Enchanting Review: Been There, Survived That

BEEN THERE, SURVIVED THAT

GETTING THROUGH FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL

JOE PINSKER, HANNAH SHR, CAROLYN HOU, MAXFIELD PETERSON

EDITED BY KAREN MACKLIN

YA Non-fiction

Zest Books

ISBN# 978-097901737-7

96 pages

$9.95

Paperback--Available now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

The first year of high school can be overwhelming. Not only are you starting at a new school but you have to worry about new teachers, friends, and even where to sit at lunch. And that doesn’t even include the cafeteria lunches. All this can cause anyone to break out in a cold sweat.

BEEN THERE, SURVIVED THAT is a manual written by four teens who have experienced being freshmen. They give some helpful suggestions on what to expect that first year of high school. Some things that are covered include how to survive the lunchroom, not kissing up, dealing with stress and burn out.

There are also funny freshman year horror stories. Plus, top list of things to either do or not do. The advice is practical and helpful and not based on an adult’s idea of what you should do as a freshman. That’s what’s great about this book. It’s written for and by teens who know what it’s really like.

This manual is sure to appeal to those just entering high school.

Zest Books has an exciting line of non-fiction books that cover issues that are important to teens. They have an internship where teens from different high schools around San Francisco are chosen based on their interests and accomplishments in writing, reading, editing, and teen culture. If interested in becoming a teen advisor, send a letter of interest to editorial@orangeavenue.com

Check out their website at www.zestbooks.net

Kim

ENCHANTING REVIEWS

Sept. 08

Enchanting Review: Death By Latte

DEATH BY LATTE

LINDA GERBER

YA Mystery

Sleuth Speak

ISBN# 978-0-14-241118-6

224 Pages

$6.99

Paperback—Available Now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Aphra Connelly returns in this second book in Ms. Gerber’s popular DEATH BY series. This time she’s going to Seattle to track down her mother. Thanks to the Mulos appearance on the island and Seth’s information, she knows where she is and how to reach her. It should be the perfect mother-daughter reunion—except that it isn’t. From the first moment Natalie Connelly lays eyes on her daughter, it’s pretty clear that Aphra’s unexpected presence isn’t welcome, by her or her associates. But that’s not the worst thing that could happen. When her mom’s partner, Joe, ends up dead in a café that afternoon, and Aphra spots a familiar face on her tail, things really take a dangerous turn. Add in Seth’s surprising appearance, demanding back the ring back he gave her that’s suddenly missing and what was originally meant to be an uneventful trip to see her mother is anything but.

What a great second book in the series! The danger is really ramped up in this one now that Aphra is reunited with her CIA agent mother, who is on the run from a dangerous mole that’s out for revenge on all those who helped put his boss behind bars. Ms. Garber’s voice pulls the reader right into the story so they feel like they are right there along with Aphra. I have to say the unexpected twists and turns to the story were very unexpected and I literally gasped out loud when the identity of the mole was revealed.

DEATH BY LATTE is a fast paced page turner that really has it all: mystery, suspense, and romance. Can Aphra help Seth save his father or will she be the unlikely pawn that helps the mole track down her mom and the Mulos? You’ll have to read this one to find out.

Ms. Gerber’s lived in Utah, California, Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, Washington D.C., Finland and Japan, and has traveled through Europe and Asia, Mexico, Australia, Hawaii and Micronesia. You can visit her online at http://www.lindagerber.com

Lisa

September 2008

Enchanting Reviews

Enchanting Review: The Big Game of Everything

THE BIG GAME OF EVERYTHING

CHRIS LYNCH

Contemporary YA

HarperTeen

ISBN# 978-0-06-074034-4

288 pages

$16.99

Print – Available September 2008

Rating: 3 Enchantments

Union Jack (pronounced Onion Jock) is a relatively normal guy except for the fact that his family is rather eccentric. If one couldn’t already tell from Jock’s unusual name, the people Jock resides with lean a little more towards loony. Jock’s father Leonard, a hairdresser, probably spends more time trying to convince his customers to not get their hair cute, and Jock’s younger brother Egon, Jock’s spokesdevil, is physically larger than Jock and enjoys terrorizing him and other people (in a friendly way of course). But through all this strangeness, Jock still loves his family because, well, they’re his family.

If there’s one person in Jock’s family he admires the most, it is his Grampus. This is thy Jock looks forward to a summer of helping run Grampus’ not-quite-finished golf course. But Jock’s not going to get the simple summer he expected, especially after two of Grampus’ old friends show up at the golf course. With the introduction of The Big Game of Everything, Jock’s relationship with Grampus as well as his view of the world shifts, and it’s up to him to discover what really is most important to him.

