Reader Girls Blog

** Our April Book of the Month ** Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (April 5, 2011) Summary: The war has been over for 40 years, and finally Liza's town is accepting children born with fairy talents. Then a nearby town is destroyed, and Liza discovers that the war might not be over after all. It seems some faeries survived and have crossed over into the human world to continue the fight. And the most powerful and merciless of them all—the Queen herself—may be among them... Liza is a Summoner. She can draw life to herself, even from beyond the grave. And because magic works both ways, she can drive life away. Months ago, she used her powers to banish her dangerous father and to rescue her mother, lost in dreams, from the ruined land of Faerie. Born in the wake of the war between humanity and Faerie, Liza lived in a world where green things never slept, where trees sought to root in living flesh and bone. Bu...

Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 480 pages Publisher: HarperCollins (April 5, 2011) Summary: Sink your teeth into these bite-sized tales exploring the intersections among the living, dead, and undead. The vampires in these stories range from romantic to chilling to gleeful—and touch on nearly every emotion in between. The one thing they have in common? Their desire for blood....  Contributors include: Genevieve Valentine • Steve Berman • Christopher Barzak • Neil Gaiman • Delia Sherman • Garth Nix • Suzy McKee Charnas • Kaaron Warren • Cecil Castellucci • Jeffrey Ford • Nathan Ballingrud • Kathe Koja • Catherynne M. Valente • Melissa Marr • Ellen Kushner • Cassandra Clare • Holly Black • Lucius Shepard • Emma Bull • Tanith Lee Our review: Short story anthologies have slowly been growing on me within the past year. The latest one I've tackled is Teeth: Vampire Tales . This spring title boasts 19 stories from authors I am familiar with and some I'm not. That'...

Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Simon Pulse (February 8, 2011) Book summary: The small town of Cryer’s Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasn’t that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain. When a second student goes missing—someone close to Kendall’s heart—the community is in an uproar. Caught in a downward spiral of fear and anxiety, Kendall’s not sure she can hold it together. When she starts hearing the voices of the missing, calling out to her and pleading for help, she fears she’s losing her grip on reality. But when she finds messages scratched in a desk at school—messages that could only be from the missing student who used to sit there—Kendall decides that crazy or not, she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t act on her suspicions. Something’s not right in Cryer’s Cross—and Kendall’s about to find out just how far the townspeople ...

Reading level: Young Adult Paperback: 312 pages Publisher: Flux (February 8, 2011) Summary: When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed Donna Underwood’s father and drove her mother mad. Her own nearly fatal injuries were fixed by alchemy—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. Now seventeen, Donna feels like a freak, doomed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. Only her relationship with her best friend, Navin, is keeping her sane. But when vicious wood elves abduct Navin, Donna is forced to accept her role in the centuries-old war between human alchemists and these darkest outcasts of Faerie. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous guy with faery blood running through his veins and secrets of his own, Donna races to save Navin—even if it means betraying everything her parents fought to the death to protect. Our review: The summary paired together with the cover drew me to this book. Donna Underwood's markings are...

This week we're waiting for Abandon by Meg Cabot. Here's the summary: New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld. When Pierce first sees him, she thinks he is a murderer. She's right about one thing -- he does take lives. But not in the way she ever imagined. Pierce is drawn to the dark stranger even as she tries to uncover the mystery surrounding the tragic death of someone close to her. As she gets closer to the truth -- and the stranger -- unexpected secrets are revealed, even in her own heart. ( From Goodreads .) Abandon (hardcover, 352 pages) will be published on April 26th by Scholastic Inc. Intriguing summary and cover and it's by Cabot. Is 2011 the year of covers with flowery silhouettes? we've seen a bunch with similar designs. What do you think? What's your pick? Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at breaking the spine .

It's Tuesday (yes, we're a day late). We tease. We open a book we're reading and choose two lines. This week they are: "As I'm pulling another monster stack of books from my locker to take home with me, Wish comes up behind me and plants his chin on my shoulder. "Hey, you." This week's tease is from Starstruck by Cyn Balog. Summary: Gwendolyn "Dough" X doesn't think she has much going for her—she carries a few extra pounds, her family struggles with their small bakery in a town full of millionaires, and the other kids at her New Jersey high school don't seem to know that she exists. Thank the stars for her longtime boyfriend, Philip P. Wishman—or "Wish." He moved away to California three years ago, when they were 13, but then professed his love for her via e-mail, and he's been her long-distance BF ever since. At the beginning of her junior year, though, Wish e-mails that he's moving back to Jersey. Great,...

You might have noticed we did not post anything for a week. It's not that we weren't reading. We were. When we could. You see, we went on a small vacation as an early birthday present for our very own Meghan who will be celebrating her Sweet 16 next week. In lieu of a party she wanted to see  The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the newest park within a park at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure . Our family boarded a Jet Blue plane at seven o'clock on Saturday  morning and headed to the very green and palm tree filled warm and sunny Orlando, Florida, last week. We had a wonderful time and think Meg has some unforgettable birthday memories. (Thanks to Caity for her pictures.) As we walked around the two parks we kept noticing one major thing: so many of the rides were based on books . There was Seuss Landing , a park filled with the zany creations of the beloved author Dr. Seuss. Green Eggs and Ham anyone? The Cat in the Hat ride was cute and so nostalgic, ...