In My Mailbox (August 1, 2010)

The weekly In My Mailbox post is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It is fun to see what everyone else gets in their mailboxes, shopping bags, and library visits. Click on the link to The Story Siren's site to see the rules and join in the fun.

I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the cool books everyone gets. You will discover lots of wonderful blogs and lots of books that you won't be able to live without.

I managed to limit myself to just three new books this week.

The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore was recommended on one of the blogs I read. I just wish I could remember which one to give credit to the recommender. This one came out in the fall of 2009 and I missed it. Here is the blurb:

Can love last beyond the grave?


Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.
Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.
Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?

I also got the new anthology Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love edited by Tricia Telep because the table of contents reads like a who's who of YA paranormal literature. I am not a big fan of anthologies because I prefer longer stories. But anthologies are a good way to sample the style of authors you don't know and to get more details about characters you do know.

Jealousy by Lili St. Crow is the 3rd book in the Strange Angels series. I have been following along and want to know what is next for Dru.

It’s a good thing Dru Anderson is fast. Because the sucker chasing her isn’t slowing down—and he won’t rest until he has tasted her blood and silenced her heart . . .


Dru’s best friend, Graves, and her strange and handsome savior, Christophe, are ready to help her take on the ultimate evil. But will their battle for Dru’s heart get in the way of her survival?

That is my mailbox this week. What was in yours?

Review: Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

Beautiful Malice
Author: Rebecca James
Publication: Bantam (July 13, 2010)


Description: Who is Katherine Patterson? It is a question she hopes no one can answer. To erase her past, Katherine has moved to a new city, enrolled in a new school, and even changed her name. She’s done the next best thing to disappearing altogether. Now, wary and alone, she seeks nothing more than anonymity. What she finds instead is the last thing she expected: a friend.

Even more unlikely, Katherine’s new friend is the most popular and magnetic girl in school. Extroverted, gorgeous, flirtatious, and unpredictable, she is everything that Katherine is not and doesn’t want to be: the center of attention. Yet Alice’s enthusiasm is infectious, her candor sometimes unsettling, and Katherine, in spite of her guarded caution, finds herself drawn into Alice’s private circle. 

But Alice has secrets, too—darker than anyone can begin to imagine. And when she lets her guard down at last, Katherine discovers the darkest of them all. For there will be no escaping the past for Katherine Patterson—only a descent into a trap far more sinister . . . and infinitely more seductive.



My Thoughts: This was a seriously disturbing book. It was emotionally wrenching. Katherine feels so guilty about the death of her sister that she has changed her name, changed schools, and changed her personality. When she meets Alice she is first fascinated by her. She seemed so bright and so funny. But quickly she sees things in Alice that she can't like and can't explain away.


Alice is manipulative, selfish and self-destructive. She is constantly reinforcing the guilt that Katherine feels. She is thoughtless and cruel. Her relationship with Robbie is a good example. He loves her but she runs hot and cold with him. Sometimes she is loving; sometimes she is absolutely indifferent to his feelings. After one particularly cruel occasion, Katherine is determined to break off her friendship. But Alice won't let go...


Katherine meets and falls in love with Mick. She is gradually able to accept the death of her sister and move on but Alice is still stalking her.


The book is has a number of time shifts. The retelling moves from the present to the near past to the time of Rachel's death. It is a compelling book and deals well with survivor guilt and the fear of taking any chances whether they are physical or emotional.


I recommend the book to YAs who are looking for a serious story. It is not so much a love story as it is a story of growth and recovery but the romance is there too.


Favorite Quote:

I've become very good at not thinking. I avoid making futile plans for an uncertain future, and even more than that, I want to avoid remembering the past.

The Trailer:

Challenges: 2010 YA Debut Author Challenge, 2010 YA Reading Challenge, RYOB Reading Challenge

Teaser Tuesday: Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser is from the beginning of Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James. I won this ARC a while ago and am just beginning it.


An international sensation that The Wall Street Journal called a “publishing phenomenon,” this layered, poignant, and chilling novel of psychological suspense is the year’s most stunning American fiction debut. From its wrenching opening to its shocking climax, Beautiful Malice unfolds a haunting story in which people, motives, and circumstances are never what they seem.

I didn't go to Alice's funeral.


I was pregnant at the time, crazy and wild with grief. But it wasn't Alice I grieved for.

After reading these opening lines, I need to know what will happen next.

Review: The Tension Of Opposites by Kristina McBride

The Tension of Opposites
Author: Kristina McBride
Publication: EgmontUSA (May 25, 2010)


Description: When Tessa's best friend Noelle disappears right before the start of eighth grade, Tessa's life changes completely--she shies away from her other friends and stops eating in the cafeteria. Now, two years later, Noelle has escaped her captivity and is coming home, in one piece but not exactly intact, and definitely different. Tessa's life is about to change again as she tries to revive the best-friendship the two girls had shared before Noelle--now Elle--was kidnapped; puts up a futile resistance to the charming new guy at school; pursues her passion for photography while trying to build the bravado to show her photos to the public; and tries to balance her desire to protect and shelter Elle with the necessity to live her own life and put herself first.


My Thoughts: So often when we think of child abductions we think of the victim. This story is told from the perspective of the best friend who is left behind. Tessa was always the shy one who depended on her more outgoing friend to be a buffer. When the friend is kidnapped, Tessa withdraws. She has panic attacks and becomes even more shy. She likes photography and is good at it but doesn't want to show her work to anyone. She is a sophomore now and in a photography class with juniors and seniors. She meets a boy who is new in town and who is also in the class. She had put her life on hold but now she is making some tentative steps to open up.


Then her best friend comes back. Noelle, now Elle, is changed. Tessa doesn't know how to connect with her again. Both have to make lots of adjustments and learn who they are now. Neither one really held still.


I liked that Tessa grew more confident as the story went on and was willing to open herself up to Max. I thought Max was very patient with her when she was so involved with Elle. He seemed very understanding and mature. I also liked that it looked like Elle was going to be able to adjust to not being a prisoner.


Recommended for those YAs who are interested in realistic fiction. It is a very good summation of what happens when someone is kidnapped. 


Favorite Quote:

Most of all, as she walked away from me, I pictured the excited look that sparked a person's face just from being near her. She had always pulled people in, cast some strange and immediate spell. She used to shine brighter than anything I had ever known.


But the girl who walked away from me was dark. Dull. Somehow, strangely rough. I didn't know her at all.

Challenges: RYOB Reading Challenge, 2010 YA Reading Challenge, 2010 YA Debut Author Challenge 

In My Mailbox (July 25, 2010)

The weekly In My Mailbox post is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It is fun to see what everyone else gets in their mailboxes, shopping bags, and library visits. Click on the link to The Story Siren's site to see the rules and join in the fun.

I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the cool books everyone gets. You will discover lots of wonderful blogs and lots of books that you won't be able to live without.

Here is what I got this week:

I got Sisters Red by Jackson Pierce because I am a fan a werewolf books. Debbie Carton's Booklist review says: "Readers of Stephenie Meyer, Donna Jo Napoli, and Shannon Hale will enjoy the excitement, romance, supernatural elements, and fairy tale references." I have never read anything by the author but I do have As You Wish somewhere in the TBR mountain.

Siren by Tricia Rayburn is by a 2010 YA Debut Author. Shelle Rosenfeld's Booklist review says: "this will appeal to fans of contemporary supernatural novels, and the lingering ambiguities and loose ends will leave readers wanting more."

That is what was in my mailbox. What was in yours?

Review: Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

Shadow Hills
Author: Anastasia Hopcus
Publication: EgmontUSA (July 13, 2010)


Description: After her sister Athena's tragic death, it's obvious that grief-stricken Persephone "Phe" Archer no longer belongs in Los Angeles. Hoping to make sense of her sister's sudden demise and the cryptic dreams following it, Phe abandons her bubbly LA life to attend an uptight East Coast preparatory school in Shadow Hills, MA -- a school which her sister mysteriously mentioned in her last diary entry before she died. 

Once there, Phe quickly realizes that something is deeply amiss in her new town. Not only does Shadow Hills' history boast an unexplained epidemic that decimated hundreds of its citizens in the 1700s, but its modern townies also seem eerily psychic, with the bizarre ability to bend metal. Even Zach -- the gorgeous stranger Phe meets and immediately begins to lust after -- seems as if he is hiding something serious. Phe is determined to get to the bottom of it. The longer she stays there, the more she suspects that her sister's untimely death and her own destiny are intricately linked to those who reside in Shadow Hills.



