Prada and Prejudice

Annotation: Callie isn't popular. Mindy is. SO for them to be assigned as roommates on their trip to London is unbelievable. Which is why Mindy is ignoring it. She's been going of with her popular friends, leaving Callie all alone. Alone that is, until she discovers their plan to sneak out to a club. Will Callie wow them with her new Pradas, or will something go horribly wrong, as everything in Callie's life so far has?

Reader: Payton GAge: 13Title: Prada and PrejudiceAuthor: Mandy HubbardPublisher: RazorbillPub Date: 6/11/2009Galley: YesNominate for Teens’Top10: NoDid the cover reflect the contents: The cover didn't really do anything to convince me to pick up the book. It did, however, accurately reflect the contents. I really didn't like the sentence on there though. It gives away to much.Recommend: NoCompelling Aspect of the Book: To me, the most compelling aspect of the book was the time travel. It wasn't your normal, everyday, huge box covered in Christmas lights time travel. I would have liked it better if the time travel was explained, though. In this it just shows that she has time traveled.Did you finish: YesWere you disappointed with the book: I thought the book would be funnier, but instead it was really sort of predictable. You could tell pretty much what was going to happen, pages before it actually did.Age Range: 14-15, 16-17Quality: 3Q ReadablePopularity: 2P Only for special interest

Zombie Queen of Newbury High

Annotation: It's almost prom! For Mia this means that she gets to dance with her boyfriend Rob, the school's best quarterback. At least that's what she thinks, until head cheerleader Samantha decides that Rob is hers. In an attempt to prevent this, Candice, Mia's hypochondriac best friend, gets Mia to buy a love spell from a creepy old hag. But it all goes wrong when Mia discovers that it was actually a zombie virus, and in a matter of days, everyone will try to eat her! But can she and Chase, the zombie-hunting new kid, stop it before she becomes a zombie snack?

Reader: Payton G Age: 13 Title: Zombie Queen of Newbury High Author: Amanda Ashby Publisher: Speak Pub Date: 3/5/2009 Galley: Yes Nominate for Teens’Top10: No Did the cover reflect the contents: The cover did sort of draw my attention, but the word zombie in the title was what really attracted me. It did accurately reflect the contents of the book, but I would have rather seen a zombie in a prom dress. Recommend: No Compelling Aspect of the Book: Zombies. It was definitely the zombies that I liked best. But they seemed way too unaware of their zombie-ness to seem like zombies to me. Did you finish: Yes Were you disappointed with the book: I was really expecting more of a rampage through the city in which they devoured everyone's brains, but apparently, that's just a myth. Instead, the zombies want to eat the main character, who is their queen. I didn't really get that. Why eat the queen? Age Range: 12-13, 14-15 Quality: 3Q Readable Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal Comments: I think that "Zombie Prom" would have been a better title. It's shorter, easier to say, and still gives a pretty good idea about the contents of the book.

Fairy Tale

Reader: Megan W
Age: 16
Title: Fairy Lust (now Fairy Tale according to Amazon)
Author: Cyn Balog
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: 06/23/09
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: No
Did the cover reflect the contents: The cover, while being rather simple, drew my attention immediately. The black background with startling wings in the center is captivating. The green and pink/red of the wings really pop against such a dark background. The simple pair of wings reflect the books contents; one of the characters is a fairy.
Would you recommend it: Yes
How would you convince us to read the book: This was a great book. At first, I started reading it and was rather bored, but the more I read, the more I continued to read. It was gripping, and the characters felt developed to me. (Well, the main three anyway.)
Compelling Aspect of the Book: This book is about fairies (duh), and while that may seem like something you've read before, it's not (well, it wasn't to me). It's about a girl named Morgan whose best friend, and boyfriend, becomes a fairy. The book is all about finding who you are and learning to cope with changes. Morgan has to choose between letting her friend go or choosing to be selfish and make him stay with her. The conflict felt real, and I found myself wondering what I would do in that situation.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed: I finished this book in a day, despite finals being next week. Unfortunately, right as I got to the end, I was jerked back to reality. I was hooked, and I couldn't wait to get to the end of the book (which was about 5 more pages, give or take) when all of a sudden I noticed two pages missing! It may just be my galley copy, or it may be all, but I do know one thing. I have to know what happens.
Age Range: 14-15
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Comments: Other than missing pages, I thought this book was really good, and I'm eagerly waiting for June 23 when I can go to a bookstore and read the last couple of pages.

Ideas for Your Blog, Keep 'em Comin'

TKB members: We really want this blog to reflect you because Teens Know "Best" is your program. So that means, we need your ideas! Please tell us what you think of the site so far, and feel free to tell us what you like and don't like about it. We also need nominations for the Spectacular and Craptacular lists that will be added in the sidebar, as well as suggestions for links to Book Trailers that Rock and Friends of Teens Know Best. Most importantly, tell us your ideas, let us know what you'd like to see on here. Click the Comment link below to add your ideas!

In less than a month, SLJTeen will be publishing a link to our blog in their newsletter, so lots of people will be checking out our site and reading YOUR reviews! Very cool. SO let's get this blog looking cool and get as many brand new reviews posted as possible!

Congratulations Elizabeth and Sara!

We are very proud of our very own Elizabeth S. and Sara M. who received acknowledgments from Patrick Jones in his new book, The Tear Collector, to be published in September 2009 by Walker & Company. The acknowledgment reads:

"A special thank you to Elizabeth Straub and Sarah Misgen from the YA Galley group in St. Paul MN, who showed off their reviewing skills with detailed comments on the manuscript."

How cool is that!? That should tell you how important your reviews are to the authors and publishers, so keep it up you guys! Your input matters! Way to go Elizabeth and Sara!

Spectacular/Craptacular

TKB members: We need your nominations for our Spectacular Books and Craptacular Books lists. Click the Comment link below to add your nominations!

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit

Reader: Manee T
Age: 16
Title: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
Author: Nahoko Uehashi
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Top10: Yes
Did the cover reflect the contents: Yes, it quite reflected the contents of the book really well. It is an interesting novel.
Recommend: Yes. If you like Japanese, or any Asian mythology or fantasy you will definitely want to pick up this book!
Compelling Aspect of the Book: Balsa, the main character, is the most compelling aspect of this novel on second to the legend of the Moribito itself. The true mystery of this is kept towards the end and it keeps the reader reading to find out this intriguing legend based into the novel.
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed with the book: I wasn't disappointed in the book, and I did finish it within the day!
Age Range: 12-18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Comments: I love the fact that the main character is female, it not only shows the modern idea of girl-power (even though the book itself is written at a later time and now translated) but the fact that she is the only actual leading female-hero in a male-dominant societ, yet holds such high respect, is very inspiring. The story in itself has just about anything to make a great fantasy novel: a legend, a protector, a protected, the hint of love, and action. I couldn't ask for a better book, and it strings you along with the mysterious female Balsa. I can't wait for the next books to be translated into English, and hopefully come into the Galley.

Dark Dude

Reader: Payton G
Age: 13
Title: Dark Dude
Author: Oscar Hijuelos
Publisher: Atheneum
Pub Date: 9/16/08
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Top10: No
Did the cover reflect the contents: The cover sort of interested me, but reading the back was what actually made me pick it up. The cover didn't really reflect the contents.
Recommend: No
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I think that the most compelling aspect was that it was a very real story. In that it didn't have the main character suddenly turn into a magical flying pony, although that would be awesome!
Did you finish: No
Were you disappointed with the book: I was sort of disappointed, because I thought that it was going to be really more of a fast-moving story, but was actually very slow. The characters were very dully written, and didn't interest me. A character should be able to really excite the readers. The characters in this book were un-exciting.
Age Range: 14-15
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal:
Annotation: Rico is a stranger in his own family. He has fair hair and light skin, unlike his thoroughly Cuban family. When his best friend Gilberto wins the lottery, though, Rico finds himself in Wisconsin. He no longer has to prove his Latino heritage, but because of this he almost loses it. He can't entirely shake it though, because some things can't be left behind.

Marcelo in the Real World

Reader: Luke M
Age: 15
Title: Marcelo in the Real World
Author: Francisco X Stork
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Pub Date: Mar 1, 2009
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens' Top10: Yes
Did the cover reflect the contents: The cover reflected the contents and the tree house was interesting. What made it look like the "real world" was the electric wires
Recommend: Yes. It was recommended to me by a friend.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: It seemed realistic and how everyone reacted all differently seemed how it really would be. Also, his desire to be a horse groom that kept him working seemed true. I like how his relationships with people, especially Jasmine changed and how he learned about the cruelty of the world.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 12-15
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Comments: I believe this book could replace "the curious incident of the dog in the night" as required reading for high school.

Mousetraps

Reader: Megan W
Age: 16
Title: Mousetraps
Author: Pat Schmatz
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books
Pub Date: 08/18/2008
Galley: Yes
Did the cover reflect the contents: The cover, which is really pretty simple, caught my attention right away. It is an orange cover with a kid about to get snapped by a mousetrap at the bottom of the cover. The cover most definitely reflected the contents of the book right away, in more ways than one
Recommend: Yes. This type of book isn't what I usually read, but I really enjoyed it. It's about a girl Maxie and her friend from elementary school Roddy (now known as Rick) It's the story of their days together in High School. Maxie hasn't seen Roddy in years, and when she sees him again he is very changed.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I loved the relationship between Roddy and Maxie. It was very cute, and it was written in a way that was a lot like real life; it was very believable. Although Roddy has his problems in life, he is such a loveable character, as is Maxie
Did you finish: Yes
Were you disappointed: I finished this book in one day. It was a cute, easy read that kept me flipping the pages
Age Range: 16-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Comments: Since this book is about the life and growth of two teenagers, I don't believe that most teens today would want to read it, although they should. Maxie's character grew throughout the book, as did Roddy's. I really enjoyed watching them grow, and I grew to love the very real characters. The book was an adorable story about growing up and finding who you really are.

