Ohh I guess this was pretty good. The book's whole premise--that a girl left this elaborate set of cassette tapes for the people who she blamed for her death before she committed suicide--just didn't feel true to me, so I had trouble getting into it. When I managed to set that aside, the tapes are pretty compelling.

I read this because it was assigned for my YA Lit class, but I did jump ahead & read it a few weeks in advance because I was tired of emotionally heavy YA books and I figured this would be a break. And it definitely wasn't very draining. I tried watching the Gossip Girl show last year, on account of how I generally enjoy trashy teen media. I couldn't stand the show. The book was OK. It moved faster than the show does, I think. Obviously the whole thing is super "poor little rich girl" but it's decently funny. Not really my cup of tea, but a reader more interested in fashion and drama might like it more.

(I might still read the next one in the series if I need another antidote to too many weepy books.)

A good palate cleanser between all the weepy YA lit I've been reading lately. Light and funny, like eating sorbet while someone tells you a knock-knock joke.

This was cute! I loved the idea that everyone has their own fairy that controls one aspect of their lives (a shopping fairy, a good hair fairy, a parking spot fairy) and liked the way it played out. The whole parallel sports school universe was interesting, but perhaps would have better suited a reader who actually played sports.

The plot and ~lesson learned~ was overall kind of predictable but whatever, it was a fun read and I liked the world setup. But if you only read one Justine Larbalestier book, read [b:Liar|6380296|Liar|Justine Larbalestier|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255574915s/6380296.jpg|6568189]. Read Liar immediately.

Oh hmm. I wanted to like this book, and I did! But neither Dash nor Lily parsed as particularly realistic characters to me. But they seemed maybe like the kind of characters teenagers might want to be. I liked the book of dares and the whole adventure plot. Cute... but maybe TOO cute for jaded grown-up persons such as myself. (Ha)

I read this basically in one sitting. Once I got into it, I couldn't stop!! But I don't want to tell you anything about this because it's best if you just uncover it as it happens. But check it out!

I saw Esme Raji Codell speak on campus and really enjoyed her presentation, so I was excited to listen to this audiobook. She reads it herself and does a great job with the voices and accents. The stories themselves are very detailed, funny and sweet vignettes of her childhood in Chicago. It's aimed at children, and encourages them to keep diaries so one day they can remember their own childhoods. I enjoyed all the stories individually, but ultimately the book doesn't really have a narrative. It's just random stories until it ends.

I'm recommending it to my mom, though, because she grew up in Chicago around the same time and I think she'd get a kick out of it.

Hmm. I'm giving this 2 stars based on my personal enjoyment of the book, but I do applaud it and think it is a valuable book for teens, and especially could be useful for class discussions of race and poverty and crime.

But as an adult reading it I had trouble getting into it and didn't really like the screenplay/diary format. Shrug!

I really liked the modern-day werewolf-fighting premise, and I liked Rosie and Lett, the titular sisters. I mainly wanted to read this because of Bitch Media putting it on their top feminist YA books list and then taking it away because it's victim-blaming? Which I totally don't think it is. I think the scenes they are talking about are just showing how bitter Scarlett is. The first half of this--setting up the world, developing the relationship between the sisters, was great. I was less excited about the fight scenes, but overall, a strong book. And yes, I think, a book for feminist readers.

Oh hey, Laurie Halse Anderson, thank you for plunging me directly back into the high stress times of senior year of high school waiting to hear from colleges. ACK, high intensity! Very well done. I liked the cameo from [b:Speak|439288|Speak|Laurie Halse Anderson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298540261s/439288.jpg|118521]'s Melinda, too. This book's narrator, Kate, is a good foil to Melinda. Very opposite high school issues to the ones Melinda faced. The second half of the book--the catalyst for change--is kind of high drama, but it plays out realistically. I liked Kate a lot as a narrator. Smart, funny, and painfully honest.