The Romeo and Juliet Code

The Romeo and Juliet Code
by Phoebe Stone

From the publisher,
"A sudden trip to a seaside house. A boy with brown sugar eyes. And then , a mysterious letter.

Felicity's glamorous parents have a secret. When they leave her with distant relatives in Maine, far away from the battles of WWII, Felicity hopes they won't be gone for long. Her new Uncle Gideon hides things. Her Aunt Miami is star-crossed. And Derek, a kid her age, refuses to leave his room.

But Felicity needs Derek's help. Gideon is getting coded letters from Felicity's parents, and she's sure they're in trouble. Can Felicity crack the code, heal the family and save her parents, all while surviving her first crush? It's a tall order for a small girl, but Felicity is up for the challenge."

There are some things I really liked about this book, and other things that really bugged me.  I liked the setting and the idea of a British girl coming to live with her American relatives during WWII.  The characters were intriguing, but I had a hard time liking most of them.  The main character, who was supposed to be British, kept rubbing that in our faces so much that it felt more like an American girl who was just trying to be British.  And all the "British children do this" stereotypes got old quickly.  Since this review is being written by a confirmed Brit-Lit snob, to say that you could tell it was an American author is not a compliment.  I also had a hard time liking a mother and father who left their small daughter alone and scared at night.  They didn't have any neighbors, friends or family who could have stayed with her?  And then the other revelations later in the book about the parents increased that dislike.  At the end of the book, the heroine takes something very calmly that should have been completely earth-shattering to her.  It was not very realistic at all.  So while it was a good story with some tension in it and I read it quickly, there were definitely things that I wish were different.  I'm not sure the story is gripping enough to keep middle schoolers moving through it.

Areas of concern:
Adultery is hinted at.  I don't remember any bad language.
 
Suggested Ages:
Booklist - Grades 5-8
Kirkus Reviews - Ages 9-13

The 5th Wave

The 5th Waveby Rick Yancey

From the publisher:
"The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up."

There are a lot of people who love this book, so I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority here, but I didn't think it was that great. I really hated the hopeless feeling throughout the whole thing. There is no way the puny humans are going to be able to overcome the highly sophisticated aliens without some ridiculous plot twist, so why keep reading? I wasn't overly fond of the main character, Cassie, and the love story was kind of creepy since it involved someone she caught in lies over and over. I actually liked the Zombie parts best (character's name, not actual zombies or I wouldn't have finished the book), even though he was incredibly full of himself. I think Sammy was the only character I really liked. The story had moments of excitement and intensity, but it just wasn't for me.

Areas of concern:
Incredibly violent - mass killings; bodies, blood, guts and gore everywhere; children watching family members die...
Horrible language - I quit marking it because it was on either every page or every other page. It seemed to calm down a little past the middle, or else I was de-sensitized by then. Many uses of the "f" word and all the other bad words you can think of.

Suggested Ages:
Publisher's Weekly - Ages 14+
School Library Journal - Grades 9+
*I ordered this book for our library because of all the hype and before suggested ages were posted.  I'm not sure it is appropriate for middle school - definitely not below 8th grade.* 

The Distance Between Us

The Distance Between Us
by Kasie West

From the publisher:
"Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.

She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about."

I read through a lot of reviews after reading this book, and I am amazingly shocked that no one has mentioned the similarities between this book and This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith. I was kind of distracted for most of the beginning trying to remember who I was reading about - Ellie and Graham (poor girl; rich, famous guy; beach town; girl helps run single mother's store; daddy-abandonment issues; movie star old girlfriend; boy not happy with where his life is going; girl who wants to go to college but can't afford it...), or Caymen and Xander (poor girl; rich, famous guy; beach town; girl helps run single mother's store; daddy-abandonment issues; movie star old girlfriend; boy not happy with where his life is going; girl who wants to go to college but can't afford it...). However, I loved This is What Happy Looks Like , and once I got past the confusion and started to feel these characters, I really liked this one, too. I was disappointed in a few things (one kiss was a little too passionate, and everything wrapped up a little too neatly at the end), but all in all I really liked it. A fun, fluffy read.

Areas of concern:  Previously mentioned kiss.  I don't remember any cussing or bad language.  A mother who got pregnant as a teenager and a father who abandons them.

Suggested ages:
Booklist - Grades 7-10
Kirkus Reviews - Ages 12-17

Emily of New Moon

Emily of New Moonby L.M. Montgomery

From the publisher:
"Emily Starr never knew what it was to be lonely——until her beloved father died. Now Emily's an orphan, and her mother's snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. She's sure she won't be happy. Emily deals with stiff, stern Aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by holding her head high and using her quick wit. Things begin to change when she makes friends, with Teddy, who does marvelous drawings; with Perry, who's sailed all over the world with his father yet has never been to school; and above all, with Ilse, a tomboy with a blazing temper. Amazingly, Emily finds New Moon beautiful and fascinating. With new friends and adventures, Emily might someday think of herself as Emily of New Moon."

