets to Shipwreck Island (where the school is) weird things start happening to her. Her room is haunted, her roommate worships Satan, her teachers all have names like Ms. W and Coach H, and there is this weird boy named Heathcliff that keeps following her around. If all of this isn't enough to stress Miranda out, she finds out her teacher are keeping a big secret and she even has the school bully after her.

If you want to find out what happens to Miranda, you should read this book. I can't wait to read the sequel, The Scarlett Letterman. There is even a third book coming out next year called, Moby Clique.

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun

From the Notebooks of Meanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson

Have you ever had a secret. A secret that you couldn't tell anyone? Well, Melanin's mama has a secret. A secret that she finally decides to reveal to Melanin. That secret is that she is gay.

Melanin is shocked to learn his mother's secret. He is shocked and ashamed. He doesn't know how his friends or the other people in their neighborhood will react. He decides to make his mother's secret his secret.

Melanin has a hard time dealing with his mother's secret. He is just relieved that no one knows about it. That is until Kristen shows up.

I can't tell anymore without giving away the ending of the book. I will say this though, it is a great book for anyone who is struggling with their feelings about homosexuals and homosexuality in general. A well done book for teens and young adults on a very delicate subject.

Dead High Yearbook

Dead High Yearbook

I haven't done a blog on a graphic novel, so I decided to do one on a new and interesting one entitled, Dead High Yearbook. The neat thing about this graphic novel is that it has a hardback cover, making it look like a yearbook. Inside are a bunch of short horror stories to both frighten and intrigue readers.

Each person featured in the yearbook has the gruesome tale of their death recounted in its pages. These deaths include: vampire attacks, murders, accidents, and other frightful ways you could not imagine. A perfect read for anyone in high school or anyone who loves a good horror story.

Forever in Blue

Forever in Blue by Ann Brashares

The last book of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Even though it is sad to see them go, it really was time. However, with that being said, I must say that this book wasn't the best way to say good-bye.

Unlike the previous three books, this book has a definitely more mature theme to it. Young readers be advised. Maybe Brashares was trying to have her books grow in maturity just as its characters did, similar to Harry Potter. Even if that is the case, I didn't want to know as much about the four's sex lives as I learned.

This book was less about the Sisterhood and more about each girl's love life. I believe it is important for young adult books to discuss sex and it is something young girls like to read about, however I don't think that the attitudes in this book matched those of the previous three.

My overall opinion is that the end of the book was a great farewell to a beloved series, the rest of the book was not a part of the series. It should have become a different book. Just as Meg Cabot did with the American Girl duo, I think that Brashares used this book discuss teen sexuality instead of talking about the friendship of four girls.