Top Ten Tuesday: 10 authors I've only read one book from and need to read more!

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by The Broke and The Bookish.  

The ten authors that I can't believe I've only read 1 book by are:

1. Andrew Smith - I just learned about this author with all the fuss being made over Grasshopper Jungle this year.  Now I must read all his books!  And get them for my school library.
2. Jennifer L. Armentrout - I got a copy of her book, Don't Look Back, as part of a box of ARCs from Disney last spring, and while it wasn't the main reason I wanted the set, it turned out to be one of my favorites!  I'd been told I needed to read her books, and I'd seen them all over the blogosphere.  Now I know.
3. Jennifer Brown - She lives in the same town where my dad lives, right next to the city that I live in.  I read Hate List for an award nominee for the Missouri Association of School Librarians.  I have at least one other of her book sitting at home waiting to be read.  I don't know why I haven't picked it up yet.
4. Laini Taylor - I got a copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone the first time I attended BEA in 2012.  But it took me a bit to read it, again, crazy me.  Then I loved it!  I got to meet her when she came to my hometown a year ago I think, and so I have the 2nd book in the series, but I have yet to read it!  It is on my Sequel Challenge TBR list though.
5. Kiersten White - Another book that was a state library nominee was Paranormalcy, and so I read it to keep up with the students.  Enjoyed it quite a bit.  Now just need to read on!
6. Sophie Jordan - I'm kind of ashamed to admit that Uninvited is the first book of hers that I ever read.  I met her in 2013 at the Romantic Times Convention in Kansas City, my hometown.  I was very excited to meet her, just from knowing her name from all the books at the bookstore where I work part time.  Now that I've read one, I'm eager to read on!
7. Patricia McCormick - Now I've only read one book by this author, Purple Heart, again for the award list, and while it wasn't my favorite book, I do want to read others she has that sound really good.  
8. Joe Hill - Yes, he is Stephen King's son, which is why I picked up his book, Heart Shaped Box.  I really enjoyed it, gave it a 5 star rating on Goodreads, but I read it the year before I started this blog, so no review to share.  Even though he and I had a bit of a political argument/discussion on Twitter a couple years ago, I still want to read more of his books.
9. Alex Flinn - I'm also embarrassed to admit that I assumed this author was a man because of her first name.  *hangs head in shame*  But I read one of her books, Cloaked, again as an award nominee, and liked it.  I also saw the movie for her book Beastly, and thought it was interesting enough I might read more.
10. Jennifer Donnelly - I got a copy of her book Revolution for free from the bookstore where I work because she was coming to do a signing.  I didn't get to see her unfortunately, but I loved the book.  I had really hoped to get a copy of Deep Blue at BEA this summer, but I wasn't able to sadly.

Of course there are many others I noticed as I looked through my Goodreads "Read" shelf, but these would be my top 10.  Have you read these authors books, do you agree that I should continue?  What authors do you need to read more of their books?

