A Long Way from You - Gwendolyn Heasley

GENRE: YOUNG ADULT

PUBLISHER: HARPERTEEN

PUBLICATION DATE: JUNE 05, 2012

RATING: 8 OUT OF 10 – VERY GOOD

PROS: Good character development; “fish out of water” coming of age story; total escapism

CONS: Open ending might disappoint some readers; not quite as compelling as her first novel

Kitsy Kidd has never been on a plane and doesn’t own a passport, but she’s spending this summer in New York City, attending a program at a prestigious art school. She’s always dreamed of becoming an artist, but the closest she’s got in the little town of Broken Spoke, Texas is doing her friends’ make-up before prom. This summer offers her the chance of a lifetime, but New York has plenty of temptations that often seem far more appealing than remaining safely within the walls of her art school and working on her pottery and drawings. Before she knows it, Kitsy’s wearing her friend Corinne’s outfits, attending parties with an aspiring actress and hanging out at the band practice of a boy who seems to appreciate art the way she does. At times, it’s easy to forget Broken Spoke, the stresses of her unconventional family and the stability of her boyfriend, Hands, even when she’s not immersed in her artwork. When she returns home after four weeks, will she still be the same Kitsy? Will she be able to look at Broken Spoke through the eyes of an enlightened New Yorker and still see the beauty in the small town she’s been running away from?

Kitsy Kidd was the enthusiastic, peppy cheerleader who befriended stuck-up Corinne in Gwendolyn’s debut novel, Where I Belong. I was a little sceptical of reading a book about Kitsy as, while she was nice, she didn’t seem to have a lot of depth in Where I Belong. But after the first few chapters of Kitsy’s story, I had to admit that I’d misjudged her and that there was far more to her than the pom-poms suggested. The hints that had been dropped about Kitsy’s family life in Where I Belong were expanded on, and it was heart-wrenching at times to see how Kitsy stretched herself between school, art, cheerleading, her boyfriend, holding down a part-time job and looking after her younger brother, all because her mother wasn’t terribly reliable. I was rooting for Kitsy to enjoying being a teenager during her time in New York, and although I enjoyed her character development, I didn’t want her to grow too much; it seemed like she’d already had to do too much growing up in Broken Spoke.

Like Corinne in Where I Belong, Kitsy is a total “fish out of water” in her situation. She’s come from a small town where she knows everyone to New York City. The complete reversal of Corinne’s situation was a lot of fun to read, and I could relate to Kitsy better that Corinne as I have a similar upbringing. I grew up in a village which has exactly two shops, and our school is so small that once you reach the age of eight, you have to get a bus to the next town. Moving to St Andrews was a culture shock to me, and it “only” has a population of 16,000, so I’m pretty sure I’d be just as bewildered as Kitsy was in Manhattan. And since I’ve never visited New York (or been outside Europe, for that matter) I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of all the places Kitsy visited. Gwendolyn really made Kitsy’s explorations of the city come to life, especially her trips to MOMA. Even if you’re not an artist or an art historian, I’m sure you’ll find it fun being inside Kitsy’s head and seeing how she interprets art. I can’t say I’m such a fan of modern art as Kitsy is, but both her visits to MOMA and her art classes piqued my interest. Perhaps those who grew up in New York might not be so interested in the descriptions of Central Park or Kitsy’s adventures on the subway, but I have a feeling that seeing the city through Kitsy’s eyes, rather than those of someone who grew up in a city, would make for an interesting read, even for a native New Yorker. Since I used to fantasise about visiting New York as a child – because that’s where my favourite author (and Gwendolyn’s!), Ann M. Martin, lived – A Long Way from You was blissful escapism.

While I thoroughly enjoyed A Long Way from You and will definitely be adding Gwendolyn to my list of “comfort read” authors, I was torn over the ending and the way Kitsy’s relationship with Hands was dealt with. Like Where I Belong, this novel had a fairly open ending. In a way, I appreciated that Gwendolyn doesn’t go down the route of neatly tying everything up in a bow, with the boy of your dreams tossed in for good measure. The endings to both her books have emphasised that your story does not end when you’re a teenager, and you still have a lot of growing up to do. As someone who read far too many romance novels as a teenager and had unrealistic expectations of meeting my perfect guy when I was fifteen, I could have done with some of Gwendolyn’s books back then. But as a romantic at heart, I did really like Hands, and I like to think that he and Kitsy stayed together despite their different dreams. Some readers might interpret their relationship differently, which is the good thing about the lack of conclusion to this book. I’m one of those people who like things to be tied up neatly, so I’m torn between wanting Kitsy to have her perfect ending and not wanting teenagers to have unrealistic expectations of high school and relationships.

Gwendolyn’s second novel is definitely a bit deeper than her first, dealing with a dysfunctional family and a teenager who has taken too much on in life and needs to escape for the summer and explore who she is. I didn’t find it quite as compelling as Where I Belong, but I definitely enjoyed it. Kitsy is an endearing character, and even if you’re familiar with Manhattan, you’re sure to enjoy seeing it through Kitsy’s eyes. While I felt quite torn over the open ending, I’m sure everyone will imagine the continuation of Kitsy’s life differently, and as such, take something different out of their experience of reading A Long Way from You. I still can’t decide if this novel had a specific message, and every time I think about it I come up with a different lesson. I’m not sure whether Gwendolyn’s next novel will follow up another reoccurring character from her first two books, or whether she’ll introduce someone entirely new, but either way, I’ll definitely be reading it.

Disclaimer: There were a few instances of underage drinking in this book, but Kitsy was very responsible with what she drank. A few of her friends smoked, but she did not partake. There are suggestions that one of the reasons that Kitsy’s mother is neglectful is because she drinks too much, but this situation is dealt with very tastefully. There is one brief illusion to a sexual situation between two secondary characters, but nothing graphic.

Review title provided by publicist.

