Reader: Sophie D.
Age: 16
Title: The Diviners
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Little, Brown and Co.
Pub Date: 9/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: The only reason I picked up this book is because it is by Libba Bray. And while it's not Going Bovine or Beauty Queens, I was definitely not disappointed. This book combines very creepy elements associated with cults and demon raising kind of stuff with the awesome setting of New York in the 20's. The characters were great, very three dimensional, and though perhaps there could have been less main characters (there was about six) each contributed to the story in totally different ways, and the excess of characters did not detract from the plot. The plot was very original, and though the book is quite long, it manages to never get slow or uninteresting. I do think that there were perhaps just one too many elements to the book that were never actually included in the actual storyline, which I understand is setting up for the sequel, but still, it's annoying.
Memorable or Forgettable: It was a very atmospheric book, and painted a pretty convincing image of a supernatural 20's New York. I was not disappointed with Libba Bray, even though this book is completely different from my favorites of hers.
Cover: The cover is nice. It fits the book perfectly. It's not too loud, and it is very tasteful.
Age Range: 14-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Reader: Emily T.
Age: 18
Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Pub Date: 6/5/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: Shadow and Bone is a unique twist to  magic and magic wielders. Alina, a orphaned young woman, discovers a latent rare power while protecting her only friend. Set in a country akin to Russia, Alina begins her journey to becoming a "Grisha" or magic wielder after saving her friend. Written in an engaging style, Leigh Bardugo manages to capture the essence of Alina's existence and make her character believable. The only quixotic thing in the story was the dramatic growing up of Alina. How can a sixteen year old girl fall in love that much? Possible, but it weakens the story.
Memorable or Forgettable: The fast pace of Shadow and Bone certainly made easy reading, but the world of Ravka seemed shallow, missing important details. The country seemed to be missing a history, as well as a middle class. Much of the story seemed split between almost poverty and extreme gluttony.
Cover: The cover is beautifully done, accurately capturing the impression of the story.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Additional Comments: Map of the land is helpful, although some of the names are rather uninspired. For example; "the unsea" and "the true sea." Clearly unimaginative names.

Reader: Anita
Age: 18
Title: The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell
Author: Chris Colfer
Publisher: Little, Brown and Co.
Pub Date: 7/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: I had a little trouble getting into the book, to be honest. In the beginning, when you're introduced to Alex and Conner, it was hard for me to stay focused on what was happening; it wasn't particularly interesting. Then Alex was given the book "The Land of Stories" and the plot just picked up from there! Alex and Conner fall into the book and are sent on a quest to find eight items in order to cast the Wishing Spell, a spell that can grant any wish. They need to travel through the different fairy tale kingdoms in order to find each item.

I love fairy tales and that was one of the reasons I was so excited to read this book. It incorporated stories that I love while adding all new twists to them. It was really awesome to read because the twists weren't predictable. I would think one thing, but then it would turn around and be something completely different. Another thing I really liked was that Colfer used the original stories -- not the Disney remakes and that made the story even better because it added layers to the fairytale characters that most people don't see because they only know the Disney versions.

I noticed that there didn't seem to be much character development for the twins, but since this is a series, that makes some sense. I'm hoping that Alex and Conner will gain a little more depth than they did in this book in following stories. However, I didn't really notice that until I looked back on it after finishing the book. It didn't bother me that much, so I'm not sure it's really that big of a deal, especially since the lack of obvious growth in this book leaves a lot of options for the next book.

Memorable or Forgettable: One of the things that made it memorable for me was the use of fairytales, which I sort of talked about already. In a lot of fairytale remakes, authors will only focus on one of the major, well-known stories: Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Cinderella. In this book, however, we see other stories that aren't as well known and that don't get as much attention.

Another memorable thing was that Colfer didn't just rely on the traditional stories for plot points. While he did utilize them, he also added his own plot points and plot twists that weren't as obvious, which I loved. He wove in these other plot points in so well that, when it's all revealed in the end, you're sitting there shocked. I'm not going to like, I actually screamed when I finished the book, because I was so surprised and pleased: there were some obvious cop-outs that he could have used, but he didn't. He didn't make the obvious choices, and that made it even more memorable.