Gated by Amy Christine Parker

First I will say thanks to Random House books for Young Readers and Edelweiss for allowing me to read an e-galley of this title.  This was a good book about a young person in what would most likely be called a cult situation.  In a way reminded me of the book The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams, and you can read my review of that HERE.  This was a much more involved book, and you almost, at least at first, didn't think it was such a crazy place.  In fact, the main character, Lyla, seems to really be happy there.
Now Lyla's family came to live at Mandrodage Meadows, following Pioneer, after several things happened.  Lyla's sister disappeared off the sidewalk outside their brownstone in New York City.  Then shortly after, the Twin Towers fell on 9/11.  Of course once that happened, the search to find Lyla's sister ended.  There was too much going on for the police to worry about that.  Pioneer showed up at their house around that time.  Saying that he'd seen their story on the news, and The Brethren had sent him a vision saying to help this family.  Soon, Lyla's family, along with others had decided this world was only getting worse, and they all went to help build the community that Pioneer had said would be their way to be safe when the world ended.
  From the outside it just looks maybe like an Amish community, in that they garden and have simple cabins, and keep to themselves.  But they do have electricity.  They aren't really religious, you see the Brethren are aliens that have told Pioneer who to choose and when the end of the world will come.  And how to build a Silo under their community to go into and wait once the world ends.  There are only people of a certain age, and all of the children, none are very young, at a certain point, around the age of 12 I believe, all were told who their intended spouse would be.  For some, like Lyla, she was glad it was Will, her best friend, even if she didn't have "romantic" feelings about him.  For her best friend Marie, her match wasn't anything special at first, in fact the kind of boy they hoped NOT to be matched with.  But he grew up, and got cuter.  And it all seemed like it was right. They had horses, which Lyla loved to ride hers.  They only visited the nearest town like once a month, and that was to pick up things they couldn't take care of with their own farm, and to sell furniture.  Like the Amish, they sold handcrafted furniture.  Lyla's only problem is when they practice shooting.  Lyla is fine with all of what they have to do, and she understands the people outside of the compound are evil, but shooting a person, to her that seems evil.  And so when they practice, she aims for the knees.  An idea she got from the Terminator movies.  They are allowed movies, they show them at the clubhouse, and as you can see, they are some more modern movies.  They do have books to read, and go to school as well, well school with each other.  Pioneer is not happy about her not taking the shooting seriously and even comes and stands over her until she is able to shoot the wooden "people" cutouts with kill shots, the head, the chest.
One day the sheriff from the nearby town shows up and asks to speak with someone.  With his son there, Lyla ends up being asked to give a tour of the compound to his son Cody.  There seems to be a spark between Cody and Lyla, but she fights it.  She is intended for Will, and Cody is one of the bad people, he wasn't chosen for the compound, so he must be bad, right?  Then one night Will, Marie and her intended Brian, and Lyla, all sneak out of the compound.  They're not trying to run away, they just want to go down to a more private area.  While they're out, the alarms sound back at the compound that say it is time to go into the Silo.  It's early, months early, but not knowing if it is a drill or the real thing, they run back, scared to death.  When they get there, everything is empty, and the Silo door is shut and locked.  The alarm has gone off, and the second rule is that once the door is shut and locked, they will not open it until the Brethren come to save them.  After they have given up and begin to try to figure out what they will do next, the door opens.  It seems that Pioneer knew about them sneaking out, and did this to scare them, and their families.  Their families who went into the Silo without looking for them.  This leads to a very harsh punishment for the four teens.  Even with this punishment, they mostly seem to still believe in Pioneer.  But Lyla really begins to have doubts now.  She knows she might get to see Cody again when her family goes into town on the next run.  And Pioneer shows them news clips of natural disasters that have begun to speed up, all in the past weeks, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis.  And begins to speed up the timeline to go into the Silo.
It all begins to add up now, much quicker.  Accidents and unexpected things lead to the town becoming more of an issue for them.  And Lyla begins to doubt Pioneer, and wonder if what she is doing is really right, and how can all the people outside of the compound be so bad?
A great story, very in depth look at it, and how maybe the people in the cults may get swayed, without being stupid, or gullible.  Definitely a good read.  I could see this on a few State Readers' Award Lists in the future, like the Gateway in Missouri?  Or maybe now that I'll be in Kansas, I can get them started with a high school level Readers' Award list as well.

Dust and Decay by Jonathan Maberry

I loved Rot and Ruin when I read it a year ago to help pick it for the current Gateway Award nominees.  So last summer when I was at BEA and I got to meet Jonathan Maberry, I got the 2nd book, Dust and Decay, autographed by him.  I had planned to get to it during my September is for Sequels month, but didn't quite make it.  And so now, here I am finally getting it read.  When I first picked it up, I was excited and ready for some zombies since The Walking Dead was on a break till next year.  I was a bit worried about how much time it would take to read though, since it is a very thick book, over 500 pages!!  But, as happened with the first one, I was sucked in, and couldn't wait to pick it up any time I had to put it down, not to mention it was really hard to put it down once I picked it up!  Now I have to go find the 1.5 that I downloaded, In the Land of the Dead, to find out what happened in between the first one and this one.  And also the 0.5 that talks about what happened before the first book, called First Night Memories.  And before I go on to the third book, Flesh and Bone, I'll have to read 2.5:  Dead and Gone.  I won an autographed copy of #3 when I helped come up with the title for Tooth and Nail on a Facebook comment contest.  

