White Cat by Holly Black

This new world of "curse workers" is a winner...

Holly Black is known to leagues of teenlit fans for her books of fae worlds...with White Cat (Curse Workers, Book 1) she draws us into the world of the "curse workers".

From the product description: curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists.

...and when I say she draws you in I truly mean it - the excitement, action and characters draw you in immediately and if this is just the beginning I can't wait for more...Lila, Cassel and his family offer characters that we can relate to and involve ourselves in...thanks Holly Black for yet another new world!

BTW - I have a white cat with one blue eye and one green eye...what do you think?

Product Description from Amazon

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love -- or death -- and your dreams might be more real than your memories.

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Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall

by Lauren Oliver

I have to say that my initial reason for picking up this book is a current fascination with debut authors...it didn't disappoint!

How to describe it? It appears that all the pertinent adjectives have already been used up in all the posted reviews...

Heartbreaking, compelling, raw, beautiful, emotional and complex - Before I Fall is all that!!!

In her debut novel author Lauren Oliver manages to find a "teen" voice that is so real I felt like I was sitting at Starbucks at 3pm! ...of course that could be because Oliver is just barely beyond teen herself.

So - you have probably already gathered that this is a "groundhog day" style telling of the life and death of Samantha Kingston...you know this girl. She is the girl that hangs with the "cool kids", has everything yet doesn't appear to appreciate any of it.

The compelling nature of Lauren Oliver's writing takes you from disdain and revulsion to Samantha working through the process of understanding what is truly important and through 7 efforts - to change her outlook.

My one problem with the book was that Oliver does such a great job of developing Samantha's character that I seriously didn't like her and didn't care...but the writing is so good and the story draws you in...all I can say is trust and read this book all the way through to the end.

Product Review From Amazon:

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

Inside Out

by Maria V.Snyder

Maria V. Snyder takes on whole new worlds...

By	Reading It All

This review is from: Inside Out (Harlequin Teen) (Paperback)

With Inside Out (Harlequin Teen) Maria V.Snyder breaks out herself...from a long line of well received paranormal fantasy to a stark, adventure packed futuristic series that begins with the people of Inside looking for a better world Outside.

The bland, monotone introduction to the life of the Scrubs in the Lowers draws you into the life of Trella, who has never fit in with her surroundings. Trella seeks refuge from the burgeoning masses iof Scrubs, in the Pipes and Ducts that lead from the world of the Lowers to the envied lives of privilege in the world of the Uppers.

Soon the tone livens when one day everything changes - her one friend in the world Cogon (whose nickname Cog speaks volumes about his role among the Scrubs) introduces her to a man who talks of something better in Outside - and for the first time Trella knows "hope". A wild ride filled with adventure, betrayal and romance ensues.

From the fresh yet stark cover to the promise of a new world Inside, Snyder left me eager to read the follow up - Outside In!

It has been said before but I have to say it again - if you followed Maria V. Snyder through her Study series and are currently into her Glass series, do not read this expecting more of the same. Her writing style pulls you willingly into this new world filled with warnings about believing everything your hear, hope, trust, romance, acceptance, family, connection...and the endearing tale of Sheepy!

Sea Glass by Maria V.Snyder

Sea Glass

by Maria V.Snyder

A wonderfully beautiful magic - the magic carried in the art of glass - Opal's talent has caused her to become both feared by the Council and a necessary ally!

This book has everything I love in an entertaining book...a great story line, a strong female heroine, magic and romance.

Trust is the underlying theme in this book - or should I say lack of trust - the Council, Derrick, Opal, Janco...

With the Glass series Maria V. Snyder affirms that all the praise reaped on the Study trilogy was deserved and this series follows through as a well crafted and suspenseful tale of adventure, romance, magic and above all...trust!

Product Description

Student glass magician Opal Cowan's newfound ability to steal a magician's powers makes her too powerful. Ordered to house arrest by the Council, Opal dares defy them, traveling to the Moon Clan's lands in search of Ulrick, the man she thinks she loves. Thinks because she is sure another man now her prisoner has switched souls with Ulrick.

In hostile territory, without proof or allies, Opal isn't sure whom to trust. She can't forget Kade, the handsome Stormdancer who doesn't want to let her get close. And now everyone is after Opal's special powers for their own deadly gain....

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

North of Beautiful

By: Justina Chen Headley

In today's world where kids are bombarded by unobtainable "ideals" of what is pretty, what makes you attractive to others...it is refreshing to read a book that smashes through the ridiculous standards set by the fashion magazines.

