you are not here, by Samantha Schutz (2010)

I walk down my block
and then take a right turn. 
Two more blocks
and I'll be with Brian.
For the first time
in a long time,
I know he'll be there
waiting for me.

For the past three months, Annaleah has been spending time with Brian, a guy that doesn't go to her high school.  They don't have any mutual friends.  When they spend time together, they're alone - at the park, at her house, at his house.  Their relationship is far from healthy.

Brian would disappear for days and not call Annaleah.  Sometimes he would forget they had made plans.  Annaleah, 16-years old, was often hurt and confused.

Suddenly, Brian dies.  He was 17-years old, just completed his junior year at high school.  And no one knew about Annaleah.  Or how much of her heart she'd given him.

you are not here, written in free verse form, describes how Annaleah deals with the loss of someone she loved.  If you like Ellen Hopkins' books, you'll love this read.

Rating:  8 out of 10 stars
*Language, sexual inferences

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, by Lish McBride (2010)

I stood in front of today's schedule still holding my skateboard, still drenched from the ride over, and still desperately wishing that I hadn't dropped out of college. 

Samhain Corvus LaCroix is at a serious cross-roads in his life.  A recent college drop-out, Sam now works at a fast food restaurant in UVillage.  Born and raised in Seattle, Sam rides a skateboard, drives a Surbaru, and acts like a normal 19-year old who is trying to figure out what to do with his life.

Until the night Douglas Montgomery sent Michael, a werewolf, to deliver a message to Sam.

"What," he said slowly,

"do you think you're doing here?"

Sam's life suddenly becomes very confusing.  Douglas Montgomery gives Sam an ultimatum:  join me and live, or you and everyone you love will die.

"You have a week.  Use it wisely."

Sam learns that he is a necromancer.

With the help of his two live friends, one undead friend, and the tántaiste of the Blackthorn pack, Sam searches for answers about his past and he is shocked about the truth.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer is a great read for those of us who know and love Seattle, and Lish McBride's writing style is hilarious!  Most young adults who are 14-year old and older will enjoy this novel.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars
*Language, adult humor, graphic fighting scenes, sexual inferences

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!  (I promise to return it tomorrow!)

Dark Life, by Kat Falls (2010)

I peered into the deep-sea canyon, hoping to spot a toppled skyscraper.  Maybe even the Statue of Liberty.  But there was no sign of the old East Coast, just a sheer drop into darkness.

Earth has been so destroyed that the sun's UV rays cause serious damage, the glaciers have melted, and every livable space Above is filled.  Hundreds of thousands of people live in every square mile Topside.  There are even crowded ocean townships.  Twenty percent of the continent has crumbled and is now underwater.

The Commonwealth came up with the Subsea Homestead Act: stake your claim, work the land for five years, and it is yours.  Ocean dwellers supply the nation's food and watch the energy sources - tides and hydrothermal vents.  Ty Townson's family owns 200-acres in Benthic Territory, an experimental settlement 60-nautical miles (or more than 3 hours) from the mainland.  Living 400-feet below the ocean's surface, Ty's family farms kelp and plankton.  Ty plans to stake his own claim for 100 acres when he turns 18-years old. 

But the Seablite Gang has been terrorizing the territory, robbing every supply ship.  And their actions have turned deadly, even targeting pioneers' homesteads.  The Ranger hasn't been able to stop the gang so he demands the pioneers to stop them, or else. 

Under unusual circumstances, Ty meets a Topside girl, Gemma, who's looking for her older brother.  She asks Ty a lot of questions about Dark Gifts, especially about Ty's Dark Gifts since he was the first child to be born subsea. 

"Admit it," she said.   "You have a Dark Gift."

But most Topsiders are afraid to settle in Benthic Territory because they fear the Dark Gifts.

Where is Gemma's brother?  Do Dark Gifts really exist?  What do the Seablite Gang want?  And why are their actions becoming more violent?  Can Benthic Territory continue to exist? 

Dark Life is an exciting read, full of mystery, action, adventure.

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

The second book will be released on August 2, 2011.

Oliver Nocturne: The Vampire's Photograph, by Kevin Emerson (2008)

At the center of everything, stood a Gate. 

In human years Oliver Nocturne is 13 years old, but he's really a 63 year old vampire.  A real vampire, like Dracula.  He lives in Seattle with his parents and older brother in an underground crypt.  His life seems a lot like human teens; he attends vampire school, he eats sugary, processed foods, and he hangs out with vampire friends.  On the surface it looks like Oliver is a normal teenage vampire.

But he's anything but normal.

Oliver meets two human teenagers, Emalie and Dean.  Emalie works for the school newspaper, and she has taken several photographs of Oliver.  Where Oliver should be in the photos is a blurry spot, and ignoring his father's warning, Oliver wants to find way to be in photos.

