Esther's Ever After

January is Walk Your Dog Month and what better way to kick start your New Years Resolutions by reading some great YA books that feature dogs?  If you are like me, you love dogs and want to spend more time with them because they just get you.  This awareness month is a great way to help dust off the January blues, read a few good books, maybe go out and adopt a new dog, or if you already have one start taking him/her out for more walks.  It's a fun way to get out of the house and your dog will love you for it! Here is a list of YA books that will have you begging for more! Last Chance by Norah McClintock In this charming YA novel by Norah McClintock, the main character Robyn is scared of dogs—like, really scared. But she agrees to spend her summer working at an animal shelter anyway. (It's a long story.) Robyn soon discovers that many juvenile offenders also volunteer at the shelter—including Nick D'Angelo, a boy from Robyn's past. A boy she hoped to never see again. Ni...

If you read a lot of YA fiction like I do, you'll start to notice that there are a lot of love triangles in YA lit.  It's a toss-up for many readers, they either live for love triangles or they detest them.  I can't remember when I started reading YA, I think it was in the early 2000's and I remember picking up Twilight , the then-new vampire novel by newcomer herself Stephanie Meyer.  I think pretty much everyone is familiar with the love triangle that happens in  Twilight .  The Edward, Bella, Jacob combo was one that I became totally hooked on for several years I had to keep reading each novel in the series until it was done.  In the last book Breaking Dawn , I couldn't wait to find out which guy Bella picks.  I always had my favorite, yes I'm not gonna say who it is. Bella kept stringing us along for all four books and needless to say, I was not a happy camper in the end. Funny enough, many readers love this stuff, where I found myself pretty ...

The Darkest Part of the Forest Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for. Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once. At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointy as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking. Until one day, he does… As the world turns upside down and a hero is needed to save them all, Hazel tries to remember her years spent pretending to be a k...

" THE FALSE PRINCE is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end. In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point — he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well. As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together. An extraordinary adventure f...

Name of the Star: Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities. Ok, so...

What We Saw At Night by Jacqueline Mitchard They sleep during the day, avoiding their greatest enemy: sunlight. When the sun sets and darkness falls, they hit the town. The nighttime world belongs to them. They are Children of Darkness. No, this isn't another young adult novel featuring pointy toothed, blood-sucking teen vampires. Jacquelyn Mitchard's novel What We Saw at Night is about a group of teenagers who suffer from the real world genetic disorder Xeroderma Pigmentosum. XP is a fatal allergy to sunlight. Allie Kim, along with her best friends Rob and Juliet, live in a parallel universe compared to "daytimers," the name they've given to people who don't suffer from XP. Allie wakes up when most people are getting home from school or work. She eats dinner as her breakfast and does her school work from home in the wee hours. And she's in bed by sunrise. Of course, suffering from XP doesn't mean that Allie and her friends don't go through the sam...

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson is a fast-paced novel, and the first installment in his Reckoners series. “The superheroes came, but they weren’t exactly what everyone thought they’d be. The Epics, as they’re called, have incredible powers, but with great power comes great corruptibility. Soon, the Epics takes over the world. They fight against each other, gaining territory and ruling the humans as their subjects. Some are smart and set up cities in their honor, a place where they can control the population and get them to do their bidding. Such is life in Newcago under Steeheart’s reign. It’s all David has known for the past 10 years. But while most people just try to survive in a world that is literally made of steel, David has other plans. He wants to join the Reckoners and avenge his father, whom Steelheart killed the day he came into town. The Reckoners are a group of humans led by the mysterious Prof. Their goal is to kill as many Epics as possible. And David is about to show the...

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson This month I read the very amazing Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. The title kind of throws you off a bit because maybe you are wondering what does the knife have to do with it and how does it affect the memory. Well, I can tell you all about that! Anderson is one of my favorite authors because he writes with such honesty and grit. She has bravely touched upon very sensitive topics such as rape, eating disorders, suicide and addiction. In doing so, she has helped build the current landscape of contemporary young adult literature. Anderson writes the hard truth, stirs up the debate and discussion among both fans and objectors, and ultimately has created the long overdue conversations about the real issues teenagers face every day. For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him si...

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker (named after John Lennon), bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery sister Bailey. But when Bailey dies suddenly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding. I can safely say The Sky is Everywhere is one of my favorite books ever. I have never finished a book and felt this emotional before, last night when I turned the last page I felt like crying, laughing, wr...

There are so many talented YA authors out right now and one of my favorites is Mr. John Green. Somehow he is able to capture the realism of teen life and emotions. I highly recommend his latest book "The Fault in Our Stars" and I think it would be a tremendously sad book to read just before Valentine's Day. I have to admit that from around chapter 24 and on I basically cried my eyes out while continuing to read and sob from time to time. This book is painfully sad and it pulls no punches in its terrible descriptions of late-stage cancer. At some points, readers may even wonder why, if pain and love are so inner connected that we should care to fall in love at all. However, the amazing John Green pulls it all together in the end and we realize that a person can learn so much from being in love, and that he or she will come out on the other side of a love experience a changed person.

Last week I finished my fifth book from the YALSA Teens' Top Ten nominees and it's "Withe" by Lauren DeStefano. This book had so many elements that I love in YA sci-fi books. There's that distinct dystopic element where the world has turned into this really ugly place to live and humans are doing horrible things to each other. Then there's the love element that is brewing underneath all of the grossness that is going on that I totally love. In Wither you get all of this and more. After modern science turns every human into a genetic time bomb with men dying at age twenty-five and women dying at age twenty, girls are kidnapped and married off in order to repopulate the world. The main character is a teen girl named Rhine who gets kidnapped and married off to a rich man's son. She is being held captive with two other girls she calls her sister-wives and plots her escape daily. She meets Gabriel who has been in captive his whole life and something special be...