My Thoughts: This was an exciting book. Phe goes to Shadow Hills to try to find out why her sister was drawn to it. After her sister died, Phe found her dream journal and found out she had been having disturbing dreams. Now Phe is having the dreams. When she first gets to town she meets a boy who has been featured in some of her dreams. There is immediate attraction between Phe and Zach but she feels strange physical sensations when she is near him. She feels shocks when they touch and he seems to act like a magnet. He is determined to keep secrets from her.


Zach also has an older sister who seems to take an instant dislike to Phe and tells her to stay away from Zach. That just makes him more attractive to Phe. She learns that he is from one of the founding families of the town. She meets other students who become her friends. There are some nice light moments as she interacts with her new friends that helps provide some relief from the building tension in the story. 


Through all of this she is still having prophetic dreams and also, by judicious eavesdropping, she is learning that all is not well in Shadow Hills. She investigates to try to figure out why her sister would have been drawn to the town. She makes Nancy Drew look hesitant but does just manage to avoid some TSTL moves in her investigation. She seems to spend a lot of time breaking into places in her investigations. 


As the evil comes to a head she has to learn how to use some strange new powers to save herself and Zach. 


I recommend this book to lovers of boarding school stories and mildly scary paranormals. 


Favorite Quote:

"Maybe for you, Miss Everyone-In-A-Five-Mile-Radius-Falls-In-Love-With-Me-Instantly," Adriana groused.

"Oh, come on." I shook my head. "That is so not true."

"Yeah," Brody agreed quickly. "I have absolutely zero interest in Phe. She's like vanilla yogurt or tapioca pudding. She's unflavored oatmeal."

"Why, thank you, Brody." I smiled sweetly.

Challenges: RYOB Reading Challenge, 2010 YA Debut Author Reading Challenge, 2010 YA Reading Challenge, Paranormal Reading Challenge

Contest Winners!

I would like to congratulate the winners of my two latest contests.

The winner of the $60 Gift Certificate at CSN Stores is:

Travis Tennant, your name and email address have been sent to my contact at CSN Stores. Enjoy your shopping spree!

The winner of a set of Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles is:

Congratulations, Stella (Ex Libris)! I have emailed you to get your shipping information. I hope you enjoy your books as much as I did.

If you didn't win this time, don't despair. I currently have a contest running on Inside of a Dog. You can win either The Search by Nora Roberts or Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn. But go quickly. The contest ends at midnight CDT July 24.

Friday Memes: Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus

Happy Friday everybody!!

Book Beginnings

Book Beginnings on Friday is a meme hosted by Becky at Page Turners. Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading. If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

The Friday 56

Rules:

• Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
• Turn to page 56.
• Find the fifth sentence.
• Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
• Post a link along with your post back to Storytime with Tonya and Friends.
• Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus is sitting to my left as I am preparing this post.

After her sister Athena's tragic death, it's obvious that grief-stricken Persephone "Phe" Archer no longer belongs in Los Angeles. Hoping to make sense of her sister's sudden demise and the cryptic dreams following it, Phe abandons her bubbly LA life to attend an uptight East Coast preparatory school in Shadow Hills, MA -- a school which her sister mysteriously mentioned in her last diary entry before she died.

Once there, Phe quickly realizes that something is deeply amiss in her new town. Not only does Shadow Hills' history boast an unexplained epidemic that decimated hundreds of its citizens in the 1700s, but its modern townies also seem eerily psychic, with the bizarre ability to bend metal. Even Zach -- the gorgeous stranger Phe meets and immediately begins to lust after -- seems as if he is hiding something serious. Phe is determined to get to the bottom of it. The longer she stays there, the more she suspects that her sister's untimely death and her own destiny are intricately linked to those who reside in Shadow Hills.

Beginning sentence: 

I had thought that nothing could be worse than what they had already done to me, but I was wrong.

Friday 56:

Ariel had a saying for when I started switching out the CDs in her car changer: "All hail the music dictator." I, however, preferred to think of it as having good taste.

This is the first book by this YA author.

Review: Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publication: Scholastic Press (July 13, 2010)


Description: In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric,  Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.


My Thoughts: I need some synonyms for "outstanding". I loved this book. I have been having a restless reading summer. I'll read a page or two and then check my blog or get a drink of water or go look out the window and then come back for another page or two. Not that the books I have been reading aren't good but they just didn't compel me to read. Linger did. I don't think I moved while I read this one. The story was so engaging for me. 


