Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is a teen romance placed at the academy of SOAP (School of America in Paris). The main character Anna is forced to go to SOAP by her parents, though she would rather stay in Atlanta and spend her Senior year with her friends and possible boyfriend (Toph). When she gets there, she instantly gets home sick, but later meets a great group of friends; St. Clair, Mer, Josh, and Rashmi. They help her get used to her new environment, but she has strange feelings for St. Clair, who has a girlfriend (Ellie). And it turns out Mer also likes him. How will Anna deal with a whole year at SOAP and deal with her feelings for St. Clair? Will she end up with Toph from Atlanta? I would rate this book a four out of five. It was interesting, dramatic, and an amazing love story, but I also got very frustrated with some of the decisions some of the characters made. One of my close friends recommended this book to me and I ended up reading more of Stephanie Perkins books afterward. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes romance stories and books placed in Paris.

Jasper "Jazz" Dent is the son of the world's most notorious serial killer. After his father was captured, Jazz has just been trying to live like a usual 17 year old. But when a new killer appears who seems to be trying to mimic his father, Jazz knows that it's only a matter of time before people start to believe he's the new killer. So he decides to join the police in tracking down the murderer, not only to convince the town he isn't like his father, but himself. I Hunt Killers has a good mystery, with plenty of twists, and is difficult to predict. However, it isn't the mystery that makes the story addicting; it's Jazz. While some of the minor characters suffer from a lack of proper development, Jazz's interesting (and disturbed) mind makes this book difficult to put down. He is a morally gray character, incredibly messed up, but sympathetic. His fears of being a sociopath are not without reason. In the hands of a different writer, his struggles could be seen as heavy handed or melodramatic. But here, he is written as completely believable. The mystery is a good one, but it's the protagonist (the likes of which you rarely see in a young adult story) that makes this book really good.

I chose to read this book because it was featured on a list of horror books.
I wouldn't really call it horror but I really enjoyed reading it even if it wasn't what I expected. It's about a fast-food worker named Sam who lives in Seattle and is a necromancer, though he doesn't know it. There is another powerful necromancer in the area who wants to find and destroy Sam. I loved all of the characters, particularly Sam's sidekick Ramon and the evil necromancer Douglas. This book is a perfect balance of humor and dark fantasy and I aboslutely loved it. The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the ending. So much was just left open and it left me unsatisfied and wanting more. That aside, however, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes horror and fantasy and is looking for a laugh. This is totally one of my favorite books!
Reviewer grade: 10

This book is a fascinating tale of a girl named Annemarie who goes through a dangerous trip to save her friend Ellen. I loved this book because it was really hard to put down I just wanted too know what happened next! This is one of those books you can't read just once. I have read this book three times and it is just as interesting every time. It has an aspect of friendship and safety, but at the same time it has danger too. As Ellen try's to save Ellen who is Jewish from the nazis she overcomes many obstacles.
Annmarie is a TrueType brave ten year old and is very mature for her age.
Reviewer grade 7

The book Stranger, by Rachel Brown, tells of a post-apocalyptic town called Las Anclas and its citizens. The people in the world have been affected by a solar storm, which has caused them and the environment to develop mutations called "The Change." These effects can either harm or benefit the people.
The story is told through the perspectives of many other characters, and it gives a lot of insight and information on the characters pasts and thought.
This allows for excellent foreshadowing, which is one of the biggest strengths in the book. The novel describes the dystopian world mainly through the eyes of a young teenage boy named Ross Juarez, which develops the plot, romances, and details of the town and its people well. The book also places action nice and evenly throughout the story, so that it can focus on the story telling and background of the town and characters in other parts.
Overall, the book Stranger has been one of my favorite reads, and I'd recommend it to people who like dystopian worlds, action, and adventure books.
Grade: 8

