New Vampire Romance Series – A Twilight Reverse!
Bianca senses there is something very wrong with her new school, the Evernight Academy. She wants to go home to her small town where she grew up. But when her parents get teaching jobs at the exclusive boarding school, she has no choice but to move. Clearly she is surrounded by vampires. She is one too, although we are not clued into that until later. Bianca is different. She is one of the rare vampires born instead of made. A boy named Lucas is one of the few peers she can relate to in her new surroundings. But he may be more dangerous to her and her family than anyone realizes.
I started reading this with low expectations but I was drawn in quickly and it was hard to put down. I really enjoy reading different authors take on vampires. Claudia Gray’s vampires are more traditional like Dracula or Anne Rice’s Louis and Lestat. I also enjoyed the role reversal where the girl is the more powerful one. It’s a nice change! Evernight Academy is described in such a way I could picture the dreary castle in the isolated woods. It is a school for centuries old vampires who are trying to assimilate to the modern world. A good point of humor is when a vampire from the dark ages cannot understand there are not spirits inhabiting ipods and radios. He can’t comprehend technology, thinking evil spirits are making them work instead of circuits and chips.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
How do you feel about the girl being a vampire this time?
Did you realize what Bianca was before she bit Lucas?
Both Bianca and Lucas were not honest with each other. Who is the most at fault?
Where you surprised at how Bianca revealed herself?
Talk about how the Evernight series is different than other popular vampire series. How do different authors portray the myth?
Stargazer is the second book in this series. Hourglass will be released in 2010.
The Best House of Night Book Yet – Hunted
Ok… this was the best book in the series. The action began with a very intimate moment where Kalona invades Zoey’s dreams. He’s convinced she is the Cherokee woman created to imprison him. Zoey and her friends are hiding in the tunnels with the red fledglings. Of course Heath shows up and puts Zoey in danger again. A Raven Mocker (the creepy man/bird children of Kalona) attacks her, leaving her close to death. She must drink from Heath again, making their once broken imprint even stronger. So now there’s another love triangle between herself, Heath and Erik. And of course there is also Stark, the kid she kissed in the last book before he “died” and became a red fledgling. He is not without his charms.
The action in this book moved much faster, making this a really fun, guilty pleasure read for me. I can’t wait until Tempted – House of Night Book 6 which comes out in October. Check this out while reading the book http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/yearbook.html it is fun!
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
Zoey still has a love triangle, although it is different than before. Discuss which of the guys (if any) are right for Zoey. Who would you rather be with, Erik, Heath or Stark?
Talk about religion. How the worship of the Goddess Nyx is like or unlike their own religion.
What does it mean to be marked? Talk about how tattoos are becoming more common.
Strong Female Character in Baseball Book For Girls!
Eighth grader Molly loves baseball! She can throw a wicked knuckleball pitch. Ever since she could stand she’s been playing catch in the backyard with her father. Her beloved father is killed in a car accident. Molly and her mother attempt to rebuild their lives. Molly plays girl’s softball but she craves more of a challenge. Molly tries out for the boy’s baseball team, knowing she can pitch just as well as they can.
Molly is brave and strong, while staying realistic to how an eighth grade girl would behave.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
Molly is not satisfied by just playing softball. She wants to play baseball. In your opinion is she brave or a trouble maker?
Lonnie does not fit a stereotype. Discuss how you feel about that.
Talk about how Lonnie creates something beautiful out of the hate message left on Molly’s locker.
Molly’s friend compares her to Amelia Earhart. Earhart’s story ended tragically. How does she compare with Molly?
Molly looks out her window at what she perceives to be the perfect family next door. Talk about perceptions and how they may be true or false.
Brutally Honest Story of Eating Disorders in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Brilliant New Novel
Lia and Cassie were best friends since grade school. They shared a pact to see who could be the skinniest. Lia was anorexic and Cassie was bulimic. The story begins with Cassie’s death. She was found dead in a hotel room, but we don’t know the exact details of her death until later in the book. Laurie Halse Anderson’s dramatic prose takes us into the painful mind of a girl with a hideously deformed self image. She describes in great detail Lia’s self loathing as she trains her body to go without food.
Lia takes us into pro-anorexia chat rooms where girls encourage each other not to eat.
“My fingers reach through the screen and comb through the garbage until they find the home of the shrieking chorus, hungry girls singing endless anthems while our throats bleed and rust and fill up with loneliness. I could scroll through these songs for the rest of my life and never find the beginning.”
Lia’s parents are divorced so she moves in with her father and step-mother after another stint in a hospital. She hides the fact that she’s losing more weight with a fixed scale and baggy clothes. As her body craves food, she chants painful insults to keep herself from taking a bite. Cassie’s ghost haunts her at night, further driving down her self-esteem and size.
