Run by Daisy Whitney at daisywhitney.com

I can’t stop thinking about Lauren Oliver’s novel “Before I Fall.” I just finished reading it a few days ago and it’s the kind of story that stays with you for a long time. Maybe forever. It’s the kind of novel that changes you, maybe for a moment, maybe for a lifetime. Whether the change is small or large, it’s the kind of story that makes you want to be a better person, a kinder person, a better wife, a better mom, a better friend. It’s the kind of story that makes you want to inhale and breathe in all the goodness and wonder of life and savor every single second of being alive.

Because you never know how much time you really have. That’s what her novel is about — how we spend our time, the kind of people we want to be, and what really matters when all is said and done. “Before I Fall” is the story of Samantha Kingston, a senior in high school, who dies in a car crash at the end of the day on February 12th. Then she relives that same day seven times making different choices until she finally unravels the mystery of why she’s stuck in this time loop. She’s not likeable when the story starts, but over the course of those seven days she sheds her old self and steps into her new one.

And as she changes so do you. Because “Before I Fall” is that kind of novel. The kind that changes you.

Get out the tissues, because the tears will be pouring at the end. This is a gorgeous, uplifting story about the capacity to change, the connectedness of all people and the meaning of every action, big and little.

You may never think about cheerleaders in the same way after reading Suzanne Young’s debut novel “The Naughty List.” She flips nearly every cheerleader stereotype on its head in her tale of a cheerleading-squad-turned-secret-society-to-catch-cheating-boyfriends. Rather than rely on the overdone image of a cheerleader as a ditsy blonde backbiter, Young paints a refreshing, nuanced and hilarious portrait of Tessa, the head cheerleader and head spy. Tessa takes cheering very seriously, but not because it’s a path to popularity. Because she truly believes in school spirit. And she believes in washing your mouth out with soap too. Rather than swear, she creates her own endearing four-letter phrases like “peanutbutter pickles” or “strawberry smoothies.” The story zips along at a quick pace with each chapter punctuated by a “cheater’s report” full of witty asides on the cheater’s behavior or tacky taste. But the complexity in this breezy tale comes in Tessa herself when she must confront what to do when she’s asked to investigate her own boyfriend’s possibly naughty ways. The Naughty List is a sparkling debut!

If you’re looking for a quick, escapist, romantic comedy it’s hard to beat “The Ex Games” by Jennifer Echols. It’s the story of hot-headed superstar snowboarder Hayden and her hard-to-resist ex-boyfriend Nick, also a hotshot on the slopes. They’re 17, they’re impetuous and they dare each other to prove their prowess in a battle of the sexes on the slopes. The only catch is Hayden is deathly afraid of jumps because she broke her leg four years ago.

Echols captures the Colorado snow town setting perfectly, but even better than her description of falling white stuff are her depictions of the on-again, off-again Nick and Hayden over winter break. These two teens will make you crazy with the way they make up and break up but the kisses are so good, you’ll keep turning the pages until the very end.

A delightful read!

You know that scene in “Twilight” where Edward and Bella are in the meadow? That scene you read late into the night over and over and your face was flushed and you were glad everyone else in the house was asleep because you had goosebumps on your arms and your skin was kind of tingling in anticipation of a fictional kiss? Well, if you want to recapture that feeling strung out over an entire book, then read JM Warwick’s “Season of Eden.” The book is one long seduction, one tantalizing buildup.

The book tells the story of 18-year-old high school student Eden who crushes hard on her 22-year-old music teacher Mr. Christian. And that’s it. The story is that simple — it’s about love, obsession, sexual tension and desire. But it’s not dirty and it’s not graphic. It’s about forbidden romance, attraction and the bloom of first love. The characters do nothing more than kiss in this story.

If you’re looking for a romance fix, put this on the top of your list.

Thanks to “Just Your Typical Book Blog” where I first learned about this story.

Note: I first ran this review in September and am re-running it because this book releases today.

You think vampires that want to kill you in high school are scary? Or maybe werewolves who could rip your throat out?

They’re cotton candy compared to the high school in Courtney Summers “Some Girls Are,” the January 2010 follow-up to her well-received debut “Cracked up to Be.”