Epic Fail - Claire LaZebnik

GENRE: YOUNG ADULT/ROMANCE
PUBLISHER: HARPERTEEN
PUBLICATION DATE: AUGUST 1, 2011
RATING: 9 OUT OF 10 – EXCELLENT

When Elise Benton’s mother gets a job offer from a prestigious private school in Los Angeles, the entire family gets uprooted. Elise and her sisters couldn’t be more out of place at Coral Tree Prep where they’re surrounded by the children of famous celebrities, and the green minivan that their mother makes them drive doesn’t make fitting in much easier. Juliana is fortunate enough to snag the attention of the attractive, yet surprisingly down-to-earth, Chase. Elise finds herself being dragged along to social events in order to make Chase’s buddy, Derek Edwards, feel like less of a third wheel, but Elise and Derek don’t exactly hit it off. Derek is the son of one of Hollywood’s most famous acting couples, and he’s constantly paranoid that people are only interested in him because of his fame. Elise couldn’t care less, but his attitude puts her off, particularly when he kicks up a fuss over her friendship with Webster Grant. She just wants Derek to leave her alone so that she can choose her own friends at Coral Tree, but this guy just won’t let up. To make matters worse, her mother, the principal, keeps disciplining Chase’s annoying younger sister, and Elise’s own sister, Layla, is meddling in affairs that a fourteen year old should know nothing about. Is Elise’s time at Coral Prep going to be an epic fail?

Here’s a rather amusing anecdote: Claire LaZebnik was the first “grown up” author that I read as a teenager. I read Same As It Never Was (or Olivia’s Sister, as it’s titled in the UK) when I was thirteen and had exhausted my library’s supply of Sweet Valley University and Point Horror novels. I recall really enjoying her novel, but my library sadly never got any more of her books. I’ve now finally made it out of my teen years (I turned twenty in September) and apparently, Claire has started to write Young Adult fiction! It seemed appropriate that I do a reversal of my initial experience with Claire’s work and take a dip into her foray into teenage fiction. Plus, this book was incredibly cheap on Kindle and it was advertised as being a modern adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice – how could a penny-pinching English Literature student resist a deal like that?

As shocking as it may sound coming from an English major and a romance reader, I actually only read Pride and Prejudice for the first time last year. The story wasn’t entirely fresh in my mind, however, so I had to occasionally keep looking up the character names on Wikipedia, as I was curious to see who Webster Grant and Chelsea were modelled after. Epic Fail didn’t exactly follow Austen’s original to the letter, and missed out the character of Mr Collins almost altogether, but I don’t think it could have made a compelling high school novel while accurately mimicking Pride and Prejudice. I’m not a massive Austen fan, but I have enjoyed most of her novels, and I would consider Epic Fail to be an original and successful adaptation. But I’d also say that one of Epic Fail’s best characteristics is that it can be read without any prior knowledge of Austen. It isn’t riddled with links to Pride and Prejudice that would alienate a potential reader, so jump right in if that’s what’s been holding you back. 

As I came close to finishing this novel, I was very tempted to give it full marks. The only thing that holds me back marks is that Layla’s storyline felt very unfinished, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was going to happen to her, Weston and Campbell. It stopped me from completely enjoying the incredibly sweet concluding scene with Elise and Derek. I'm holding out for the hope that this means there will be a sequel about Layla. I’m particularly interested to see whether Claire follows up some of the secondary characters in this novel, especially Derek’s sister Georgia, who was introduced towards the end of the book. Even if Elise and Derek weren’t to feature in a later novel, I’d still be interested in reading it as I think some of the tertiary characters had real potential.

However, I do have to complain about the title. It has no relation to the story whatsoever, other than that Elise herself makes two or three mentions to something being an “epic fail”. I get the feeling that the publisher wanted to use what they thought was typical teen lingo in order to get the attention of their target market. But from what I’ve see of reviews, many teen readers have also bemoaned the fact that this phrase has very little to do with the story. 

Epic Fail was an incredibly cute, fun, touching read. I was cautious about reading a teenage romance as I never had much of a love life as a teen. I devoured many Meg Cabot novels and books about the Sweet Valley Twins, which set me up for a bit of a disappointment when I got older, when I realised that it was very unlikely I’d meet a guy in high school who remotely resembled any of my fictional heroes. But I felt that the relationships in Epic Fail, both those between Derek and Elise as well as Chase and Juliana, were very well written. The characters acted their age, unlike some teen protagonists who either seem younger or older than they’re meant to be, and it was encouraging to see the mistakes that occur through the inevitable teenage miscommunications. Despite all the wonders of texting, emailing and vid-chatting (which even I’d never heard of), these characters still managed many a misunderstanding, which echoed my own teen years all too well. I’d like to think that Epic Fail accurately reflected the behaviour of teenagers, which should be appreciated by teens and adults alike. I really hope that there’s a sequel in the works, or maybe even another modern Austen adaptation. 

Disclaimer: There are a few instances of bad language. While there are brief instances of smoking and use of alcohol and drugs, all of the principal characters are disapproving of such behaviour. There are some vague hints at how far one character's relationship is going physically, but nothing descriptive and what is considered “far” is up to the reader’s interpretation. A secondary character is revealed to have been taking photographs of girls in various states of undress, but this topic is dealt with very sensitively.

Where I Belong - Gwendolyn Heasley

GENRE: YOUNG ADULT

PUBLISHER: HARPERTEEN

PUBLICATION DATE: FEBRUARY 8, 2011

RATING: 9 OUT OF 10 – EXCELLENT

PROS: Protagonist goes through a realistic transformation and endears herself to the reader; novel has some hilarious moments in it; realistic open ending to the novel

CONS: Moral of the story is presented in a rather cheesy manner; questionable presentation of body image

Corrinne Corcoran returns from another successful shopping trip at Barney’s to hear the worst possible news from her parents: not only has her father lost his job, but the family’s entire savings have been embezzled. Her father has been fortunate enough to get another, less well-paid job, but it’s in Dubai and he can’t take the family with him. So Corrinne, her mother and her brother are being shipped off to their grandparents’ house in the tiny town of Broken Spoke, Texas. No more shopping sprees, no more credit cards, no elite boarding school and definitely no chances of hooking up with hot, rich upperclassmen. Instead, Corrinne will be spending her days in a town where there’s only two places to eat and nowhere to shop, where Rodeo Queens still reign and everyone cares about whether or not the high school football team wins the championship. As Corrinne adapts to sharing her bedroom with her mother, getting driving lessons from her estranged Grandpa and eating mountains of carb-filled pancakes every morning she slowly comes to appreciate some aspects of life in Broken Spoke. Kitsy, the perky cheerleader, becomes her friend and she hits it off with a hot wannabe rocker, Rider, when she starts working at the stables. But when Corrinne's old best friend, Waverly, plans a trip to Broken Spoke, Corrinne is forced to evaluate how much she truly enjoys her new life, and whether she wants to take any part of it with her when she eventually returns to her old life in New York.