This was such a painful and powerful read! I felt Lia’s despair, along with her parents who were begging her to “just eat, don’t you want to live?” Anderson’s beautiful writing just gets into your head and swims around. I can’t wait to share this book with my teen girl book club.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
Talk about body image and other factors that could have lead up to Lia and Cassie’s eating disorders.
Is the destruction of their health worth being skinny?
Have the teens read aloud some of the passages, such as the one listed above and discuss them.
Talk about other ways teenage girls degrade themselves. How can they become so lost?
Do they think Cassie’s ghost is real? Have they ever felt haunted?
“Need” Another Twilight Read-A-Like? Try Carrie Jones’ New Book
Zara is recovering from the death of her beloved step-father. When her mother notices her depression deepening she sends her to live with her grandmother in cold, rural Maine. But someone or something seems to be haunting and hunting Zara. She sees a strange man watching her at the airport. When he shows up at her school her new friends have a strange theory. The man is not human at all, but a pixie… and not the friendly Tinkerbell kind. The friends do research and learns the pixie king needs a new queen to fulfill his “need”. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize what this ”need” is. Her new friends try to protect her, especially the gorgeous boy, Nick. Pixies are not the only supernatural beings in town. Zara finds out Nick is a werewolf. When she finds out her grandmother is a weretiger the story starts getting a little better.
It wasn’t a great book, but I still enjoyed it, especially when it once it got closer to the end. It had a Twilight feel and I think teens will really love it. So I would recommend it to them. The story unfolded a little too quickly. It seemed odd that Zara’s mother would send her closer to the pixies to keep her safe. Also Zara’s new friends bonded with her and jumped to the pixie theory a little too quickly.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
1. Talk about the meaning of Zara’s name.
2. Did you realize Nick was a werewolf? Or did you think the people were pixies?
3. What did you expect the pixies to look like without the glamour?
4. What kind of “were” would you like to be?
5. Brainstorm possible plots for more Twilight read-a-likes.
Need A Twilight Read Alike? Here you go!
It was only a matter of time for writers to create more supernatural romance series. Evermore by Alyson Noel is the first book in The Immortals series. It feels a awful lot like Twilight. This is not a bad thing. Teens who feel in love with reading because of the Twilight series are hungry for a read alike. Evermore will fill that void. The main difference is that Ever, is a much more interesting character than Bella. She suffered a terrible tragedy. She is the only member of her family to survive a car accident. Since then, she’s been able to read people’s thoughts and see their auras. Before the accident she was a popular girl. Now that she lives with her aunt in a new city, she traded in her trendy clothes for oversized hoodies, choosing to be an outcast instead of the “it girl”.
Damen arrives as the new boy in school and he’s… let’s all say it together… gorgeous… rich and mysterious! He is very much like Edward.
Evermore has the same feel of Twilight. It irritated me just the way Twilight did… and it was just as addictive! I couldn’t put it down! The sequel Blue Moon comes out in July. New Moon vs. Blue Moon? Hmmmm.
Ideas for discussing with teens:
1. What were your first impressions of Damen? Did you think he was a vampire?
2. What about Ever? What do you think of her choice to be an outcast instead of a popular – cheerleader – it girl?
3. How do you feel about her relationship with her dead sister? Why does she not cross over?
4. Talk about Ever’s friend, Haven and why she keeps changing her image? Why does she latch onto Drina so quickly?
5. Would you choose immortality or having the chance to finally live a normal life?
House of Night Book 4 – Untamed
Ok, I almost gave up part way through this one. The twins really did get on my last nerves. But later on I was hooked once again and enjoyed the last part of the book. I am glad I stuck with it.
A new character, Stark, is introduced. He has a rare gift that makes him a renowned archer. Is his transfer to Oklahoma’s House of Night part of Neferet’s evil plan? MWaa Haa Haa Haa! You bet!
Zoey makes up with her friends and reveals the much changed Stevie Rae. An even more powerful priestess comes to House of Night, and the Goddess Nyx makes an appearance to Zoey and Aphrodite. We learn the extent of Neferet’s evil plan. I love how Zoey’s grandmother becomes involved.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
1. What should Zoey have shared with the powerful high priestess?
2. Talk about the new friendship between Zoey and Neferet. Can old enemies become friends? Have you ever had that happen?
3. Should Zoey have gotten her grandmother involved?
4. Where do you think the story is going with the red fledglings?
5. Who do you think murdered the professors?
The fifth House of Night book – Hunted comes out on March 10th.
If Your Teens Loved Twilight – Impossible by Nancy Werlin Is A Good Book To Pass Along
Lucy Scarborough is part of a long line of cursed women who become pregnant at age 17. Once the baby is born they descend into madness. When a supernatural creature enters the lives of Lucy and her foster family, he sets the ancient curse into motion. Lucy must complete three impossible tasks to break the curse and keep her sanity. The book is inspired by the folk song “Scarborough Fair.” Lucy is lucky she has the support of her family as they help her attempt the three tasks.