At first glance Terra Cooper has everything - tall, slender, blonde beauty...and a large port wine stain on her gorgeous face!

Her meeting with a boy - an attractive boy - would normally add the stress of insecurity to the equation...but on closer examination Jacob, the Goth Chinese boy she's just met has a cleft lip.

This story weaves the lives of Jacob, Terra and their mothers in an unforgettable fabric of circumstances...this is a wonderful look at a very touchy subject.

Justina Chen Headley has written a book that will stay with you about mending fractured families and the true meaning of beauty!

Product Description

As he continued to stare, I wanted to point to my cheek and remind him, But you were the one who wanted this, remember? You're the one who asked-and I repeat-Why not fix your face?

It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper.

She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her stifling small town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?

Written in lively, artful prose, award-winning author Justina Chen Headley has woven together a powerful novel about a fractured family, falling in love, travel, and the meaning of true beauty.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling

Have you ever played the game where everyone had to name the "super-power" they would ask for if given the opportunity? What was yours? probably not the ability to literally kill anyone or anything and be fairly invulnerable to pain...

In Graceling author Kristine Cashore creates a world where a chosen few are born with "Graces" - these can be something as simple as the ability to catch fish with your bare hands, the ability to run swiftly, the ability to shoot an arrow quickly and true --- and then there is the Lady Katsa's Grace - the ability to kill.

This is full of really juicy adventure, hand to hand combat, archers, sword play, good kings and bad kings...but what sets this book apart from other offerings in this genre is it's look at the consequences of the use of these graces on those who wield them.

Katsa is a strong headed young woman who has always held a position of power - not many people argue with her so she is sure that what she knows are truths...until she meets another Graceling who shows her otherwise.

The really nice thing about the way Cashore has written the relationship between Po and Katsa is that there is enough romance for the girls and it doesn't get mushy so the boys think it's in the way.

I picked this book up to "look" at it at my Mom's and sat down and read it all the way through by the next morning - this story is destined to become a blockbuster movie!

Product Description from Amazon

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Tweens and Teens alike will love this one...

Ghost Huntress Book 2: The Guidance

By Marley Gibson

This is Ghost Huntress Book 2: The Guidance the second book in the series Ghost Huntress Book 1: The Awakening being the first, about Kendall and her friends Celia and Becca.

While kids are definitely going to be sucked into this world (I couldn't put it down) - it will offer them more than just a good read about hunting ghosts and helping them "cross over" (after all doesn't Melinda - The Ghost Whisperer, do that once a week on TV?).

It is Kendall's special gift that exposes her to a multitude of teen woes. In "The Guidance", Kendall conquers her own fears and finds the special gift of being able to look past a person's actions to the cause of those actions.

The ghost hunting business is thriving in this small Southern town that at one time was an encampment for Union soldiers during Sherman's March to the Sea. So we learn some of the history of Georgia and what life was like to be a Southerner when Union troops took over some of the larger properties.

Author Marley Gibson is genius! She must have been channeling a teen ghost to set the scene so well. The book is written in "teenager" - by that I mean that, while you may not "get" some of it, your kids will love it!

The topics covered behind the scenes include, mental health, bullying, shame, blame, young romance and most important responsibility - to yourself, for your actions and to your gift!

One last thing - a couple of other reviews said that they really disliked the "product placement" in this book. Do you really think that the mention of "Timberland" and other brand names is out of money issues (esp. for the film if planned)? Or could it be that brands are a huge part of every teen conversation? Sit on a city bus at 8AM in any medium to large Metro area - that is what kids talk about! They don't say - I want new shoes - it is "I'm scoping out the new Skechers after class - you up for it?"

While this is a definite read for teen girls (the friendship between Kendall, Celia and Becca is great), I think that teen boys will also enjoy this fast moving romp through the spirit world!

Product Description from Amazon

Kendall and her ghost hunting team is the talk of Radisson, Georgia, but one person isn’t so pleased. Courtney Langdon doesn’t appreciate Kendall’s new popularity or her relationship with Jason, Courtney’s ex.

So Courtney begins dabbling in the paranormal world. At first it’s all a game to draw attention away from Kendall. But Courtney doesn’t know what she’s getting into—or what wants in her. This is one game that’s about to turn deadly serious.

And for more about Kendall and the ghost huntresses, check out http://ghosthuntress.com !