In this story Tom and Benny have decided to move on and try to find the jet that Benny and Nix had seen when they last went and destroyed Gameland.  Gameland was a horrible place run by Charlie Pinkeye where they brought teenagers and other kids in to fight zombies for entertainment.  They thought they'd killed Charlie in the last book.  But there have been some things going on that make Tom doubt it.  Tom has tried and tried to get their little town to work on some kind of militia/police force to help protect their town without him since he is leaving.  They are also taking Lilah with them, as she is not really comfortable sitting in the town doing nothing.  Their trip is a disaster almost from the beginning.  First there is a run-in with a rhino and a mob of zombies.  Then they run into Preacher Jack.  Who Tom thought was a good guy, but turns out to not seem to be such a good one after their first meeting.  As they head toward their first stop, Chong, who is only along for the first part of the trip, takes off.  Feeling as if it is his fault they had all the issues with the first group of zombies.  When they reach the gas station, they find that the people who are normally there are gone.  Tom leaves Benny, Nix, and Lilah there, while he goes to try to find Chong. Chong of course gets caught, by people working for White Bear, getting the Gameland going again.  We find out that White Bear is Charlie's brother.  And he is after revenge for his brother's death.  Along the way to find Chong, Tom runs into some old friends, one is Sally Two-Knives, and she has been hurt.  But she knows where Chong has been taken.  Meanwhile, back at the gas station, the safety things that Benny and Nix and Lilah put up, somehow get taken down, and without any warning, they are surrounded by a swarm of zombies.  In trying to fight their way out, Benny and Nix get separated from Lilah.  So now, almost everyone must find a way to get to the others safely, with their own dangers after them.  It all ends up in a big finale at Gameland.  A good one, with some surprising results, not all happy.  But I won't spoil anymore for you.  You have to read it and find out!
If I could, I'd just read all the way through all the rest of the books that I have now, including the short e-books.  But, I have Netgalley books to get read before they expire.  So maybe when the 4th book in the series, Fire and Ash, comes out, I'll sit down and read the rest of the series all at once.  Anyone who loves The Walking Dead, or zombies, will love this series.  Go check it out if you haven't yet!

Suck It Up and Die by Brian Meehl

I got this book thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's Books. It's been a while since I read the first one, Suck it Up. That I read for a possible book on the Gateway or Truman book list a couple years ago. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't one of my top picks that year, I think that was the year of The Hunger Games and Gone by Michael Grant, that really drew my attention. But this wasn't a bad book, in a way, similar to the Vlad Tod series by Heather Brewer in that it was a main character of a boy vampire. In this book it is two years after our main character, Morning McCobb has come out as the "poster boy" for vampires that want to be accepted into society, same rights, etc., and they promise they won't drink human blood. Only a blood substitute. That part of course always reminded me a bit of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. The book started out kind of slow for me because it seemed everything was going along just as it was supposed to, no problems to overcome. Kind of how I always figured that whenever I'd wished a book went on, how it would have gone on without any big dangers or plot points to fight. But then we got a new villain, well, sort of a new one. He was created in the forest where all the vampires go when they die. And he joins forces with a human who is the head of a group of people that don't want vampires to live along humans.

Well, soon we learn that when a vampire is actually satisfied and realizing the thing they wanted most in their human lives, well, that causes an interesting change. And Morning begins to get framed by the pair of villians in the public eye. I feel this was definitely a good sequel to the first. I know the first one left off in a way that I knew there had to be a sequel, and this did explain a lot, and kept the series going. Not sure if this one leaves off for another in the series, but it's probably a good chance that it will.
I will count this one as my "U" for the A-Z Reading Challenge for the "Up" in the title.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First, I have to say, WOW!! Why didn't I read this when I first got the ARC at the bookstore where I work back in October? How stupid am I? This book was sooooo good. I think I waited because at first I was trying to finish reading the review books for the 2012-2013 Gateway books. But I should have read this right away. I mean when I didn't pick it up, then it sat on my shelf, and I would pick it up, then say, eh, there's something else that sounds better, and put it back down. But boy was I wrong! All the hype about this book being good, well, they were right. Now I'm so eager to read the next book in the series.
Second, not sure how much I want to admit, but when I was younger, I used to write movies/books in my mind. I was very nerdy, boys didn't like me, but I read a lot. So I would create future worlds in my mind, whole stories. And some of this story reminds me of the stories I would create. The handsome, evil guy, that wanted me, and I was attracted, but knew he was bad. So right away I was drawn into the story with Warner. I love Adam though. Unlike some other teen books I've read lately, while he and the main character, Juliette, seem to fall in love quickly, they actually have a past that makes sense. That does remind me a bit of Peeta and Katniss in

I do see where the whole "X-men" thing comes in. And I love it! I can't wait to read more about the other people in this world. But I sitll want to know where these "powers" came from. Hopefully the author will go on in the next book and explain more, because it does seem like the Omega Point and Castle know what is going on.
In the story, Juliette has been locked up for years because when she touches someone, it kills them.  She's been in a room alone this whole time, food shoved in daily, a window outside, once in awhile she is allowed to pass through the darkness to a shower.  She keeps track of her time by writing in a notebook.  Then one day they put in a roommate for her.  A boy.  She knows this boy.  He tries to get to know her, she soon begins to trust him.  Next thing she knows they are pulled out and taken away by soldiers.  Turns out Adam, her new roommate, is one of these soldiers, and he's been assigned to get to know her, so that Warner, the leader of this army, can gain her trust and get her to use her power to kill for him.  This Warner is the handsome, but evil guy.  He thinks because Juliette kills with touch, that she is like him and wants to kill people.  At first she thinks Adam has betrayed her, but he hasn't, and they figure a way to escape.  But that isn't the end.  Warner doesn't want to let her go, and there are others out there who want her.
Great book! If you haven't read it, do so soon!

