Love Knots & Triangles

If you read a lot of YA fiction like I do, you'll start to notice that there are a lot of love triangles in YA lit.  It's a toss-up for many readers, they either live for love triangles or they detest them.  I can't remember when I started reading YA, I think it was in the early 2000's and I remember picking up Twilight, the then-new vampire novel by newcomer herself Stephanie Meyer.  I think pretty much everyone is familiar with the love triangle that happens in Twilight.  The Edward, Bella, Jacob combo was one that I became totally hooked on for several years I had to keep reading each novel in the series until it was done.  In the last book Breaking Dawn, I couldn't wait to find out which guy Bella picks.  I always had my favorite, yes I'm not gonna say who it is. Bella kept stringing us along for all four books and needless to say, I was not a happy camper in the end. Funny enough, many readers love this stuff, where I found myself pretty not too happy with the outcome, but of course I just keep reading and reading and making myself endure love triangles over and over again.  Sometimes I feel like the triangles even expand and turn into what I like to call a Love Knot.  There's so much going with these teen stories that we fall into the trap of reliving our own teen years just to compare.  So, why do we keep doing this to ourselves? Ultimately, it's about making choices and love triangles really show how hard it is to make the right choice.  

I am happy to share that love triangles in YA lit have been getting better and better over the years since Twilight. If you keep reading them I promise your opinion about love might improve overall.  Also, it is good to remember that sometimes love triangles have two really great guys, but one is always just a little sweeter.

Here is a Fun List of YA fiction that Features Love Triangles:

Mixed Feelings & Lost Love - Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

I checked out "Almost Perfect" by Brian Katcher almost by accident last week. I saw the book sitting on a cart and thought hmmmm this looks interesting. And it was interesting to say the least. My initial reaction after finishing the book was WOW! It was really amazing and very intense relationship wise. Here's a little tidbit to get you interested in this book. Logan is bummed that his girlfriend of three years cheated on him until he meets a new girl at school. Sage is fun, zany, and cute, but she has a very big secret. Sage finally tells Logan her secret, which is... that she is transgender, a boy transitioning to a girl. It may tear apart their budding romance, but it also may tear apart their true friendship forever unless Logan can overcome his guilt and fear. This is a really good book to read, but has a kind of sad ending. I won't give it away to you because I want you to read it for yourself! Go to your library and check out "Almost Perfect" and see for yourself.

Happy reading to you!

Mrs. Librarian Lady

Mixed Up Names, Holidays & Love

I absolutely loved this little novella! I read it on my Galaxy! It was so cute, funny, sweet and definitely got me ready for the holidays. I thought it was very adorable that the two main characters had the same name only flipped around Ty McKenzie and Mackenzie Tyler . This brought me closer to the characters and helped me to see that they really had something in common. Ty was super awesome and would be the guy that I would want my daughter to date and fall in love with, sweet, thoughtful and pretty cute. Kenzie was great because she helped to heal a bond that had been broken between Ty and his mom and that meant everything in the world to both of them. I love the holidays, but sometimes I feel like I can bogged down in all of the commercialism. This story helped me to get excited about decorating, shopping, baking, and even ice skating. It was short, but I don't really have a whole lot of time to read, so I really loved that too! I'm going to see if I can read some more from the ALL I WANT anthology.




Mrs. Librarian Lady is a cool cat who loves to read!

Best Anti-Love Movies According to Mrs. Librarian Lady

Best Anti-Love Movies - These movies will be sure to have you running away from love for sure!

If You Want a Good Cry on Valentine's Day

There are so many talented YA authors out right now and one of my favorites is Mr. John Green. Somehow he is able to capture the realism of teen life and emotions. I highly recommend his latest book "The Fault in Our Stars" and I think it would be a tremendously sad book to read just before Valentine's Day. I have to admit that from around chapter 24 and on I basically cried my eyes out while continuing to read and sob from time to time. This book is painfully sad and it pulls no punches in its terrible descriptions of late-stage cancer. At some points, readers may even wonder why, if pain and love are so inner connected that we should care to fall in love at all. However, the amazing John Green pulls it all together in the end and we realize that a person can learn so much from being in love, and that he or she will come out on the other side of a love experience a changed person.

What's Brewing in the Chemical Garden??

