“Evermore” by Alyson Noel

Have you ever picked up a book, thinking it was actually another book, and then when you realized it was actually not the book you thought it was, you decided to read it anyway? Yeah, that happened with this one. I thought it was this one: http://teens.osceolalibrary.org/2009/06/evernight-by-claudia-gray.html

I’m really glad it wasn’t, because it was so much better!

Evermore follows our main character, Ever, as she is dealing with the loss of her entire family and the incredible guilt she feels as the only surviving member. And since her near death experience, she also has psychic gifts – she can read people’s auras, as well as their thoughts, and she has no way to drown out the noise. That is, until Damen comes along. The most gorgeous guy in school acts like a shield for Ever, and she doesn’t know why he’s suddenly paying a lot of attention to her. The only thing she knows is that she’s falling in love with him.

The mystery of what’s going on with Damen, the psychic element, and Ever’s struggle to overcome her grief and guilt while living as normal a life as possible all combined to make a really great story. I was really mad when it ended, and I found out that this is actually the first book in a series, and that we don’t have the second book yet! I had trouble putting this book down, and it gets a 9 out of 10 from me. If my review makes the book sound interesting, you’ll like it, so try to get a copy today!

“Fragile Eternity” by Melissa Marr

This is the third book of Faerie that Marr has written with the same characters. You can find my review of the first book, Wicked Lovely, here: http://teens.osceolalibrary.org/2009/04/vampires-faeries-and-werewolves-oh-my.html

And the other book in the faerie universe (not exactly a sequel) is Ink Exchange, and that review can be found here: http://teens.osceolalibrary.org/2009/05/ink-exchange-by-melissa-marr.html

In this book, Ash is still looking for a way to have eternity with Seth, Keenan is still trying to woo his queen, and Niall is dealing with his becoming the King of the Dark Court. Bananach is everywhere, trying to cause trouble and start war, and since no character knows the whole of Bananach’s visions, no one is really sure which actions or lack of actions will be the ones to lead to war. I thought this was the final book in the series, but it didn’t feel like a final book. I really hope Marr writes another one, because this series is really addictive! I gave it a 9 out of 10, so if you loved the first 2 books, you’ll love this one too.

“The Angel of Death” by Alane Ferguson

For my forensics fans, this is a great book for you. This book is the sequel to The Christopher Killer, which I reviewed a while ago and gave a 7 out of 10 - http://teens.osceolalibrary.org/2009/06/christopher-killer-by-alane-ferguson.html

Many people on LibraryThing didn’t think this one was as strong as the first one, but I thought it was better. I didn’t feel connected to Cameryn in the first book, but I did in this one. The mystery was as good as last time – I did guess the killer fairly early on, but I couldn’t guess the method (which those who play the board game Clue know that you need the who, the how, and the what to win the game!) This one definitely leaves it open for a third, which I’ll be reading. This one gets an 8.5 from me, so if you’re interested in the subject, check it out.

“The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites” by Heather Brewer

Yes, my faithful readers, it’s yet another vampire book. This one, however, I really liked, and I know you will too. I rank it on par with the House of Night and Twilight books – there’s humor, school, friends. There’s also bending of the vampire rules, but they make logical sense in this one.

Vladimir Tod is the son of a mortal woman and a vampire man. His parents are dead, mysteriously killed in a house fire 3 years prior to the book, so he lives with Aunt Nelly. His best friend is Henry, and they have been friends all their lives. When Vlad’s teacher disappears and a strange man comes to town to take his place, odd happenings occur, all having to do with Vlad. Will he figure it out before his friends and family are caught up in the dangerousness?

I give this one a 9 out of 10, so if you can find a copy, read it!

“Wake” by Lisa McMann

Have you ever wished you could know other people’s dreams? Sounds great – except that Janie has absolutely no control over it. She is assaulted by other people’s dreams when she’s sitting on the train, in school, even when she’s driving by someone’s house. She can’t help it, she can’t stop it, and she really wishes she could. She is trying to live a normal life, save up enough money for college, and just get by – until she befriends Cabel. He wants to help her because he truly cares about her. Will she ever stop being sucked into other people’s dreams?

This one was really, really good – I couldn’t put it down. It’s also on the PATHS reading list for summer, and it’s one of this year’s YALSA’s Top Ten Nominations. I gave it a 9, so try to get your hands on a copy today!

“Twisted” by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fans of Anderson’s previous books won’t be disappointed with this one. I had only read Speak before this and I really loved it – I didn’t think anything Anderson wrote after that could possibly be as good. I was wrong.

In Twisted, main character and high school senior Tyler has just finished doing community service for the Foul Deed from last spring. He’s trying to just make it through his senior year of high school, despite all the troubles at home, when the girl of his dreams finally notices him. Things are going well until the big party – then Tyler’s life really starts to unravel as he is investigated by the police for a possible sex crime.

Tyler is a great character, someone everyone can relate to. He’s a good guy (taking care of his little sister) but he has flaws, which makes him likeable and relatable. His family life is a mess, but he still manages to have a halfway normal life at school. This book is for older teens, with references to drinking and drug use, some sexual comments, and graphic thoughts about suicide, but it’s all integral to the story. This one gets a 9 from me – so pick it up today if you haven’t read it yet.

“The Second Mrs. Gioconda” by E.L. Konigsburg

I decided to read this book because it combined a few of my favorite things – the Renaissance, historical fiction, and E.L. Konigsburg. While it’s actually located in the Juvenile section of the library, I decided to read it anyway. It was a quick read, so my reluctant readers out there might enjoy it.

This one follows Salai, the apprentice to the great Leonardo DaVinci, as he grows up in Leonardo’s service. There are some interesting ideas in this book, like how Leonardo might have done research, as well as documented ways he painted stuff (like the Last Supper). Salai isn’t an entirely likeable character, which adds to his characterization, and at just 150 large text pages, it’s quite a quick read. There wasn’t as much on Leonardo as I had hoped, so this one only gets a 5 from me – Leonardo’s Shadow by Christopher Grey was much better, but we don’t have that book. Try the adult book Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex.