Dark Companion by Marta Acosta

Growing up through foster homes has made Jane very leery and on guard. She doesn't trust many and can figure out if someone wants more than what they are saying.

It also made her work extremely hard to succeed and get an education to get out of the slums of town. So she was happy to get a scholarship at the Birch Grove Academy for Girls who has a prestigious reputation and mostly rich girls go there.

Right away the headmistress Mrs. Radcliffe took Jane under her wing and gave her clothes, food, and a place to stay.

And on the plus side, Jane got to tutor the headmistresses handsome son, Lucien - aka Lucky. But she also saw the other son, Jacob, or Jack, even though it seemed that he hated her.

With the two Radcliffe brothers stealing Jane's attention, she has to really focus and make sure that her grades didn't drop.

But things are very odd at Birch Grove Academy. And Jane is trust right into the weirdness of the history.

Not only does Jane have to adjust from living in the slums to having her own cottage on campus, but now the Radcliffe's are asking her to be a Companion - something that most would jump at the chance to be.

Jane, though, has always looked over her shoulder, and does intense research. When she starts looking into the past of two girls who disappeared from Birch Grove Academy, she realizes that everything is not as it seems. Can Jane get out of this situation before it's too late? Or will she decide to stay and be wanted for once in her life? Read Dark Companion by Marta Acosta to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was an...interesting novel.

Jane has had a hard life. After her mom died when she was 6, Jane grew up in foster homes. The last place she was at she was there for 4 years before she was able to transfer to the Birch Grove Academy. But being in foster homes and living on the wrong side of the block made her very protective and she knew what to do to get out of horrible situations.

But the way Jane acted around Lucien and after she found out about their secret, I couldn't feel pity for Jane anymore. She ignored her own health and her own wants, thinking only of what would be best for Lucien.

Sounds good in theory, but this girl has been fighting for the past 4 years to get to a better place and she wanted to dehumanize herself just to be like the "rich" people.

Thankfully Jane came to her senses and redeemed herself in my opinion by the end of the novel, but throughout most of the novel I just kept shaking my head at her.

The two characters I loved were Mary Violet - one of Jane's new friends at Birch Grove Academy. She said the most random and hilarious things that I found myself laughing out loud.

The other character I loved was Jack. He was so random and extremely different from his brother. I couldn't wait for the next time he randomly popped up in the book to have an odd conversation with Jane.

So, this book just wasn't for me. But for anyone who wants a Dark Gothic novel about an orphan girl trying to find her way in life, I would definitely recommend it to you.

Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein

All Sara Jane Rispoli can think about is that in 2 years she'll be able to go to Rome, Italy after graduating and finally see the place of her heritage.

That was the only thing worth being concerned about.

Until Sara Jane came home one day to find that her mom, dad, and younger brother were kidnapped from their house and a guy in a ski mask was there to get Sara Jane.

Thankfully, Sara Jane has been boxing for 10 years - since she was 6 years old. She knows how to defend herself. So after getting away from the Ski Mask Guy, she goes to her boxing coach.

And then Sara Jane realizes that she has been ignorant of her real family history. What she once thought of as her family's baking industry was really just a cover up for being part of the Outfit, an underground mafia where each family has a "front" business to the public to keep from getting caught by the government.

The reason her family is part of the mafia is because they have ghiaccio furioso - cold fury. When a Rispoli has ice blue eyes, they can get the gene of having cold fury. Sara Jane got that gene, even though most Rispoli's previously were male, so no one expects her to have it.

When Sara Jane gets extremely angry, she feels a blue fire inside of her that calms her in intense situations and heightens her reflexes. It also, when staring at another person directly through the eyes, will paralyze the other person with so much fear that they will agree to anything to get away from their gaze. That's cold fury.

Now Sara Jane has to use any and every force possible to find her family. And she will stop at nothing to find them. Will she become the next big Rispoli in the Outfit mafia to save her family? Will she find them in time before it's too late? Read Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Wow. I knew going in that I would like this novel, but it surpassed what I thought it was about.

The thing that I loved most was that Sara Jane was no damsel in distress. She is a boxer - she knows how to fight and to take care of herself, not needing a family member or a male to look out for her.

I also really liked Sara Jane. Most girls in her situation would have ran away scared or wouldn't know what to do with herself, but Sara Jane really delved into her family's history and was smart enough to find clues to hidden passage ways and figure out how to use the Outfit mafia for her own personal use.