Last week I finished my fifth book from the YALSA Teens' Top Ten nominees and it's "Withe" by Lauren DeStefano. This book had so many elements that I love in YA sci-fi books. There's that distinct dystopic element where the world has turned into this really ugly place to live and humans are doing horrible things to each other. Then there's the love element that is brewing underneath all of the grossness that is going on that I totally love. In Wither you get all of this and more. After modern science turns every human into a genetic time bomb with men dying at age twenty-five and women dying at age twenty, girls are kidnapped and married off in order to repopulate the world. The main character is a teen girl named Rhine who gets kidnapped and married off to a rich man's son. She is being held captive with two other girls she calls her sister-wives and plots her escape daily. She meets Gabriel who has been in captive his whole life and something special begins to build between the two of them. The most interesting and scary part in this book is what is going on behind closed doors down in the basement that you will not believe!! And if you loved this book you have to continue reading the "Chemical Garden" series and read "Fever" it was completely and totally amazing!! Happy Reading! ♥ Mrs. Librarian Lady

Not Just Another Cyborg Story!

Debut author Marissa Meyer retells the classic story of Cinderella in a modern dystopian love story. It follows a teenage cyborg named Cinder and her unexpected romance with a human prince. Check out this review from Kidzworld:

The Epidemic

"Cinder, a teenage cyborg, remembers nothing about her life before age 11. Now she lives with her evil stepmother and two stepsisters who blame her for their father’s death. A plague has swept the city of New Beijing, and being a mechanic, Cinder works right in the heart of the city.
A Royal Sacrifice

The beloved Prince Kai - adored by all the young ladies in the country - is next in line for the throne. And now that his father has contracted the plague, it looks like his role as leader will begin prematurely. Unfortunately, his father is in the middle of negotiations with the Lunar Queen in the hopes of preventing a war. Now the negotiations way heavily on Kai’s shoulder as he must decide whether to marry the awful Queen, or face an impending war against the moon.
A Forbidden Love

Cinder and Prince Kai’s lives intertwine when the prince brings his broken android to her shop to be fixed. Her aloofness intrigues him and the more they interact, the more he finds himself falling for her. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know her secret: that she’s a cyborg. If Kai knew the truth, he’d be disgusted by his own advances.
Finding the Cure

As the plague rages on, Cinder discovers that she’s immune and hopes she can help Dr. Erland discover a cure in time to save her stepsister - the only member of her family who loves her.

The Bottom Line

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is an amazing story about love that comes in mysterious packages. It is so much more than just a Cinderella story. All of the characters are lovable and unforgettable."

Apocalyptic Dream Team

ALERT! I love this Book!! "Enclave" by Ann Aguirre 2011

"In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known."

I think this book would be a great movie!

Your Best & Worst Night Ever!

"I Love You Beth Cooper" by Larry Doyle 2007

This book is funny in a strange sadistic sort of way. It gives hope to those who go after what they really want and basically don't mind getting smacked in the eye, falling out of a window, almost ran over by a Hummer, losing their pants, and being bitten by a thousand mosquitoes just to be near the one that they adore. I would recommend this book to older teens 16+ that don't mind a few obscenities here and there. Doyle's writing is seriously hilarious and will have you laughing and snickering when some things are inappropriate, yet somehow still funny. I love this book because I can just hear sci fi nerds all over saying hurray for Denis Cooverman! Check out the movie on DVD too it's not too different than the book.

The Final Destiny of Love

“The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous and majorly hot plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, "The Fault in Our Stars" is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love. I hear there is already talk of making this book into a movie. One of my recommendations is to make sure that you are reading this book that you have a whole box of tissues nearby because the last quarter of the book is super emotional. I recommend this book to lovers of realistic fiction. It gets the most points I can give it for being dark,emotional,hopeful and stirring. Way to go John Green you did it again!!

Magical Mobsters in a Gloved World

I just have to tell you about a book I just finished the other night! It's called White Cat by Holly Black and it is the first book in a series called The Curse Workers. This book is so amazing that I just can't wait to read book #2 called Red Glove. Black is an incredible writer and she can really weave a story together with so much creativity and mystique. I am so excited about this series and am now a huge fan of Cassel Sharp the main character in this story. I hope that White Cat will someday be made into a movie because it would be an awesome movie!

White Cat by Holly Black (2010)

Seventeen-year-old Cassel Sharpe is the only one in his family who is not a curse worker, so he can't help but feel like he's not quite good enough. Curse work is illegal, which means anyone who can alter a person's emotions, luck, or memories with the touch of a hand is a criminal or scam artist -- just like every member of Cassel's family. He may not be a worker, but he's far from innocent. He can run a scam to rival any con artist, and he killed the love of his life, Lila, three years ago. One night, Cassel finds himself on a rooftop after dreaming about a white cat, and has absolutely no idea how he got there. Images of the cat continue to haunt him as Cassel begins to notice that his two brothers are being even more secretive than usual. Cassel runs scam after scam to get to the bottom of his brothers' odd behavior, only to discover a shocking secret about himself that changes everything. This discovery leads to many interesting reflections about how your memories shape the person you become, or the person you choose to believe that you are. The incredible story that unfolds in White Cat will remind you of that old saying "keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer"

Mockingjay is Amazingly Awesome!!

This is the best book ever! I just finished it today and I'm still reeling from the action, excitement and thrills of it all. I am a huge fan of the Hunger Games and I am sad that this is the last book in the series, but this book did it all for me. Katniss is an awesome character and I absolutely love her courage and drive in all three books. I don't want to give away the ending, but Mockingjay ended just the way that I wanted it to end. Collins is a brilliant writer and she had me going through so many different emotions in this story. I was laughing at jokes between Katniss and her friends and crying when my favorite characters were in trouble. Who will Katniss choose? Is it the rugged and woodsy Gale, or is it the thoughtful blue eyed Peeta? Well I can't tell you that, you will have to find out for yourself. If you haven't read this trilogy yet, I recommend that you go and get it right now and read it!! It is amazingly awesome!!

Gotta Love a Fire-Breathing Fairy For Sure

Firelight by Sophie Jordan Harper Teen, 2010

This book is smoldering hot! Jacinda is a fire-breathing draki, which means that she can manifest from her human form into a flame throwing fairy whenever she wants. When Jacinda takes a chance to go flying at night with her best friend, things turn to terror as draki hunters track them and try to kill them both. Jacinda hides in a cave and a handsome young man finds her, but does not give her away. In fear, Jacinda's mother decides to move away so that she and her sister Tamra can start a new life. As if you couldn't guess, Jacinda runs into the boy that saved her life and falls deeply and madly in love with him. This of course causes her great torment and pain because she knows that he and his family are draki hunters. Jordan does a fantastic job painting a colorful description of Jacinda's transformation into draki form and the smokin hot chemistry between her the adorable Will.

Dystopia in Space

Here's another addition to my favorite genre of dystopic science fiction. Across the Universe is such a good read and very very intriguing and suspenseful. Can you imagine you and your family being cryogenically frozen because Earth is in bad shaped and then loaded on to a space craft to travel 300 years to a new planet and then waking up to find out that you never made it to the new planet? Plus your family is still frozen and life on the ship is more oppressive than the Nazi regime. This book is a must read for all you mega dystopia fans just like me. Dystopia in Space rules!!!

Across the Universe by Beth Revis 2011

A cryogenically frozen 17 year old girl named Amy is thawed out and meets and falls for Elder the future ruler of the space craft she is aboard called the Godspeed. The ship is headed for a new planet and houses the remaining humans from Earth. No one knows that the ship is several hundred years off schedule and may never even make it to the new world because they are under the influence of a heinous and tyrannical ruler who idolizes Adolph Hitler. Rivas' idea of humans freezing themselves and taking a 300 hundred year space flight to a new planet was very intruiging, but also very creepy. The thought of being frozen and with thoughts and dreams flowing during the span of the flight time sounds horrendous. After Amy is unfrozen the story begins to unfold that things did not go exactly as the humans had planned when concocting the journey to a new world. Amy and Elder begin to unfold the truth, which in turn will change both of their lives forever. This book is great because it really has that "what if?" factor that keeps you reading to find out what really happened to change the course of the Godspeed.

Future-licious Fan in the House!

This week I am very excited to talk about one of my favorite sub-genres which is apocalyptic/dystopic science fiction. I don't know why, but I have always been a sucker for a good future gone bad story. I tend to stay away from the zombie apocalyptic stories, but last spring I found myself drawn to Carrie Ryan's series that started with The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Usually zombies make me run the other way, but I stuck with it and read all three in the series. I have to say that I really liked the series and will continue to read anything that Ms. Ryan releases. Lately, I have found that there are some really good books out there that focus on the plight of our future and what will happen to all of mankind. Sometimes these books make think to myself, what would it be like if life was really like this? I think these kinds of books are really good for keeping young adult readers on their toes and many of the books have really exciting and thoughtful storylines. I definitley love a twisting and turning futuristic plot that leaves you wanting more when the book is done!

