Reader: Grace KL
Age: 13
Title: Eve and Adam
Author: Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pub Date: 10/01/2012
Galley: No
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The idea that is the basis of this book is very intriguing.  Eve, a girl whose mom is the head of a billion dollar genetic corporation, is asked to design the perfect boy using genetic codes, who she 'coincidentally' ends up naming Adam. Although there are other things happening in the book, the plot never goes much further or gets any more interesting.  The characters are very two-dimensional, like Eve's best friend Aislin, whose only qualities seem to be that she flirts a lot and gets her boyfriend out of trouble.
Memorable or Forgettable: This book was very forgettable.  Eve only had three defining characteristics: she runs cross country, her dad is dead, and she has never had a boyfriend.  She didn't develop at all through the whole book.  The style of writing did not draw me in, although I could easily picture the setting.  Overall, this book had a lot of potential, but the characters are lacking.
Cover: The title makes you want to know more, just because Eve's name is first, something that you don't see every day.  The puzzle piece apple hints towards the happenings in the book without giving too much away.
Age Range: 12 to 15
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Reader: Grace KL
Age: 13
Title: Starry River of the Sky
Author: Grace Lin
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Pub Date: 10/1/2012
Galley: No
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: I have always been a sucker for legends and fairy tales, and this book definitely hit the spot.  Rendi’s story, that of a boy searching for the moon that has disappeared from the sky, was effortlessly blended with traditional Chinese legends.  Rendi is a realistic character: when giving someone else advice, he himself decides not to follow it, which is what an average person would do in that situation.  The plot is fresh, and filled with occurrences that are not quite magic, but don’t exactly follow the laws of physics.
Memorable or Forgettable: The most memorable part of this book was the artwork.  It was colorful, gorgeous, and added to, rather than distracted from, the plot.  Although simply written, the tale naturally flows, with stories and legends throughout.
Cover: The cover is beautiful -- colorful and tempting.  It really captures the Chinese setting.  The front shows Rendi searching for the moon and the back shows several other main characters.  The constellations that appear fully formed in the sky hint at the magical happenings inside.
Age Range: Under 12 to 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Additional Comments: I love how this book is a companion novel to Where The Mountain Meets The Moon.  It isn't exactly a sequel but it's so much fun to find the little ties between the two books.

Reader: Sophie D.
Age: 16
Title: Every Day
Author: David Levithan
Publisher: Random House
Pub Date: 8/28/12
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: I was first intrigued by this book because it was described to me as being about someone who wakes up in a different body every day, falls in love with a girl, and tries to make it work with her, proving that love has nothing to do with appearance. As if that isn't a great enough concept, IT'S SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. Because A gets to experience the lives of different teenagers, he/she experiences every different form of love there is, which is a beautiful thing. This book is not just about A and Rhiannon, it is about every one of the lives A inhabits and their love stories. Besides that, this book explores different forms of identity. A is somehow the person who seems to be the most comfortable and familiar with their identity, while others have trouble seeing past the outer layer. How much do we really know about ourselves? Are we really better off staying in the same body every day? Is it possible to love someone when you might not recognize them from day to day? What is real love? How do we know when we've found it? This book explores the answers to all of these questions, and so many more.
Memorable or Forgettable: A is a wonderful character. It seems, at first, that it will be hard to relate to someone who changes day to day, who identifies as neither female nor male, yet as the reader and Rhiannon discover simultaneously, A is so incredibly human, and an incredibly good human at that. It is easy to see A's thought process, to understand how he/she makes decisions. Yet, even though A states early on that having an outsider's perspective has allowed him/her to gain a clearer understanding of what life is like, A is still baffled and hurt when things don't work out. This is not only a million incredible love stories combined into one, it is the story of realizing you don't, and never can, have all the answers.
Cover: The cover is very pretty. It matches the tone of the book, dreamlike and soft. It is not something that would normally catch my eye, but I like it.
Age Range: 12 to 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Reader: Elise S.
Age: 16
Title: Friends with Boys
Author: Faith Erin Hicks
Publisher: First Second
Pub Date: 2/28/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: Familial relationships are hard to get right, so it's fun when you find one.  I loved the dynamic of the main character with her brothers, and the friend and her brother.  Integrity was a big part of what was discussed and shown with the characters; being true to one's self, and family especially.  Plus, the pictures are pretty darn cute!
Memorable or Forgettable: While the book was cute, it never progressed past that point.  Pieces of missing mom and haunted by ghosts never really integrated with the other part of high school and old rivalries.  Nothing about it stood out in a good, or bad way.
Cover: This cover confused me with it's upside/right-side thing.  I don't feel comfortable putting it either way up.  One way, the girl is looking up at her upside down friends.  The other way, the girl is upside down and the friends on the ground.  I don't get it.
Age Range: Under 12
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Reader: Elise S.
Age: 16
Title: Perfect Escape
Author: Jennifer Brown
Publisher: Little, Brown and Co.
Pub Date: 7/10/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This was one of those books that is so well done that you don't even realize how great it is until it's charged through you, and left you breathless at the last page.  I am a huge fan of Hate List, another of Brown's books.  Like Hate List, this novel was really about characters, which was what makes it shine.  Kendra and Grayson were both fully developed people.  Grayson, Kendra's older brother, lived with OCD, which was a big part of both of their journeys.  But Brown avoided a common pitfall of books about people with disabilities, in that Grayson had a character beyond his disorder.  Even smaller characters were fleshed out, so it felt like a real world.
Memorable or Forgettable: I find that when reading, characters are who I remember over plot, because it's like meeting a friend, and plot is secondary.  But plot was well balanced in the book.  It was a mix of outside motives (road trip), driven by internal journey by both the main characters.  It was fantastic how Kendra's realizations were deeply personal, and woven into her as a person; but, at the same time, they related to a larger scope.
Cover: Not a bad cover, over all.  It conveyed the road trip of the book, without going into too much detail.  Normally I'm not a huge fan of models, but these ones were covered enough by the title that it didn't make a difference.
Age Range: 14 to 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it
Additional Comments:
**ANNOTATION**

Kendra has lived in the shadow of her brother's OCD her entire life.  When her built up perfection begins to fall apart, so does the rest of her life, sending her and her brother on a spontaneous road trip of self discovery and revelations.

Reader: Grace KL  
Age: 13
Title: Princess Academy: Palace of Stone
Author: Shannon Hale
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pub Date: 8/21/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book:  In the sequel to Princess Academy, Palace of Stone takes Miri's story to Asland, where she stays in the palace.  A revolution is brewing, and Miri sympathizes with both sides.  After accidentally releasing a harmful pamphlet about the princess, who is her friend, Miri has to decide where her loyalties lie.
Memorable or Forgettable: Although the setting is fantasy, Miri's world is very well developed, with geographical details that make you believe this place could exist.  The theme of revolution is constant throughout the book.  Miri's friend Timon shows her the revolutionaries' cause, and her friend the princess's life is in danger because of the revolution. The way Miri responds to her classes such as Diplomacy and Ethics make her a believable and likable character.
Cover: The cover is OK, but one that hints towards the action in the book would be preferable.  Maybe one similar to the original Princess Academy cover (with the silhouette of girls climbing the mountain) such as a big city with a small girl lost in it all.
Age Range: Under 12 to 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal