The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder

Title: The Lipstick Laws
Author: Amy Holder
Pages: 240
Published: April 4th, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Synopsis: At Penford High School, Britney Taylor is the queen bee. She dates whomever she likes, rules over her inner circle of friends like Genghis Khan, and can ruin anyone's life with a snap of perfectly manicured fingers. Just ask the unfortunate few who have crossed her. For April Bowers, Britney is also the answer to her prayers. April is so unpopular, kids don't even know she exists. But one lunch spent at Britney's table, and April is basking in the glow of popularity. But Britney's friendship comes with a high price tag. How much is April willing to pay?

I must admit, I wanted to read this book because I'm a complete cover slut. Yes. I said it. I'm a cover slut. And oddly enough, there is something about the lips on this cover that intrigue me.

Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder deeply reminded me of Mean Girls with and ending I enjoyed better. I think I may be the odd female out when I say that I didn't care for the movie Mean Girls all that much, but before you get any ideas, I did really really like this book. April Bowers, our main character, I feel for during this book. Maybe it's because I hated (with the passion of a trillion suns) high school. April though, she gets the chance to be in the popular group. Now, it takes a bit of a different turn than she would like, but isn't that truly the way it is supposed to be?

Amy Holder does a fabulous job at turning a story that we've all hear before, into something new and a bit twisted. The Lipstick Laws are more than just the title of the book. They are the evil plans of a sadistic Britney Taylor to take over the school...and she does. I've never quite understood what made popular people popular. I find it sad that a skinny waste and big boobs can put a girl at the top of the hierarchy, but 10 years ago, when I was in high school, that is exactly what happened. Maybe that's why I choose to read YA contemporary as much as I do, I'm always hoping for a happy ending, an ending that was nothing like mine and as wonderful as it aught to have been.

The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder is something along those lines. With lessons taught and lessons learned, the fun just never stops and the cross dressing just keeps on giving. That's right, the cross dressing. Needless to say, this book wasn't boring and in the end, we see what good can come from misery.

I received this book free of charge from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Rating: 4/5

Book Review: The A-List

Title: The A-List (A-List #1)
Author: Zoey Dean
Publisher: Poppy (Hachette Book Group USA), 2003
Number of pages: 243
First read: May 2010
Genre(s): Young Adult

After 18 years of being nice, polite and perfectly boring, Anna Percy had it enough. Wanting to step outside the safe box called life of a New York City Upper East Side WASPy prep-school girl, Anna seizes the opportunity and jets off to L.A. where her long-divorced father lives. What Anna doesn't know yet is that with flying off to L.A., a new chapter of her life begins: First she meets the gorgeous Ben Birnbaum on the plane, goes to the all-exclusive wedding of a famous Hollywood actor and its after-party, and she might just fall in love with Ben... But then she meets the three true A-Listers: Cammie, Sam and Dee, and no one steals their spotlight.



character files
*/Anna Percy/*
Slender and blonde, Anna is a natural classic beauty. She's well-educated (she read Socrates in the 7th grade - hello?!), rich, ever polite and wishes to be more like her best friend, Cyn, who's exotic and leads an interesting life.
I'm sure that without Anna, this book would have sucked. The A-List belongs to the category of satires about (mostly) spoiled rich kids with bitchy and/or dumb heroines. Anna is different. She's nice, well-read, intelligent and polite. Also, she never loses her calm and knows to stand up for herself. I also loved it that while she wants to change herself into someone entirely different than her boring self, that she stuck to herself - that she didn't follow the mainstream just to get attention from guys. (As if she ever needs that - she's gorgeous without all the surgeries/makeup/other accessoirs)

*/Samantha "Sam" Sharpe/*
The daughter of a famous movie star, Sam wears size 8 (boardering on 10), a fact that causes her constant distress. Sam is smart (4.3 GPA) and a wanna-be movie director with actual talent - and also madly in love with Ben Birnbaum.
At first I thought Sam was just another bitchy character Anna has to deal with. And at the beginning, she is bitchy. But Sam has got actual brains and sense of humor. She's also bored by the daily party life, which is saying something.

*/Camilla "Cammie" Sheppard/*
As the ex-girlfriend of Ben, Cammie has red curls, bee-stung lips, faux breasts (in short, slutty appearence) and is determined to get him back. She's also shallow and bossy and makes mean remarks.
Cammie certainly is a b**** and she pissed me off with her attitude, but Zoey Dean gave her also a human side - the trauma over the death of her mom which occured years ago. It's a weakness she hides from other people, often even from her best friends, Sam and Dee.

*/Delia "Dee" Young/*
Dee is tiny (five-one; although, who am I to talk? I'm 1,61 m (about five-three), and barely that.), wears size zero and has big blue eyes that scream innocence - uh, not so much. She does like making other people happy but is mostly simple and shallow. Oh, and also totally into a certain guy.
I could tolerate Dee better than Cammie but sometimes shallowness really got me. All in all, though, Dee is an amusing character to read about. I think she's a simple person - someone who acts without thinking about it before.

*/Ben Birnbaum/*
Described as incredibly handsome and gentleman, Ben is a Princeton student and has a history with Sam, Dee and Cammie. (They grew up together)
At first Ben appears to be perfect - a gentleman who likes intellectual girls. Right now, anyway (read: Anna.). As the novel progresses, though, the ugly parts of his past and association emerge - but I like it, 'cause it makes him look more real. It's a part of him anyway.

storyline
"What is the matter with you Hollywood brats? Do you think that the whole world has to revolve around you all the time?"
That was the pissed-off wedding planner Fleur from page 71. And that line actually describes the whole book - it would, if it weren't for Anna. She's different, I told you.
Accompanying Anna to her new Beverly Hills life was a great fun. We get to see how the rich and spoiled celebrity kids live. And having a main character like Anna in this kind of series is just so refreshing.
It is funny how all three - actually four, including Anna - girls think Ben is The One for her. Well, whether it stays like that or not, you'll have to read the next books to find out!

Book Review: Th1rteen R3asons Why

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin Group USA), 2007
First Read: December 19th, 2009
Page total: 288 pages
Genre(s): Realistic Fiction, Suicide, Young Adult

Synopsis: Clay Jensen doesn't want anything to do with the tapes Hannah Baker made. Hannah is dead. Her secrets should be buried with her.
Then Hannah's voice tells Clay that his name is on her tapes - and that he is, in some way, responsible for her death.
All through the night, Clay keeps listening. He follows Hannah's recorded words throughout his small town...
... and what he discovers turns his world upside down.
(adapted from the back of the book)


Every time I read this book, my own world looks less gray - because, unlike Hannah, I know I have people I can turn to. I may not have best friends whom I feel totally comfortable with, but there are people who talk to me when I look lonely. There are people who are really interested in what I have to say, who appreciate what I do and who make me laugh with their easy-goingness. And yes, I'm sure there are people who would reach out for me if I asked them for help.
So, thanks for writing this book, Jay Asher. Your book makes me appreciate what I have more. One of my all-time favorites.

Now something on the book itself: Thirteen Reasons Why is a page-turner you won't be able to put down until you have clued bits and pieces of Hannah Baker's life together. It's heart-wrenching but has a hopeful future prospect at the end of the book. I'd recommend it to everyone.

Book Review: Snitch

Title: Snitch
Author: Allison van Diepen
Publisher: Simon Pulse (imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division), 2007
First read: March 18th, 2011
Page total: 297 pages
Genre(s): Serious Issues, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult

Synopsis: In a school run by gangs, it's almost impossible to stay neutral - but Julia DiVino and her best friend Q have made vows to stay that way until they graduate and get the hell out of the place. But everything changes when Eric Valienté enters her life. Lines are redrawn. And then they're crossed.


All I can say is, WOW!  Julia's voice is so real, I can practically picture the whole thing. Julia's friendship with Q and Black Chuck, her falling in love with Eric and her dealing with Crips and Bloods...
Julias smart, but she's also very human. I immediately liked her. No matter how reckless and dangerous her choices are, I can't not like her. Oh, and the turns and twists that kept coming, I never expected them! I won't say anything because I don't want to spoil anything but I never thought
a) Eric would do what he did
b) Julia would do anything to protect him.

The situation Allison van Diepen tries to capture -many gangs that divide people into many groups, students dropping out, violence, the revenge, the gang life (i.e. gang "family" members etc.)- is so very real.
Julia's position in the whole mess of gangs was one of the main topics in this book and it held my interest. When we first meet Julia, she isn't into the whole gang crap and stays out of their businesses together with her friend Q. But she's not a goody-goody girl by any means. She knows the dangers of streets and she knows of the temptations of the drugs. She decided it's not her thing, so she's staying out of it. Until she meets Eric... and everything she's believed in spins out of control. And later, when she wasn't... neutral, it was interesting to see how her attitude toward the gang life changed. But again, she had her reasons for what she did and I can't really judge her, can I?
The tension remains until the very end and I was so devastated to see the book end but it was wrapped up nicely. And even though it is told from Julia's PoV (I've got the feeling the author did it so the readers wouldn't be able to get into Eric's head) the narration is very neutral and it often comes off as third person narrator.