"In a world gone mad, where humans are treated as slaves, and the planet is now ruled by intelligent apes, Galen, Virdon and Burke must find a way to return to Earth in their own time, or be doomed to spend their lives on the run from the murderous apes…" Planet of the Apes, 1975

I hope you enjoy my apocalyptic/dystopic sci fi picks this week!

Love to read,

Mrs. Librarian Lady

Matched by Ally Condie (Dutton Juvenile, 2010)

Set in a dystopian future, Matched tells the story of Cassia, a seventeen year old girl who is about to be matched with her future husband. During her Match Banquet, Cassia is matched with her best friend, Xander which is a rare outcome that hardly ever happens in the Society. However, Cassia is very relieved because Xander is her best friend. While viewing her Matched files of Xander, Cassia sees her handsome neighbor Ky's face. She knows she is supposed to be matched with Xander, but in her mind she begins to question who is really her true match. A Society official has told her not to worry about Ky and that it was a mistake, or rather a trick that someone played on her. Cassia lives in a world where people are watched at all times and individuality is not allowed. What will Cassia do when she realizes that her heart is going to lead her on a journey of love and she must break the rules of the Society?

I love love loved this book! It was an amazing rendition of a world gone bad where higher up officials take a person’s life and identity away by using control. The main character Cassia was wonderfully engaging and I really connected with her plight of having to choose between doing what is right according to the Society, or doing what her heart told her was right in choosing her soul mate. Condie did a fantastic job portraying a dystopiian socieity where everyone was basically brainwashed and did what they were told. The story was a bit familiar and reminded me of Lois Lowry's The Giver, but that is ok, because Condie went the extra mile and filled this novel up with excellent characters and a truly corrupt and distorted view of the Society in control. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good romance with a fateful twist.

Gone by Michael Grant (Harper Teen, 2008)

The kids of Perdido Beach suddenly find themselves alone as each adult in their community poofs out of sight right before their very eyes. It’s as if everyone over the age 14 has disappeared without a trace. Sam is an everyday average kid who likes to surf with his best friend Quinn, but now those days are over. Immediate chaos has broken out because children are fending for themselves and they don’t know what to do. Most of the kids want Sam to lead them because he was a hero when he was younger and saved a school bus from crashing over a cliff. Sam is really reluctant to take over the role as leader because he knows it is a great responsibility. Now his secret crush Astrid the smart girl has come to him for help in finding her autistic brother and Sam is set on helping her. Caine and Diana from Coates Academy roll into town and start to set down some rules and suddenly the bullies find that this is their chance to do some damage. Secretly Sam hides a supernatural power that could kill everyone if he lets the fire escape from his hands. Strangely enough, Sam’s not the only one with supernatural powers. As things heat up there will be fights to the death, talking coyotes, an evil darkness, and creepy evil arms that will keep you turning the pages on this one. I will continue to read this incredible apocalyptic series, or maybe as you read you might find it may not even be apocalyptic but that evil has tipped the balance and is messing with your mind!

The Real Deal

This week’s featured genre is realistic fiction. What I find interesting is that I am a huge fantasy lover and at the same time I love to read realistic stories as well. I feel that young adult realistic fiction has a lot to offer teens today because many of the topics focus on the issues that they are going through at the time. Some of the books that I have read lately have touched on suicide, depression, drug addiction, and child abuse. These issues may not come up in the average teens daily lives, but I think that working with teens has brought me a lot of insight on how they think and deal with things and it can be very helpful for them to read fictional stories that help them to understand that the world is a very big place and they are going to encounter so many different issues as they learn and grow and get older. With that said, realistic fiction can sometimes be a downer, but as with all things in life it has its ups and downs, which makes for pretty great reading most of the time. So here are a few of my favorites and I highly recommend that you read them because they are awesome!

"A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it."

~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958

As always, Happy Reading To You!