There were some places where I glimpsed through, especially the detailed information about Sara Jane's ancestors and how the Outfit was created, but it was information that was needed to explain what Sara Jane was learning.

The fighting scenes were really well written and I loved how Sara Jane took punches along with giving them.

Also, there wasn't too much romance in this novel. There were ideas of romance, but the farthest Sara Jane got to a boy besides knocking him out was holding hands - that's it.

Because of that, I think that guy readers would like this novel. Tons of fighting, the mafia, and racing around Chicago in fast cars - what's not to like?

I would definitely recommend this to any reader. It is the first in a series, although I'm not sure what #2's title is or when it will be released. I will be watching out for it, though, and pick it up when it comes out!

Crash by Nicole Williams

Things haven't been going well for Lucy for a few years. And her senior year in high school is no different. She had to leave her prestigious private school, leave the house she grew up in, and move to the shabby beach house her parents bought awhile back to go to a public school, which has metal detectors at the doorway.

Not exactly what she had in mind for senior year.

But then she saw him. Jude Ryder. Bad boy to the extreme and for some reason kept attracting her attention whenever he was in the same room as her.

Only he was arrogant. The first words out of his mouth were, "I don't do girlfriends, relationships, flowers, or regular phone calls. If that works for you, I think we could work out something special."

So Lucy said no, she didn't want that. Which is how she got the one guy in all of Southpointe to get out of his 'use-her and lose-her' philosophy.

Now the whole school thinks she's either a slut or a magician, because Jude is not the same guy who left their school last year.

He pays attention to her, follows her to her classes, and is pursuing her rather than having Lucy chase after Jude.

But Lucy is unsure if her and Jude will work out. She needs to keep her nose clean because she wants to go to Julliard to be a dancer. She dances any type of dance, has since she was 3, and she's not going to chance losing that opportunity over a boy who has been to jail too many times to count and has dealt drugs, stolen cars, started fights, etc.

Only she can't stop thinking about him and when she's with him, everything just feels right.

Lucy has no idea what to do, and then the worst thing that could happen, happened.

It may be too much for Lucy and Jude to get past, because the event that unfolded 5 years ago has connected these two much more than they ever thought possible, or ever wanted to know about.

Can Lucy and Jude find a way to be together despite all odds? Or will it be too much for them? Read Crash by Nicole Williams to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Many reviewers have compared this book to Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, and I can see the resemblance a little bit, but I don't think it was as great as BD was.

For some reason, the characters rubbed me the wrong way. Some of the things that occurred in the book didn't fly for me either.

Don't get me wrong, it was a great novel with unexpected twists and turns that made my jaw drop when reading them. But I felt like there was too much in one novel to really delve deep into the characters and that the reader only got the dramatic love you/can't stand you scenes.

Which is how Lucy and Jude's relationship was.

So anyway, Lucy is an okay character. She likes to self-doubt herself, likes to make excuses, and happened to date the wrong boy who had a dark past because she couldn't get over Jude and made a dumb decision.

Jude has had a harder life than Lucy maybe. So to say he's a troubled boy would be an understatement. And for some reason I absolutely loved him. He was possessive, angry (very, very angry), and reckless. But somehow he pulled it off.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I would give it a 2.5 rating, because I really loved it and I really hated it. Others who've read it have adored it, so I must be in the minority.

For anyone who wants to read a book somewhat similar to Beautiful Disaster, this might be a book you could try. I'm not making any promises, just a suggestion.

Also, there is a sequel coming out, Clash, in September 2012. So basically, now-ish. I might *might* get it to see how things go for Lucy and Jude now that they are in college, but I'm not sure if I will or not. Guess I'll just have to wait and see!

Bargains and Betrayals by Shannon Delany

This is the third novel in the 13 to Life series by Shannon Delany.

My review of #1: 13 to Life.
My review of #2: Secrets and Shadows.

At the end of the second novel, Jess was forced to go to an asylum because her father thought it was best. After she's been with Pietr, things have gotten a little wild, dangerous, and downright scary. Her father doesn't know that Pietr is a werewolf, so he thinks it's Pietr's bad influence that is causing her distance.

So now Pietr and Jess are separated. She can't leave and he's not allowed to visit, but both are trying hard to get back to each other.

At the asylum (Pecan Place), Jess finds out that the asylum is not what it seems to be. Many of the patients aren't fully...human... and they keep taking Jess's blood, even though they don't take any other patients blood.

