Some Girls Are Review

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(More customer reviews)Three words: (some girls are) very very mean
I really wish I could write an intellectual, well thought out, comprehensive review, that could do an exceptional book justice. Because if a book ever deserved that type of review it would be Some Girls Are.
I honestly don't know how Courtney does it. How can she write a character that is a b****, in all essence of the word.... and make me like her.... feel sorry for her even! I should hate her, hate all that she stands for, for all those b****es in high school that thought they were.... well that's another story for a different day.
That's who Regina is- a b****, and yet, I empathized with her. I felt sorry for her. I found myself nodding in agreement, with her conniving plans to get back at the girls that were making her life a living hell. Who brainwashed me into feeling this way... Courtney Summers did, that's who. She manipulated me with her words! She used her amazing talent to deconstruct my view of something that had always been black and white, b**** and non-b**** and made it... GRAY! How dare you!? Now I'm wondering... do b****es have feelings too....? Do b****es deserve second chances. Do b****es deserve the sweetest guy on the planet?
Speaking of sweetest guys on the planet.... was anyone else feeling that tension between those two, or was it just me. I know it couldn't possibly be just me... but I just wanted to scream..KISS HER ALREADY! I know you hate her, but give her a big ole' I hate you kiss!
I really wanted to do intellectual, but it's obviously not happening.
Seriously though... I can't say enough good things about this book. Courtney has a very distinct style, and I really enjoy reading her books. She has great characterization, the plot is just insane... when you think these girls couldn't be more mean, well they can and they Are.
I could not put this book down, and yet.. it was hard to read. I literally picked it up hoping to get a few chapters in and ended up reading the whole thing through.
The realistic portrayal of these girls is absolutely disturbing, in a grossly addicting way. You don't want to see what horrible things they do next... yet you do. How is that possible... am I just a masochist like that?
And here I raise my glass... to Courtney Summers... the queen of mean. Not that I'm saying Courtney is mean, she is in fact very sweet, but damn, she knows how to write some mean ass girls.
I'm ready for book three, NOW.

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The Book of Luke Review

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(More customer reviews)Readers of Jenny O'Connell's first book for teens, Plan B, will have high expectations for THE BOOK OF LUKE--and they won't be disappointed!
When nice girl Emily Abbot's family moves from Chicago back to Boston in the middle of her senior year, Emily and her two best friends come up with a plan that is not so nice. It's a project for their class time capsule, but it won't be the typical scrapbook or mix CD. They'll write a handbook for guys about girls. And who better to test out their theories on than arrogant Luke Preston? Emily, the three friends decide, will be the perfect person to try it out and report back. After all, Luke would never suspect the nice little Emily he knew way back when...But Emily's not what she used to be.
Before she knows it, however, the experiment has gone horribly wrong. Wrong in that Emily finds herself falling head over heels for her experiment!
THE BOOK OF LUKE is a funny, original story guaranteed to have readers fascinated from first page to last! This fresh, honest novel is full of amazing characters and excellent writing. Jenny O'Connell is a smart, talented author; I'm really looking forward to seeing what she writes next! This is contemporary fiction at its best; readers will not be disappointed.
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

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From the bestselling author of Plan B comes a funny and touching new novel about a girl, a boy, and a notebook that could ruin everything. Emily Abbott has always been considered the Girl Most Likely to Be Nice -- but lately being nice hasn't done her any good. Her parents have decided to move the family from Chicago back to their hometown of Boston in the middle of Emily's senior year. Only Emily's first real boyfriend, Sean, is in Chicago, and so is her shot at class valedictorian and early admission to the Ivy League. What's a nice girl to do? Then Sean dumps Emily on moving day and her father announces he's staying behind in Chicago "to tie up loose ends," and Emily decides that what a nice girl needs to do is to stop being nice. She reconnects with her best friends in Boston, Josie and Lucy, only to discover that they too have been on the receiving end of some glaring Guy Don'ts. So when the girls have to come up with something to put in the senior class time capsule, they know exactly what to do. They'll create a not-so-nice reference guide for future generations of guys -- an instruction book that teaches them the right way to treat girls. But when her friends draft Emily to test out their tips on Luke Preston -- the hottest, most popular guy in school, who just broke up with Josie by email -- Emily soon finds that Luke is the trickiest of test subjects . . . and that even a nice girl like Emily has a few things to learn about love.

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Trapped Review

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(More customer reviews)Scotty just wants to go home the Tuesday morning school is canceled due to the snow piling up outside. But his friends Jason and Pete convince him to stay a little longer to work in the shop, just until four o'clock when Jason's dad will pick them up. But the school slowly empties and the storm gets worse, and as the hours stretch into the evening, it becomes clear that no one is coming.