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a book about the horrors of creating life. The book succeeds in developing most of the sidecharacters. You learn in depth about all of their pasts, and the story fits together well. The tragic plot line of the book shows how the decisions made by Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, comes back to haunt him. It almost becomes a game of cat and mouse when Frankenstein chases around his creation for revenge when really, the monster is haunting Frankenstein for his own revenge. Most of the book's themes include loneliness and rejection, and are explained well throughout the back stories of the characters. I feel that the book's only weak point is how the characters face their end. While the characters do indeed learn many life lessons, they never really accomplish anything. None of the characters have sentimental deaths, other than Frankenstein; the book just tells the reader that the character you have just grown attached to...well, dies. The book moves on from their deaths, and then the cycle repeats for the rest of the book. Overall, Frankenstein is a really good book, and I'd recommend it to people that like horror or mystery fiction.
Grade: 8

Taj is an aki - a sin eater. Aki are shunned by regular folk, except for when the regular folk need a sin removed from their body. Sins take the shape of smoky somewhat corporeal animals (they can do harm), and are eaten by the aki, which then causes the aki to get extremely sick and leaves a semi-permanent or permanent tattoo on their body. Taj, as a very powerful aki, is recruited by the palace to eat the sins of royalty. While there, he discovers the royals are more corrupt than he could've dreamed, and he decides to do what he can to stop their nefarious plans.

That synopsis was nearly impossible to write because this book was short on plot, but more on that in a minute.
I went into this book really wanting to like it - the setting (alternate-Nigeria) is fairly unique in YA, and I was really excited to read a fantasy loosely set in an African country. I thought the premise of sin-eaters was super cool, and I was eager to learn more about it.

Unfortunately, the premise was the best thing about the book. The book has a lot of promise (and I was reading an advanced reading copy, so some of these issues could've been rectified), but doesn't deliver on much. The first 35% of the book is worldbuilding, but a lot of the worldbuilding could've been incorporated into the plot instead of being presented as what more or less amounted to an info dump. Even worse, the worldbuilding doesn't necessarily make a ton of sense. For example, the "sins" are determined by lawmakers, which, just...how? And then...the magic follows the lawmakers wishes? Is it even magic? I'm not really sure. More will likely be revealed in the next installment as this book ends on a massive cliffhanger, but unless it gets amazing reviews, I probably won't be there to check it out.

Another issue for me was the lack of character development. We learn a lot about Taj, but little about anyone else, and so when side characters died, I found myself feeling pretty apathetic. There was also immense potential for development of the villains, but all was unrealized. A lot of plotting and scheming had to be happening behind the scenes, but as Taj was neither privy to nor interested in it, we don't get to see the villains' machinations, which could have been really interesting. Part of this, I think, was to hide a twist at the end, but as that twist could be seen from about a mile away, I don't think the decision to keep the villains' motivation a secret was worth the payout.

There's not a lack of action in this book, so I can see a certain reader really enjoying it. For me, there was too much wasted potential - the action and the cool worldbuilding didn't make up for the absence of plot and character development. This book could've been great, and I wish that it had undergone a few more drafts in the writing process. As it was, it was just ok. 2 stars.

I received an electronic advanced reading copy from Netgalley and Razorbill for review consideration. This in no way impacted my opinion or the content of my review. Beasts Made of Night will be available on 31 October. Put your copy on hold today!

Peer into the lives of a Pakistani couple whose Christianity is at odds with the more widespread Islamic beliefs of the locals. This is a story of intrigue and excitement as the plot slowly moves towards a head on religious collision when a local rickshaw driver falls in love with the widowed daughter of an Imam. A beautiful look at Pakistani cultural and religious differences. Wonderful, intense characters.

Read a story of family, loyalty, racial prejudice and the meaning of difference. Enjoy the individual triumphs and failures of several generations of one family and changes they experience as they live and learn. Find out about the old time gambling sport, pachinko and its effects on an extraordinary family. This is the kind of book that makes you miss your "friends" when you finish it.

Travel back in time and walk the lanes and byways, sail the seas, or straddle a horse and visit with a gamut of folks from queens and kings of European powers to courtiers, to merchants and villagers, to pirates and tradesmen. Get to know the characters in the fight for religious tolerance and witness the blood that was shed for this privilege. The struggle between Catholic and Protestant worshippers becomes real with the unspeakable cruelty among humans who believe their beliefs trump the beliefs of others. Call it the devil. An arduous but enjoyable read.