No, there’s nothing like the high school hell she makes her characters endure in “Some Girls Are.”

Even standard high school misery, like clueless teachers, cliques and gym are kittens next to Hallowell High, where the Fearsome Fivesome roam the halls. This girl bully gang loves to hate — they devise cruel tricks and horribly mean pranks in a game of chess with other students as the pawns. Their targets have no recourse, nowhere to go. They become nothing when the quintet is through with them.

Regina Afton is part of this crew. Until she’s kicked out for something she didn’t do. Now, she can’t duck fast enough because they’re pulling out all the stops as the four remaining members seek to destroy her. She hides out in the storage room, in the washrooms, with the so-called “losers,” but even they don’t really want a mean girl hanging with them. Because, can a Grade-A Henchwoman really change her stripes?

That is exactly what Regina desperately wants to do in this story — put her past as a very bad girl behind her — only she has to battle the now Fearsome Foursome, their toady boyfriends who do their dirty work, and worst of all, her own self doubts about whether she can be brave enough. The one bright spot is a loner boy who comes to see the good that is still inside her.

“Some Girls Are” is about what it means to be good, what it means to be bad, what it means to change. It’s about how to stand up and how to forgive and, especially, what not to do. It’s about — like the “Kiterunner” — “how to be good again.”

If you’ve talked to me about books for more than two minutes, you’ve certainly heard me mention Courtney Summers and “Cracked up to Be.” It is one of my favorite books of all time and also inspired me to switch genres from women’s fiction to young adult. Naturally, I was nervous reading “Some Girls Are,” hoping it would stand up to its predecessor. I can’t believe I’m saying this but “Some Girls Are” is even better. I was gripped with fear, anticipation, and intense, white-knuckling nerves during the second half of this book, wondering how on earth Courtney would possibly pull of a satisfying ending after she’d tortured her characters.

I won’t spoil the ending, though. You will need to read to find out! The countdown begins to the book’s January release date!

SHARK GIRL by Kelly Bingham is a fast and unusual read. It’s written in verse (a style I increasingly love because you can read it so quickly) and it’s told by a girl who loses her arm in a shark attack. It’s a heartfelt story about what it means to lose something precious. That’s obvious, right? I mean, we’re talking about an arm here! Somehow, the author manages to convey precisely how it would feel to live with only one arm, the likely awkwardness, the new skills that must be learned. Particularly poignant is the narrator’s relationship with her mother and her brother, who treats her the same and who eventually just says, “I don’t care how many limbs you have. You need to help me with chores.” (He doesn’t quite put it like that, but you get the idea.) Because what the narrator wants more than anything is to be treated as a person, not as a person missing an arm.

SHARK GIRL is probably won’t be the first book you think of to buy or read. But if you do either, you won’t regret it.

What you first need to know about HER FEARFUL SYMMETRY is it’s nothing like TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE, the author’s blockbuster breakout book. TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE is romantic and heartbreaking and amazing. It is one of my favorite books of all time.

HER FEARFUL SYMMETRY is a modern ghost story. It’s told in the same rich, details that Audrey Niffenegger’s fans have come to love. But it’s not about an epic love across time. It’s about an ensemble of flawed people who are all stuck. The two identical twins are stuck with each other. The grieving widower is stuck with memories. The woman he loves died and is now stuck in her old apartment as a ghost. And the man upstairs is stuck too because of his own obsessive-compulsive disorder that keeps him inside.

The characters weave and dart around each other and London and this apartment building until the day the ghost learns to move objects and communicate with the living. That’s when the story really takes off and turns spooky. Because she can do other things. Stranger things, freakier things. If I tell you what she does, it would spoil the ending. But remember this — Niffenegger is not your typical writer. She likes twists and turns and she delivers on them in her second novel too.

Welcome to special correspondent and young adult author Courtney Summers who’s reviewing “Dani Noir” for us!