Cover: The cover definitely tempted me to pick up the book. It reflects the contents really well, especially by using images we see while reading the novel. Everything on the cover is important in one way or another and I love how they did that.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Reader: Sabrina
Age: 18
Title: No Safety in Numbers  
Author: Dayna Lorentz
Publisher: Dial
Pub Date: 5/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This book was very fascinating and fast paced. Due to a biochemical bomb, a mall full of thousands of people are trapped for days. The gravity of the situation is learned about my the officials until mid way through the book, which was a bit of a tease personally. Once the characters discover the gravity of the situation and that people are dying from left to right because of the flu the book ends. Love those cliffhangers!
Memorable or Forgettable: What made it memorable for me was that there where four different characters who told there side of the story and what they where experiencing at the mall. Is was exciting, scary, and exhilarating to feel as if you where in their shoes at the time. You really questioned yourself throughout the book on if you would have done the same things if you where trapped in a mall for days and didn't know if you'd ever get out.
Cover:  The cover did tempt me to pick up the book because it had a hazardous symbol on there. Of course, it reflected the contents because without the hazardous bomb there would be no story.
Age Range: 16 and up
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Additional Comments: Though it was disappointing that the book got good at the end, I hope to read the next installment of the book soon. I can not wait to see what happens. I was a bit confused though as to why the Senator was the last to talk in the book because she had not had her own section until then. 

In addition, this book got me a bit paranoid. This is a compliment to the author. Being an avid mall goer, I questioned myself if I thought I could survive in each mall with the amount of people present at the time being. The idea was mind boggling, but I do not think that many people will take this book seriously because of the location of the book. If it where in a school, I believe that this story would be even more riveting because it has less resources available. I mall seems like an interesting idea, but made me (as the reader) at first believe that this story was lighthearted.

Reader: Sabrina
Age: 18
Title: Wonderstruck   
Author: Brian Selznick
Publisher: Scholastic
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: This book goes into depth about the world of deaf people. It was fascinating to not only read the narrative of Ben but to see the pictures of how his grandmother's Rose adventure to New York as well.The pictures where a bit confusing at first. I would have preferred if the book started off as text so that it would initiate the beginning of the pictures. I loved though how the picture and the text coincided with one another contextually. The author had a strong voice for his characters and made them dimensional. Though the pictures where informative, I would have liked to know more about Rose.
Memorable or Forgettable: What made this book memorable was the characters fascination with museums, specifically curating. This was very intriguing for someone that is an fascinated as well with museums and history and to have a bit of a glimpse into the lives of others who are fascinated with such as well.
Cover: The cover did tempt me to pick up the book because it was so bold. Mostly though, I picked up the book because I had heard from others that Brian Selznick was a fantastic author, so I was pressured into reading this book.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal
Additional Comments: I wish there would have been an epilogue of some sort saying what happened to Ben. Does he stay in New York with his Grandmother or does he go back to Minnesota?

Reader: Sabrina
Age: 18
Title: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
Publisher: Penguin
Pub Date: 1/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: As always, John Green knows how to get the readers attention with his sarcastic humor and witty puns. Compared to other of John Green's books though, there where no black Santa Clause of such. Rather, John Green went into a completely different stylistic realm then usually, while still keeping his writing of style. This book was deep, seeing that the subject matter was cancer, but not over baring with morbid comments here and there.
Memorable or Forgettable: What made this book memorable to me was how realistic it was. Green's description of the characters, their mannerisms, and characteristics came to life in the book. He played out the book very well and let each character in the book be justified by their own means. It was beautiful and interesting to see the difference in how each family was who had children suffering with cancer.
Cover: What tempted me overall to read the book was the fact that John Green wrote it. No matter how shitty the cover is, I will pick up any John Green book that is given to me. Point blank.
Age Range: 16 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it
Additional Comments: I just wish that the book An Imperial Affliction existed. I was so excited to read the book after having finished this one. 


In the same token though, this book will be one that I quote just as Hazel Grace had, repeating line by line as my life goes by. 

This book was relatable to me because I had helped one of my relatives suffer with cancer and was there with her through her whole journey. This book seemed very accurate, even though I have not been a patient, of what one might ponder over when having cancer.

Reader: Guanani
Age: 16
Title: Where Things Come Back
Author: John Corey Whaley
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pub Date: 5/11
Galley: No
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Where Things Come Back is a novel that maintains the usual feel of realistic young adult literature while still being original. Lily is a small town in the middle of nowhere in Arkansas, and home to cynical teenager Cullen Witter. One summer, the town is turned upside down by a sighting of a woodpecker that was supposed to be extinct, Cullen’s beloved brother Gabriel disappears, and everything ties back to the story of a young missionary in Ethiopia. Something that kept me reading was a sense that everything was coming together, yet I couldn’t predict what was going to happen until the end.