I suggest this book to Twilight lovers because of the supernatural element. Also the boy who loves Lucy is almost too good to be true. The girls who love Edward will enjoy Zach’s character. My supervisor, Kristin said it best, when she said “fairies are more likely to exist than this guy.” Zach loves her and stands by her even though she is pregnant with another man’s child. I think characters like Edward and Zach may give teenage girls higher standards to look for in boyfriends, which is not a bad thing! Impossible is a really interesting story. When I suggested this book to teens in my high school book group they were very excited!
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
1. Read the song lyrics to Scarborough Fair. Discuss what they think the song means.
2. What do the teens think is going on when the women go mad? We get a glimpse later in the book. What do they think is happening to the women’s minds as they are enslaved by the Elfin Knight?
3. Is Zach realistic? Do they know any boys like him? What should they expect from boyfriends?
4. Talk about the three tasks. How would they go about solving the riddle?
Sci-Fi disguised as a girl book! I love it!
The part about the Jenna Fox waking up after a year long coma was intriguing enough, but when she starts to believe her body is not really her own it gets really good!
The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E. Pearson delves into how far a person would go to save or “keep” the person they love. All we know about Jenna is that she’s been asleep for a year in a coma. She wakes up in a new town trying to remember who she is. Did she have friends? Why are they living across the country from where her father works? Why does her grandmother hate her? The biggest question of all… why does her body feel so different? Why can’t she recognize her hands?
I would assume this is in the somewhat distant future. The second woman was elected president and the polar bears are now extinct. There are also laws against certain kinds of medical experiments. The book becomes more like a science fiction story as it goes on. This would be a great book to use to introduce a girl to a new genre. The butterfly cover makes it look girly, however the meaning of the butterfly in the story is not what you would expect.
Some ideas for discussing with teens:
1. As Jenna discovers there is something not quit right, what did you think was happening to her?
2. What would you have done if Jenna was your daughter?
3. Should these types of science experiments be outlawed?
4. Should Ally have reported Jenna’s parents? Would you?
5. What would you what Kara did for Locke and Kara? Did she have the right? How do you think she was hearing them?
6. Was the book what you expected from looking at the cover?
7. Would you read more books like this?
Susanne Collins The Hunger Games left me wanting more!
Most of you who know me have heard me gush about Unwind! It was one of my favorite YA novels of last year. When I mention it, people ask if I’ve read the The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins. I finally have! It surpassed all my expectations. I wanted something that would hook and disturb me as much as Unwind. AND IT DID!
Katniss lives in a world that was once the U.S. It is now an oppressive society run by the Capital. The Capital rules 12 Districts with intense fear, not unlike 1984. Katniss lives in District 12 which appears to be what’s left of West Virginia. Food is scarce there. After her father dies in a mining accident, Katniss takes up his job as hunter to keep her mother and little sister, Prim fed.
Each year a boy and a girl between the ages of 12-18 from each district must compete in the Hunger Games. It is a reality TV show where the children fight to the death on live television. The children and their families have no choice in this matter. Each year the names of the contestants, or tributes as they are called in the book, are drawn out of bowls on live television. This year the girl is Prim, Katniss’s sister. Knowing this is a death sentence for her sweet sister, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and a boy named Peeta are carted off to the capital where they become instant celebrities with stylists and plenty of good food and luxury. The difference between what Katniss had to eat in District 12 and at the Capital is staggering. Her relationship with Peeta is complicated, which could keep her alive or become the most dangerous part of the game.
One of the things that struck me in the callousness the Hunger Games people treat the tributes. They actually think the tributes should be grateful for this opportunity. The tributes must perform like trained dogs to entertain the Capital audience with interviews and an opening ceremony much like the Olympics. The Hunger Games people remind me of the doctors in Unwind. They are performing horrific acts against fellow human beings, children no less, and barely bat an eye. If you remember, the nurse is not the least bit bothered while she is talking to a boy while he is being unwound. She doesn’t care. How can she think of him as a fellow human being?
It also makes me think a lot about reality TV. We don’t kill people (yet) but we do enjoy their misery and humiliation. Just watch how Simon Cowell reduces kids to tears. We all laugh, but it is still cruel.
There are not any slow spots in this book. I was engulfed the entire time. The characters stick with you and the ending leaves you wanting more. Some ideas for discussing with teens:
1. How does the Hunger Games compare with reality TV? Are today’s audiences as callous as the people in the Capital? People don’t usually die, but viewers take delight in their humiliation.
2. We think District 12 may be somewhere around West Virginia. What do you think your district would be like in your part of the country?
3. Talk about Katniss’s strategy. Is she using Peeta? Or is he using her?
4. What do you think the Capital will do to Katniss after the games?
5. How would you survive in the arena? What would be your weapon of choice?
6. Talk about the pagentry of sporting events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl. How do they compare to the Hunger Games?
Thank goodness this a trilogy! The sequel, Catching Fire, will be released in September of 2009. I can’t wait!
