It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?

It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at

Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never co

me.

But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started—at Cousins Beach (Barnesandnoble.com).

Wow. Just wow. This is the second book in the Summer trilogy by Han. This sequel was so awesome. I couldn't stop reading it. I read The Summer I Turned Pretty and this book in the same day because they were so good. This book is everything the first book in the trilogy was and more. It was heart-aching. I couldn't believe what happened at the beginning based on the end of the first book. I started reading and I thought, "Wait, what?".

My favorite thing was the character development. I can't chose who Belly should be with. If I am torn, I can't imagine what Belly is going through, haha.

The end of the book was such a tease! It was so good! I couldn't stop thinking about it. If you haven't yet, you should check this trilogy out. There's no time like summer.

Overall: 5/5

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Some summers are just destined to be pretty

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer — they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along (Barnesandnoble.com).

This book is hauntingly good. I can't stop thinking about it. It wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be a fun, quick summery read. It is but it is more than that. It is romantic, endearing and heard-warming. It's a "I don't want to put this book down and you can't make me" kind of book. I read this book very quickly and immediately picked up its sequel and read it in the same day. It's that good. I laughed, I cried. I couldn't stop until I knew how it ended. I am craving more!

My favorite parts of the book: the family, the characters, the writing. The book takes you into flashbacks, back into Belly's past summers at the house. I felt like I was there and when I was done reading I had a layer of sand on my feet. Everything was so good.

This is an amazing book, as is its sequel. Definitely worth checking out. I can't believe I have to wait until May 2011 to read the third book in the trilogy. So. Not. Fair.

Overall: 5/5

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country (Barnesandnoble.com)



This book is AMAZING! It had me laughing out loud more than a few times. It is funny, interesting and real. I could not put it down. Do you ever read a book that is so good that you are pained when you have to set it down? This is one of those. From page one I was sucked into Melinda's world.

The writing is fantastic. I love the characters. The whole story is down-to-earth, so real. I felt like I had joined Melinda's high school when I was reading it. I really like how the story unfolds in an unconventional way.

I want to read more of Anderson's work...right now!!

Definitely check out this book! You will not be disappointed.

Overall: 5/5

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

Since the dawn of time, the Faerie have taken. . . .

Seventeen-year-old actress Kelley Winslow always thought faeries were just something from childhood stories. Then she meets Sonny Flannery. He's a changeling—a mortal taken as an infant and raised among Faerie—and within short order he's turned Kelley's heart inside out and her life upside down.

For Kelley's beloved Central Park isn't just a park—it's a gateway between her ordinary city and the Faerie's dangerous, bewitching Otherworld. Now Kelley's eyes are opening not just to the Faerie that surround her, but to the heritage that awaits her . . . a destiny both wondrous and strange (Barnesandnoble.com).

First off, I want to say that the title of this book rocks and I really like the cover. I enjoyed reading this book but it wasn't earth-shattering (it wasn't the page-turner I thought it might be). I did like how it is a little different than what I have been reading. What I really liked about it is the main character, Kelley, is a struggling actress. The author is an actress too, so maybe that's where the inspiration came from. I also really like the Shakespeare theme. There are a few series that have the Shakespeare theme and I do like it.

One other thing that I really liked was the frequent use of the word "cacophony". I think I counted its use at least three times and I hardly hear that word very often.

What I didn't like about it was some parts of the story were a little lame. For instance, when Kelley finds out that she's a faerie (which would be super freaky in my opinion!) she has hardly the reaction I would think. She's just kind of okay with it. Then, when she calls her aunt, who stole her out of the faerie land, her aunt just kind of acts like, "yeah you caught me, no biggie". When Kelley started getting exposed to the faerie world, I would also expect her to ask more questions but she just kind of expects it. It felt a little off to me.

I thought some character development was a little lacking too. I would have liked to know more about the characters. I felt this aspect was a little grazed over.

This was a debut novel for the author and there is more to come because this is number one in Livingston's series. I am excited to read the next book, Darklight. I want to see if some of the things that I didn't like about the book improve.

All-in-all this was an enjoyable read and I hope the rest of the series is fun to read too.

Overall: 3/5