I am honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed Gwendolyn’s debut novel. I usually preface my reviews of Young Adult books by saying something along the lines of “I'm not a teenager anymore, and I don’t normally enjoy teenage novels, so I may not be the best person to be reviewing this book”, but now I have to admit that, okay, maybe I have become a fan of Young Adult fiction. It’s been a long time since I used to eat up the latest Meg Cabot novel as soon as it was released, and maybe it was due to an overdose of teenage fiction that I swore off it when I was sixteen, but Where I Belong has seriously convinced me to give this genre another try.

This is yet another case of me being suckered in with a pretty cover. I saw that this book was selling for £1.99 on Kindle and decided to download a sample in case the book lived up to its gorgeous cover. I’m currently working my way through Oliver Twist and a surprisingly depressing Amish novel and definitely needed a light read, so when I found myself relaxing as I read the sample for Where I Belong I decided to take a chance on it. And I’m really glad I did. This book had me grinning away at the antics of Corrinne and her new friends in Texas. It was just what I needed at this time in my life.

I did find myself wondering whether or not I would have appreciated this book so much as a teenager. I’ve read some reviews from younger readers who got fed up with Corrinne’s ignorance and self-centred nature. But one of my favourite books as a teen was Legally Blonde purely because I found Elle's actions so hilarious, so considering that, I reckon that I would have enjoyed this book just as much as a teen. There were a few times when I found Corinne's comments a bit annoying - namely the remarks about her dress size (a fair few below mine, and I’m by no means fat) and her initial hatred of all foods that she deemed fattening (I am the Baking Queen in our house and addicted to pinning recipes on Pinterest) but other than that, I found her a very endearing character. For all her talks of drinking wine and staying out all night, she was still very innocent and naive. Sure, she knew her way around New York and could keep up with the “in” trends far better than anyone I know, but she didn’t truly understand how friendships and relationships and families worked until she moved to Texas. I enjoyed watching her character grow, and until she did mature, she was just utterly hilarious to read about. I never thought I’d enjoy reading about a rich, privileged teenage girl from Manhattan, but it happened!

Unlike some readers, I liked the open ending of the book. Perhaps some people would have liked more of a romantic conclusion, a confirmation that Corrinne was going to end up with the right guy and live happily ever after. But I found it quite nice that while Corrinne had grown as a character and developed over the course of the novel, the end of the book wasn’t the end of her growth. She’s still a teenager, after all. It’d be interesting to read the companion book about Kitsy and discover what happens to Corrinne after Broken Spoke.

I only have a couple of real gripes with this book. One of them was the scene in which Corrinne’s grandmother and mother recounted how they’d come to deal with their differences and reconcile with each other. I found it really cheesy and it didn’t seem at all realistic. Perhaps if they’d let their comments drip out little by little it would have worked, but it basically came across almost like a speech or a sermon, as if Corrinne was finally being told the big message of the entire book. The scene could have been a lot subtler and still made its point.

I also found some of the comments about dress sizes a bit disconcerting. If I remember rightly, Corrinne is a size 4 at the start of the novel, and she comments at the end of the book that she’s dropped a dress size due to all the work she’s been doing at the stables. I know that there are some women who are naturally stick-thin, but I didn’t like the idea of Corrinne’s weight loss coinciding with her finding contentment. To some readers, this might give the wrong impression and suggest that Corrinne’s happiness was linked to her unnecessary weight loss. In fact, I don’t think it’s entirely natural for someone of Corrinne's age to be dropping sizes. Teenagers are constantly growing, and it would be more realistic for Corrinne to go up a size. I don’t know many women who stayed a size 2 after they hit puberty, so Corrinne’s dress size isn’t exactly representative of most teenage bodies.

Aside from the slightly cheesy scene with Corrinne’s mother and grandmother and the questionable presentations of body image, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've now joined the ranks of grown women who read Young Adult novels, and will definitely be seeking out more books in a similar vein to Where I Belong. If Gwendolyn can make me enjoy reading about a stuck-up teenage fashionista then I have high hopes for her next book, A Long Way from You, which is about the adorable Kitsy attending art school. If you’re tempted by this beautiful cover and not typically a reader of Young Adult novels, I would encourage you to give this book a try. Where I Belong is the perfect relaxing, feel-good read...and it may even make a Young Adult convert of you! If you’re already a fan of Young Adult fiction then I can’t see how you could be disappointed by this wonderful story.

Disclaimer: There was one instance of swearing in this novel and a couple of suggestions that Waverly was engaging in a sexual relationship. There were several instances of underage drinking, although Corrinne never seemed to have more than one drink at a time.

Secrets - Francine Pascal

READ: FEB 11 - 12, 2012
RATING: 6 OUT OF 10

Beautiful and ruthless, Jessica Wakefield is determined to be chosen queen of the fall dance at Sweet Valley High. If she can win the contest, she's sure to win Bruce Patman, the most sought after boy in school.

The only person standing in Jessica's way is Enid Rollins. When Jessica discovers the truth about Enid's past, she knows the crown is within her grasp. She doesn't care that Enid is her twin sister Elizabeth's best friend—or that revealing the secret may cost Enid both her reputation and the boy she loves.

Only Elizabeth can save Enid from Jessica's vicious gossip—but can she stop her scheming twin in time?

Another one that I didn't read as a teenager. This one didn't have nearly as much drama as the first book, or maybe it was because most of it surrounded Enid and not the Wakefield family that I didn't find it quite so fun. It was also a good 60 or so pages shorter than Double Love, which made it shorter than some of the BSC books! I didn't realise the SVH books didn't have a standard page-length. 