So very realistic, so very intense and so very captivating.

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

Book Name: Sloppy Firsts (Jessica Darling No.1)
Author/s: Megan McCafferty
Source:Bought
Publisher, year: Crown, 2002
Page total: 304
Date Read: February 08 to 09, 2011
Genre/s: YA, Coming of Age
First line of Book: Tonight I've been thinking about the mosaic Hope gave me the night she U-hauled ass out of Pineville.

Read the other review by Ginny

“My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? . . . I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment--from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.

When I started reading this book, I wasn't very sure of what to expect. Okay, I knew what it was about, and I had been told it was really good, but the first chapters didn't get me convinced. At all. However, my opinion did change as read further into the book.

Jessica is not your usual heroine. She is sarcastic, cynical, pessimistic, fatalistic, and could sometimes be a bitch. Those were the things that made me dislike her at first, but as I got to know her better, my opinion changed drastically, and those same things were what made her become one of those characters I'm sure I'll not forget. Because Jessica is also honest. She is fresh. And she is not afraid of expressing her opinions. I think that to me that was the breaking point, when she finally decided to let people know what she thought, because, honestly, her psyche is quite amazing.

The plot is simple. It's pretty well explained and summarized on the book's synopsis so I won't explain any further. Usually this would have bored me to death. The reason it didn't was- you guessed it- Jessica Darling. As she went through (and snarkly commented) all of her situations, I couldn't help but either laugh or worry or simply care because of the girl herself!

Megan McCafferty's debut was great, and she succeeded in creating a very unique character who I'm sure i'll not forget easily. Now excuse me, because I want to start Second helpings.

4/5

"You can only be in a bad mood for so long before you have to face up to the fact that it isn't a bad mood at all; it's just your sucky personality."

"It just makes me wonder what subject you blame for talking to me every night.'
I'm still settling on an answer for that one. Probably Chemistry.
Jesus Christ. I can't believe I just wrote that."

Book Review: Lust (Seven Deadly Sins #1)

Title: Lust (Seven Deadly Sins #1)
Author: Robin Wasserman
Publisher: Simon Pulse (an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division), 2005
Page total: 229 pages
First read: August 2010
Genre(s): Young Adult; Realistic Fiction


synopsis: Three girls. Two boys. One happy couple. A complicated love-pentagramm. A small town named Grace in the middle of nowhere. Then- a new girl who is willing to do everything to erase her boredom even if it means to go after a boy who's already taken. That could mean only one thing - trouble.

First Line of the Book: "And it was the best sex I'd ever had" Harper finished off the story with her favorite line and a lascivious grin.

This is -as you can guess from the title- a book about lust most teenagers experience at some time of their adolescence.
See, there's this Big Happy Couple, Adam and Beth.
But the Alpha girl Harper's totally going after Adam,
the charming player Kane secretly wants Beth,
and Harper's sidekick Miranda secretly wishes for Kane who's waaaay out of her league in her opinion.
And the new girl, Kaia? She wants nothing but trouble. No, it's not enough to go after Adam and Kane. There's also the hot new French teacher...
Out of the six characters, Adam is the biggest jerk, in my opinion. He's stupidly slow and totally hormone-driven. Thus I don't get why Harper wants him - weird taste. I do sympathize Miranda, who will make through the biggest change in the series, I can already tell! Kaia is a bitchy slut, but certainly admirable when it comes down to getting what she wants. Kane is the casanova I'm trying to steer clear from and Beth -kind of uptight, diligent, naive- but also human.

All in all, an escape route from the reality, an easy read, a nice change to be able to concentrate on someone else's problems.

Angelfire (Angelfire No.1) by Courtney Allison Moulton

Title: Angelfire (Angelfire No.1)
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Pages: 464
Published: February 15th, 2011 by HarperCollins

Synopsis: When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.(from goodreads.com)

Yum! This book was amazingly delicious in every sense of the word. Now, I want to tell you that I was very skeptical about it at first. I've had some not so good experiences recently with angel books (angel related?) so I was a bit....deterred. But, I'm always about a heroin who kicks some a$$ and doesn't always have to rely on someone else -*clears throat*namely strong protective/co-dependent boyfriend - , and Ellie was my girl there (most of the time anyway). Plus, she was funny in an offbeat sort of way - she had definitely honed in on her sarcasm.