I liked that the story was divided between four viewpoint characters - Grace, Sam, Isabel and Cole. Each character was so distinct. The tension was so high in this book. Sam was so uncertain that his "cure" would last. Grace was so frightened about what was happening to her. Isabel was feeling so guilty. And Cole was just so lost.


I know there will be many much more articulate reviews this week. But I am lost for words. All I can say is "read it, read it NOW!"


Highly recommended!


Favorite Quotes:

"Hick allergy," Isabel said. "Grease allergy. Where I used to live, we had real coffeehouses. when I say panini here, everyone says Bless you."

Challenges: 2010 YA Reading Challenge, Paranormal Reading Challenge, RYOB Reading Challenge

In My Mailbox (July 18, 2010)

The weekly In My Mailbox post is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It is fun to see what everyone else gets in their mailboxes, shopping bags, and library visits. Click on the link to The Story Siren's site to see the rules and join in the fun.

I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the cool books everyone gets. You will discover lots of wonderful blogs and lots of books that you won't be able to live without.

I am proud of myself because I only added three four books this week.

I had to have Linger by Maggie Stiefvater. I pre-ordered it months ago. I really liked Shiver and everything else she has written. I have just begun reading this one.

Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus is a 2010 YA Debut Author book that sounded good too. It sounds very eerie and mysterious.

The Wereling by Stephen Cole was added to my Kindle this week. It was recommended to me after I did a post about werewolf books that I had really liked.

Amended to include my late afternoon addition:

I won Pretty Monsters from Theresa at Fantasy/Sci-Fi Lovin' Giveaways and it arrived today. I was excited to get a chance for this book. I have been meaning to read it for a long time. (Thank you, Theresa!)

What arrived in your mailbox this week?

Review: The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

The Grimm Legacy
Author: Polly Shulman
Publication: Putnam Juvenile (July 8, 2010)


Description: Elizabeth has a new job at an unusual library— a lending library of objects, not books. In a secret room in the basement lies the Grimm Collection. That’s where the librarians lock away powerful items straight out of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales: seven-league boots, a table that produces a feast at the blink of an eye, Snow White’s stepmother’s sinister mirror that talks in riddles.


When the magical objects start to disappear, Elizabeth embarks on a dangerous quest to catch the thief before she can be accused of the crime—or captured by the thief.
Polly Shulman has created a contemporary fantasy with a fascinating setting and premise, starring an ordinary girl whose after-school job is far from ordinary— and leads to a world of excitement, romance and magical intrigue.


My Thoughts: I liked this story. Elizabeth is an interesting character. She is adjusting to a new school and changes in her life. Her best friend has moved away and she is no longer taking the ballet classes she loved. After her mother's death, her father remarried and now she has a stepmother and two older stepsisters. Her father is distracted and her stepmother favors her own daughters. 


Elizabeth is kind and honest. She is recommended for an after-school job working in an unusual library by her Social Studies teacher. She finds that it is a library that lends objects including magical objects collected by the Brothers Grimm.


Elizabeth likes her job and begins making friends with some of the other library Pages. Anjali who is Indian and has a crush on Marc Merritt. Marc is an African-American and the star basketball player at Elizabeth's new school. She also meets Aaron who has a crush on Anjali. But strange things are happening at the library. Magical objects are disappearing or being returned to the library with their magic gone. Other Pages are disappearing too. 


Elizabeth and her new friends investigate to try to find out what is happening. The story has a number of adventures and is an exciting story.


I recommend this book to middle graders and young adults who like books with adventure and magic. There is also some romance.


Favorite Quote:

"I remember Mauskopf--what a weirdo! Does he still wear that green bow tie? And give out demerits if he catches you looking at the clock?"

"Yup." I quoted him: "'Time will pass--but will you?'"

Challenges: 2010 YA Reading Challenge, RYOB Reading Challenge, Paranormal Reading Challenge, In the Middle Reading Challenge

Review: Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill

Legacies
Authors: Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill
Publication: Tor Teen (July 6, 2010)


Description: Who—or what—is stalking the students at Oakhurst Academy?

In the wake of the accident that killed her family, Spirit White is spirited away to Oakhurst Academy, a combination school and orphanage in the middle of Montana. There she learns she is a legacy—not only to the school, which her parents also attended, but to magic.