"They're dangerous for you, son."

Oliver is the only teenage kid he knows that has to go see a doctor for yearly checkups.  And at his most recent check-up, an ancient vampire who not only recognizes Oliver and calls him by name, he tells Oliver his destiny.

"Don't take your destiny lightly, Oliver.  You are the one who can open the Gate."

After visiting Dead Désirée, Oliver learns that Emalie is an Orani, "one who sees."  He receives an amulet of Ephyra for protection.  He also learns the truth about his parents and where he came from. 

The Vampire's Photograph is an exciting read about a teenage vampire living in Seattle.  If you like action, you'll enjoy this series!  I can't wait to read the next five books!

To check out this book at NOLS, click HERE!

Rating:  7 out of 10 stars
Book #2:

Linger, by Maggie Stiefvater (2010)

Mercy Falls, Minnesota, looked different when you knew you'd be human for the rest of your life.  Before, it has been a place that existed only in the heat of summer, concrete sidewalks and leaves curved up toward the sun, everything smelling of warm asphalt and dissipating truck exhaust.

*Plot spoiler if you have not read Shiver.

Isabel and Grace were able to save one and kill the other; Sam was saved and Jack was killed.  Not only was Sam saved, but he doesn't shift into being a wolf anymore.  And more than anything, he wants to believe in his cure.  He wants to spend his life with Grace.

Before Beck's final shift, he "recruited" three new members to add to the pack.  One of them is Cole St. Clair, a famous rock star in the band NARKOTIKA.  Cole is wild and dangerous, and could put the whole pack in jeopardy with his wrecklessness. 

Suddenly Grace begins to feel sick and has a recurring fever.  Doctors can't find anything wrong with her, but she continues to get sicker and sicker.  Sam knows something is wrong because he can smell a familiar wolf scent on her, one that reminds him of the wolf they found dead in the woods.

Why is Grace so ill?  Will she die?  Who is Cole and why would he choose this life?  Is Sam really cured?  Can Grace and Sam stay together forever?  The resolution to this book will leave you wondering about these characters and what will happen in the next book.

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Rating:  6 out of 10 stars
*Some inappropriate language, sexual content, and drug use

Next:  Forever - out July 12, 2011

Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater (2009)

I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves.  They were licking me, biting me, worrying at my body, pressing in. 

Six years ago, Grace Brisbane was attacked by wolves while she was swinging on the tire swing in her backyard.  She was 11 years old.  She didn't struggle or fight.  She remembers one wolf, the one with yellow eyes.  And somehow, she survived.

Grace is now 17-years old, and she has never forgotten the wolf, her wolf.  She can't wait for each Minnesota winter, when the wolves return to the woods in back of her house.  Her wolf comes to watch her, too.  For six years, Grace watches her wolf, and her wolf watches her.

The people of Mercy Falls don't know that a pack of werewolves live in their woods.  But problems begin to happen when Jack Culpepper is killed and the citizens of Mercy Falls want to kill all of the wolves.  One wolf is shot, wounded.  Graces searches for her wolf and finds him on the deck in her back yard.  It's Sam Roth, a 17-year old boy.

Grace learns about Sam's pack.  She learns how they change from human into wolf form when the weather gets cold.  She learns that new ones change rapidly, without warning.  She also learns that this is the last time Sam will be human.  It is late fall, and the temperature is dropping.

How can Sam and Grace be together?  Why didn't Grace change into a wolf after she was bitten six years ago?  And what will happen with the pack as a result of Jack Culpepper's recklessness?

Maggie Stiefvater's love story between a girl and a wolf reads a lot like the Twilight series.  Each chapter is narrated by either Sam or Grace, and the temperature is indicated.  If you like romantic books, you'll enjoy Shiver.

Rating:  6 out of 10 stars
*Mild language, sexual inference

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

The next book:

The newest book in the series will be released on July 12, 2011.

I Am Number Four, by Pittacus Lore [James Frey and Jobie Hughes] (2010)

In the beginning there were nine of us.  We left when we were young, almost too young to remember. 

Almost. 

John Smith has been hiding on Earth for 10 years.  He's moved at least 21 times, each move required a different name, a new identity.  He is an alien.  And he's being hunted.

"We came to Earth ten years ago from a planet named Lorien.  We came beause it was destroyed by the inhabitants of another planet named Mogadore.  They destroyed Lorien for its resources because they had turned their own planet into a cesspool of decay.  We came here to hide until we could return to Lorien, which we will one day do.  But we were followed by the Mogadorians.  They are here hunting us.  And I believe they are here to take over Earth..."

It took a year to arrive to Earth and now the 9 Garde are scattered around the globe.  The Lorien charm protects them; they can only be killed in order of their numbers, so long as they stay apart.  But the charm is broken when they are together.  When one is killed, a circular scar wraps around every Garde's right ankle. 