I was a little slow to start into it, but eventually I was so hooked I couldn't put it down. It was just so action packed and crazy eventful that I couldn't help myself. Or maybe it was the characters. I liked Ellie, she was fun and lovely and didn't take crap. Although, I really did feel for her concerning her father (what is it with crappy fathers?). But I think she took all the crap that came her way in stride. She may have had a bit too much angst, but what 17 year old isn't angsty?!

But, really it came down to her love interest...Will! Could I just tell you all I have another fictional boyfriend I'm adding to the tally! I mean, come on, the guy was smokin', shove against the wall, sex on a stick hot! I loved his tattoos. Not that I could actually see him (as he is my fictional boyfriend), but I could completely and totally imagine it. He was like the guy that could be bad, but acted good. You know exactly what I'm talking about here, I know you do.... *prrrr, lick, lick*

I liked some of the other secondary characters, namely Nathaniel, Will's friend, and I did like Ellie's mom, but most of the other characters I didn't really care for. They were just kind of passe and forgettable. But in the end it didn't really matter because the story isn't about them, it's about Ellie and her fight against the dark forces. *mwah ha ha*

It's about her finding what she is made of and fighting the evil that wants to take the souls of humans to Hell. She is the only one who can call the Angelfire. She is the warrior who fights the good fight, the good fight with her wickedly scorching hot guardian, Will, by her side. He who has been with her for 500 years. He has secrets, but then again, she does too. It's quite a scintillating plot now that I'm thinking about it.

Overall, I really did like this book. And even though I thought the beginning might have been a bit slow, I liked everything else about it. I can't get it out of my head. Because, with some sweet flaming swords, sexy tats, reapers, the Phantom of the Opera, secrets galore and some touching that may make you sweat, you just won't want to put it down.


Rating: 4.5/5
Quotes:

"You look very sharp yourself. Where'd you get the shirt?" (Ellie)

"A friend." (Will)

"You have friends?"

"Don't be so shocked. I've lived a long time. I was bound to find someone who likes me. It was just Nathaniel, anyway."

"Oh, that's so cute," I said, pinching his cheek. "He shopped for you. You're, like, biffles."

He disappeared out my window, leaving me alone, once again putting distance between us as soon as we got close. I stared after him, past the curtains billowing in the icy nighttime breeze and out that black hole of a window.

He dropped his head to mine, his body so close to mine I could hardly stand it. "If we're separated--if I lose you--I'll find you," he breathed, his cheek touching mine gently, lighting tiny fireworks on my skin.

Fresh, relentless, warm tears rolled down my cheeks, His promise melted through me, and my heart ached for everything that I wanted and couldn't have.

I received this book free of charge from HarperCollins and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Gemini Night (Star Crossed No.3) by Bonnie Hearn Hill

Title: Gemini Night (Star Crossed No.3)
Author: Bonnie Hearn Hill
Pages: 240
Published: September 28th, 2010

Synopsis: Starting her junior year, Logan McRae is excited about her internship at CRUSH magazine. But she is not so excited about her new boyfriend Jeremy’s travel abroad in Ireland. Logan’s in over her head trying to balance school, love, and friends, while trying to solve an astrological mystery the fate of a Gemini is star-crossed.

Will Logan find out who is in danger before the CRUSH Halloween costume party? Can she prove to the publisher she deserves her own astrology column? And will her relationship with Jeremy survive the distance? Only time will tell as Logan continues to reach for the stars!

The Astro Girl is back in this third book of the Star Crossed series. And might I say, back she is and traipsing around San Francisco (always wanted to go there!). I think that this third book in the series was my very favorite. I'm sure it's because I knew all the characters better than in book one *duh* and the plot was fun and suspenseful. I always like a good turn of events and Hill has given me just that.

In this book, we get to see Logan in all her writing glory, but we also get to see some more of her friends Chilli and Paige. It was interesting to see their character development take off, especially for Paige. Plus, there was a whole new mystery for Logan to solve with the stars. It's funny how 3 little books could pull me in so much and actually interest me in astrology. Because I'm dead serious when I say I've never been into it.

But, Hill has done an amazing job of presenting it in a way that intrigues the reader. Plus, with all the new characters and plot twists, you won't expect what awaits on the path of the cosmos. Because with high maintenance singers, kidnappings, costume parties and maybe some love at last for our dear Logan, you'll want to pick up this book. If you haven't read the first 2 and you like YA contemporary fiction, I recommend the series for a light fun read that will make you laugh and maybe even remember what good friends are for!

Rating: 4.25/5

I received this book free of charge from Running Press Publishers in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.