This is my 9th book on my TBR Reading Pile Challenge.  I planned to do 10 this year, so I've almost made my goal and it's only halfway through the year.

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Gateway 2012-2013 Nominee 5: The Other Side of Dark by Sarah Smith

The Other Side of Dark by Sarah Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this book. It is not really historical fiction, but it goes back and does get into some history and it is a ghost type story as well. In a way it reminds me just a little bit of Ghosts I Have Beenone of my favorite series ever when I was younger. I like that this has the history along with the ghost story. And I also enjoyed reading from the viewpoint of a teen boy who has a black father and a white mother. It was interesting to read his take on his father's crusade to get reparations. This book also jumped between viewpoints of Law Walker, and the "crazy" girl in town, Katie Mullen. It turns out that Law had a crush on Katie when they were younger, before she became the crazy girl. But his mother didn't let him ask her to the dance because she lived on the wrong side of the town. Law's mom and dad are well to do. Katie is not. In fact she lives with her step-father, because her father died in the military, and her mother died later. But now Katie sees ghosts. She wants to believe it is just hallucinations, until she draws one of the ghosts and when Law sees the drawing, he doesn't know how she knows what those things looked like. She has to come to terms with the fact that things in her past may not be quite as she has believed. And Law must figure a way to do what he wants and not completely disappoint his father who has his own plans for Law.

I really enjoyed this book. Couldn't wait to get back to it whenever I had to put it down. It was also nice that I had some extra time when I was reading this so that I did not have to take too long to read it.



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Gateway 2012-2013 Nominee 4: The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

The Last Summer Of The Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is one of the books I read to help with selecting next year's Gateway Award nominees. I did really enjoy it. Didn't think I would, again, like many of the titles on the list this year, it is not my normal type of book. But I really liked the story, and got involved with the characters. At first I was irritated with the main character, Pancho, as he just didn't want to connect with anyone. Just pushed everyone away in his search for vengeance for his sister's death. I totally understood though, his need for vengeance. I can feel in the same situation that I would probably think the same way. I liked the D.Q. character, and again, I can see feeling the same way he did about his sickness and how he wanted to deal with it. I did feel it was a bit predictable with how the whole relationship with Marisol turned out. Obviously it wasn't a Nicholas Sparks type of book where she would fall in love with the terminally ill patient. But once it said something about how she would feel about Pancho, I knew at some point she would tell D.Q., and he would be upset, which he was. But I do like how he realized that was wrong, and how he came around to understand it. Overall, I think it would be a good read for kids on all sides. Even the way the vengeance portion turns out was a good, realistic seeming way, with a bit of a lesson in it.



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The Hazards of Working at a Bookstore Vol. 4.1

Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since I blogged! School is so busy, 3 jobs are crazy! I also am thinking I may not be able to read the nominees for next year's Gateway. I am going to get a friend, and maybe some students to help me. But I'm getting an opportunity to help someone who is opening a new publishing company, and that is really something that I think will be a help to me in the future, something to put on a resume, and something I really want to do. I've got a ton of books written for my hazards posts since I haven't done one since August. So, again, I'm going to divide them into different categories. Today's category is Teen and Young Adult, 3 books I'm going to share.
First is Following Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci. I read the first one a year or two ago, and really enjoyed it. I didn't know there was going to be a sequel until I saw it on the shelf at the store. In this story a body was found in Steepleton and the main character Torey posts it on his blog. A college reporter hops a plane to get there and try to get the story to launch his career, while Christopher's younger brother just wants to find some answers.

The 2nd book is The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch. This is kind of a futuristic/dystopian/science fiction story. There's been war after war in America. People not wiped out by that are dying from illnesses such as strains of the flu. The main character is 15 year old Stephen. He's traveling across America with his dad and ex-marine grandfather. His grandfather dies, and his father is in an accident and so he must find somewhere to go and he ends up in a town called Settler's Landing, a town that seems so perfect for this afterworld. He falls in love with the town outcast, and it turns out the "elders" of the town want to remake their town back to the way things were before the collapse.