Turns out that they are part of the CIA force that is after the Rusakova's for their werewolf gene and found out that Jess's blood is part of the cure. So they devised a plan to get Jess there to have unlimited supply of her blood to use for multiple experiments.

Meanwhile, Pietr is not only trying to find a way to get Jess out of Pecan Place, but also to save their mother, who is trapped underground in a glass cage for the past 2 years.

But with becoming the new alpha and having to make decisions, he has to decide how far he is willing to go in order to save both women that he loves.

It may be too much for Jess to handle when she gets out of Pecan Place and finds a new Pietr standing in front of her.

Will both characters be reunited again? Can Pietr save both women without losing Jess in the process? Or will everything start to crumble between Jess and Pietr? Read Bargains and Betrayals to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Oh Jess and Pietr. At least in this novel they are trying to get back together instead of pushing each other apart!

I thought this was a great installment to the series so far. The reader got more information and a new place to hate (Pecan Place) but also learned more about the curse and how to cure it.

Also, this book was very unique compared to the first 2 books because there are two point of views!

One is Jess, like the first two novels, but the other is Alexi (Max, Cat and Pietr's older, adoptive brother) so we get more perspectives throughout this novel.

So, yes, we progressed more in this novel with figuring out about the Rusakova family, seeing Pietr became the alpha he was meant to be, and might see some struggles for all characters and new developments start to happen.

I would say that I liked this book better than the second because the characters were trying to get to each other rather than keeping their distance. I'm not sure if there will ever be a book for them where it's all lovey dovey, togetherness, so I'm accepting that fact and enjoying what I'm reading.

Now, off to the 4th novel!

Take Me There by Carolee Dean

Living on the wrong side of town is always tough, but Dylan has learned the rules the hard way. After being in juvie with his friend, Wade, Dylan has decided to live life the right way: no drugs, booze, hijacking cars, nothing.

Now he works at a car dealership - legally. Things don't always go as planned though, Dylan finds out.

After making another horrible mistake, Dylan and Wade are on the run. Dylan wants to meet his father, who's been in prison in Texas for the past 11 years. Dylan wants to find out how his father got on the wrong side of the tracks and if there was any hope to steer clear of his father's footsteps.

Dylan wants to lead a good life so he can be with the love of his life: Jess. She is the best thing that has happened to Dylan and he wants to see if he can change and be the guy that she deserves.

When meeting his father, Dylan realizes that he's not the man he pictured. His father is calm, studious, and definitely doesn't seem like he killed a man. But whenever Dylan brings up that day, his father clams up and refuses to talk to Dylan again.

As the last few days of his father's life withers away, Dylan starts putting the pieces of the puzzle together about what happened that night and how Dylan's life could possibly end up.

Will the Texas government grant Dylan's dad another chance? Will he be executed? Will Dylan be able to live a crime free life with Jess, or is he fated to the same life as his father lived for the past 11 years? Read Take Me There by Carolee Dean to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was a great novel! Not only was there some romance between Dylan and Jess, but there was mystery and crime to keep the reader in a lot of suspense until the very end of the book.

When reading about Dylan's troubles with the local gang in California, I was reminded of the book Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. By Carolee Dean created a different world where Dylan was able to run away from that life - even if it was just for a little while before it caught up to him.

I really enjoyed getting to know Dylan's father the most out of this novel. The reader was able to see what it was like to be in jail for 23 hours every day - stuck in the same cell with the same walls.

The mystery part was also a great add to the story. Dylan knew deep in his heart his father couldn't have killed the cop - especially because the cop was his father's closest friend.

The more Dylan thought about it, the more he remembered things from that night - including the fact that he was at the location the night of the murder when he was 6 years old.

I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone! It's written through Dylan's perspective, giving teen guys a chance to get into another guys head and really understand what it must feel like to be stuck in a bad situation and feel like everything they believed in was a lie.

I will say that there might be content unsuited for younger audiences, but older teens and adults would definitely enjoy this story and the mystery that is solved by the end of the novel.

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

This third, and final, book of the Perfect Chemistry series was well worth the wait! I was interested to see how Luis would turn out to be compared to his older, reckless brothers, and I wasn't disappointed.

One thing that I really loved about this book was that the author changed the scenery back to Illinois. I'm biased since I live in IL, but when the characters reflected about the weather and the formation of land in IL, I was definitely able to relate to it and it made the story more "real" for me.

Luis Fuentes is the younger brother of 3 boys, which the other 2 brothers have been associated with gangs and had a hard time going through high school with the rivalry gangs, etc. Luis was, fortunately, able to stay away from that scene since he moved away from the high school his brothers went to, and was looked at as the "good" brother - the one who didn't get into trouble.

However, Luis's family moved back to IL and everything started to spiral from there. Luis had straight A's, a goal for a college and a career aspiration - so his next 10 years were already planned out. He didn't expect to fall in love with a Mexican girl, who is more American than Mexican having grown up on the "high society" life with white people, or getting initiated into the gang that his older brother, Alex, was a part of while in school.

Dealing with all of these situations that occurred, Luis has to decide what to do with his life - should he stick to his 10 year plan, or should he join the Latino Blood gang to gain additional "family"?

I liked this book. It wasn't the best out of the series (which, in my opinion, is Perfect Chemistry!) but it was nice to get Luis's viewpoint and know his attitude of life after living with Alex and Carlos. Also, I got the feeling that Luis was more badass than the girl in the book, Nikki. The reviews of the book I've read stated that Nikki was the bad girl in the story, but overall, I think it was the opposite. It might just be me, but with the situations that occurred in the story, I feel that Luis was definitely the "bad boy". And I'm okay with the bad boy instead of the bad girl!

These are the actors who played the Fuentes brothers in the
booktrailers. Order from left to right: Alex, Carlos, and Luis.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone, I would just say that I think everyone should read the books in order to fully understand the characters in this book. It can be a stand alone, but the reader will fully appreciate the family scenes between the 3 brothers if the other 2 were read beforehand.

Perfect Chemistry

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. New York: Walker & Company, 2009. 357 pages.

     1. A succinct evaluative annotation. Plot: [Conflict] Brittany gives off this vision that she has a perfect life: she lives in a big house, has a lot of money, the perfect boyfriend, captain of the cheerleading team, and going to have a “perfect” senior year. Alex is just trying to graduate high school since he’s in a Mexican gang, taking care of his family, and trying to live another year. However, both Alex and Brittany’s dreams were crushed when they were assigned as chemistry partners. [Rising Action] Brittany and Alex don’t get along: they are from two different households and put stereotypes to one another, automatically hating one another. [Climax] After being together for their project, both Alex and Brittany realize that they misjudged one another and fall in love, against all of the differences. [Falling Action] Alex gets out of the gang because he wants to be with Brittany without having that past following him the rest of his life. [Resolution] In the end, many years later, Alex and Brittany get married and live in the town they grew up, where their children were raised with no as much stereotypes as their parents went through. Theme: The themes in this novel include romance, stereotypes, gangs, identity, love, and discrimination. Tone: The tone of this story was very romantic but also serious. This story dealt with a lot of gang related scenes, making the story very serious for Alex when he had to do business with the leader of his gang. Style: The author’s writing style was very good: she wrote alternating chapters from Brittany and Alex’s viewpoint, letting the reader see what Alex and Brittany were both thinking throughout the entire story. Characterizations: Brittany was supposed to be this perfect blonde, white girl, but she was very generous, open hearted to everyone because her older sister was mentally disabled and she had to take care of her. Brittany was the only one that understood her sister, Shellby. Alex was perceived as a tough, bad boy who didn’t care about anything when really he just wanted his family to be safe and not have to worry about what might happen because he was in the gang. Readability: This was very easy to read – I flew through it and wished that the story never ended. Simone Elkeles did a wonderful job writing this novel to capture her readers into her story.

2. My reactions to the book. I loved this book! It was a Romeo & Juliet story where the characters were actually able to get a happy ending, even if it was a rough journey to get to the end. I think that the best strength of this book is that both teenage girls and boys can read this. There is gang related topics and half of the book is through a male’s perspective which I think many teenage boys can relate to. This wasn’t based on a true story, but I think some of the content might be accurate, depending on what Elkeles looked up before writing her novel.

3. Comment on the cover art. The cover art might be what throws off teenage boys from reading this book. Many males won’t want to read a book where it looks like it will be full of romance. The cover definitely shows what the book is about, but at the same time there is more to the book than just romance and I think the cover isn’t revealing all of the contents that it could to get a bigger audience. I’m not sure how the cover might be changed, maybe in a Romeo & Juliet scene and have Alex’s motorcycle with his gang or something to that effect – I think then more teenage boys will be willing to pick up the book and read it.