Memorable or Forgettable: The most memorable thing for me in this book was the voice of the main character and the way it provided details about himself and others that developed him and made him more than just a cynical teenager in a small town. There was a good balance of likeable and unlikeable characters; no one seemed pinned under a stereotype and everyone changed, for better or worse, by the end of the story. One thing I would have liked more of was Gabriel, but since him being gone was the most important part of the story it was okay to only get to know him a little.
Cover: This cover had a very down-to-earth feel. I like it and I’m happy to see a cover that isn’t a digital photograph. It reflects a main metaphor and central part of the story.
Age Range: 14-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Reader: Bridget
Age: 18
Title: Kissing Shakespeare
Author: Pamela Mingle
Publisher: Delacorte
Pub Date: 8/14/2012
Galley: Yes

Convince us to read the book: This book has in interesting plot about a teenage actress from the present who is brought back in time to save William Shakespeare. The writing in this book is very good. One thing that I especially liked was the way that the author combined modern and historic aspects with regard to language. The main character Miranda/Olivia is whisked back to 1581 from the present and the reader can see the difficulty that she has growing accustomed to the manner of speaking etc. Even after she learns to converse as an Elizabethan young lady, the story is still told from her perspective which is inevitably modern in it's descriptions and colored by Miranda's modern opinions. This could have been confusing, but the author manages to pull it off. Some of the story line is a bit transparent, especially with regard to the romance. However, there are still parts that the reader is left to guess at until the conclusion. Best of all I think is the character development of the main character. Throughout the book the reader can see her grow and mature even as Miranda herself is unaware of the changes.
Memorable or Forgettable: I think that the author had a really interesting premise and ran with it to a successful conclusion, even if the ending was a little disappointing to my romantic mind. Also, I enjoyed seeing the main character sort of grow into her own acting abilities throughout the novel.
Cover: I think I was more enticed to read the back based on the title. The illustration on the front somewhat reflects the contents of the book, but to my mind it is somewhat boring compared to all that happens in the book. It might be a personal annoyance of mine, but when reading a historical novel it bothers me if the cover looks modern in the sense that the people aren't depicted in the clothing of he era, I feel it is misleading.
Age Range: 16-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

Reader: Guanani
Age: 16
Title: Ichiro
Author: Ryan Inzana  
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Pub Date: 3/2012
Galley: No
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book:  Ichiro is a half-Japanese boy living in Brooklyn who hasn’t quite succeeded in finding a place for his heritage in his life. On a business trip to Japan with his mother, Ichiro learns Japanese folklore from his grandfather, and one night falls through a portal into the world of the gods after chasing a raccoon. The graphic novel has appealing drawings and plenty of Japanese mythology, which I found very interesting. The plot wasn’t on par with the drawings or thematic ideas, though. It meandered at an awkward pace, which made the story hard to follow and didn’t quite make Ichiro’s change in character cohesive with his adventure.
Memorable or Forgettable:  One of my favorite things about this book was the raccoon spirit, or tanuki, that led Ichiro through the portal. I would have liked to see more of it, and maybe a stronger relationship develop between them. Ichiro’s friendship with the god of war could have been more developed as well. In general, Ichiro was very disengaged with the world, and I think the story’s point would have been stronger if there had been more evidence of how his adventure in the spirit world changed him.
Cover: The cover gives a nice preview of the drawings within. Right away I was intrigued by the bold colors and contrast in size between the war god and Ichiro with the raccoon.
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Reader: Guanani
Age: 16
Title: Henry Franks

Author: Peter Alan Salomon
Publisher: Flux
Pub Date: 11/12
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: Henry Franks is about a boy covered in scars who thinks no one likes him because of his freakish appearance. His father is almost always at his mysterious work, and his mother is dead. On top of it all, Henry can’t remember his life before the accident that scarred him and killed his mother. As a premise, this book could have been interesting, if clichéd (the whole orphaned/amnesiac main character has been done many times before). Unfortunately, the plot was dragged out much too long, which made the ending anticlimactic.
Memorable or Forgettable: This book is on the forgettable side. It started out well enough, but after 60 pages, nothing had really happened or changed. I was consistently annoyed by the love interest, a bland girl-next-door who popped up every other chapter in nearly identical encounters: a page long description of her outfit, sharing a seat on the bus, and reassuring Henry that he’s not really a freak. This same encounter occurred about 8 times in the book.

The mystery of Henry’s possibly-serial-killer dad was much more engaging than the main character. This subplot was the main reason why I skipped ahead to read the end of the book. There was a decent little twist, though not enough to make up for the long, bland exposition that came before it. On top of that disappointment, the epilogue was downright dumb and ruined the slight enjoyment I got from the climax. I think this idea would have been better conveyed as a short story, where the twist would be enough to carry the plot arc.
Cover: The cover was the reason I picked up this book. A mysterious, ghostly image of someone picking up a skull and the clever “scar” intrigued me right away. Too bad the inside of the book wasn’t as engaging.
Age Range: 14-15
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 2P Only for special interest