Ghost Town by Rachel Caine

This review may contain spoilers of previous books in the series.
 Summary: ( from book jacket). While developing a new system to maintain the town's defenses, Claire discovers a way to use the vampires' powers to help keep outsiders from spreading the news of Morganville's "unique" situation once they've crossed the city limits. But the new system has an unexpected and possibly deadly consequence: people inside the town start forgetting who and what they are- even the vampires. And when Claire's boyfriend, Shane, and her best friend Eve, start treating her like a perfect stranger, Claire realizes she has to figure out a way to pull the plug on her experiment- before she forgets how to save herself...and Morganville.
Review: This is the ninth book in this series and it is also my favorite one. The stakes were higher and the story was full of plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. There were constant surprises and I am really excited to keep reading this series. I also really liked the ending which was a complete shock. I am interested to see how that is going to play out in the next book. This book had one of the best plots of any in the series and I hope that keeps up. The characters were all really awesome as usual. I liked that everyone losing their memory was almost used as a way to learn more about where these characters came from and what led them to living in Morganville. The solution to the memory loss problem is not going to go over well with very many people. For some weird reason, I still like Oliver. I really like it when he is around. My only real problem is with the series as a whole. While each book is individually awesome and tells a great story, I don't think it flows as an entire series very well. After I finished this book I read the summary for the next book in the series Bite Club, and it seems to be going in an entirely different direction then what I would expect. other than that though, this series is amazing.

Jerk , California

Summary: Twitch, Jerk, Freak- Sam Carrier has been called them all. because of his Tourette syndrome, Sam is in near constant motion with tics and twitches and verbal outbursts. So, of course, high school is nothing but torment. forget friends, forget even hoping that beautiful, perfect Naomi will look his way. And home isn't much better with his domineering stepfather reminding him that the only person who was more useless than Sam was his dead father, James. But then an unexpected turn of events unearths the truth about his father. And suddenly Sam doesn't know who he is, or even where he'll go next. what he does know is that the only girl in the world who can make him happy and nervous at the same time is everywhere he turns...and he'd give anything to just be still.
Review: I had mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I could really feel Sam's emotions as he struggled with his disease and stories of the father who gave it to him. I could tell that these parts of the story really related to the author's life in some way. However, I didn't like the fact that most of the book was taken over by Sam discovering his family and getting to know Naomi. There was a point where I almost gave up on this book. Although I stuck with because I was curious about where Sam would end up. The way things ended didn't give me any real satisfaction. I think I would have enjoyed this book so much more if it was a story about a high school student with Tourettes trying to fit in, instead of a guy who just graduated and is out to discover the truth about his family.. and oh yeah they all have Tourettes. The only character i really conncected with was Sam during some portions of the story. I din't really get his and Naomi's relationship if thats what you even want to call it. Overall, this book was just ok. I liked parts of it, but just didn't understand the turns it took.

Going Nowhere Faster by Sean Beaudoin

Summary: (from back of book) Hi, I'm Stan Smith. This book is about me. It's possibly the most interesting book ever written. Here's why:
1. I work at Happy Video.
2. I wear a name tag that says STAN.
3. I'm writing a movie script about robot ducks.
4. I'm sort of in love.
5. Someone named Chad is trying to kill me.
Review: I have previously read Fade to Blue and I have to say that this book was not quite as off the wall as that one was. The plot wasn't anything special but it was entertaining. I was never bored with the story. There were several parts of the book that made me laugh and I liked Stan's scripts that were scattered throughout the book. I also liked the somewhat subtle message of breaking stereotypes that you set for yourself and others around you. I thought Stan was a really funny and great narrator. I love it when I feel like a character is speaking directly to me and telling their story rather than living in their head. His family was so funny and random and crazy. Something interesting was always going on. This simple story made me smile. Anyone who wants a light and enjoyable read should start here.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