Third is a book I've seen on the shelves for awhile, but haven't really picked it up until recently. And it sounds interesting. It's called Reckless by Cornelia Funke. The main character's name is Jacob Reckless. He is able to go to a hidden world through a portal in his father's study and has gone for years, finding lost items and solving quests. One day his younger brother follows him through the portal, and he is attacked and infected. When he comes back Jacob must figure out a way to save him before he becomes a monster from the other world.

Gateway 2012-2013 Nominee 3: Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I had been wanting to read this book for a long time. The whole zombie book trend has really hooked me I think. And this book did not disappoint. In fact, you'll notice I gave it 5 stars, and lately, even books that have been really good have only gotten a 4 from me. But I felt this was really different, had something new. Not sure exactly what I'd say was "new", but I did really enjoy this.



I didn't start out with the description of the book thinking that it would be this good though. This is a boy main character, and in this future world, when you reach a certain age, you must get a job or you don't get as many rations. In a way, the ration part, reminds me a bit of The Dead-Tossed Waves. Because one of the characters in that lost his sister because he was looking to get her money to live on by joining an army. And it was a zombie book. But going on, Rot & Ruin started out with the main character hitting the age and going to look for a job. The different jobs that were available were pretty interesting. Looking at pictures of lost loved ones and trying to predict how they would now look as a zombie. Checking the fences around the town to make sure they were strong enough to keep the zombies out. Working in a factory to squeeze the "juice" out of the dead zombies to make "cadaverine", a scent used for those who went out to hunt the zombies. Staying in the lookout towers to keep an eye on the zombies, the job his friend Chong gets. And finally, the job his brother has, zombie hunter. After either not being qualified for some of the jobs, or not wanting the others, Benny ends up working with his brother Tom.

Benny does not respect his brother. His first memory is of his mother handing him to his brother, and telling him to run as his father was attacking them as a zombie. And Benny cannot believe his brother left his mother to die. So now Benny cannot believe the big tough reputation his brother has as a zombie killer.

I thought this would be just a book about a boy learning how to hunt zombies and coming to respect his brother through that. But it was more. Learning to realize that the zombies weren't evil, they were just a disease that had taken over the bodies. The main story being that just normal people were really the ones that could be evil. The family stories, the "First Night" stories, I just felt all of it was really good. I can't wait to read the 2nd book in the series. Of course it will have to wait till I finish reading the books for Gateway nominee list, but it will be probably in December.



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Gateway 2012-2013 Nominee 2: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


So, as I started this book, I really didn't think I was going to like it because the main character, Sam, is just so unlikable. And I know that was the whole point of it, but still, I just didn't think I'd ever feel sorry enough for her that I could get into it. And that was disappointing because I loved the book by the same author. And it was also bad because it is one of the possible nominees for next year's Gateway books that I have to read since I am a reader/selector again. It just seemed to me like a cross between the book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray.

However, once I got into the book, I got sucked in. Every morning that Sam woke up, I wanted to see what she would do differently. It was the whole chaos theory in action. What did Sam need to do differently, first to save herself from dying. And then, when that didn't work, and she woke up again, what was it she actually needed to fix in order for it all to end? And how would she get it fixed? In a way, it brought my thoughts back to by Jay Asher. The reason I think this, is because even though the main character is so unlikable, just seeing how each little detail of what she did, or changed, affected those around her, well I think it's something good for teens/people to read. All these titles make me think of the book , a book my school district used as kind of a theme one year for the school year. It's a book I think everyone should read at some point in their life, the younger the better. I just think sometimes, myself included, that people don't realize how something they say off-handedly or out of their own frustration can really hurt someone else in a way they never intended.

So even though I was sure I was not going to give this book any higher than 3 stars, I ended up with 4, which is pretty good for me with a character I didn't like. Once you get into it, like I said, it's hard to put down until you know how each day ends, and if what she's done will fix it.



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Gateway 2012-2013 Nominee 1: Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers

Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


So, this is the first book I read for the 2012-2013 possible Gateway Award nominees through the Missouri Association of School Librarians. I've already 2 others on the list, but that was a while ago. Anyway, on with this review. It's also the first book that I ever checked out as an e-book from our public library! Very cool. And one other first, the very first Walter Dean Myers book I've ever read. Lots of firsts for this book.



This book reminded me of a few that I read for the Gateway award last fall, specifically . Both were good, and while not normally the type of book I would pick out to read, I can totally see the audience in my classrooms who would really want to read them. I'm so glad that I've gotten the opportunity to be a reader selector for the past few years for the different Missouri award book nominees. It has really given me more insight into books for all readers, and if I ever get the chance to be a school librarian, I'll feel even more prepared.



The main character is Reese, short for Maurice. He is in a juvenile detention center, jail for juvies basically. His crime was stealing prescription pads and giving them to someone so that person could then write fake scripts for drugs to sell. We start out the book with Reese hearing he has a chance to possibly get out early, and part of it is being a part of a new work program the center is trying. This center is called Progress. The job is working at a retirement home. At this home he meets a man named Mr. Hooft, who really is of that generation that doesn't trust black people and judges him as a criminal. Meanwhile, Reese is dealing with the other kids back at the detention center. While he's not in for a violent crime, he can lose his temper so quick and become extremely rough. And he actually does this most of the time in order to protect another inmate who keeps getting picked on, to the point where Reese is afraid this kid will be killed. But fighting is fighting, no matter why, and so he gets punished every time as well as the other person. And keeps putting his chance of early release in jeopardy.



I really liked the story between him and Mr. Hooft. It had parts that made me smile. I liked that deep down this kid was good, that he wanted to be good, but there were things in his environment that just kept getting him down and pushing him a step backward from his goals. I think the portrayal of the people working at the center is probably realistic, and kind of sad to think of. I know kids I can recommend this to, and I will. Good book.



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Waiting on Wednesday - Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we are eagerly awaiting.

This week is the 3rd in the series that I just finished the 2nd one a week or so ago. The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy will end this summer in July. My blog on Linger should be up for you to check out. But where we left off the first one, Shiver, with Sam now being human for good, we have left off Linger not knowing if he will survive this, as well as Grace now being able to shift, but hopefully not be a wolf for good. The end of Linger left you really hanging, so we are definitely eagerly awaiting the release of Forever. I'm so glad that I read this for the 2011-2012 Gateway Award nominee list. I'm very grateful to have been exposed to this series, this author, and to be able to now recommend it both at the store I work at, as well as with the students I work with every day, and hopefully will work with one day soon as a school librarian myself.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

I almost forgot to blog about this one! I checked out the Nook from the bookstore again, and since I get to keep it for 2 weeks, I'm going to try to burn through as many YA books that I know I don't need to buy, but want to read as quick as I can. And first on the list was the sequel to Shiver that I read for the Gateway nominees a few months ago. Shiver was about a girl named Grace. When Grace was a little girl, she was dragged to the forest by wolves, and almost died, except for the intervention of what she thinks of as "her" wolf. Her wolf is a werewolf named Sam. In this series, the werewolves change because of the cold. In the summer they turn back to humans. After a while though, they stop making the change in the summer. And live out the rest of their lives as wolves. Grace and Sam meet when Sam is human. And they fall in love, and at the end of Shiver, they figure out a "cure" for Sam. So we start off Linger with Sam getting used to being human all the time. But we also meet some new wolves, one of which becomes kind of a main character, and his name is Cole. Cole is a former child rock star. He became a werewolf because he wanted to leave his life where all he did was drugs and try to find a way to feel different after he made some mistakes. However, Cole can't seem to stay a wolf. So he ends up back at Beck's house, where Sam ends up having to start living when Grace's parents catch him one night in Grace's room. Grace is sick. And eventually all of these things come to a head, and the fact that Cole's father was a science genius, helps them to figure out what might be a new "cure" for the problem that Grace is now facing.

I really enjoy this series. Although, this book did get a little hard to read at times because it went from one character's viewpoint to another constantly. I often had to flip back a page to remember what viewpoint I was reading from. I don't really remember the first book like that, but it's been a while since I read it. But I do recommend it, and am happy the finish to the series will be this summer.

Gateway 25: Brutal by Michael Harmon

FINALLY! A female main character! And really, this was a good book. Our main character is Poe, yes, named after Edgar Allan Poe. Her mother, a really good doctor, has decided to move to some third world country to take care of patients there, and so has shipped Poe off to live with the father she doesn't remember, in a small town. She's used to living in LA and being part of a punk rock band. However, Poe has also been kicked out of many schools. Poe gets to the small town and finds out her father is the counselor at her new school. She meets the boy who lives next door and goes by the name Velveeta. He's a little bit off, and as you'd expect, he gets bullied, a lot. Poe makes friends with the mayor's son Theo. Theo is also a bit unusual for the town.

Poe comes across the school bully really beating Velveeta up and stops it. Later on, she does slaps the bully's girlfriend, who then won't tell him who it was that did it, so he assumes it was Velveeta. He and other football players pull Velveeta in the bathroom and he begins beating him up very brutally. Only the fact that Poe finds out and tries to stop it, screaming loud enough that a teacher hears, stops it. But because Velveeta and the other witnesses all refuse to say what actually happened, no one can do anything about it. So the school tries to have a bully awareness assembly, but of course the only people who show up since it is not mandatory are those who are being bullied.