The Crushes

Reader: Patong L

Age: 15

Title: The Crushes

Author: Pamela Wells

Publisher: Point

Galley: Yes

Nominate for Teens' Top10: No

Did the cover reflect the contents: The cover tempted me to pick up the date.

Recommend: Yes. I would say that this book is good and it has lots funny things about the book. Like how the four friends made up 41 rules for making a guy to crush on you.

Compelling Aspect of the Book: The most interesting aspect of the book for me was when Kelly liked Sydney's boyfriend.

Did you finish: Yes

Age Range: 14-15

Quality: 3Q Readable

Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Hunger Games

Reader: Frances W

Age: 12

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Pub Date: 09/14/2008

Galley: Yes

Nominate for Teens' Top10: Yes

Did the cover reflect the contents: The cover was interesting and unique. Although it did not really reflect the contents, it did tempt me to read it.

Recommend: Yes. When you hear what it is about, it sounds depressing. It is a little bit sad, but it is really really really good.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I think the whole book is very compelling. It seems so real. The fact it is located in North America in the future is also very interesting. The good characters are so real and likable. The evil/mean characters are described perfectly.

Did you finish: Yes

Age Range: 12-18 and up

Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book

Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it

Comments: I love this book! It is now one of my all time favorites.

Annotation: When katniss is forced to fight to the death with people her own age if not younger, will she choose humanity or survival?

Living on Impulse

Reader: Chloe W

Age: 16

Title: Living on Impulse

Author: Cara Haycak

Publisher: Dutton Books

Pub Date: Aug 2009

Galley: Yes

Nominate for Teens' Top10: No

Did the cover reflect the contents: The cover accurately depictedthe basic plot of the novel. But even though it clearly showed a girlstealing a pair of sandals, the cover still seemed disconnected from thebook itself. While Mia's habitual thefts were a large part of the book,the novel focused on other themes. Aesthetically, the cover also seemedvery busy. The model in the photo had a busy print shirt, and her wristswere adorned with stacks and stacks of chunky bracelets. I was put offby the mess of colors to the point where I didn't focus on the title at all.

Recommend: No. I was enticed by the minor plot linebetween Mia's growing relationship with Clancy, the owner of the clubwhere her destructive behavior finally gets the best of her. However,much of the development of that storyline came from disjointed coincidences. Clancy shows up randomly in short spurts, and then all the sudden, he becomes a large part of the novel. His fragmented plot line had potential to be interesting, but Haycak decided to forgo adding compelling details to enrich the plot.

Compelling Aspect of the Book: Finkelstein, the scientist who hires Mia to breed flies, becomes a source of stability for Mia. His main love, science, influences him to spread his passion to others. The change he elicits in Mia is one of the more touching aspects of the book, but he so clearly fits the stereotype of an anti-social nerd that his message is bogged down by cliches. Even his name seems to add to the creation of the friendless geek, so his character is not much more than a caricature with a good message to send.

Did you finish: Yes

Reason why Disappointed with the book: As well, Haycak portrays Mia as much older than her age of fifteen, yet some of the themes contradicted this notion. Mia tries to transform herself into an older, more popular version of herself, and the book seems to support her acceptance of her youth. However, sometimes the messages sent are mixed as Mia grapples with her identity. Even though there could have been some truth to the themes presented, they get bogged down by inconsistencies between sections of the book.

Age Range: 12-15

Quality: 3Q Readable

Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Forest Born

Reader: Megan W
Age: 16
Title: Forest Born
Author: Shannon Hale
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pub Date: 09/15/09
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens' Top10: Yes
Did the cover reflect the contents: The cover, with its beautiful hues of purple, caught my eye right away, and when I saw that it was another Shannon Hale novel, I greedily snatched it up. Unfortunatley, I was a bit upset with the cover. I myself am a huge fan of the original covers of her previous books in the series, such as Goose Girl, or Enna Burning. Those covers were so pretty with their old china-looking pictures. While this cover is beautiful too, I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed that it was in a different style.
Recommend: Yes. This book is technically the fourth in the Books of Bayern, but you don't need to read the first 3 to understand this book. It follows the story of Rin, the little sister of a previous character in the third book. She has a very hard time finding herself and who she is, and she's always been known as her Ma's shadow. She goes to the big city with her brother hoping to find the missing part of herself. Along the way she runs into previous characters and together, they try to put down a resistance from a neighboring country.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: For me, my favorite part was how Shannon Hale incorporated previous characters into this book as well. Forest Born really starts when there is rumor of war in a neighboring country. Feeling she can help, Rin tags along with Isi, Dasha and Enna (all characters from books past) It was compelling and addicting and I couldn't put it down. Did you finish: Yes
Comments: Even with my end-of-the-year homework, I managed to gobble this book up in 2 days. I couldn't put it down. I even jokingly (Well, mostly jokingly) told my friends that I wouldn't do my homework until the book was done because I
wouldn't be able to concentrate otherwise. Throughout the entire book I was entertained with the beautiful world that Shannon Hale has created. She's done it again; this book was simply fantastic.
Age Range 3: 14-15
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it
Annotation: "This is a heart-warming tale of friendship,
love, war, and, most importantly, finding who you are inside yourself."