My Life with the Walter Boys - YA Review by Tara L

Reader: Tara L.
Age: 14
Title: My Life with the Walter Boys
Author: Ali Novak
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pub Date: 03/01/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book:  I really loved the book because it was realistic and had good character development. I think other readers would like it because it's an easy book to get into. Jackie's  family dies in a car accident. Instead of living in New York with her dad's old roommate she is sent to Colorado to live with 12 boys. At first they all hate her and make her life bad, but then they get to know her and they all start to be more nice. Two of all the boys like her -  Alex, the nerd and Cole, the hottest guy in school.
Memorable or Forgettable: The qualities that made the book memorable are it is funny but serious at the same time. It has a love triangle which in my opinion is awesome.
Cover:  I really like the cover and it does reflect the contents.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

tags:  contemporary romance / ya lit

Don't Look Back - YA Review by Tara L

Reader: Tara L.
Age: 14
Title: Don't Look Back
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher: Hyperion
Pub Date: 04/15/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: I liked the way she kept changing and hating the person she was before.
Memorable or Forgettable: The qualities of the book made it memorable because of the way the author wrote the book.
Cover: The cover did tempt me to pick it up and yes, it did reflect the contents.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Annotation: Samantha lost part of her memory. The doctors say it's most likely because of her traumatic experience or stress related. They all say her best friend was with her, but no one has found her yet. Samantha was missing for four day until she woke up and had no idea who she was.

tags:  psychological thriller / suspense / mystery / amnesia / ya lit

Far From You - YA Review by Tara L

Reader: Tara L.
Age: 14
Title: Far From You
Author: Tess Sharpe
Publisher: Hyperion
Pub Date: 04/08/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: I really liked the style of how the author writes. Even if you can't relate to the main character you still get her. I also like how you are always confused or guessing tho the killer is and are almost never right.
Memorable or Forgettable: I liked how the story ended. I also liked the story line.
Cover: I did like the cover and it did reflect the contents.
Age Range: 14 through 18 and up
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Annotation: A girl named Sophie almost dies twice. The first time, she got hooked on her pain killers. When her mom finds out, she sends Sophie to her sister who gets her clean. The second time, her best friend dies but she doesn't and the killer makes it look like it was a drug deal, but it wasn't.

tags:  mystery / addiction / ya lit

Broken - YA Review by Tara L

Reader: Tara L.
Age: 14
Title: Broken
Author: C.J. Lyons
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pub Date: 11/05/13
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: The stylistic element that was strong is definitely the character development, because it shows how much stronger and independent as the book goes on.
Memorable or Forgettable: The qualities of the book that make it memorable for me are the way the author writes it, and how it makes it seem like anyone could connect with the characters.
Cover: The cover did tempt me to pick up the book and it did also reflect the contents.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality:  5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Annotation:  Scarlet has been sick all her life for as long as she can remember. Finally her stepmom lets her go to school to be normal. She doesn't know how long she's going to live; it could be a week or a year.

tags:  realistic / contemporary / mystery / ya lit

Willow - YA Review by Tara L.

Reader: Tara L.
Age: 13
Title: Willow
Author: Tonya Cherie Hegamin
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Pub Date: 02/11/14
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The character development is good. The ending of the book was awesome too.
Memorable or Forgettable: The best quality of the book is how it was written.
Cover: I like the cover and think it does reflect the contents.
Age Range: 14 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
Annotation: Willow is a book that really shows how bad slavery is and I think that's important.

tags:  historical fiction / coming of age / ya lit

All Our Yesterdays - YA Review by Tara L.

Reader: Tara L.
Age: 13
Title: All Our Yesterdays
Author: Cristin Terrill
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pub Date: 09/03/13
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: The book All Our Yesterdays was very well written. The plot was wonderful. It only sometimes got confusing on whose point of view it was in.
Memorable or Forgettable:  The good quality of the book that makes it memorable is that the characters are easy to connect with.
Cover: The cover could be better, but it isn't that bad. The cover did reflect the contents.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it
Annotation: Em, the future Marina, has to kill the doctor; it's the only way. The other Em's have tried everything else. She also has the help of Finn, the doctor's best friend.

tags: science fiction / time travel / dystopian / fantasy / paranormal / romance / thriller / mystery / ya lit

The Book of Broken Hearts - YA Review by Tara L.

Reader: Tara L. 

Age: 13
Title: The Book of Broken Hearts
Author: Sarah Ockler
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pub Date: 5/21/13
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: The strong stylistic element was character development. I really liked the plot, because I think it really suited the book.
Memorable or Forgettable: The qualities that made it memorable were the characters. I personally really liked the characters, because they were all a big part of the book. It wasn't just a random person for a chapter or two.
Cover: The cover did tempt me to pick it up, and yes, it did reflect the contents.
Age Range: 14 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Annotation: Unlike most romance books it doesn't have the expected love triangle. It has suspense and mystery through the whole book.

tags: romance / realistic fiction / contemporary / ya lit

Nantucket Blue - YA Review by Tara L.

Reader: Tara L.
Age: 13
Title: Nantucket Blue
Author: Leila Howland
Publisher: Hyperion
Pub Date: 05/07/13
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: In this book, I really like the plot and character development.
Memorable or Forgettable: The memorable qualities are the way the author writes it, and how the story ends.
Cover: Yes, the cover did tempt me to pick it up, and yes, it did reflect the contents.
Age Range: 12 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Annotation: Cricket's best friend jules' mom dies, and that changes everything, possibly even their friendship. Will their friendship end? Will she be with the guy she has liked for a long time? Read the book and find out.


tags: contemporary romance / ya lit

The Look - YA Review by Tara L

Reader: Tara L
Age: 13
Title: The Look
Author: Sophia Bennett
Publisher: Chicken House
Pub Date: 03/01/13
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: It was written well and it was an easy read because you couldn't predict what was going to happen next so you kept wanting to read.
Memorable or Forgettable: How it was sort of a unique kind of book.
Cover: Yes the cover did tempt me to pick up the book. Yes it did reflect the contents.
Age Range: 16 through 17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
Additional Comments: I really liked The Look.
Annotation: The Look was a interesting book in a good way. I like the way the book is written.

tags: coming of age / lymphoma / ya lit

Whatever Doesn't Kill You - YA Review by Tara L

Reader:  Tara L
Age: 13
Title: Whatever Doesn't Kill You
Author: Elizabeth Wennick
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Pub Date: 04/01/13
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: It's a fun fast read because you can't tell what's going to happen next. She did a really good job on the characters.
Memorable or Forgettable: The dramatic parts are memorable but the over all book is hard to remember.
Cover: The cover caught my eye because it was unusual. The cover did reflect the contents because it kinda describes the story.
Age Range: 12 through 15
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Annotation: Jenna Cooper's dad died when she was a couple days old. Murdered by Travis Bingham who has been let out of jail. This is a good book that has lots of suspense.

tags:  suspense / coming of age / ya lit