The Frenzy

Title: The Frenzy
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Language: PG-13 (several f's)
Content: PG-13
Level: Highschool
Recommendation: Not in this library

Love is a werewolf, influenced by the moon and terror, and always about to change.

Summary: Liv has a secret.

Something happened to her when she was thirteen. Something that changed everything. Liv knows she doesn’t belong anymore—not in her own skin, not in her family . . . not anywhere. The only time she truly feels like herself is when she’s with her boyfriend, Corey, and in the woods that surround her town.

But in the woods, a mysterious woman watches Liv. In the woods, a pack of wild boys lurks. In the woods, Liv learns about the curse that will haunt her forever. The curse that caused the frenzy four years ago. And that may cause it again, all too soon.

While Corey and Liv’s love binds them together, Liv’s dark secret threatens to tear them apart as she struggles to understand who—or what—she really is.

Review:   I was excited to read this one.  However, I was completely disappointed.  The story line is filled with terrible things that happen to Liv and her friends, but the story for many of the characters stops short without a real close to their story. The whole story felt rushed and full of holes which the author tried to fill in with inappropriate scenes between teens. Not in my library.

37 Things I Love

Title: 37 Things I Love
Author: Kekla Magoon
Pages: 218
Content: PG13
Language: R (few light swears, 7 "f"s)
Level: High School
Recommendation: Not in this library

Summary: Ellis only has four days of her sophomore year left, and summer is so close that she can almost taste it. But even with vacation just within reach, Ellis isn’t exactly relaxed. Her father has been in a coma for years, the result of a construction accident, and her already-fragile relationship with her mother is strained over whether or not to remove him from life support. Her best friend fails even to notice that anything is wrong and Ellis feels like her world is falling apart. But when all seems bleak, Ellis finds comfort in the most unexpected places. Life goes on, but in those four fleeting days friends are lost and found, promises are made, and Ellis realizes that nothing will ever quite be the same.

Review: The summary of the book looked great, but I was disapponited once I got deeper into the book. A teen girl, dealing with a few rough circumstances, I really thought a lot of teens could relate to the main character. Until they book got into a drunken party abd a lesbian scene. I guess I should have clued in, based on the cover of the book, but my naive mind didn't go there. I was very disappointed when these scenes took place at the end of the book, because I was really interested to see how Ellis would deal with the situations in her life. This book would not be a good addition to the libraries in our conservative area.

Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl

Title: Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Pages: 295
Language: R - too many swears to even count
Content: R
Level: High School
Recommendation: Not in this library

Summary: Greg is a high school senior who has survived and thrived on a complex set of social rules –that include skirting the edges of all the social groups. Greg loves films and has been making his own for years with his friend Earl. He hates all the films they have made and no one else is allowed to see them. When Greg’s mom forces him to reacquaint himself with a girl named Rachel, because she has leukemia, he has to start breaking all his rules.

Review:  I was excited to read this book, until I began reading it.  The storyline intrigued me, but the writing turned me off completely.  There are too many swearwords to count (SERIOUSLY!!) and the author is completely BLUNT about things that I can't imagine really happen in high school.  Maybe this book would be great in a less conservative area,but I am afraid it won't fly in a rural, conservative town.

Girl Parts

Title: Girl Parts
Author: John M. Cusick
Pages: 218
Content: PG13/R
Language: PG13
Swears: Too many to count
Level: High School
Recommendation: Not In This Library

Summary: David and Charlie are opposites. David has a million friends, online and off. Charlie is a soulful outsider, off the grid completely. But neither feels close to anybody. When David’s parents present him with a hot Companion bot designed to encourage healthy bonds and treat “dissociative disorder,” he can’t get enough of luscious, redheaded Rose — and he can’t get it soon. Companions come with strict intimacy protocols, and whenever he tries anything, David gets an electric shock. Severed from the boy she was built to love, Rose turns to Charlie, who finds he can open up to her, knowing that she isn’t real. With Charlie’s help, the ideal “companion” is about to become her own best friend.

Review:  Eeeeek.  In my opinion, this book shouldn't be on the shelves.  Extremely mature content, extremely mature language, extremely dissappointing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Premise . ... lonely hormonal teen boys, extremely real robotic girls made to keep them company . . .  you can take it from there.

The Highest Tide

Title: The Highest Tide
Author: Jim Lynch
Pages: 272
Profanity: PG-13 (Miles's friend has a dirty mouth)
Mature Content: PG-13 (Miles's friend also has a dirty mind)
Level: Middle/High School
Recommendation: Not in this library!!


Summary: One moonlit night, thirteen-year-old Miles O'Malley sneaks out of his house and goes exploring on the tidal flats of Puget Sound. When he discovers a rare giant squid, he instantly becomes a local phenomenon shadowed by people curious as to whether this speed-reading, Rachel Carson obsessed teenager is just an observant boy or an unlikely prophet. But Miles is really just a kid on the verge of growing up, infatuated with the girl next door, worried that his bickering parents will divorce, and fearful that everything, even the bay he loves, is shifting away from him. As the sea continues to offer up discoveries from its mysterious depths, Miles struggles to deal with the difficulties that attend the equally mysterious process of growing up.


Reviews: I loved the setting and ocean life included in this book. Although I fell in love with the main character, I struggled to finish this book. The "friend" in this book, although probably a normal teenager, referenced body parts and made too many "inuendos" for me to enjoy this book . . . the sexual references pretty much ruined the book for me.