THE BIG GAME OF EVERYTHING turned out to be only a mediocre story, which was a disappointment to me. Based on the back-cover summary, I was expecting a laugh-out-loud story that was meaningful, but instead, I got only a couple of chuckles and some confusion. Part of this is a result of the wacky characters; I felt the characters’ eccentricities worked against the story because they never truly gained my sympathy. The plot was pretty boring most of the time as well, which made me lose interest in the story most of the time. I think that Lynch was trying to create a more thought-provoking novel, but THE BIG GAME OF EVERYTHING failed at this because I couldn’t concentrate long enough on the story to really think about it. On the positive side, the weird characters did lead to some humorous situations and there was one exceptionally well-written scene towards the ending. However, for the most part, I felt like I was missing the big idea which was never explicitly stated. If you’re the type of reader who likes to look for meanings deep within stories, then you should read this book, but otherwise, I do not recommend it.

Chris Lynch is the author of several other novels for young adults including FREEWILL, SHADOW BOXER, and SLOT MACHINE. You can visit him online at his website: www.chrislynchbooks.com

Rachael Stein

Enchanting Reviews

September 2008

Enchanting Review: Party Games

PARTY GAMES

WHITNEY LYLES

YA Romance

Simon Pulse

ISBN# 978-0-4169-5913-7

284 pages

$6.99

Print – Available June 2008

Rating: 3.5 Enchantments

Sara Sullivan is always finding herself at the coolest parties. That’s because she works as the assistant for her mother’s hugely successful party planning business. She may only be fifteen-going-on-sixteen, but she’s well on her way to becoming like her mom. She doesn’t even mind much that she’ll be spending most of her summer planning other people’s parties instead of having fun with her best friend Allie – that is, until she meets Ian.

Ian is a talented guitarist for an upcoming band called On the Verge. On top of that, he’s super hot and super sweet. Sara finds herself obsessing over her new crush, constantly wondering if he’s as interested in her as she is in him.

But Sara’s daydreams will have to wait. She’s gotten involved with planning the sweet-sixteen birthday bash for uber-spoiled and beautiful Dakota London. It’s Sara’s job to fulfill Dakota’s every want and need regarding the party, no matter how ridiculous or impossible the task. Sara has just about had it with serving Dakota, especially when Dakota tells Sara to make sure Ian is Dakota’s date. With Sara’s feelings on the line, will she be able to pull off this party?

I am a big fan of the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies; however PARTY GAMES did not rank among my favorites. This was because in the first half of the book, the plot seemed to wander around with no real point. The story did pick up, though, especially towards the end. I was rooting for Sara to get the guy, but it was mildly annoying that Sara kept on putting the party business before her own love life, and I was glad when she finally learned her lesson in the end. I was a little disappointed that Ian’s character wasn’t as well-developed as Sara’s. In the end, PARTY GAMES was slightly enjoyable but it didn’t completely wow me.

PARTY GAMES is Whitney Lyles’ first young adult novel, though she has written several novels for adults. You can visit her online at her website: www.whitneylyles.com or on MySpace: www.myspace.com/whitney_lyles .

Rachael Stein

Enchanting Reviews

August 2008

Enchanting Review: Pretties

Pretties

Scott Westerfeld

Young Adult Paranormal

Simon Pulse

ISBN# 978-0-689-86539-8

370 pages

$ 7.99

Print - Available now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Zane is a Pretty. However he has always been different than the stereotypical Pretty. He does not share the same attitude as them. He is more serious than the Pretties who all seem to share the same “blonde” mindset. Zane is also the leader of the clique known as the Crims. The Crims are pretties who act like the uglies. They play tricks and get into trouble. These are things that are unheard of in the Pretties community. The Crims goal is to stay bubbly. Bubbly is where they stay on almost an adrenaline rush.

Tally Youngblood is a Pretty. Tally has given herself up to the Specials so that she could get the antidote that will cure the lesions in the brains of the Pretties. Tally is introduced to the Crims and later on becomes the female leader of them. Zane and Tally work side by side to stay bubbly and get the antidote.

The story of the Pretties is about Tally and Zane defeating the Specials and helping the new smoke rise. Fighting alongside Tally and Zane are most of the Crims, the new smokies and some uglies. Zane and Tally get the antidote. It is two pills, and they each take one. Tally is cured, Zane is also but he has horrible headaches as a side effect. Shay, one of Tally’s friends, becomes obsessed with Tally and finds that cutting yourself will also make you bubbly. She gets a lot of followers to start cutting themselves as well. The Crims try to escape from new Pretty Town to get to the New Smokies headquarters. This is not an easy task because the Specials are keeping the new Pretties in, and they are monitoring Tallies every move. While escaping everyone gets separated from each other and Tally gets lost without any gear to help her survival. When she gets to new smoke the doctors tell her that she was never cured by the antidote, she had cured herself somehow. And that Zane had nanobytes eating his brain the pill that she took was supposed to cure that. Zane has now lost his motor skills. The specials arrive because they had a tracking devise in his tooth. Tally refuses to leave Zane so the specials forcibly make her a special.

The Pretties kept me up all night reading. I had to work the next day on only an hour of sleep because I could simply not put it down! The book was different than the normal books I like. Futuristic but no aliens or overly science fiction. They talk about us the rusties which I thought was cool. I like how it opened my eyes on how we are destroying the planet, because the rusties almost kill everyone and the earth. The one thing that the book was missing was romance. There was a definite chemistry between Zane and Tally but I wish it would have been more elaborated on. Zane and Tally are going steady but they never get too mushy. They say I love you which are a big deal in the story. I like this because it seems that every relationship that teenagers have means that they are in love, but I wanted nice mushy romance. The other thing that was missing was all the definitions of future technology. It took me awhile to figure out what bubbly was even. I really like the way the book ended. Tally became what she was fighting so hard against, and it leaves you craving the next book.