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (2006) Michael Printz Award Honor 2007

What can I say about this book? Well, for starters, it is brilliant and funny and just plain amazing! John Green has a fantastic way of weaving humor into the mundane world and does it with such style that reading this book feels like watching a movie or taking a ride on a Ferris wheel. Colin Singleton is a child prodigy who never made it to a full blown genius and boy that saddens him. He loves to make anagrams and can anagram his ass off in any given situation. Alas, poor Colin has girl issues and he just can't seem to get over the break up with his girlfriend Katherine. Oh and by the way, she is the 19th Katherine that he has gone out with over the course of his 17 year life.
The story just keeps getting funnier and funnier and his best friend Hasan is hilarious too with his smart quips and snide namecalling. The two are always badgering each other with a barrage of insults, but of course there are some compliments in there somewhere I just know it. The two decide to go on a road trip and by golly they end up in some back woods town in Tennessee called Gutshot, and it's there that they meet the adorable Lindsey Lee Wells. From there on things just get funnier because Lindsey has a boyfriend named Colin who the guys nickname TOC which stand for "the other Colin" and Colin decides to come up with a theorem for why he has been dumped by so many Katherines. This lively coming of age tale is wonderfully written and is quite spunky and full of life. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a good book to read that is totally engaging and will have you laughing and crying and cheering in the end for Colin Singleton and his friends. An Abundance of Katherines was also a 2007 Michael Printz Award Honor Book.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan (2010)

I’m gonna start this out by saying that John Green is totally brilliant! Ah, but you knew I was going to say that right? Of course, I also have to give props to David Levithan for this one too. This is one of the few novels written in alternating points of view that I totally loved because it just works. This book is definitely a wild ride for anyone who reads this book. The story is told in two different voices and these voices are two different characters both named Will Grayson.

Even though the book is titled after these two, one thing for sure is that the whole story focuses around the biggest person of all in the story and that is the magnanimous Tiny Cooper. Tiny is such a fun, spontaneous, and joyous young man, and a sheer force of love and power to be reckoned with. That is why both Will Grayson’s find him so irresistible. The first Will Grayson is Tiny’s best friend and confidant, the other is his love interest. By a strange chance meeting the first Will Grayson meets the other in a seedy porn shop called Frenchie’s. This chance meeting alters both of their lives forever. Add to the mix, Tiny’s amazing and genius life story, which is a musical that is written, directed, and produced by none other than Tiny himself. Will Grayson, Will Grayson is an inspirational tale that is creatively written, seductively cool, and so uncontrollably witty you’ll find yourself crying at times and laughing out loud uncontrollably. A must read for anyone that loves a good story!

Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams (Simon & Schuster, 2010)

Sisters Lizzie and Hope are only one year apart and best friends until Lizzie suddenly tries to end her life. Hope can’t understand why Lizzie would do such a thing and their mother has never paid much attention to either of them. Hope had been having awful nightmares which she really felt like she was awake and Lizzie had been having crying fits for a long time before she tried to kill herself. What does all of this mean? Hope must figure out the puzzle while Lizzie wastes away in a mental institution, and unravel the secrets that will lead her to save her sister. Written in verse, Williams has created a riveting story that is very edgy and provocative!
This novel caught my attention straight away as it is completely written in verse. It is extremely emotional and written very tastefully. The glimpses we as the reader get into Hope’s life are incredible and as I read I became overwrought with grief for her and her sister. This book reminded me that there are so many children out there being abused even by their own parents, which is really very tragic.
I would recommend this book to older teens that enjoy reading realistic fiction on various life issues. It is a fairly fast read because reading the verses goes a lot faster than regular text. I think this book is for older teens because of the nature of the situations involved in the story and the seriousness of suicide and sexual abuse.

Faerie Fantastical Delights!

Since it's summertime I thought I would focus each week on different types of genres that are near and dear to my heart. The first genre I always seem to be drawn to is fantasy. As far back as I can remember I have loved to dive into fantasy books and immerse myself in made up lands and fairy tale characters. The greatest thing of all about fantasy is that it can be entirely made up and the writer's imagination can create so many twists and turns and there are so many different possibilities. My love for fantasy almost never breaks my heart, except for last week when I watching the HBO series Game of Thrones and one of my beloved favorite characters was executed. Well, that almost never happens in YA fantasy novels and you can usually be sure that your hero or heroine will survive even the most heinous villain or death and eventually make a come back from any horrible devastation. This week I will focus on YA fantasy novels that feature one of my favorite elements and that is faeries. Yes it's true I am a sucker for anything that has to do with faeries. It must be my English lineage because after studying about the origins of faeries I learned that they have a long standing history in England and Ireland. I actually wrote my master's thesis on one of the most notorious faeries of all time called Morgan Le Fay. She stems from the legend of King Arthur and has been manipulated and molded through time to be a bad faerie. Although, she actually was not all bad in many different stories and legends. I will talk more about Morgan later and offer some titles that feature her up front and center.