When the clouds and cobwebs enter my brain from reading so many of the "popular" genres (dystopian or paranormal romances), sometimes I need to take a break and read something beautiful.  This time I chose to re-read Emily of New Moon.  This is a book that should be read by every young teenage girl.  Emily knows from a young age what her passion is, and she never gives up, even though she has to overcome many obstacles along the way.  It is a book full of goodness, loyalty, perserverance, and love.  Although Anne of Green Gables is much better known than Emily of New Moon, I have always had a special place in my heart for Emily.  I have read that Emily is more autobiographical to the author than Anne is.  It is darker than the Anne books, but apparently Maud Montgomery had quite a dark life herself.  Don't worry, though, because unlike the author, by the end of the series Emily's dreams all come true.  Her adventures continue in Emily Climbs, and Emily's Quest. 

Suggested Ages:
All!

Cinders & Sapphires

Cinders & Sapphiresby Leila Rasheed

From the publisher:
"One house, two worlds...

Rose Cliffe has never met a young lady like her new mistress. Clever, rich, and beautiful, Ada Averley treats Rose as an equal. And Rose could use a friend. Especially now that she, at barely sixteen, has risen to the position of ladies' maid. Rose knows she should be grateful to have a place at a house like Somerton. Still, she can't help but wonder what her life might have been had she been born a lady, like Ada.

For the first time in a decade, the Averleys have returned to Somerton, their majestic ancestral estate. But terrible scandal has followed Ada's beloved father all the way from India. Now Ada finds herself torn between her own happiness and her family's honor. Only she has the power to restore the Averley name-but it would mean giving up her one true love ... someone she could never persuade her father to accept.

Sumptuous and enticing, the first novel in the At Somerton series introduces two worlds, utterly different yet entangled, where ruthless ambition, forbidden attraction, and unspoken dreams are hidden behind dutiful smiles and glittering jewels. All those secrets are waiting ... at Somerton."

Take every plot point from Downton Abbey, make it incredibly stupid, and you have Cinders & Sapphires . The gay valet and master; the conniving, evil lady's maid; the sweet and loyal lady's maid; the foreign lover; the innocent valet being accused of murder; and the list goes on and on. It took every bit of will-power to not quit reading this. I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Suggested ages:
Publisher's Weekly - Ages 12+
School Library Journal - Grades 8+

Liesl & Po

Liesl & Poby Lauren Oliver

From the publisher:
"Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice,until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.
That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.
Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.
From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places."

I wanted to love this book, and as a child I'm pretty sure I would have loved this book, but as a cynical adult I only liked it. I liked the fairy tale, magical feeling of the book. I liked the writing. I disliked that the adults in the story were all so evil, with the exception of Mo who was really just an adult child. Couldn't we have had SOME adults that were not pure evil? I found it distracting to have Po always referred to as "it". I understand the reason behind it, but it kind of thre...moreI wanted to love this book, and as a child I'm pretty sure I would have loved this book, but as a cynical adult I only liked it. I liked the fairy tale, magical feeling of the book. I liked the writing. I disliked that the adults in the story were all so evil, with the exception of Mo who was really just an adult child. Couldn't we have had SOME adults that were not pure evil? I found it distracting to have Po always referred to as "it". I understand the reason behind it, but it kind of threw me every time. I loved the illustrations in the book, they were beautiful and mystical and magical. However, I think my favorite thing about Liesl & Po was the author's note at the end. Particularly this paragraph: "... Liesl & Po is the embodiment of what writing has always been for me at its purest and most basic - not a paycheck, certainly; not an idea, even; and not an escape. Actually, it is the opposite of an escape; it is a way back in , a way to enter and make sense of a world that occasionally seems harsh and terrible and mystifying." I'm glad I have this book in our library and I hope many of our students read it. I'm sure they will love it Suggested Ages: Publisher's Weekly - Ages 8-12 School Library Journal - Grades 5-8

Etiquette and Espionage

Etiquette & Espionageby Gail Carriger

From the publisher:
"Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is the bane of her mother's existence. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea--and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish, all right--but it's a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine's certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in the other kinds of finishing: the fine arts of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school."

I'm not a fan of the steampunk genre, but with a tag line from author Marie Lu saying it was "absolutely charming, comical and full of whimsy... It is the perfect steampunk version of Harry Potter.", I thought it had possibilities. It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't really up my alley. To me it was mildly enjoyable. And the end really seemed like it was building up to go somewhere exciting and then it just kind of fell flat. And the ridiculous names of the characters kind of threw me, as well. H...moreI'm not a fan of the steampunk genre, but with a tag line from author Marie Lu saying it was "absolutely charming, comical and full of whimsy... It is the perfect steampunk version of Harry Potter.", I thought it had possibilities. It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't really up my alley. To me it was mildly enjoyable. And the end really seemed like it was building up to go somewhere exciting and then it just kind of fell flat. And the ridiculous names of the characters kind of threw me, as well. However, it is a fun world to read about, it seems age appropriate for the intended audience (the main character is 14), and the characters, despite their weird names, were engaging. I hope my middle schoolers will give it a chance. Areas of concern: There might have been a handful of mild cuss words, but I don't really remember any. Hallelujah there was no love-triangle, in fact not really any romance at all. A very clean read.