Ashtyn Parker knows one thing for certain--people you care about leave without a backward glance. A football scholarship would finally give her the chance to leave. So she pours everything into winning a state championship, until her boyfriend and star quarterback betrays them all by joining their rival team. Ashtyn needs a new game plan, but it requires trusting Derek—someone she barely knows, someone born to break the rules. Is she willing to put her heart on the line to try and win it all?
Review: Wild Card, the first book in Simone Elkeles, satisfies on a romance level but don't expect much depth to the story. Though both Derek and Ashtyn both have their own share of serious issues to be aired out and sorted, they really aren't addressed and brushed under the rug. I liked Derek as a character, one whom you can't get angry with for a long time due to his charm and charisma. I had a hard time trying to figure out Ashtyn, however, because she came off as uneven- neurotic, confident, and insecure at different parts of the story. I was really surprised that there really isn't much football discussed or shown in the story considering what it means to the characters. Overall, a quick enjoyable read that left me wanting a deeper story. The side characters are fun to be with and I might pick up the next book in the series but it's not on the top of my list.
Rating: 3 stars
Words of Caution: Strong language, crude sexual humor, and sexual situations. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.
If you like this book try: Catching Jordan by Miranda Keneally, Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
To prevent imminent war, Sasha must slip into the life of an alternate version of herself, a princess who has vanished on the eve of her arranged marriage. If Sasha succeeds in fooling everyone, she will be returned home; if she fails, she'll be trapped in another girl's life forever. As time runs out, Sasha finds herself torn between two worlds, two lives, and two young men vying for her love--one who knows her secret, and one who thinks she's someone she's not.
Review: I was really looking forward to Tandem after reading its exciting premise, but it failed to uphold my interest. Tandem had a promising start in introducing our bookish heroine and her kidnapping to a parallel universe started the story, but then its pacing tapered off. The parallel universe that Sasha finds herself in is unfortunately really bland. I didn't really understand why it is so important for her to pose as the missing princess and what did the opposing faction really want? There is a romance but it is definitely not as dramatic as the description makes it sound.I found myself to be bored and I started to skim the story in hopes that it would pick up and it does-just the last 50 pages or so. I don't plan on continuing this series.
Rating: 2 stars
Words of Caution: There is some language and a scene of underage drinking. Recommended for strong Grade 7 readers and up.
If you like this book try: Pivot Point by Kasie West
In her desperation, Fenella makes a deal with the faerie queen: If she can accomplish three acts of destruction, she will be free, at last, to die. What she doesn't realize is that these acts must be aimed at her own family and if she fails, the consequences will be dire, for all of the Scarborough girls.
How can she possibly choose to hurt her own cherished family not to mention the new man whom she’s surprised to find herself falling in love with? But if she doesn’t go through with the tasks, how will she manage to save her dear ones?
Review: If you are looking for a dark story featuring the fey, be sure to check out Werlin's Impossible and its companion novel Unthinkable. Held captive by a creature of the fey who killed her lover, psychologically and sexually abused, Fenella is forced to watch successive generations of young girls treated similarly and then killed. I told you it was dark, didn't I? In Impossible a teen is confronted with this prophecy and through heartbreak and support from her loving family was able to break the curse by achieving three impossible acts of creation. Now that the curse it broken, damaged Fenella wants only to die.
Of course whenever you ask the faeries for anything it doesn't come without a price. For Fenella to die she must do three acts of destruction upon her family, damaging the lives of her existing. To help her with her mission, she is aided by the faerie queen's brother Ryland whose wry, amoral observations provide some comedy relief but not much.
Unthinkable should have been a great read with lots of food for thought as it touches on a lot of themes: survivor guilt, impossible situations and the question of what choice means, all set against a backdrop of complex familial relationships and faeries, with the bonus of tying together Impossible. Unfortunately the story is unbalanced. Fenella is flat and kind of boring and though she may elicit some sympathy, in part because her abuse is talked around more than about, and her extreme choices in how to fulfill her tasks makes it hard for readers to root for her. There is even an underlining romance that brings Fenella back to humanity, but that too is inconsistent and hard to believe because Fenella alternates between a sexual predator and the poor helpless woman. Though she undergoes some major changes towards the end of the book and takes responsibility from her actions, it's doesn't quite redeem her character.
Of course whenever you ask the faeries for anything it doesn't come without a price. For Fenella to die she must do three acts of destruction upon her family, damaging the lives of her existing. To help her with her mission, she is aided by the faerie queen's brother Ryland whose wry, amoral observations provide some comedy relief but not much.
Unthinkable should have been a great read with lots of food for thought as it touches on a lot of themes: survivor guilt, impossible situations and the question of what choice means, all set against a backdrop of complex familial relationships and faeries, with the bonus of tying together Impossible. Unfortunately the story is unbalanced. Fenella is flat and kind of boring and though she may elicit some sympathy, in part because her abuse is talked around more than about, and her extreme choices in how to fulfill her tasks makes it hard for readers to root for her. There is even an underlining romance that brings Fenella back to humanity, but that too is inconsistent and hard to believe because Fenella alternates between a sexual predator and the poor helpless woman. Though she undergoes some major changes towards the end of the book and takes responsibility from her actions, it's doesn't quite redeem her character.
Rating: 3 stars
Words of Caution: There is allusion to murder and rape (which takes place off the page), some language, and mature themes. Recommended for Grades 9 and up.
If you like this book try: Impossible by Nancy Werlin, Lament by Maggie Stiefvater, Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr, Tithe by Holly Black
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