Poe gets angry. A lot of what she says in this book is really true. And I agree a lot with her. She even points out something I've always noticed. Some of the "odd" or outside of the popular people are just as cliquey and judgemental as the people they claim are that way. But what it takes Poe a bit to see is that she is just as judgemental and elitist about those people as she claims they are. But she does realize it, and that is what I like.

With the bullying going on at my school this year, it was really good to read this book. I think that it is true that there are so many things that make it impossible for schools to do anything, I'm not saying this is good or acceptable, just that it is true. And it sucks. In the end there is a pretty good solution, but it sucks that it often has to go that far, or that it doesn't ever get taken to the point where something can happen to change it.

Only one more book for me to read on the Gateway Award nomination list. Can't wait till I can read something of my choosing! And I'm thinking it will not be a YA book for a few weeks, or few books, whichever comes first or last.

Gateway 24: If I Grow Up by Todd Strasser

So, I was really excited to read this book because one of the other books by this author is one of the best YA novels there is in my opinion. It was also made into an awesome After School Special when I was a kid as well. Todd Strasser is the author of The Wave. About a teacher who starts an experiment in the school that simulates the holocaust. And it is a very touching, haunting book in how realistic it is.

So, I'm sure this book is also very realistic, even though I have some complaints about it. In If I Grow Up, our main character is DeShawn (another male protagonist, go figure). DeShawn lives in a project where the Disciples are the gang to be a part of. Their rivals are the Gentry Gangsters from another nearby project. We go through DeShawn's life quickly from the time he is 12, and the last chapter is when he is 28 and in prison. It starts out that everyone knows DeShawn is different, smart, he could go somewhere. But as it always goes, he eventually gets swept into the gang. He resists a long time, until his family doesn't have enough food and he catches his sister drinking her own baby's formula. He isn't a normal kind of gangster who kills, at least not at first. He's kind of the brains that the head guy, Marcus, looks to for answers. Marcus is kind of a father figure to him. Marcus seems to really be above it all, and be fair, to the extent you can say that for a gangbanger. But when Marcus is shot, DeShawn learns Marcus was only 21, not as much older as he assumed from his "wiseness".

I understand this is what really happens. But I also know DeShawn had some chances that he chose not to take due to peer pressure. So, hey, you get what you get based on your own decisions sometimes. My opinion. I think it is horrible that this goes on, but I don't feel it is impossible to get out of. It is difficult I'm sure. But it can be done, and does get done. We just don't always hear about those stories because they are so few and far between. What's familiar and easy is just what people tend to do. So, that's what happens.

Okay book I guess.

Gateway 23: King of the Screwups by K.L. Going

This was a pretty good book. I really had trouble putting it down at times. The main character is Liam, which is a name I really like, yeah, I know, short for William. But I like just Liam. Anyway, Liam has screwed up parents. You'd think a former supermodel for a mother and an extremely successful and wealthy CEO for a father would make a kid happy. But not Liam. His father is constantly disappointed in him, but really, Liam is a lot like his mother. It's amazing that his father loves his mother, but can't love the same things about his son. After getting in trouble over and over, his father kicks him out. He wants to send Liam to his parents, who treat Liam just as bad as his dad does. But his mom arranges to have Liam sent to his father's brother. His uncle is, or used to be, a drag queen. He is in a Glam rock band and lives in a trailer in a small town. Liam calls him Aunt Pete. Liam decides in order to make his dad proud, he will be unpopular and involved in an academic club like his dad was in high school. See, that is Liam's "curse" if you will. He is too good at being popular. And it takes nothing for him to become popular at this new school. He wants so bad to make friends with the girl who is a social outcast that lives next door to his Aunt Pete. But that doesn't seem in the cards either.

All that Liam does, and finally he thinks his dad is coming to visit and talk for his birthday. But instead, his dad sends an army recruiter. Now Liam must decide whether to join the army and maybe please his dad, or do what he is good at and know that he is good enough and loved by his aunt/uncle and others in his family.

Really a pretty good story.

Gateway 22: Gray Baby by Scott Loring Sanders

Yet another male protagonist. But this was a good one. I thought from the premise that it was more historical fiction, but not really, and that is kind of sad. The main character is Clifton. His mom is white and his dad is black. When he was 6, in the 80's I believe, he watched his father be beaten to death by two police officers. It was later deemed to be an accident. Of coures this totally messes up Clifton as well as his mother, who turns to drinking once she determines Clifton will be okay. Clifton is lonely though, so he begins throwing bottles with notes into the river. Hoping that whoever finds it will write him back. And someone does. An old guy named Swamper. So, a bit nervously, Clifton sets out to meet Swamper. And it turns out, they get along great! Swamper teaches him about his fishing methods, and even starts letting Clifton have some of the money he makes for helping him.