As usual, this book revolved around Jessica being jealous over the possibility of someone (Enid) getting something she had her eye on (being crowned queen of a high school dance) and scheming to get it, and ultimately upsetting a lot of people in the process. Most scheming goes on in this book in a sub-plot as Lila (jealous that her dad is spending all his time with a young teacher and not her) spreads a rumour that her French teacher is having an affair with a student. But everyone gets what they deserve in the end as Jess is forced to dance with Winston, as he is crowned king of the dance, and Lila has no date as Ken realises she initiated the rumour about Ms Dalton. Nothing is really concluded about Ms Dalton so I hope that's cleared up in later books, it would be horrible to have that sort of rumour on your academic record!

An entertaining enough book while I was ill in bed, and plenty of cute scenes between Liz and Enid and Todd to combat Jessica's scheming. Oh, to be semi-innocent in 80s Sweet Valley! There's a strange mixture of sweet naivety in these books with Liz and Enid having pillow-fights and baking cookies, versus Jess drinking wine at Lila's party and cars parked at Miller's Point with steamed up windows. Plenty of hints at what teenagers really do, but no explicit details. Looking forward to reading #3! 

Double Love - Francine Pascal

READ: FEB 11, 2012
RATING: 7 OUT OF 10

Will Jessica steal Todd from Elizabeth?

Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield are identical twins at Sweet Valley High. They`re both popular, smart, and gorgeous, but that's where the similarity ends. Elizabeth is friendly, outgoing, and sincere — nothing like her snobbish and conniving twin. Jessica gets what she wants — at school, with friends, and especially with boys.

This time, Jessica has set her sights on Todd Wilkins, the handsome star of the basketball team — the one boy that Elizabeth really likes. Elizabeth doesn't want to lose him, but what Jessica wants, Jessica usually gets... even if it ends up hurting her sister.

I have a truly terrible confession to make. While I consider myself a Sweet Valley fan, have joined a LiveJournal fan club for the series and own the much-awaited sequel, I had never read Double Love until last month. I read Sweet Valley books in the early 2000s, when most of the early books in the series were out-of-print or just not stocked at my local library. So as a result, when I graduated from the Babysitters Club on to the Sweet Valley series I ended up reading the horrible 90s add-ons, such as Jr. High and Senior Year, and the reissues of the later books in the SVH series, where the twins work as au-pairs in France and get jobs at a fashion magazine. Not REAL Sweet Valley, I know. So when I read Sweet Valley Confidential last year, I felt horribly guilty that I considered myself a fan and had never read the original, early-80s books. So I bought a used, 3-in-1 collection of the first three books from Amazon Marketplace. And there it sat on my shelves until yesterday, when I was stuck in bed all day with a stomach bug and really could not face reading any more of Pamela. So, instead, I devoured this book. 

I kind of expected that I might hate this book. I've read some Babysitters Club books recently that I missed out on as a child and they just don't measure up to the ones that I have nostalgic memories of. While Double Love isn't going to make it on to my list of favourite Sweet Valley books of all time, I do wish I'd had the chance to read it as a teenager as I'm sure that I would have loved it. SO MUCH DRAMA! Especially for such a short book. It follows the typical pattern of all the SVH books: Jessica schemes to get something, Elizabeth takes ages to figure out what she's done and then tricks her into some lame revenge plot. Of course, being thrown into a swimming pool makes up for spreading lies about your twin sister and accusing a boy of attacking you! Jessica pretty much gets away with murder in these books. But I can so see the appeal. What girl hasn't dreamed about having a twin sister? Or, if you're not American, isn't this the perfect image of what every teenager imagines American high school to be like? 

I know that these books gave me totally unrealistic ideas of high school when I read them when I was 11, and convinced me that life just wasn't worth living if you didn't have a boyfriend. But they're a lot of fun and it's kind of sad that teenagers today don't have a similar series to be obsessed over. Sure, I'd rather my daughter was ploughing through the entire works of Louisa May Alcot than Francine Pascal, but if these sorts of books actually get teenagers interested in reading then I'm not going to complain. They do have some sort of moral values, the 80s references (Liz having a typewriter on her desk!) are brilliant. I don't think the updated versions will be anywhere near as good. So, for nostalgic fun I'm giving this 7/10. 

The Merchant's Daughter - Melanie Dickerson

GENRE: YA HISTORICAL ROMANCE

PUBLISHER: ZONDERVAN

PUBLICATION DATE: DECEMBER 01, 2011

RATING: 8 OUT OF 10

PROS: Well-researched historical detail; compelling storyline

CONS: Main character has no flaws

Annabel was once the daughter of a wealthy merchant, but when her father died her family was required to work for the local Lord, just like the rest of their neighbours. Having been forced by her mother to neglect her duties, Annabel fears what fate might befall her family when the new Lord takes up his position. The local bailiff offers to marry Annabel in return for paying off the family’s debt to the Lord, but Annabel cannot stand the thought of being married to such a despicable man, especially when he makes inappropriate advances on her in public. Annabel offers herself to servitude to the Lord so that she can repay her family’s debts without being forced into an arranged marriage. Much to her surprise, she finds a sense of freedom from working for Lord Ranulf, especially when he asks her to read to him each night from his Latin Bible. Having always dreamed off entering a nunnery so that she could study God’s Word, Annabel is thankful for this opportunity, especially coming from such a mysterious man. Rumours circulate about Ranulf, particularly relating to his eye-patch and scars. As Annabel and Ranulf spend more time together, she comes to understand that his past isn’t as disturbing as she’d thought, simply saddening. But Annabel is not entirely free from her troubles, and her relationship with Ranulf is rocked when her flight from an attack leaves him possibly charged with a vicious assault. Now even more unsure of her future, Annabel must trust in the God she has been coming to learn about in Ranulf’s Bible.

I’m always a little cautious whenever I read a book that’s aimed at a young adult audience, but the idea of a historical romance based on the fairytale of Beauty and the Beast appealed to me. I’m glad I took the plunge with The Merchant’s Daughter as I was utterly captivated from the first page and found it very difficult to put this book down. The medieval setting was perfectly described and as accurate as my historian’s eyes could tell. The story itself was compelling, not only because I wanted to keep reading to see how many similarities I could to the original Beauty and the Beast fairytale, but for the simple fact that Annabel’s plight was so real that I wanted to jump into the story beside her and help her escape her marriage to the bailiff.  

