Reader Girls Blog

We fell behind one week due to an unexpected family member's illness. We had two really good weeks. The first week we received from swapping: Thief Eyes by Janni Lee Simner Love Bites (Vampire Kisses, Book 7) by Ellen Schreiber The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner Velvet Haven: The Immortals of Annwyn: Book One (Annwyn Chronicles) by Sophie Renwick Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey L ast week we received: Castration Celebration by Jake Wizner The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell Faithful by Janet S. Fox (all swapped) The New Rakes by Nikki Maggenis ADULT title (purchased)  Leftovers by Laura Wiess (swapped) How was your week? In My Mailbox  was started by   The Story Siren . 

Reading level: YA Page count: 322 pages Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing (April 29, 2010) Summary: Book Two. Seeing good and evil spirits is a gift Zoe guards with her life. Despite her guardian angel's disappearance, Zoe forces herself to accept that she still has a purpose-but how does she carry the weight of her brother's drug abuse, the hardship of living with an autistic sister, and a best friend who's obsessed with a guy who only wants Zoe? She's never felt more alone. When a mysterious spirit appears, Zoe thinks she has a new guardian angel. Instead, her brother's addiction worsens, her parents are on the brink of separation, and her best friend tries to kill her. The spirit she thinks is her new guardian isn't there to protect her: he's out to destroy her family and seize Zoe's soul. . . for Hell. Will Matthias' return mean that he is Zoe's guardian angel again? Or is their love the reason the jaws of Hell now gape open? My review:...

**2010 Debut Author Challenge List** Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: Candlewick; 1 edition (March 9, 2010) Summary: Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan (and thief) Mary Quinn is surprised to be offered a singular education, instruction in fine manners -- and an unusual vocation. Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls is a cover for an all-female investigative unit called The Agency, and at seventeen, Mary is about to put her training to the test. Assuming the guise of a lady's companion, she must infiltrate a rich merchant's home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the household is full of dangerous deceptions, and there is no one to trust -- or is there? Packed with action and suspense, banter and romance, and evoking the gritty backstreets of Victorian London, this breezy mystery debuts a daring young detective who lives by her wits while uncovering secrets -- including those of her own past. My review: A ...

**2010 Debut Author Challenge List** Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Simon Pulse; Original edition (June 15, 2010)  Summary: The clock is ticking? Ollie can't be bothered to care about anything but girls until he gets his Deathday Letter and learns he's going to die in twenty-four hours.  Bummer. Ollie does what he does best: nothing. Then his best friend convinces him to live a little, and go after Ronnie, the girl who recently trampled his about-to-expire heart. Ollie turns to carloads of pudding and over-the-top declarations, but even playing the death card doesn't work. All he wants is to set things right with the girl of his dreams. It's now or never. My review: If you knew you had one day to live, what would you do with it? That is Ollie's dilemma. One morning he enters the kitchen to see his sad-faced family staring at him, a dreaded Deathday Letter on the table. After the bad news sinks in Ollie goes to.... School. I ...

Reading level: YA Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (July 13, 2010) Summary: Eron DeMarchelle isn't supposed to feel this connection. He is a Sandman, a supernatural being whose purpose is to seduce his human charges to sleep. Though he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn't encouraged to do so. After all, becoming too involved in one human's life could prevent him from helping others get their needed rest. But he can't deny that he feels something for Julia, a lonely girl with fiery red hair and sad dreams. Just weeks ago, her boyfriend died in a car accident, and Eron can tell that she feels more alone than ever. Eron was human once too, many years ago, and he remembers how it felt to lose the one he loved. In the past, Eron has broken rules to protect Julia, but now, when she seems to need him more than ever, he can't reach her. Eron's time as a Sandman is coming to a close, and his replacement does...