Scott Westerfeld has written three other young adult series. To find out more about him and his books please visit www.scottwesterfeld.com

Krissy

ENCHANTING REVIEWS

July 2008

Enchanting Review: Something Borrowed

SOMETHING BORROWED

CATHERINE HAPKA

YA Romance

Simon Pulse

ISBN# 978-4-4169-5289-3

272 pages

$6.99

Paperback – Available April 2008

Rating: 5 Enchantments

Happy-go-lucky Ava is the maid of honor for her sister Camilla’s upcoming wedding, an extremely stressful role considering Camilla’s Bridezilla-like tendencies. As if dealing with her crazy sister isn’t enough, Ava’s boyfriend Lance dumps her only two weeks before the wedding. Now Ava has to scramble to find a hot a fun date.

This normally wouldn’t be a problem for Ava because she knows how to catch a guy’s eye, but she just doesn’t seem to be having any luck this time. The wedding looms ever closer, but something always goes wrong with every potential date Ava lands. With no other options left, Ava asks her best friend Theresa if she can borrow Theresa’s boyfriend Jason, a guy Ava doesn’t even particularly like, to be her date to the wedding; to her, this is much better than going stag. To Ava’s surprise, though, the night with Jason turns out to be much more than she bargained for.

I really enjoyed reading SOMETHING BORROWED; it was fun, flirty, and cute. I did find it a little strange that Ava made it her number-one-priority to find a date, because there are definitely more important things in life than that, but I did admire her loyalty to her sister Camilla and best friend Theresa. Plus, Ava had a pretty good sense of humor. It was fun to read along as Ava tried to fix Camilla’s all-too-frequent nervous breakdowns or pick up another hottie. My one minor annoyance was actually over the not-completely-appropriate title; Ava doesn’t resort to borrowing anyone until t the very last portion of the story. Nevertheless, SOMETHING BORROWED was a very enjoyable read that kept me giggling.

Catherine Hapka has written more books than her character Ava has picked up guys. Her other novels include The Twelve Dates of Christmas and Love on Cue of the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies as well as books for various series.

Rachael Stein

Enchanting Reviews

August 2008

Enchanting Interview: P.C. Cast

1) How do you care for and nurture your muse?

I think it’s important as an author, as well as a successful woman, to be well read and well traveled. People are so much more interesting when they’ve had a variety of experiences, which should include visiting different cultures and countries. Probably more than anything else travel inspires me and nurtures my creativity.

2) What was the inspiration for the HOUSE OF NIGHT series? Anything taken from real life (even just a little!)?

My fabulous agent, Meredith Bernstein, came up with the idea for me to write a series about a vampyre finishing school. At that time I was reading Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’ HAWKSONG books, and I instantly thought of YA – so that’s how the House of Night was born! Yes, we definitely take many things from real life. First, the basis of our vampyres is biological. My father is a biologist; he and I brainstormed for a genetic reason for vampyres, then I added the goddess lore. The setting for the school was inspired by a prep school in Tulsa, just as many other setting elements are Tulsa based: Street Cats, South Intermediate High School (which is where I teach), the Tulsa Depot, the tunnels under the city, Utica Square, St. Johns Hospital, the Benedictine Nuns, etc. Also many of the characters are based on ex-students and friends – and, of course, Zoey is based on Kristin when she was a teenager!

3) Where did you come up with the idea of a vampire who is 'chosen'? Also the idea of the tattoos?

The Marked/Chosen part all grew out of the biological research my dad and I did, using the premise that for some teenagers hormones come alive and act on the junk DNA strands we’ve yet to map for their purpose. The tattoos were inspired by ancient goddess lore and the idea that when a young woman became a priestess she was often tattooed to show that she had been accepted into the service of her Goddess.

4) I'd like to know a little more about the mother/daughter collaboration. I've always been curious about how two people writing a book together brainstorm and make decisions...what if the two don't agree on a plot point? And the mother and daughter combination makes it even more interesting...and possibly volatile! Any funny stories come out of this?

Well, I love it because I’m the mom and I can beat Kristin if she disagrees (if I can catch her!). Seriously, we don’t always agree, but I respect Kristin’s opinions, just as she respects mine. And what we’ve discovered after writing five books together is that both of us have to bow to what the characters decide to do – so neither of us are actually in control!

5) Looking back on the first three books, is there anything you wish you could have added or even taken away?

Honestly, I wouldn’t change anything about the books. I love the House of Night and feel strongly about our characters and the problems/conflicts they face. I like that our heroine and the secondary characters are flawed, and that they actually make mistakes – like real life. I find it interesting and sometimes disturbing that some teenagers judge Zoey and her friends harshly when they mess up, when so many teenagers mess up! To me it makes a point about not being so quick to judge

Interview September 2008