The fourth book that I have read from the YALSA Teens' Top Ten nominees is "The Scorpio Races" by Maggie Stiefvater. Here's my little review of it - Every November in Thisby there is a tradition called the Scorpio Races, a dangerous and sometimes de adly race where riders attempt to keep their evil, blood-thirsty water horses under control long enough to make it to the finish line. With four wins to his name, 19 year-old Sean Kendrick is sure to win on his bosses water horse named Corr. However, enter Puck aka Kate Connolly, who is desperate to win the race to save her family home. Not only is she the first girl to ever enter the race, but she intends to ride her own horse Dove, who is not an evil water horse. Things heat up in this epic tale of mythical creatures versus humans as Puck and Sean get to know each other and find a common bond. The Scorpio Races is beautifully written by Stiefvater. Told from the point of view of Sean and Puck in alternating chapters, t...

I just finished reading "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky! This was my second time reading this book and I have to say it was just as good if not better than the first time. This storyteller Charlie is such a sweetie th at you can't help but love him. He tells the story of his first year in high school and how he meets friends and tries new things. He also writes to a person that he calls "Dear Friend" and we never really know who this person is, but in the end I felt like I was the friend that Charlie was writing to. Charlie has so many sad things to tell and also many interesting stories that the book is extremely readable for teens. I'm sure many teens could relate with Charlie's story. Even though it is over 20 years old the "Perks of a Wallflower" is an age old story. I wanted to re-read the book before the movie comes out on September 21st 2012!

Perception a Clarity Novel was a great book to read on a Sunday when I was trying to relax! It began interesting and continued to keep me interested through the whole story. I actually read this book in a few hours because I wanted to know what happened to Clare. The story of Clare and her family did remind me a little bit of the Lilydale series, but all in all it was a great book. I like the way that Harrington writes - well developed characters and descriptions that helped to understand their personalities and looks. I highly recommend this book to those that love mysteries with supernatural qualities! Here's a review of the book - Happy Reading to you all!! PERCEPTION (Clarity #2)Scholastic/Point, March 1, 2012, Age 14+ When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you? Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visio...

Black Heart by Holly Black Cassel Sharpe is at his same old game of cons in the third installment of the Curse Worker's series Black Heart . The love of his life Lila hates him, his best friend Sam is on the edge of flipping out, his brother Barron has lies upon lies piling up, and a new issue has arisen with a mysterious and secretive girl named Mina Lang. Cassel is up to his ears and over his head with the federal government acting as an agent in training and he knows he can't trust anyone anymore. And frankly sometimes he can't even trust himself to do the right thing. Black Heart proves to be another excellent addition to this magical mobster series. Holly Black brings magic, mystery, love, and cons together seamlessly in this book. It seems like Black Heart may be the end of this series, but the end may truly just be the beginning for Cassel Sharpe! I recommend reading this entire series. It is truly an exciting and funny adventure of a family that is entrenc...

Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident. Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late? If you haven't read this series yet you are definitely missing out! Check out the first book in the series called Hex Hall and you will be as hooked on Sophie Mercer and her adorably sweet witchy charm. Her love interest Archer Cross has a little something special going on too. I recommend this whole series if you are interested i...

Debut author Marissa Meyer retells the classic story of Cinderella in a modern dystopian love story. It follows a teenage cyborg named Cinder and her unexpected romance with a human prince. Check out this review from Kidzworld: The Epidemic "Cinder, a teenage cyborg, remembers nothing about her life before age 11. Now she lives with her evil stepmother and two stepsisters who blame her for their father’s death. A plague has swept the city of New Beijing, and being a mechanic, Cinder works right in the heart of the city. A Royal Sacrifice The beloved Prince Kai - adored by all the young ladies in the country - is next in line for the throne. And now that his father has contracted the plague, it looks like his role as leader will begin prematurely. Unfortunately, his father is in the middle of negotiations with the Lunar Queen in the hopes of preventing a war. Now the negotiations way heavily on Kai’s shoulder as he must decide whether to marry the awful Queen, or face an impending ...

"The Fire" by James Patterson is the last book in the "Witch & Wizard" series! I just love Whit & Wisty and hope that this really won't be the last we see of them. This brother and sister duo are so cool and I love their strength to overcome all the odds against them. Their world is an anti-witch-establishment!!

"I Love You Beth Cooper" by Larry Doyle 2007 This book is funny in a strange sadistic sort of way. It gives hope to those who go after what they really want and basically don't mind getting smacked in the eye, falling out of a window, almost ran over by a Hummer, losing their pants, and being bitten by a thousand mosquitoes just to be near the one that they adore. I would recommend this book to older teens 16+ that don't mind a few obscenities here and there. Doyle's writing is seriously hilarious and will have you laughing and snickering when some things are inappropriate, yet somehow still funny. I love this book because I can just hear sci fi nerds all over saying hurray for Denis Cooverman! Check out the movie on DVD too it's not too different than the book.

“The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous and majorly hot plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, "The Fault in Our Stars" is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love. I hear there is already talk of making this book into a movie. One of my recommendations is to make sure that you are reading this book that you have a whole box of tissues nearby because the last quarter of the book is super emotional. I recommend this book to lovers of realistic fiction. It gets the most points I can give it for being dark,emotional,hopeful and stirring. Way...