Jessica Blank does a great job portraying life on the streets in her book, Almost Home. In this book, seven teens share their stories and experiences on the street and talk about how the got there.
Eeyore is just twelve years old when she runs away from home. Hiding a secret of awful things happening in her privileged home, she is also forced to deal with embarrassment and torture at school. After being humiliated by some girls in the parking lot she meets Tracy. Tracy takes Eeyore under her wing and lets her hang out with her. But Eeyore soon finds herself without Tracy and running with a new crowd, Critter and Squid. Squid is the protector of them all and is trying to make them into their own little street family. When they meet up with Rusty, who ran away to LA to be with his teacher, they form a strong bond together. Then comes Scabius, who creates a little friction in the group and quickly becomes Critter’s best friend and sending Eeyore fleeing. When Tracy pops into the picture, Critter quickly dismisses Scabius for her, claiming that he is in love. The last one on the scene, Laura, quickly bonds with Tracy and attempts to take her away from all the bad.
Tracy is the link that holds all these kids together. She has relationships with each of them and often has to take care of one of them. She is the most damaged from being on the streets but in the end, she helps Eeyore overcome her fears and go back to her home, determined to tell her father the secret she has been hiding.
This book is great for anyone ages 16 and older.
Marta Acosta does a fantastic job with her book, Midnight Brunch, the sequel to Happy Hour at Casa Dracula. This book is as thrilling as the first and is great for anyone 18+.
After all that Milagro De Los Santos has gone through, she is finally practically back to normal and living happily with her boyfriend and his family. Until his parents and several other not so accepting family members come to town. When she is left out of the naming ceremony of Sam and Winnie’s daughter, she sneaks a peak anyway and is surprised by what she sees. It is at that moment that she realizes that the family is and will probably always keep secrets from her. As she deals with the fact that her boyfriend’s mom hates her and is trying desperately to break them up she has a huge fight with her boyfriend, right as he is about to leave on a humanitarian business trip.
With Oswald gone, she has no one to be her date for her former roommates wedding, but her former lover, Ian, quickly volunteers and they head off to the city. There, when Milagro tries to learn about vampire history, she ends up with more than she bargained for and flees.
Will Milagro be able to salvage her relationship with Oswald? Will she manage to stay out of harms way? You’ll have to read it to find out! All I have to say is that I hope there isn’t the last book in this intriguing series!
CosmoGirl does a great job bring 38 successful leaders together in this book that will help girls achieve their dreams! This book is great for girls of all ages!
Political action stars; TV, music and film leaders; business bigwigs; fashion and beauty icons;and true believers all share there stories and tips for you. Do you want to run your own company? A movie director? A journalist? Or even President of the United States? Well you can do it! When you are following your dreams you can achieve anything you want to! With secrets from: Christina Norman- president of MTV, Christiane Amanpour-CNN’s chief international correspondent, and Evelyn Lauder-the founder of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. These ladies are just three of the many inspiring people that share there words of wisdom and what worked for them with you.
If you can dream it, you can achieve it! With the help of these 38 successful leaders you can do anything you set your mind too!
In her second novel, Such a Girl, Karen Siplin does a great a fantastic job! This amazing book is a social commentary and a romantic comedy, things you don’t find together too often! This book is great for anyone 18 and older!
Kendall Stark is working a dead-end job and having an affair with a married man. As a telephone operator at a fancy New York hotel, she often finds herself eavesdropping on celebrity guests. Her life is simply ordinary and seemingly uneventful. Until the day that Jack checks into her hotel. After that, things will never be the same.
Nine years ago Kendall and Jack were in love. Unfortunately, her friends didn’t think that was good enough and told her to drop Jack because he was going nowhere fast. She broke his heart and now he is back to show her what she has missed out on. Jack is now the extremely wealthy owner of New England Brewery and it is clear that he has gone somewhere. His appearance back into her life forces Kendall to rethink her ideas on success, happiness, and love. She begins to fall for Jack again, until she realizes that he is already engaged!
Will Kendall and Jack be able to reclaim some of what they had or will he be unable to forgive her for breaking his heart? You’ll have to check it out yourself to find out!
Jane Mendle’s book, Better off Famous?, is a great book for girls 16 and older. It shows a side of fame that many people don’t always think about.