Some big things happen, a girl gets kidnapped, and Clifton sees the girl in an ice cream truck. Clifton is scared to tell the police for two reasons. One, he does not trust them after what happened to his dad, and two, the guy knows where he lives and threatens to come back and get him if he tells.

At the same time Clifton's mother gets arrested for DUI. So Clifton goes to stay with Swamper, who we learn has a bigger stake in all this than he lets on.

A really good story in my opinion. I enjoyed it.

Gateway 21: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

First I have to say as I was titling this blog post that I think I've messed up my numbering on these Gateway posts. But finally, a female protagonist!

This was a pretty interesting book. The main character is 17 year old Mia. She is a musician with a promising future and a rock band boyfriend, as well as a wonderful family and an awesome best friend. At the beginning of the book they have a snow day and since school is cancelled the family decides to take a drive. On the drive they have a wreck. Mia comes to standing outside the car. She sees her father and mother are both dead. She soon learns her younger brother has been taken to a close hospital where she has been taken farther away because of the condition she is in. The whole story is told from Mia's viewpoint as she watches over her body and what is going on around it. It's really a very short time period, but we get lots of flashbacks to learn about her and her life.

The title refers to something a nurse says that first day, that it is not up to the doctors whether Mia makes it, but up to her. She must decide to stay or go. We get to hear her friend, family, and boyfriend all plead for her to stay. The part that made me choke up was when her grandfather tells her that as much as he wants her to stay, he understands if she wants to go having lost her family. The author puts it much better, but I totally almost cried at this point.

I've seen this book at the bookstore where I work. Without actually reading the book's information, I just assumed it might be about suicide. But it's not really, just Mia deciding whether it is worth coming back to life after such a loss. In the end, it's almost as if she doesn't get to make the choice, that it's made for her. But I won't spoil it for you. Read it.

I've also attached both the cover pictures, the blue one is for the hard cover, and the girl's face is the paperback. I actually like the paperback cover better.

Gateway 20: Diary of a Witness by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Yet another male protagonist. Maybe I just saved all those, stupidly, for the last books I would read? So far a lot of the books are about nerds. In this case it is a boy, overweight, named Ernie, and his best friend Will. They get picked on and beat up by the jocks in their school. The story is told from Ernie's viewpoint as if he is writing in a journal that his Uncle Max, who is a writer, gave him and asked him to write in.

Both boys like to fish. At the beginning of the book, Will has convinced Ernie to try it his way, out on the ocean. So they go out on Will's father's boat, with Will's younger brother Sam, who Will doesn't like, and the feeling is kind of mutual for Sam. Will's dad leaves them to go alone, while he goes to a bar to drink. A big wave comes up, and the boat tips over due to Will trying to get a big fish he has always wanted to get. Will and Ernie make it, Sam gets stuck under the boat, his pants caught on a fish hook, and drowns.

Will's father gets sent to jail, and we learn what a messed up life Will has. After some other bullying type issues happen at school, Will tries to kill himself. Ernie figures out something like this is happening and calls 911 to save him.

After Will gets out of the hospital, Ernie takes him up to stay at his Uncle Max's. This is a great time for Will, but as they get ready to go back home, back to Will's unhappy life, Will takes a turn for the worse. I like that Ernie is able to stand up to his friend, doing the right thing. I think this had a good message.

Well, I've been busy reading, and not had time to do much blogging. So I've got 2 more books to blog about later tonight if I have time. Trying to get the rest of the books done by December 1st.

Gateway 19: Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

Yet another male protagonist book for the Gateway possible nominees. This book was okay. The main character is Blake, and as you might guess from the title or the cover, he is into photography. He has a girlfriend and yet he also has a really good friend, who is a girl, in his photography class. Blake tends to take what his photography teacher calls "gritty" photos. And in one of them he has found his photo friend Marissa's mother. Marissa's mother is a meth addict. Marissa goes to find her, and brings her home. Her mother goes to rehab. During this time Blake has normal dealings with a girlfriend, and the girlfriend sometimes feels a little jealous of Marissa. In a way, this is very similar to the book I read a while back about the mountain, I think it was called "Funny How Things Change." A guy, a girlfriend, and another girl.

So, not a favorite or extremely original book in my opinion. If you read it though, and like it, here is the author's website:

http://www.flashburnout.com/