Reader Girls Blog

Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: Running Press Kids; 1 edition (October 5, 2010) Summary: R ose Dugan is a young and beautiful woman living in Philadelphia in the late 19th century passionate about keeping Philadelphia’s water reservoir clean and healthy. But when Rose starts receiving threatening letters, warning her to convince her husband to shut down his plans for a water filtration system or else, things take a turn for the worse. A conspicuous murder and butting heads cause Rose to search for the culprit, the truth, and a way to keep the people of Philadelphia safe from contagion in more ways than one. Our review: Another solid historical novel I liked. There was a nice mix of mystery, suspense, secrets, some romance and eerie situations. The time period is the 19th century, the setting is Philadelphia. Rose, 18, is married and witnesses her friend's murder but she wonders if she was the intended victim. Her husband, a power hungry contra...

Another Wednesday, a new month, and we decided we had to post the ONE title we're awaiting anxiously, especially after we saw the cover unveiled: Blackveil , Book Four of the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain. The Green Rider series is one of our top 5 fantasy favorites. We were enchanted by Karigan in the very first book, Green Rider , and read each new title as soon as it was available. Adventure, action, mystery, evil forces, compelling characters and a love story too, we hope this series enchants new readers. Summary : The long-awaited sequel to " Green Rider , First Rider's Call , " and " The High King's Tomb ."  Once a simple student, Karigan G'ladheon finds herself in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand when she becomes a legendary Green Rider-one of the magical messengers of the king. Forced by magic to accept a dangerous fate she would never have chosen, headstrong Karigan has beco...

To participate in   Teaser Tuesdays  is simple: take your current read, choose two sentences from any page and post (be sure to not post any spoilers). Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of  ShouldBeReading .  This week our tease is from Eilis O'Neal's The False Princess . "Go," I rasped, not knowing if Mika could hear me, just before my mouth froze shut. "Find them," snapped another familiar voice, one that I had heard in my nightmares all too frequently these last few days." Summary: Princess and heir to the throne of Thorvaldor, Nalia's led a privileged life at court. But everything changes when it's revealed, just after her sixteenth birthday, that she is a false princess, a stand-in for the real Nalia, who has been hidden away for her protection. Cast out with little more than the clothes on her back, the girl now called Sinda must leave behind the city of Vivaskari, her best friend, Keirnan, and the only life sh...

Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: HarperTeen (November 23, 2010) Summary: Sixteen-year-old Sophie knows there is more to the story of her parents' death. And she's on a mission to find the truth. To aid her in solving the decades-old mystery, Sophie has enlisted her best friend, Mikael, whose friendship has turned into something more. It's soon clear that Sophie's future is very much wrapped up in the details of her family's past, and the key lies with information only one man can provide: her parents' former employer, the elusive billionaire Alfred Nobel. As the threat of war looms in Europe, dangers to Sophie and her loved ones grow. While her determination to solve the mystery doesn't waver, forces beyond her control conspire to keep her from her purpose. Then, news of her great-aunt Tabitha's death sets off a chain of events that leaves Sophie questioning everything. The more Sophie learns, the more she realizes t...

Our choice this week is Gayle Forman's Where She Went ( If I Stay , Number 2). Forman's If I Stay was a beautifully written and heartfelt novel and we're glad this story will continue-from Adam's point-of-view! And the cover is gorgeous. Summary: It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever. Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future-and each other. Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay , Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.  ...

Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover : 208 pages Publisher: Simon Pulse (October 5, 2010) Summary: Strasnick’s slim second offering packs a lot into its short chapters: divorce, broken friendships, crushes, the lines between love and sex and more. Characterization, scenes, dialogue and setting are seamlessly distilled into so few sharp, image-rich phrases that the novel reads almost as if it were written in verse. Less is definitely more here, and readers are plunged into Alex’s physical and emotional world within three to four words. Although the plot moves swiftly, the author’s ability to capture Alex’s inner world in so few words give the novel depth and balance. Complex and thought-provoking. My review: It takes a certain degree of skill to write a novel of short length while retaining its power, symbolism and relaying its messages succintly. Strasnick's second book achieves this. Alex (Al) is witnessing her mother's inability to handle the breaking down of her...