CONFESSIONS OF THE SULLIVAN SISTERS

Here is the one thing I didn't like about this book - the cover. Those three glammy girls are not how I pictured sensible Norrie, hard-headed Jane and sweet, sad Sassy. But other than the cover photo, I loved everything about it from the slightly confusing first chapter to the horribly perfect denouement.

I meant to read Standiford's HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT and never finished it, but now I am going back, because she can write. These girls all had very distinct voices and their stories were gripping. 

I don't want to give too much away other than to say that there is a lot to love about this book.  Also I feel compelled at this point out that this is not a book review blog and the only reason I am writing it is to remind my old brain of what I have read. So just trust me, the less I say about a book (other than raving about how much I love it) the more likely I am to remember it because it was awesome.

And this was awesome, so go read it.

THE NAME OF THE STAR by Maureen Johnson

Why I see from the newer cover to the left that this is the first in a series. Frankly, I am thrilled because I just loved this book!

I should be pissed, because I chewed off all my fingernails reading it. Had I known it was going to be a series I could have relaxed a little knowing that my new best friend Rory would be fine. And really, is Maureen Johnson going to kill her heroine? This isn't GAME OF THRONES...

But back to the subject at hand - the awesomeness of this book.  It was funny, scary, a little romantic and it even had a few surprises. A nice group of friends and apparently future co-workers.

I knew nothing about Rory and the Ripper before I started the book. I commend the person who wrote the jacket copy because they made me want to read the book immediately without ruining any of the well paced surprises. I had an inkling about a few things but I had the pleasure of being proved right rather than waiting for the spoilers I had (not!) already read to be proved true.

I am pretty sure this book will be huge. It is certainly going to be on the BHS summer reading list next year if it is out in paperback in time. My only complaint is the cover - the gray wispy guy in the back is far too cute to be the baddie and the sleeping/dead girl in the foreground is too young, pretty and un-disembowled to be one of the victims, and too still to be Rory. I supposed it could be (spoiler!)  the girl who is hit with a lamp, but I imagine she would be a bit bloody-headed. It is an attractive, evocative cover, but not really indicative of what the book contains.

Well done, Maureen Johnson. I believe you will be the new summer reading record holder. 13 LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPES year one and BERMUDEZ TRIANGLE year two! You have left Gail Giles, David Levithan, and Jonathan Krakauer in your dust!

Plenty to love at the PSATs

Once again, standardized testing has been very, very good to me. Of course the PSATs are much shorter than the SATs so I only had 3 hours to read so I read very little. But what I read was terrific. Even the ones I expected to hate!

I am not going to go into much detail because, frankly, I don't have a lot to go on. Suffice to say, these are all books that I will be coming back to once I purchase them for the library, which I intend to do if the PTSO gives me some dollars. Fingers crossed!