This review may contain spoilers of previous books in the series
Summary: It's been three years since Adam's love saved Mia after the accident that annihilated life as she knew it... and three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever. Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Julliard's rising star and Adam is L.A 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.
Review: I absolutely loved If I Stay and so I was really excited when I heard there was going to be a sequel. I also really liked this one. The story picks up three years after the last book ended, which I thought was a good length considering what had happened. I loved the fact that the story was told from Adam's point of view. He is honestly one of my favorite characters ever and getting to hear his side of the story was really cool. I really liked seeing the ways that both Adam and Mia had changed since the end of If I Stay and even within this book. Mia is such a strong character. I loved seeing the way she keeps her family close to her heart even as she is still dealing with grief. I thought it was sad to see Adam so screwed up despite everything he has. He is such an interesting character. Honestly, those two are what make this book so good. If this book was full of average and boring characters it wouldn't be even close to as a mazing as it is. I don't want to let this series go and I hope there is more to this story. I also have to say that I was honestly surprised by the ending. I know I probably shouldn't have been, but I just wasn't expecting things to go that way.

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

Summary: (from back of book) A prodigal son. A dangerous love. A deadly secret. Grace Divine- daughter of a local pastor- always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared and her brother Jude came home covered in his own blood. Now that Daniel's returned, Grace must choose between her growing attraction to him and her loyalty to her brother. As grace gets closer to Daniel, she learns the truth about that mysterious night and how to save the one she loves, but it might cost her the one thing she cherishes most: her soul.
Review: When I first started reading this book I didn't have very high hopes. I found some parts to be pretty predictable in the beginning. I thought Daniel's big secret was kind of obvious but it played out well enough. However, there were a few plot twists that took me by surprise and made the story that much more interesting. I did like the fact that Grace and Daniel were childhood friends instead of meeting accidentally wjile she is all alone at a new school.   I was really annoyed by the way it ended. It seems like it made everything else that the characters had worked for obsolete and pointless. I wish the story had taken a different direction. It would have made the characters journey more worth it. I thought the characters seemed average. Grace, Daniel and Jude were nothing special. I thought a lot of their personality traits were pretty stereotypical. I liked them all but they aren't characters I really loved. I am interested to see where the sequel goes even though it kind of seems like I know already. Overall, i did like this book and have higher hopes for the rest of the series.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

   Summary: (from book jacket) What if you knew exactly when you would die? Thanks to modern science, every newborn has become a ticking genetic time bomb- males only live to age twenty five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. When sixteen year old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape-  to find her twin brother and go home. But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

Review: There were both good and bad things about this book. The world that was created was so detailed and believable. Although, the basis of how the virus came about is explained I wanted to know more about what happened to the world, and how everything came to be the way it was. I also thought the plot moves extremely slowly. the book was 358 pages and there was so little plot or character development I found myself bored a few times throughout the book. The main things that kept me from giving up on it really was the fact that I was sucked in to a vivid new world full of very real characters. I thought the Rhine's thoughts and emotions given her situation were so realistic I couldn't help but sympithize with her. I really liked her as a protagonist. To be honest, Rowan was in the back of my mind the entire time I was reading. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he didn't know where his sister was despite his best efforts to keep her safe.  The other characters were just as well fleshed out and real. Jenna was a really strong character that I liked, and I couldn't help but feel just a little bit sorry for Linden. I will be interested to see if the next book contains a little more action. Despite my boredom I am ready to give this world another chance.

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Summary: (from book jacket) Survival of the fittest. The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream Pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water and practically no eyeliner. What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program- or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan- or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?
Review: I didn't enjoy this book. I picked up this book because I absolutely loved Going Bovine and the premise of the book seemed like a really great and funny story. However, this book didn't live up to my expectations. Although, there was a strong message of being yourself and not who everyone expects you to be. There were so many other plot twists that I thought were totally unnecessary. Namely the pirates and the whole MoMo B. ChaCha plot line and what was the deal with the corporation anyway. It is mentioned countless times but is never really explained.   I wanted to feel empowered and excited by a story of young girls discovering themselves. Instead, I just felt annoyed as the plot became more and more ridiculous. I also thought it was hard to keep track of all the characters during the story especially towards the beginning. There was also the fact that the point of view switched between at least 15 different girls which kept me from really identifying with any of them. I eventually got so fed up with all of this that I didn't finish reading it. So overall, I was really disappointed with this book I just couldn't get past all the ridiculous things going on.