All the students at Oakhurst have magical powers, and although Spirit’s hasn’t manifested itself yet, the administrators insist she has one. Spirit isn’t sure she cares. Devastated by the loss of her family, she finds comfort with a group of friends: Burke Hallows, Lachlann Spears, Muirin Shae, and Adelaide Lake.

But something strange is going on at Oakhurst. Students start disappearing under mysterious circumstances, and the school seems to be trying to cover it up. Spirit and her friends must find out what’s happening—before one of them becomes the next victim…

My Thoughts: Spirit is having a difficult time. She was orphaned in a terrible car accident that killed her parents and her younger sister. She was badly injured and has spent a long time learning to walk again. Now she is told that she is a ward of people she has never met and is being sent to an orphanage/boarding school in the middle of Montana.


When she arrives, she learns that she is a "legacy" and has inherited an aptitude for magic. Her magic has not manifested and when she is tested it is not known what kind of magic she will have. 


The school is an odd one too. The students are very heavily scheduled and are encouraged to compete with each others and not form friendships. There is some sort of magical threat and students regularly disappear. 


Spirit and her group of friends need to keep their friendship a secret and find out what is taking students before one of them is taken. I liked the relationships between the friends. They all had very distinct personalities.


I enjoyed the adventure and the magic and recommend the book for middle graders and YAs who want to read a school story with magic. 


Favorite Quote:

To top off what was turning out to be a really awful day, Mr. Wallis was in a horrible mood during karate class. Not only did he pick Spirit to come up to the front of the class to demonstrate a new form with, when she screwed up -- she had only been in the class fro a month and a half! -- he did a foot sweep that knocked her sprawling and then spent five minutes shouting at her about what a clumsy useless loser she was.

Challenges: Paranormal Reading Challenge, RYOB Reading Challenge, 2010 YA Debut Author Challenge, 2010 YA Reading Challenge

Teaser Tuesday: Legacies by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week my teaser is from a new YA book by veteran adult authors Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill. The title of the book is Legacies.

Who—or what—is stalking the students at Oakhurst Academy?

In the wake of the accident that killed her family, Spirit White is spirited away to Oakhurst Academy, a combination school and orphanage in the middle of Montana. There she learns she is a legacy—not only to the school, which her parents also attended, but to magic.

All the students at Oakhurst have magical powers, and although Spirit’s hasn’t manifested itself yet, the administrators insist she has one. Spirit isn’t sure she cares. Devastated by the loss of her family, she finds comfort with a group of friends: Burke Hallows, Lachlann Spears, Muirin Shae, and Adelaide Lake.

But something strange is going on at Oakhurst. Students start disappearing under mysterious circumstances, and the school seems to be trying to cover it up. Spirit and her friends must find out what’s happening—before one of them becomes the next victim…

Here is my teaser from page 113:

Spirit knew that one of the things Oakhurst was supposed to be teaching them was was what that section of the Oakhurst intraweb that talked about their curriculum called "genteel deportment" and Camilla called "fancy manners," and Spirit guessed that the Afternoon Tea thing meant that Doctor Ambrosius got to spend Quality Time with all of the students at least once a year.


When he wasn't turning them into mice, that was.

I am enjoying this story about orphans with magical powers.

In My Mailbox (July 11, 2010)

The weekly In My Mailbox post is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It is fun to see what everyone else gets in their mailboxes, shopping bags, and library visits. Click on the link to The Story Siren's site to see the rules and join in the fun.

 

I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the cool books everyone gets. You will discover lots of wonderful blogs and lots of books that you won't be able to live without.

While you are here, don't forget to sign up for my two contests. Need a new bookshelf? Enter my drawing to win a $60 gift certificate from CSN Stores.

Have you ever read books by Patricia C. Wrede? Enter my contest to win a set of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.

Both contests end on July 23.

I did manage to limit myself to only three new YA books this week but these were some I couldn't resist.

Legacies (Shadow Grail, No. 1) by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill is the first YA offering by this pair. I really enjoy a lot of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books which are more adult. I am also a big fan of Rosemary Edghill whether she is writing under that name or the name eluki bes shahar. 

In the wake of the accident that killed her family, Spirit White is spirited away to Oakhurst Academy, a combination school and orphanage in the middle of Montana. There she learns she is a legacy—not only to the school, which her parents also attended, but to magic.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman is a story about a girl who has an unusual job.