Sevens teens are stuck in the high school in the worst blizzard in a century, and no one knows that they're there. At first, it's not too bad--they have access to plenty of food and they can wait it out. But then the power and the heat go out, and the snow continues to pile higher and higher, compromising the building . The snow has them trapped inside, but even the building isn't safe anymore--will it be too late for Scotty and his friends?

Trapped is one of those gripping and chilling reads that will make you question just how likely you would be able to survive if thrust into the same situation. It's quite a spectacular story of survival, but it's very well-described, showing that Northrop really thought this situation through inside and out. His writing also shows that he really understands teens; the attitudes, the feelings, and the interactions are all done very well, and the emotions and tensions that everyone feels due to their entrapment and despair are all very realistic. Northrop also makes really good use of foreshadowing as Scotty alludes to some fatal consequences of the storm at the beginning of the story, making the book seem a bit foreboding before the snow even really begins to fall. The ending was powerful and abrupt, but it does leave you wondering about the fate of so many people, most of which aren't revealed, or are left up to the reader's imagination. This is a quick, unsettling read that will be easy to get into, but not so easy to leave once you've finished.

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Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) Review

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(More customer reviews)It starts off in a The Hangover-like way when April is jolted awake by her police siren ringtone (her dad's) to find a guy (who is not her boyfriend) laying next to her, and a mess of a house (beer cans and chips everywhere) and two barely dressed guys (one wearing a tiara) sprawled and snoring on the couch. And her dad calls to say he's fifteen minutes away as a birthday surprise. Can you tell I was hooked from there? Because I could barely blink.
The writing was easy going and the characters were very likable and fun. I was slightly flinching throughout the whole book from how real everything seemed. I was not a huge fan of the time-hoping bits. April went back and forth between time-frames and it felt a bit disorienting from time to time, but it did fit with the plot quite well, I just felt transitions could have been slightly smoother and clearer. But it worked.
It was unbelievably fun to read. I would laugh out loud from time to time and slap my hand on my forehead on other times too. April made so many understandably stupid decisions, that you just want to reach out and shake her, while knowing you might have done that same thing. Sarah Mlynowski is a genius on realistic teenage portrayal.
Overall, a very sassy tale of things we shouldn't do that ironically make our lives that much enjoyable and cool. A book you should not miss if you love fun contemporary YA.

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2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house – parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.

In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

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Two-way Street Review

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(More customer reviews)Well-known for her first novel, Reality Chick, Lauren Barnholdt has a new offering worth checking out. TWO-WAY STREET is the perfect book if you are interested in learning about both sides in a couple's breakup.
Courtney and Jordan are about to begin a three day trip from their homes in Florida to their college orientation in Boston. Usually this would be cause for excitement, but this trip is bound to be uncomfortable. The reason is because, two weeks ago, Jordan broke up with Courtney, supposedly because he met a girl on MySpace. Since the plans for the trip have already been made, Courtney's parents are insisting that she stick with those plans and travel with her ex all the way to Boston.
The characters and details of this novel are well-developed. Courtney is ultra-organized, schedule-oriented, and germaphobic. Jordan is a relaxed, take-things-as-they-come, rap lover. The story reveals their quirky best friends who are always just a cell phone call away waiting to offer whatever support their own busy lives allow. The private lives of Jordan and Courtney's parents offer their own unique brand of suspense to the plot. In addition, an underlying thread of the plot involves continued references to the use of MySpace, which is sure to be an attention-grabber for teen readers.
Barnholdt created the book with alternating chapters. In Jordan's chapters he tells his version of the story before, during, and after the trip, and Courtney does the same in her chapters. This unique style allows readers to sort of "read between the lines" of the breakup. The characters are dealing with secrets they feel must not be revealed. The resulting tension and hard feelings created by the secrets will have readers rooting first for Jordan and then for Courtney.
Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

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there are two sides to every breakup. This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They're even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation. Then Jordan dumps Courtney -- for a girl he met on the Internet. It's too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney's heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la -- this is Courtney pretending not to care. But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot. Turns out, he's got a secret or two that he's not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can't get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other.