John's first scar appeared when he was 9 years old, the first sign the Mogadorians had finally arrived.  His second scar appeared when he was 12 years old.  The third scar appeared only an hour ago.  He is now 15 years old.

John is number four.

The only hope Lorien has for its survival is in the 9 Garde hiding on Earth.  Each time one is killed, Lorien's chances diminish.

John and his Cêpan, Henri, are hiding in Paradise, Ohio - population 5,243.  For the first time in his life on Earth, John has a friend and has fallen in love.  His legacies finally arrive, super-powers that will help him defeat the Mogadorians.  He must prepare for war.

Pittacus Lore is the greatest Elder of Lorien.  When the Mogadorians invaded Lorien, where did the Elders go? 

Join the saga of the Lorien Legacies!

To check the book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

* Some inappropriate language.

Next in the series:  Released August 23, 2011

Matched, by Allie Condie (2010)

Now that I've found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night?  My wings aren't white or feathered; they're green, made of silk, which shudders in the wind and bends when I move - first in a circle, then in a line, finally in a shape of my own invention.  The black behind me doesn't worry me; neither do the stars ahead.

On her 17th birthday, Cassia Maria Reyes is called up to attend her Match Banquet and finally learns who is her Match.  The Society chooses your perfect Match so that the Society can achieve maximum results:  happy, strong, healthy Citizens.  People are Matched when they're 17, Contracted at 21, and have babies before their 35th birthday. 

In the Society, you are called up to attend a Matching Banquet when you are 17 years old.  On the 15th day of each month, in every City Hall across the country, the Matches are announced in alphabetical order according to the girls' last names.

For one night, Cassia sheds her plainclothes for a gorgeous green silk dress and eats unregulated portions of savory foods and dessert.  When it's her turn, she stands to see her Match on the screen - it is dark and stays dark.

Your match is here this evening.

Xander Thomas Carrow.  Cassia's best friend.  Even though it's very unusual to know your Match, Cassia is happy to be matched with Xander.  But this moment marks when everything begins to change.

When Cassia finally gets an opportunity to see the information on the microcard she was presented at the Match Banquet, she is stunned.  Xander's face darkens on the screen and disappears.

"Cassia Reyes, the Society is pleased to present you with your Match."  My heart stops, and I can't believe what I see.  A face comes back into view on the port in front of me.  It is not Xander.

The Society controls everything.  Where you work.  Who you'll marry.  When you'll die.  To unclutter people's minds, many things have been simplified - 100 songs, 100 paintings, 100 stories, 100 poems; everything else has been elminated.  Cassia believed that the Society did not make mistakes.  She knows what it means to be a sorter, and she's one of the best sorters.  But she recognized the second face on her microcard - Ky Markham. 

Encourged by her grandfather as he died on his 80th birthday, Cassia begins to wonder.  Is the Society perfect?  Who is her perfect Match: Xander or Ky?  She loves one, but is in love with the other.  And most importantly, Cassia wants to know why people can't make their own choices?

Matched feels a lot like the society in Lois Lowry's The Giver, but Matched probably a more exciting read for teens and young adults.  It's romantic, but very appropriate for teens and young adults. 

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

The second book in this series will be released on November 1, 2011.

where she went, by Gayle Forman (2011)

Every morning I wake up and tell myself this:  'It's just one day, one twenty-four-hour period to get yourself through.'

Told from Adam Wilde's viewpoint, the second book to if i stay is richer and deeper the first one.  You can't help but to love the characters.  Three years after the accident, Adam is the singer and lead guitarist for his band, Shooting Star.  They are hugely successful, wealthy, famous.  But Adam is anything but happy.  He suffers from extreme anxiety.  He has to take pills just to make it through the day, and he chain smokes to calm his nerves.  And he misses Mia.  Every.  Single.  Day.

And he's haunted by the promise he made to Mia while she was in the hospital.

If you stay, I'll do whatever you want.  I'll quit the band, go with you to New York.  But if you need me to go away, I'll do that, too.  Maybe coming back to your old life would be just too painful, maybe it'd be easier for you to erase us.  And that would suck, but I'd do it.  I can lose you like that if I don't lose you today.  I'll let you go.  If you stay.

Adam is by himself in New York City.  He finds himself in front of Carnegie Hall staring at a poster that says YOUNG CONCERT SERIES PRESENTS MIA HALL.  Mia and Adam finally meet after a silent three years apart. 

Gayle Forman continues the beautiful and touching story of Adam and Mia in a unique and unforgettable way.  Experience heart-break and forgiveness in this hard-to-put down novel. 

To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Rating:  10 out of 10 stars
*Inappropriate language and sexual references