I have to admit, my knowledge of Beauty and the Beast mainly stems from the Disney film, so I had to do some research to see what the actual original tale was. But I can assure you that even if you’ve never even heard of Beauty and the Beast you’ll still be able to enjoy this story. The reason that fairytales are retold and adapted over and over is because the stories are so popular, in whatever form they take. I imagine that The Merchant’s Daughter is going to be equally successful, with both adults and teenagers alike. I couldn’t quite figure out what made The Merchant’s Daughter essentially a young adult novel, except for the length of the book and the fact that Annabel is a teenager. But since the term “teenager” didn’t exist until the 1950s and girls were generally considered to be old enough to marry and start families as soon as they hit what we would now consider their “early teen years”, Annabel has to deal with lots of adult conflicts. For this reason, I would say that this book would be suitable for older teenagers, those who are around fifteen or older. There is nothing too descriptive or graphic in The Merchant’s Daughter, but I think that Annabel’s story just might not hold the attention of younger teens.

I did find my interest waning slightly towards the end of the book when Annabel was attacked. While you’d think that I’d find the book even more compelling at this point in the story, this wasn’t exactly the case. My main issue with The Merchant’s Daughter was simply that Annabel seemed too perfect to be real. I like my heroines flawed and a romance is always made more interesting if the heroine has something personal to overcome in her own life as well as in her relationship with the hero. Sadly, this wasn’t quite the case with Annabel, and while she had plenty of stumbling blocks placed in her way by other characters, she had nothing personal to overcome that was holding her back from her own happiness. I’m not sure how a teenage girl would react to a character so perfect as Annabel. Personally, I was a bit irked by how perfect and flawless she was and I vouch that younger readers may react negatively as well.

While I did find the character of Annabel to be too perfect for my liking, her story was nonetheless compelling and I found the book difficult to put down in places. Both young adults and more mature readers of historical romance will undoubtedly enjoy The Merchant’s Daughter and I predict that Melanie Dickerson’s forthcoming books will be a big hit in the young adult market.

Review title provided by Zondervan.

Double Take - Melody Carlson

GENRE: YOUNG ADULT/AMISH
PUBLISHER: REVELL
PUBLICATION DATE: JUNE 1, 2011
RATING: 8 OUT OF 10


How could two girls who look so alike be so different? When rich city-girl Madison Van Buren runs into her lookalike at a cafe in an Amish community in Pennsylvania, she begins to wonder how her life would have turned out if she's been born into the slow-paced country life of Anna Fisher. Stressed out by college choices, a possessive boyfriend, a needy best friend and her divorced parents, Madison sees Anna as an escape into a simpler way of life. Anna is tempted by the lure of freedom from responsibilities, and not having to constantly do chores and care for younger relatives. Living in New York would give her the chance to find her old boyfriend, Jacob, who left the Amish several years ago and hasn't been in contact. But switching lives turns out to be a lot more complicated than Madison and Anna imagined, and their plans for a carefree escape from their troubles doesn't work out quite as they expected. Both of them have something to learn about life, relationships and even God.

Those who read my reviews may have noticed that I’m not particularly interested in YA fiction. But when I saw that Melody Carlson, Queen of Christian Teen Fiction, was jumping on the Amish bandwagon (or buggy, as may be more appropriate) I couldn't help but request a review copy. And despite my doubts about how well Amish fiction would transfer to the YA market - particularly with a cover that's just a tad too cheesy for my liking - this is definitely one that I'd recommend. It took me a few chapters to adapt to Melody's style of writing and fit back into the mindset of a teenage girl, but once I found myself settled in the story, I didn't want to put it down.

Ignoring the plausibility of two girls looking so alike and just happening to run into each other, I loved the "Parent Trap" style plot of this book. Who hasn't wondered what their life would be like in a different place? As a British teen captivated by American TV shows and books, I used to daydream about attending an American high school like the fictional ones I was so familiar with. Like Anna, I believed my life would be so much more exciting away from home. But Anna soon finds that life in a city is much more overwhelming than she thought, and that it's not going to be easy finding Jacob in a city packed full of people. Plus, Madison's phone is difficult to operate, the TV shows seem mindless and none of Madison's clothes are remotely modest. She also has to deal with Madison's boyfriend, whom she ropes into helping in her search for Jacob, and an old friend of Madison's who immediately figures out that Anna is an imposter.

Madison, on the other hand, discovers that the "simple life" isn't as relaxing as it sounded. Making up some ridiculous story about how she hit her head on the ice while skating and has forgotten a lot of basic Amish life skills, Madison has to learn how to do basic chores like cooking and washing dishes, as well as looking after half a dozen cousins. Thankfully, Anna's aunt and uncle don't seem to think that there's anything weird about "Anna" and are just thankful for the help while the aunt, Rachel, is nearing the end of her pregnancy. There are some really touching scenes between Madison and Rachel, who isn't popular in her community because she isn't the best homemaker and seems to be slacking in a lot of areas that other Amish women relish in. Madison - who has never had to wash her own dishes before, let alone bake a pie or change a diaper - admires Rachel and helps the other women in the community to appreciate her “aunt” and help her in the departments where she's lacking. There's also a little romance between Madison and a local boy who helps on the farm. It's not entirely necessary to the plot, but shows how teenagers can get carried away by their romantic daydreams.

I actually ended up preferring Madison's Amish adventures to Anna's search for her old boyfriend, mainly because I felt that Madison had more to learn from her experiences. Anna gets a bit of a shock when she meets Jacob and discovers that he really has become an Englisher, and it shakes her teenage fantasies about her and Jacob ending up together, despite him leaving their community. I'm sure every woman can remember a time when they thought a teenage crush would turn out to be the man of their dreams, so Anna's story is quite easy to relate to, if a little bit anticlimatic. On the other hand, Madison does what many Amish fanatics fantasise about - convert to the calmer way of life. But what is there that’s calm about cow stalls, outhouses and home births? Madison experiences a serious culture shock that causes her to rethink her “real” life, and make some changes when she returns to New York. Her experiences with Rachel's family are quite amusing, but I don't know whether I would have reacted any better in her place. While Anna's situation was more relatable, Madison's definitely made for a more entertaining read.

