Reader Girls Blog

Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Mirrorstone (May 11, 2010) Summary: With vampire boyfriend George and best friend Serena by her side, Mina thought she had her whole life—or rather afterlife—ahead of her. But then Mina’s parents drop a bomb. They’re moving. To Louisiana. And not somewhere cool like New Orleans, but some teeny, tiny town where cheerleaders and jocks rule the school. Mina has to fake her death, change her name, and leave everything behind, including George and Serena. Not even the Vampire Council’s shape-shifting classes can cheer her up. Then Serena shows up on Mina’s doorstep with some news that sends Mina reeling. Mina may look a lot better with fangs, but her afterlife isn’t any less complicated!  My review: Thank goodness for Kimberly Pauley's comic take on vampires. Still Sucks to be Me is a wonderfully humorous companion to Sucks to be Me . I enjoyed them both. This time around newly turned vampire Mina 'Smith' has been...

We received for review :  Still Sucks to be Me by Kimberly Pauley (Around the World tours). We purchased : Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead. We swapped The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell, Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis,  Light Beneath Ferns by Anne Spollen, Morpheus Road: The Light by D.J. MacHale, We Hear the Dead by Dianne K. Salerni, Changeless by Gail Carriger and Sandpiper by Ellen Wittlinger (really like the NEW cover on this). In My Mailbox  was started by   The Story Siren . 

Publisher: Wild Rose Press (July 2009) Page Count: 176 Summary: Emma Landon has a plan: she's going to be in the high school musical and sing the most romantic song possible to her boyfriend. She's not looking for the lead, just a decent part where she and Trevor can dance together on stage. The plan starts to unravel when she gets the starring role, and playing opposite her is not her perfect boyfriend, but the school loner, Biker Mike. When Mike kisses Emma at the school dance, everything changes. Emma must figure out what is more important-the way things look or something deeper. My review: When Mike Kissed Emma was the shortest book I've read in a long time at only 176 pages. I thought it was sweet but the story seemed to be missing something and the hint was in the above summary's last sentence--I felt this story lacked some depth. I wanted to learn more about Emma and her friends. I wanted to understand why some of their comments came across as so shallo...

This week our picks are about a mysterious boy, a kidnapped girl  and an assassin searching for his apprentice--and this is all in one book! Our second choice is not one but two upcoming volumes in a long-running and highly anticipated manga series about vampires, and the third is a tale of two girls set in two different worlds at different times and the lure of history. Without any more fanfare, here are our choices: The Fallen Blade (The Vampire Assassin Trilogy, Book One) by Jon Courtenay Grimwood Publisher: Orbit (1/27/2011) Summary: In the depths of night, customs officers board a galley in a harbor and overpower its guards. In the hold they find oil and silver, and a naked boy chained to the bulkhead. Stunningly beautiful but half-starved, the boy has no name. The officers break the boy’s chains to rescue him, but he escapes… Venice is at the height of its power. In theory Duke Marco commands. But Marco is a simpleton so his aunt and uncle rule in his stead. They comma...

Reading level: Middle Grade Paperback: 280 pages Publisher: Leap Books (12/15/2009) Summary: Kenzie didn't expect her first summer in the Florida Keys to be murder. Or cute guys, awesome boats, endangered species, and gun-toting thugs... When city girl Kenzie Ryan moves to a Florida wildlife refuge, she plunges straight into an eco-mystery. Kenzie trades New York streets for Keys pollution cleanup, and now, instead of hailing cabs, she's tracking down a poacher of endangered Key deer. Her new home does have some benefits-mainly Angelo, an island native, who teams up with her to nab the culprit. But will they both survive when the killer turns from stalking deer to hunting humans?  My review: The beginning of this book started off a bit shaky for me and I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep reading. Since I don't like to give up on a book I continued reading. Was I glad I did. Island Sting really shot off a few pages later and I found myself not wanting to take a b...

Reading level: MG Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Dial (4/1/2010)  Summary: Abbie Adams and her family come from a long line of witches. One day her father brings home a kitten. But when Abbie looks into the kitten's eyes, she realizes there's a boy in there. The family is shocked to realize he's none other than the young Thomas Edison, and if they don't save him fast, he'll never change the world with his inventions.  My review: This was a magical book in many ways. From the very beginning, I felt as if I was in the book right alongside the main character, Abbie Adams, trying to help Tom the cat by using my witch powers. But then I was snapped back into reality and suddenly.... My powers were gone.  The great thing about reading books is being able to get lost inside of them. Since Rhonda Hayter created a cool magical world of witches and a cat who is really a human--in fact he's Thomas Edison!--I was able to do just that. I loved the story, especiall...

This week's quote is from page 58 of Rachel Caine's latest installment in The Morganville Vampires, Kiss of Death . "Claire sighed. "I am not getting you a brain, because I am not that kind of lab assistant, Dr. Frankenstein. Can we go through the map again?" It's this kind of wit and humor that makes us love this series so much. Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly event hosted by MizB of   ShouldBeReading .