Annie is just your typical 16 year old girl. She loves to hang out with her friends and play violin. When she travels to New York to visit her aunt she has no idea that her whole life is about to change. After she is rejected by Juilliard, she is surprised to run into a casting director who thinks she will be perfect for his new show. When he finally manages to convince her that he is telling the truth, she agrees to audition and is surprised when she gets the part. At first she loves all the good attention she is getting, but when she starts to spend time with her wild and crazy co-star, Robin she starts to receive negative attention from the paparazzi.
As the constant attention and the perks of her new found fame start to get to Annie she begins a downward spiral. She shows up late to the set and never knows her lines and she misses her violin lessons with an instructor from Juilliard who has decided to give her a shot. When Annie seems to hit rock bottom she realizes that she is taking everything for granted and not staying true to who she really is.
Will Annie be able to recover after her fall from favor with the public? Be sure to check out this great book!
Marta Acosta does a spectacular job in her book, Happy Hour at Casa Dracula. This book is great for anyone 16 and older and is just the right mix of comedy, romance, and action to keep every reader captivated with each turn of the page!
Milagro de Los Santos, Ivy League grad and proud Latina, cant seem to find a man or even a place where she feels like she belongs. Then one night, when attending a party thrown by a client but for a man that she used to love, she meets a strange yet extremely attractive man, Oswald. When she leaves the party to talk to him in private she has no idea how much her life will change by the end of the night. After she is bitten while kissing him, she runs out and becomes ill. As she is finally starting to feel a bit better she is kidnapped by the man she used to love. After she is rescued by Oswald’s cousin she is taken back to their estate to recover.
It is there that she discovers how ill she really is. Oswald and his family along with others are modern day vampires. Milagro is shocked to find that many of her preconceived notions about vampires are false and that the family prefers to refer to themselves as having a genetic condition, not as vampires. So, not only is Milagro dealing with this illness, but she is also dealing with the fact that Sebastian, her former love is part of an organization know as the CACA. An organization that has set out to catch Oswald’s family and now are also after Milagro. As Milagro is forced into hiding, she finds herself falling for Oswald, who is engaged.
Will Milagro be able to keep her feelings for Oswald hidden from everyone? Will she be able to stay hidden from the CACA? You’ll have to read to find out!
Somer Flaherty and Jen Kollmer give a lot of great and quick beauty tips in their book, Girl in a Fix: Quick Beauty Solutions.Every girl has had a bad hair day or had to deal with waking up in the morning with a huge zit in the middle of their face. This book helps gives you tips using things that you can find in your own home and it also gives you away from home remedies to help you get that quick fix. This book is great for girls of all ages!
This book has helpful tips to fix any catastrophe! From split ends to stinky feet, there is a solution for you! Not only do they tell you easy solutions, but they tell all you curious girls out there why they actually work! I loved all of the tips, however I had a few favorites. One of those favorites dealt with creating smooth skin and the instructions were to add two cups of milk to your bath, soak for 30 minutes and then rinse off!
This book is great for any girl that wants quick, helpful, and inexpensive tips to deal with everyday and rare beauty issues! Its a must have for girls of all ages.
With winter and snow right around the corner, its the perfect time to curl up with a good book! Kissing Snowflakes, by Abby Sher, is the perfect book to read before or during any future winter snowstorms! This book is great for anyone ages 16 and older.
Sam Levy is sixteen and forced to spend her winter break with not only her older brother, but her father and his new wife on their honeymoon. Leaving behind her best friend,she unwillingly travels to a Vermont inn to do some skiing. However, Sam has every intention of staying indoors and off the slopes. When she finally caves in to her father and decides to go to the mountain she plans on spend all her time indoors, drinking hot cocoa. Half-way through the day, she decides to give skiing a try and that is when she meets Drew.
Drew, the hunky ski instructor knows all the right things to say to a sixteen year old girl in order to leave her infatuated. As Sam finds romance on the slopes, she may be missing true love right under her nose. Sam experiences her first real kiss with Drew and begins to fall for him, but slowly realizes that he is only after one thing, something that she is not quite ready to give.
As Sam struggles with her new stepmother, her best friend and confidant, Phoebe is avoiding her. Sam is left to deal with her family and love issues all on her own. Will she be able to make it through the vacation without falling apart? You’ll have to read it to find out!