Despite my usual wariness of YA novels, Melody Carlson may have actually made a convert out of me. This is definitely a book that I'd want my teenage daughter to read, if I had one, and is one to pass on to those younger sisters and daughters who try to sneak a peek at your Beverly Lewis novel. Amusing and very true to life, Double Take is one for both teenage girls and the older Amish fans, particularly those who like to fantasise about living the simpler life.

Review title provided courtesy of Revell.

Sweet Valley Confidential - Francine Pascal

It’s been ten years since the Wakefield twins graduated from Sweet Valley High, and a lot has happened.

For a start, Elizabeth and Jessica have had a falling out of epic proportions, after Jessica committed the ultimate betrayal, and this time it looks like Elizabeth will never be able to forgive her.

Suddenly Sweet Valley isn’t big enough for the two of them, so Elizabeth has fled to New York to immerse herself in her lifelong dream of becoming a serious reporter, leaving a guilt-stricken Jessica contemplating the unthinkable: life without her sister.

Despite the distance between them, the sisters are never far from each other’s thoughts. Jessica longs for forgiveness, but Elizabeth can’t forget her twin’s duplicity. Uncharacteristically, she decides the only way to heal her broken heart is to get revenge. Always the ‘good’ twin, the one getting her headstrong sister out of trouble, Elizabeth is now about to turn the tables...

Despite having read some really critical reviews of this book, I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. My opinion may be affected by the fact that I devoured this novel while drugged up on paracetamol and ibuprofen while I was battling a virus, but during my period of illness it kept me entertained, and that's what's important.

I'm a bit of an odd Sweet Valley fan - I started reading the books in 2000, when I was nine years old, with SVJH. I moved on to SVH, SVSY and SVU when I was 11, although my library's SVH collection was pretty poor considering this was the Noughties at that stage. As a result, I don't think I ever read any of the original, pre-100 SVH books. (Of course, I have since bought a collection of the first 3 SVH books from Amazon, much to my fiancé's amusement). So I grew up with the Wakefield sisters who lived in a world where alcohol, mobile phones and the internet existed. I never read about date rapes and high school sororities and (many) kidnappings. Perhaps if I'd grown up with the original Wakefield twins, I'd be more upset. But as it is, I'm only nineteen myself and this book provided a nice little nostalgia kick for me, back to the early Noughties when Sweet Valley Junior High covers were sporting Sketchers and catchphrases like "Whatever!"

This book is pure escapism. Yes, it's pretty awful. Pascal forgets some pretty major plot points (even I remembered that Mr Fowler's first name is George, come on!) and killing off Winston and barely mentioning Lila were pretty lame. Not to mention the number of times that Jessica says "like" and "so" because apparently Pascal thinks that's how twenty-seven year old women talk. This book is definitely not without its faults, but I didn't read it expecting to uncover a literary classic. If you're looking for a fun escape from real life and don't mind the author messing up some plot points and some cheesy dialogue, then this is the book for you.

Like others reviewers have said, this is like logging on to Facebook and finding out what your old school friends are up to. Even I, who graduated high school less than two years ago, can see the appeal in this. It's always a interesting to look through my "Recommended Friends" and discover that four people who dropped out of my high school already have kids, or that the guy from my primary school who was super geeky and awkward now has a really pretty girlfriend. Revisting the Sweet Valley girls is like looking up old classmates on Facebook, and Pascal is, for the most part, realistic. Todd does not have an amazing career in sport, instead writing the sports column in a local newspaper; Liz is struggling to make a career in journalism and is barely earning anything; Jessica has a job for a cosmetics company; Lila still has lots of money but an unhappy marriage, and so on. Some parts I didn't find so believable, such as Steven coming out as being gay, which wasn't even hinted at in the other books. Or the fact that no one had any kids! Sure, people are starting families later now, but particularly in somewhere like Sweet Valley where stay-at-home-mums aren't so uncommon, you'd expect one or two school friends to have started a family by the age of twenty-seven. But then again, how realistic is it to have nearly everyone move back to Sweet Valley? Especially people who have graduated from university and are trying to pursue a career?

As for the Liz/Todd/Jess storyline, it came of well in some places and not so in others. I could buy Todd and Liz not ending up together because even I remember them being on-again/off-again for the entire franchise. I wasn't so sure about Jess falling for Todd, but I liked the fact that even ten years later, the sisters are still fighting over a guy. As for Liz and Bruce getting together, it was a nice idea but it happened so quickly and didn't have enough build up or hinting towards it. I kind of wished she got together with the playwright from New York, but I guess Pascal wanted her to end up with someone from Sweet Valley. Also, the sex scene at the end was horrible. I walked into my bedroom one day to find my fiancé sheepishly looking through my copy of SVC, saying "I was looking for sex scenes. I only found one and it was awful," and I was inclined to agree with him. Please, even Mills and Boon have less cheesy sex scenes.

It's hard to describe how I feel about this book. It was a fun escape back into my childhood, and I'm looking forward to reading some of the original books. I'll admit that this book was pretty awful, but I did really enjoy reading it, so I'm going to give it 7/10. I think I set the bar on my expectations really low, so my surprise at how much fun I had reading this bumps up my rating.

Shiver - Maggie Steifvater

Grace is fascinated by the wolves in the woods behind her house; one yellow-eyed wolf in particular. Every winter, she watches him but every summer, he disappears. Sam leads two lives. In winter he stays in the frozen woods, with the protection of the pack.n summer, he has a few precious months to be human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. When Grace and Sam finally meet they realize they can't bear to be apart. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human - or risk losing himself, and Grace, for ever.

I really did want to enjoy this. In fact, I've been wanting to read it for a while, ever since I finished the Twilight books. Sadly, this paled in comparison. Admittedly, I'm not a massive YA fan. I stopped reading teen novels when I was about sixteen, when I realised that I wasn't going to meet Mr Right in the hallway of my high school, that I didn't really care about fashion or celebrities and that I didn't actually have anything in common with these heroines. This was pretty much my problem with Shiver - the idea of meeting your "soulmate" when you're still in high school really grates me. This book had too much romance and not enough action (this coming from an avid reader of Amish romances who is currently planning her wedding...) I also didn't really like the whole idea that Grace and Sam had some sort of mysterious wolf-bond that meant that they'd actually been in love for years. I couldn't get my head around this so it creeped me out that they were all over each other from the first day they met at humans. The relationship developed far too quickly and I couldn't help but think that it would give the wrong ideas to any impressionable teenage girls reading this book.

