Book Review's Galore!

Okay, it's been a while since I have posted some book reviews and I have read alot of books recently, so bare with me as I blow through my general feelings on some of them.

City of Glass (Cassandra Clare) - I was waiting so long for this book! I love the Mortal Instruments series. I feel it is highly underrated because it does not have Stephenie Meyer's name on the cover, though it definitely has appeal for Twilight lovers. I loved this book, but I have to say it didn't seem to hold up to the rest of the series. Still, I can't wait for Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series to come out. Yay!

13 Reasons Why (Jay Asher) - I really disliked this book. It got under my skin and made me angry. I won't go into the reasons why it made me angry here. I strongly disagreed with the message through most of the book. And aside from the anger, I really didn't find it all that entertaining. Though I seem to be in the minority so don't let my opinion sway you if you intended to read it.

Blue Bloods series (Melissa de la Cruz) - I really enjoyed these books. I don't think there was anything terribly exceptional about them, but I can't stop thinking about the characters and wondering what is going to happen next. Each book was very entertaining in it's own right. I loved the Biblical reference to the fallen angels. It was beautiful. I definitely recommend this series.

Wake and Fade (Lisa McMann)- LOVED these! Seriously. Amazing. These books were so different from everything I had been reading lately, it was refreshing. I can't wait for this series to continue. It was really amazing. No vampires or werewolves. Just a regular girl who has an inconvenient tendency to fall into other people's dreams. I highly recommend this one.

First Part Last (Angela Johnson) - This book was very touching. It's about a 16 year old boy who gets his girlfriend pregnant. The book flashes back and forth between the couple finding out, telling their parents, and deciding what to do about the pregnancy, and him taking care of an infant girl by himself. Not really my style of book, but I liked it.

House of Night series (P.C. and Kristin Cast) - Alright, this is the one I've been avoiding. Oh man. I can think of only one other series that I dislike as strongly as this one and that's the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Where to begin? The writing was bad, I mean awful. And that's not including the typos and the use of the wrong name in certain scenes. Sad news, guys: an editor, not really an expense you can cut if you're trying to sell an entire series to more than just your neighborhood. Seriously, is it because it's a YA series? Most people, including teens, who read know how to spell at least a little. Then there are the horrendous pop culture references. Oh man. Let us not forget about the blatant inaccuracies. I mean, I'm not a stickler for fact checking in novels, it is fiction after all, but you can't just go making things up because it's convenient for you. Eucalyptus is a sacred herb of the Cherokee people? Really?!?! I cannot remember the last time I had heard about a sighting of the elusive koala bear in its natural habitat, the vast OKLAHOMA rainforests!!! On top of all that, I smell the faint scent of homophobia wafting from this series. They take such a defensive stance and make such a big deal out of Damian's sexual orientation that I can't help but feel that they themselves think it is a big issue or something. I don't know, it just irked me. Needless to say, I do not recommend this series but I wouldn't discourage anyone who was even slightly interested in it, it is very popular.

And after all of this rambling, I ask, nay, BEG that teens suggest a series for the Teen Read Week online tournament coming up in October. Nominate something now so we can vote on them in July and crush our rival libraries in the online Colosseum of brutal book trivia. You can stop in and grab a nomination form off my desk in the YA area (soon to be YA room! construction on our wall begins in June!!!), fill it out and return it to the circulation desk. Or you could just comment this post with your series suggestions. All suggested series must be considered YA and must include at least 3 books.

Okay.

That is all.

- Krista