By Courtney Summers

DANI NOIR is a sharp look at the life of 13-year-old film noir buff (and big Rita Hayworth fan), Dani Callanzano, during a pretty tough summer. Her parents have divorced, she’s angry at her father, her mom still hasn’t gotten over it, and her soon-to-be stepsister is a nightmare. The only place Dani can find a little peace of mind is at the Little Art movie theatre… but not for long. When a girl with polka-dot tights shows up, Dani finds herself with a full-blown mystery on her hands and if she doesn’t solve it–and soon–someone she really cares about could be hurt.

This is an incredible debut by Nova Ren Suma and Dani Callanzano is one of the most memorable protagonists I’ve ever read. A total snarky delight from start-to-finish. With a very thoughtful and caring hand, Suma explores Dani’s world candidly and honestly and the narrative is charming, hilarious and heartbreaking all at once. On one page, I would laugh out loud at one of Dani’s zingers and the next, my heart would ache at Dani’s vulnerability and need to find balance and control in the way you need to find balance and control when things are changing around you in really difficult ways. And it’s a page turner, too. Once I started, I only stopped once–and that was to make POPCORN. The movie theatre scenes are so well drawn–I COULD SMELL THE POPCORN!–it was impossible to resist. And so I highly recommend making popcorn when you pick this book up because it will complete the experience.

The whole time I was reading DANI NOIR, I wished fervently that I’d had Dani as a fictional companion when I was her age. I remember the books I carried around then like lifelines, and I know that had DANI NOIR been on shelves, I would’ve toted it everywhere. I would have aspired to Dani’s cleverness, her wit, her charm, her sense of adventure and I know that Dani’s razor-sharp outlook would have made me feel less alone. I can just imagine how many girls out there will benefit from reading a novel like this, which is why DANI NOIR gets all five stars from me. This is not just the kind of book you read and enjoy in the moment, it’s the kind of book you treasure and love and pass along. So do that. Don’t you dare miss this one.

-Courtney Summers is the author of CRACKED TO TO BE.

Unreliable narrators are an interesting breed in fiction. The classic example of such a narrator is Holden Caulfield in “Catcher in the Rye.” Chris Lynch’s Keir in “Inexcusable” comes from the same mold. You’re not quite sure what to make of him at first, but steadily, bit by bit, you learn he might not be all he seems. But then again, he is who he purports to be because it’s in the telling of his stories — how he crippled a member of an opposing football team during a game, how he hazed other students — you learn he believes he is good, yet he is that guy. He is a high school football player who fancies himself a “lovable rogue.” But he’s more than that. He’s someone capable of violence. And in “Inexcusable” we see the story of a rape from the point of view of the rapist. Because ultimately that’s what the story is about — a searing portrait of how one young man does something inexcusable and rapes the girl he has an enormous crush on. The author doesn’t exonerate Keir, now does Keir exonerate himself. That, along with Lynch’s masterful look into the mind of a liar who wants to be good but can’t, is a fantastic read.

This was one of the first novels that hooked me into the young adult genre. Read it!

Review by Diane at The Book Resort

And now may we present: the humorous vampire chick-lit subgenre? That’s what you’ll find in Molly Harper’s “Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs.” And I say move over Charlaine Harris ’cause Molly Harper’s nipping at your heels.

I want to start out by saying I am not a vampire fiction groupie. I read what I love and usually love what I read. And, let’s be honest, the genre has become saturated with watered-down versions, blatant knock offs & snooze fests galore. Sadly, too many authors are chasing the elusive dream of recreating something that has garnered success for others instead of listening to their muse & creating their own literary blockbuster. That said, “Nice Girls Don’t Have Fangs” is a standout!

When Jane gets laid off from her librarian job, due to “budget cuts” she expects a bit of green in the form of a severance check. Wrong. Instead of a severance payment she gets a twenty-five dollar gift certificate to a bar. Yep, nothing like a little “courage” to get you through the hard times. So, when Jane heads home after drowning her sorrows in Electric Lemonades & meeting a tall, dark hottie…Her car dies in the middle of the night — basically keels over. What does Jane do? She starts to walk home but is mistaken for a deer. Did I mention it is the middle of the night? I won’t say anything more because I don’t want to spoil this book.

I will leave you with this thought: If Sookie Stackhouse had a cousin, it’d definitely be saucy Jane Jameson.