I think one of my other problems was that while this book is advertised as being about werewolves, it didn't really go into much detail about how werewolves came to exist or anything else along those lines. Other than the explaining that the transformation from human into werewolf was due to temperature changes, we didn't actually find out anything about them. I have to admit, the reason I enjoyed the Twilight books so much is because I felt the portrayal of vampires was really original and had a lot of thought put into it. Here, it felt like the author had made Sam a werewolf just so teenage girls could swoon over him and had not bothered to go into any details. I would have loved more insight about the werewolves, and I got quite interested near the end of the book when a "cure" was discussed, but this is the only point where it looked like the author was delving deeper into the mysteries of the werewolves. Other than that, everything is so vague. This book is mainly romance with a smattering of paranormal to make it seem "original".

I also felt that everything was horrifically underdeveloped. Grace doesn't seem to have any flaws or weaknesses and she never expresses feelings about anything other than Sam. For example, the reader witnesses her issues with her parents but she never vocalises her feelings about them until Sam prompts her. Sam, at least, seemed to be a bit more developed and freely expressed emotions about his past, but Grace felt like a bit of a cardboard cut-out. Grace's friends were also a bit bland. Rachel was barely there, Olivia needed far more backstory and seemed to be merely there to bring certain points in the plot together, but at least Isabel had a personality that made her stand out from the others, even if she was a walking stereotype. Grace's mother started to become more interesting, but her dad might as well have not even existed. I just felt like I never connected with any of the characters, not even Grace. Sometimes I felt like I was understanding Sam, but Grace read like a stereotypical girl, minus any flaws and the typical teenage drama.

I'm aware that there are two more books in this series, but I'm not entirely sure where they can go with the story as it seemed to end quite happily for our hero and heroine. Even I was pleased, despite not really caring about any of the characters. The story did pick up towards the end and I became interested in where it was going, but I still never really connected with the characters. Perhaps this is due to not being a teenager, or my general dislike of teenage romances, or simply because this was a rather stereotypical story with standard characters. Either way, I'm giving it a generous 6/10. I didn't hate it, and it held my interest enough for me to continue reading until the end. But every time my fiancé saw me reading it, I did genuinely say "It's rather lame" and proceed to make fun of several plot points. I won't be burning this book, but I probably won't be reading the second in the series either.

Found in Translation - Roger & Kristi Rae Bruner

When Kim Hartlinger—eighteen and spoiled—arrives on a mission trip to Mexico and discovers, to her chagrin, that she’ll be doing construction in a remote village without plumbing and electricity, rather than evangelism in a medium-sized town with a fast food joint . . she has only two choices. “Rough it” (which isn’t exactly what Kim had in mind when she signed up for this trip) or turn around and head home.

Will Kim be able to touch the villagers’ hearts with the Gospel? Or will her time in Mexico be up before she gets the chance?

Pampered Kim Hartlinger is in for the shock of her life when she arrives at her mission trip in Mexico with several suitcases full of designer clothes and a karaoke machine. Convinced that she's going to single-handedly convert everyone she meets with the help of her Spanish-English Bible, Kim sees the trip as an easy alternative to getting a summer job. But before she can unpack her Gucci loafers, she's informed that she's forgotten to read a very important email - the one telling her that the trip has changed, and that she'll now be building houses in an isolated village with no running water, let alone a fast-food joint. To make matters worse, the natives don't speak any English and the team is without a translator, so Kim's going to have a hard time bringing the villagers to the Lord. Could God really have a reason for bringing her to this desolated part of Mexico?

Although reading YA fiction when you're no longer a teenager is  incredibly popular right now, I've never really seen the appeal. Being nineteen myself, I often cringe at the behaviour of characters who are meant to be the same age as me, and this was my problem with Kim. It took me a while to warm up to her, but by the end of the novel I could appreciate why teenagers would enjoy her story, even if I’m still nowhere close to being a YA fanatic.

Kim makes a bad first impression on most of her mission buddies, with the exception of stereotypical black girl #492, Aleesha. I say this because she really is a walking stereotype. I found her amusing for a few pages, but Kim and Aleesha’s constant banter of “Do all black people do X?” and “Can white girls really do that?” got annoying very quickly. Of course, Aleesha has attitude, is excellent at preaching, a great hairstylist, loves to sing...and her name is Aleesha. Just once, I’d love to see a black YA character called Sarah who wants to be a lawyer. Thankfully Aleesha was replaced as Kim’s sidekick by the adorable Anjelita, who is shunned by the other local kids for having been born with a deformity. Anjelita made this book a lot more enjoyable to read, and it was lovely to witness Kim becoming more responsible by caring for her new friend and finding ways to involve her in restoring the village. 

Although she spends most of her time litter-picking with Anjelita, Kim does get a few chances to witness to people. Firstly, she meets typical bad-boy, Geoff, who constantly flirts with Kim and doesn’t seem to care about the mission trip. It turns out that Geoff is only pretending to be a Christian, so Kim decides to show him the truth about God’s love. After a surprisingly short amount of time, Geoff has a complete turnaround in character. While I initially liked this plot-line, Geoff’s transformation was a bit unbelievable, and I felt it gave the wrong image to teenage girls about how easy it is to change a bad-boy into a Christian. Especially as Kim immediately becomes attracted to Geoff after he’s committed his life to Jesus. 

I much preferred Kim’s second attempt at evangelism, which comes about after she discovers that her Spanish-English Bible is actually only in Spanish. Kim prays and relents to God about how her Bible is useless, but then feels him calling her to read the Bible to the villagers. Despite her atrocious Spanish, the locals become interested in her story sessions. Unfortunately, Kim has to leave before she can see the true affects of her Bible-readings, but I felt this was a good lesson in sowing seeds of faith but not always seeing how you’ve affected people. 