Elizabeth has a new job at an unusual library— a lending library of objects, not books. In a secret room in the basement lies the Grimm Collection. That’s where the librarians lock away powerful items straight out of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales: seven-league boots, a table that produces a feast at the blink of an eye, Snow White’s stepmother’s sinister mirror that talks in riddles.

Majix: Notes from a Serious Teen Witch by Douglas Rees.

What's a teen witch to do when she's stuck in the most unmagical high school in the universe? Create her own "majix." Take notes. And above all, avoid nasty classmates, heartless grown-ups and boys who may prove a little too distracting for a serious teen witch to handle….

These appeared in my mailbox this week. What showed up in yours?

Read-a-Like List about Werewolves

I am a big fan of books about werewolves and I have read some good ones recently. Here, in no particular order, are some books about werewolves that I enjoyed.

13 to Life by Shannon Delany -

Everything about Jessie Gillmansen’s life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing.  Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she’s about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent—he’s a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie’s small town.  It seems change is the one thing Jessie can’t avoid…

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it.  That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.


But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.


But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped?

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.


Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Torn between two destinies?


Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf.\


As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?.

Changeling by Steve Feasey

Trey thought he was an ordinary teenager. Then he meets a mysterious stranger, Lucien Charron - luminously pale, oddly powerful, with eyes that seem flecked with fire and skin that blisters in sunlight. Somehow Trey finds himself in a luxury London penthouse, like a Bond villain's lair. It's the heart of a sinister empire, built on the powers of the netherworld - werewolves, vampires, sorcerers, and djinns. And Trey himself has a power that's roaring to break free. Is he a boy or is he a beast?

The Crescent by Jordan Deen

Becoming a werewolf is not an option for seventeen-year-old Lacey Quinn, but death can be a strong motivator.   Lacey is so focused on her future that everyday life has passed her by. Counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday, Lacey is almost home free. But when she falls for the mysterious Alex Morris, she lands in the middle of an ancient war between two enemy wolf packs. Tempting dreams, tantalizing lies and a dangerous love triangle ensues leaving Lacey heartbroken and confused. Lacey's fate rests in the hands of Alex and Brandon, but both are pulling her strings for their own agendas. Even as she slips further into the dark world of werewolves, Lacey struggles to find the truth and save the only family she's ever know.

I also bought these but haven't had a chance to read them yet.

Changeling: Blood Wolf by Steve Feasey

Trey thought he was the only one. It was a lie. The last hereditary werewolf has found his pack - and they're vicious, bloodthirsty, and truly wild. Trey has had enough of vampires, demons and sorcerors. He needs to get in touch with his real family - the ones with fur, fangs and killer instincts. But the wolf pack howling at the moon in Canada is not what he expected. And without the protection of de-fanged vampire and demon-hunter Lucien Charron, the family secret is more dangerous than he ever knew. Trey's out of control. Can the werewolf be tamed?

Changeling: Dark Moon by Steve Feasey

Fourteen-year-old werewolf Trey is getting more powerful by the day. But can he control his powers - or will they bite back? Trey is sent on a dangerous mission to Iceland, where he must infiltrate the evil empire of the vampire Caliban. Trey's abilities are tested to the max, challenged by a rage he cannot regulate and a dark angel with looks that kill. Lucien Charon, Trey's mentor, lies in a coma in London, Trey is his only hope for survival. But the Netherworld is intent on destruction and Trey's about to face his nemesis...

Dark Guardian #1: Moonlight by Rachel Hawthorne

I see him and know what this turmoil inside of me means: He's the one. My forever.


Kayla is the nature lover, the all-American beauty who can't understand why she's so drawn to distant, brooding Lucas. Adopted as a young child, she has no way of knowing that she's inherited a terrifying—and thrilling—gene that will change her life forever.


Lucas is dangerous, gorgeous . . . and a werewolf. As leader of the Dark Guardians, shape-shifters who gather deep within the state park, he has sworn to protect his pack. But when Lucas finds his true soul mate, his love could put them all in harm's way.


As Lucas and Kayla struggle with their feelings for each other, a greater danger lurks: Humans have discovered the Dark Guardians and are planning their destruction. Kayla must choose between the life she knows and the love she feels certain is her destiny.

In fact, I also have books 2-4 in the Dark Guardians series too.


Have I missed any great werewolf books? Please let me know in the comments.