1. THE SOMEDAY BIRDS by Sally J. Pla Contemporary MG at its finest, this heart-breaking book has one of the sweetest MCs I've encountered in a while. A must-read for birders and MG lovers alike.
2. LOVE À LA MODE by Kate Stephanie Strohm If I were an agent, I would have pitched this book as ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS meets Top Chef. Of course, I would have had to pitch it AFTER reading it at once and e-mailing Ms. Strohm to offer her representation, but I would have done just that, because I loved it that much.
3. THE DARKDEEP by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs I don't generally read horror, MG or otherwise, but when I do, I read the stuff written for ten- to twelve-year-olds:) This one held my interest, though I wished the kids had learned more about the Darkdeep's origins. Maybe they will in the sequel...
4. ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME by Roshani Chokshi This one reminded me of Sayantani DasGupta's THE SERPENT'S SECRET (though the characters in this one spent more time in the real world). Other readers have reported that the plotting in both books feels kind of random and haphazard, but I don't really know enough about Indian storytelling to make that kind of judgment call. Not that my reluctant reader cares. I passed the book to him as soon as I was done with it, and the first chapter reeled him in. He's been learning about Greek and Roman mythology in school, so this is a nice complement.
5. CHECK ME OUT by Becca Wilhite Though this book was billed as sweet romance, I might have liked it a lot more if they'd made the MC younger and just billed it as YA. Her voice read really young to me, and she came across as immature.
6. DANCE OF THIEVES by Mary E. Pearson I ADORED this book. Honestly, I could probably gush for several paragraphs (at least), but I'll say just this instead: the characters' goals were so well-drawn and so at odds with one another that, when one of the MCs was faced with a terrible choice, I had no idea how the scene was going to play out because I couldn't picture her NOT making either decision.
7. THE SECRET OF THE INDIA ORCHID by Nancy Campbell Allen Part historical romance, part Mission: Impossible-style thriller, this book was kind of a departure for the author and the publisher. Though I applaud Ms. Allen for thinking outside the box, I often found myself wishing we could focus on the romance OR the hunt for
And that's it from me! What have you been reading lately? Anything I need to add to the stack of books on my nightstand?
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