As I said before, I’m clearly not the target audience for this book. I might have appreciated this when I was younger, although I’m not entirely sure how my gothic, teenage self would have reacted to spoilt, designer-clad Kim. I think a lot of girls would get annoyed with Kim initially, but hopefully grow to like her as the novel progresses. To be honest, the perfect audience for Found in Translation is girls like Kim – those who are materialistic and forget to put God first in their lives. I think this book could really speak to these girls and hopefully have a impact on them. And of course, I reckon that this series is going to encourage more young people to go on mission trips – and to remind them that building houses and picking up litter are just as important as preaching the gospel. 7/10

Found in Translation is already available in stores and online. The sequel, Lost in Dreams, is due for publication in August 2011.

Many thanks to Barbour and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

Diary of a Wimpy Vampire - Tim Collins

Like Edward Cullen in "Twilight", Nigel Mullet was transformed into a vampire when he was still a teenager, and will remain this age forever. Unfortunately, Nigel became a vampire at the awkward age of fifteen, and must spend eternity coping with acne, a breaking voice, and an ineptitude with girls...In this, his excruciatingly funny diary, Nigel chronicles his increasingly desperate attempts to be noticed by the love of his life, Della Sparrow, the constant mortification caused by his vampire parents (not to mention the worry that they might accidentally eat one of his friends), and the frustration one feels when you've got the whole of boring eternity stretching out in front of you and you can't even have a lie in (vampires don't sleep). Forced to hang out with the Goths and emo kids due to his pale skin and social awkwardness, and constantly battling his embarrassingly overwhelming desire to sink his fangs into Della's neck, will Nigel ever get his girl? Fantastically witty and hugely enter taining, this fun and accessible diary will appeal to any fan of "Twilight" or "Adrian Mole", teenage or otherwise...

I got this book through the First Reads program at GoodReads. This book was amusing enough but I'm afraid I'm probably not the target age group. I could imagine a 12 or 13 year old boy - one who is fed up with all of the girls in his class swooning over Edward Cullen and has a warped sense of humour - finding this funny, but I'm not sure how well it would do in the female audience. It had several one-liners that made laugh out loud and I liked how Collins kicked holes in the Twilight premise - who would really want to be teenager for all eternity? - so I'll admit that found it rather amusing, but I don't think I'll be recommending it to any of my friends! I think that this book would be most appreciated by preteen boys who're looking for a laugh, particularly those who enjoyed Mark Haddon's Agent Z series. 6/10

Dreaming of Amelia - Jaclyn Moriarty

Amelia and Riley have transferred to Ashbury for their final year of school, and everyone is completely obsessed with them. Glamorous, talented and totally devoted to one another, the two of them drift through school in their own world. But there's more to the couple than meets the eye - they have secrets. And some of them are dangerous to share. As Riley starts to lose his grip on Amelia, the repercussions affect everyone around them.

A spellbinding story about ghosts, secrets, madness, passion, locked doors, femme fatales, and that terrifying moment in the final year of high school when you realise that the future’s coming to get you.

Although I've been busy studying for exams and arranging to move into my new flat, I have had time to read a couple of excellent new books, including Jaclyn Moriarty's latest teen novel. I was lucky enough to get sent a proof copy from my lovely friend Anne, who wanted a young person's opinion for a review she was writing. Here are my thoughts.

I've been an avid fan of Jaclyn Moriarty since I read her first novel, Feeling Sorry for Celia, when I was thirteen. I've always liked the epistolary style of writing and Moriarty is one of the few authors who can pull this off successfully, in my opinion. Dreaming of Amelia is a particularly unique version of this style of story-telling in that the majority of it is written in the form of an English exam. Although this is interspersed with emails, blog posts and letters, for the most part of the story we follow four characters as they sit their final English exam - Lydia, Emily, Toby and Riley. Lydia and Emily first appeared in Moriarty's second novel, Finding Cassie Crazy, and both played cameos in Becoming Bindy Mackenzie. I was particularly pleased to read about Lydia again as she is definitely one of Moriarty's quirkiest characters. Emily was, as ever, hilarious to read about, particularly as she is constantly mixing up words when she writes. Her exam paper was wonderfully over-dramatic. Toby also featured in Becoming Bindy Mackenzie, although it took me a while to remember where I'd heard of him before, and it was great to see his character developing. He was especially interesting to read about as he turned his exam paper into a story about a historical figure that he'd been researching, which later added to the "ghost" element of the story - I won't tell you exactly what I mean by that as I don't want to spoil it, but it was a nice surprise when the two stories overlapped in the end. Riley is one of the new characters in this novel and I never really felt like I got to know him properly. However, I have a feeling that was Moriarty's intention - he and Amelia are meant to be mysterious, which explains why all the students at Ashbury are so fixated by them. 

In a sense, Riley and Amelia seemed to be a plot device to get the story rolling. Although they were at the centre of the novel, there were several other small sub-plots occurring simultaneously. Lydia wants her ex-boyfriend back, Toby is worried about his divorced father and Emily is convinced that there is a ghost haunting the Art building. At times I found it hard to believe that two new students could really cause so much fuss, but then I remembered when two incredibly attractive, blonde German exchange students came to my school for a year - yep, everyone was obsessed.

The ghost aspect of the novel intrigued me. I'm not exactly a fan of fantasy or ghost stories and I wasn't sure how Moriarty was going to successfully pull of a ghost story in a modern setting without making it horribly cheesy. What actually panned out impressed me - the idea that each of us has a metaphorical "ghost" haunting us. It wasn't until near the end of the story that I realised that this was what Moriarty was trying to say and I was quite pleased with this conclusion. Of course, there is an actual "ghost" in the story (well, I believe that there was) but it managed to fit into the plot without seeming too out of place or unbelievable.

All in all, I'm very pleased with Moriarty's latest novel. If I have to be totally honest, I think it's impossible for me not to like any of her books. Moriarty is one of the few writers from my teen years that I still love as an adult - her characters are insanely quirky yet realistic, she utilises a different epistolary style for each novel and each of her books surrounds some sort of mystery. I honestly wish that my high school years were as exciting as those that I've read about at Ashbury. Another 10/10 from Jaclyn Moriarty!