I hope you like my faerie fantasy picks this week!

Mrs. Librarian Lady

Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner (Random House, 2009)

Review: Life is dark and dreadful after a war between humans and faeries has left the United States in a state of disarray. On a dark and scary night Liza sees her baby sister born and then cast out of the house by her father because she is pale and transparent like a faerie. The baby dies and Liza is haunted by her cries in the night. After her mother disappears, Liza finds that she may have some special qualities that even her father never knew of. She must seek out the place where the faerie wars began to discover the truth about her family and her own self. She must stay strong and endure whatever hatred or fear that comes her way in order to heal the break that the country has suffered from such a disastrous war. I highly recommend this book for post apocalyptic fans and faerie faith lovers as well.

I really like this book a lot for its originality and interesting plot. It reminded me of how big apocalyptic stories are right now and how the faerie world can sometimes be taken for granted as docile, but in reality their origin may be more devious or aggressive than we think. I loved the mixture of humans living in a world with faeries with a touch of violence and deep internal pain. This is Simner’s first novel and I hope to read more of her work in the future.

Sleepless by Cyn Balog (Delacorte Press, 2010)

Eron DeMarchelle is a sandman, a supernatural faerie like being whose entire purpose is to soothe his human charges to sleep. Though he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn't encouraged to do so. After all, becoming too involved in one human's life could prevent him from helping others get their needed rest. But he can't deny that he feels something for Julia, a complex girl with blazing red hair and heartrending dreams. Suddenly, her boyfriend dies in a car accident and Eron can tell from her dreams that she is holding all of her emotions inside. Eron was human once too, a long- long time ago, and he remembers how love broke his heart. In the past, Eron has gone above and beyond to protect Julia from danger. Now there’s seems to be a new danger that threatens Julia’s life and Eron must decide if he can help her this time or not. His time as a sandman is coming to a close, and his replacement (you won’t believe who it is!) doesn't seem to care about the job like Eron does. As he transitions back and forth from human to sandman, Eron tries to save Julia, but after they've become human again, sandmen are not supposed to have contact with their charges. Eron knows that he will always love Julia. Should he risk it all for a chance to be with the girl he loves? Cyn Balog's Sleepless it witty with faerie fantastic delights and supernatural romance! Teen girls will adore Eron and his story of love and loss and how he fights to protect the girl he loves.

Puddlejumpers by Mark Jean and Christopher Carlson (Hyperion, 2008)

Review: Ernie Banks was named after the legendary Chicago Cubs shortstop because he was left on the doorstep of the Lakeside Home for Boys when he was three years old. All he had on him was an old Ernie Banks baseball card, a crystal acorn strung on a string around his neck and a strange spiral birthmark on the bottom of his right foot. Now at age thirteen, he is a troubled kid living in an orphanage with mean kids and a super mean head mistress. Ernie is about to be sent to the juvenile detention center, but then he is offered a chance to spend three weeks working on a farm working for Russ Frazier. When Ernie arrives he is drawn into a grand adventure that might finally lead him home. He becomes involved in solving the mystery around the kidnapping of the Frazier’s baby years earlier. Ernie joins together with Joey, a local girl to investigate clues that lead them on a dangerous journey into a forbidden world of dark secrets, magic puddles, and the cavernous underground kingdom of the tiny water faeries called the Puddlejumpers with whom Ernie has a strange connection.

This book is very engaging and exciting at the same time. Ernie starts out as a juvenile delinquent and his plight of living in a terrible orphanage is very believable. With a stroke of luck he is sent to a farm and it is there that he realizes that he must become a hero. The plot thickens as this story twists and mutates into a darker tale as it moves deep within the ground to the water faerie world. This is when the fantasy kicks in, because this is where the Puddlejumpers live and they need to be freed. Ernie is their only hope, and with this intriguing plot the reader is held steadily by an intense battle between good and evil. Ernie's intensity is deeply felt by reading about his journey of self-discovery and it is also triumphant when Ernie finds his way back to his true home.