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Night Road Review

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(More customer reviews)I thought the author's writing style was very descriptive and vivid. Her tone was conversational and engaging.
Night Road introduces us to a young woman named Alexa "Lexi" Baill, who was a product of a heroin addicted mother. She was in and out of various foster homes until a great-aunt named Eva Lange came to claim her. I knew this book would leave me in tears when Lexi met her great-aunt for the first time and said "If you keep me, you won't regret. I swear it." I knew then that this young woman was going to captivate me.
After four days in her new home in Port George, Washington, she makes her first friend Mia Farraday, an outcast, like herself. Mia was the twin sister of Zach Farraday, a popular jock who dragged Mia along in order to try to help her fit in. Soon the three of them become a packaged deal of sorts, going everywhere together, and sleepovers at the Farradays etc.
Jude Farraday became the mother that Alexa always wanted, but never had. Jude Farraday was slightly neurotic when it came to parenting. She insisted on walking her high school kids to their lockers, checking home work, chaperoning all school dances etc.
This book weaves a story about teenagers pushing boundaries, learning responsibilities, making choices and living with the consequences of those choices. It was heart wrenching when I realized that they were going to drive home drunk that fateful night. I knew the consequences would be quite severe and it was.
I loved the easy friendship between Mia and Lexi--the way they accepted each other after experiencing so many rejections in life. I loved how Zach and Lexi fell in love and how Mia ultimately accepted their love. I also loved how hard Zach worked at protecting Mia in all things. This book is about relationships with siblings, parents, and lovers. It reminds me that sometimes in life one bad decision can completely alter the path of your future. Drinking and Driving is always a bad choice, but forgiveness can be a healing comfort.
The author told a wonderful story about acceptance, love, anger, loss and ultimately forgiveness. I was rooting for everyone. I really think Miles Farraday and Eva Lange and the attorney Scott were the unsung heros in this book. I don't want to give it all away but they were the supporting cast that held the primary characters together.
I LOVED THIS BOOK and I wish I could give it more stars

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The Digital Writing Workshop Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the book that every English teacher in America should be reading. Troy Hicks takes the traditional writer's workshop, introduced by well-known educators, such as, Donald Graves and Nancie Atwell, and reinvents it to include the all important digital element.
On page 5, Hicks discusses the purpose of his book, which relates to the obvious changes in technology; he explains how to create a writing workshop that goes beyond paper and pencil to implement a workshop that emphasizes 21st Century skills. Hicks addresses RSS, blogs, wikis, and podcasts, and he provides a companion website to support the book at the Digital Writing Workshop Ning.
I love that Hicks discusses how to introduce NPR's This I Believe series into the classroom. His ideas, thoughts, and rubrics are more than enough reason to buy this book. If your high school is not implementing this writing assignment at some level in your school, I highly suggest that you visit the website and buy Hick's book to discover why it is a keeper.
The most important element that Hicks brings up is on page 104 when he discusses why we are missing the point when we assign digital projects as assignments. Is the font, the colors, or even the number of slides used, make a project relevant? None of this really assesses whether a student can effectively create a worthy digital product. As an English teacher who understands that digital elements and images are connected to words on a deeper level than just using the required number of pictures in the slides, I know this is true, but assessing and creating a rubric is difficult. The Digital Writing Workshop demonstrates not only how to use new technologies, but also provides teachers with charts of effective digital writing. If you have just purchased this book, turn to page 115 to figure 6.2 to see what I mean.
I have used wikis and nings with my students, but this is the first year I have ventured into letting my students support their own personal blog. Hicks created a Blogger's Matrix that includes assessments for teachers to use with student bloggers in the classroom. I plan to incorporate these assessments into my classroom.
I was excited to find a book called The Digital Writing Workshop. The title alone inspired me, and I knew that this would be a book that would be an invaluable resource in my classroom.

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We believe new technologies can advance both the teaching and learning of writing. The National Commission on Writing in American Schools and Colleges, The Neglected R : The Need for a Writing Revolution, 2003.Years later and we re still waiting to see how it can really be done.THE WAIT IS OVER. In clean, clear prose that unravels the labyrinth of new terms and applications, Troy guides us towards a writing workshop for this age. His steady, smart advice eases the transition between the elements of writing workshop we know matter to the tools that can take each to a new place, one comfortably familiar, but with a decidedly updated feel. And this man has his priorities straight. He focuses first on the writer, then on the writing, and lastly on the technology. -Penny Kittle Author of Write Beside ThemTroy Hicks holds sight on good writing workshop instruction. Where others have talked about new technologies and how they change writing, Hicks shows you how to use new technologies to enhance the teaching of writing you already do. Chapters are organized around the familiar principles of the writing workshop: student choice, active revision, studying author s craft, publication beyond the classroom, and assessment of both product and process. In each chapter you ll learn how to expand and improve your teaching by smartly incorporating new technologies like wikis, blogs, and other forms of multimedia. Throughout, you ll find reference to resources readily available to you and your class online. He also includes a practical set of lessons for how to use wikis to explore a key concept in digital writing: copyright. New literacies are developing around us at what sometimes seems like the speed of light. It s hard to keep it all in focus. Let Troy Hicks guide you through the complexities of what it all means for your classroom so your students writing can grow right in step with our changing times and technologies.

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