Author: Cath Crowley

Pages: 272

Rating: 4-stars (Loved it)

Random Quote: “I didn’t know about the tents,”

*WARNING: Some Spoilers!*

Charlie and Rose are two very different people living in two very different worlds. But each year, on her school vacation, Charlie leads to visit and stay with her grandparents, who live right next door to Rose. Unfortunately, Charlie’s grandmother has passed away and this is her first visit without her. Every time she has come to visit, Rose and her friends have ignored her and made no attempts to be friendly, except for Dave. Now, Rose seems to want to be friends and Charlie isn’t sure why, but she isn’t complaining. She finds herself becoming friends with Rose, and eventually, even with Rose’s boyfriend Luke. Her and Dave, will, they seem to be becoming more then friends.

Rose has never wanted to hang out with Charlie before, but now that she has been accepted into a science school in the city, where Charlie lives, she wants something from her. Her parents won’t let her go to the school, but Rose is hoping that she can live with Charlie and get to go to the school of her dreams. She just wants to get out of this small town before she gets trapped there like her mother. Unfortunately, Charlie finds out about the motives behind her friendship and wants nothing to do with her. Will she be able to fix things?

This book was definitely not what I was expecting…it was so much more! I enjoyed every moment of this book. The only thing that surprised me was that Charlie still spoke to her dead mother and grandmother, as if they were there. It made the book unique.  At times I didn’t like Luke, but Dave and Charlie were perfect and I was definitely glad that they got together in the end. Rose definitely grew on me by the end, although there were a few times I wasn’t crazy about her. All the characters went together perfectly and played off of each other really well I would definitely recommend this book!

Author: Susan McBride

Pages: 352

Rating: 4-stars (Loved it!)

Random Quote: “You heard about the murder, huh? Did ya see me on TV by any chance?”

Andy Kendricks, debutante dropout and website designer has left her life of luxury and has gone off on her own and she is loving it. After years of not seeing her, she finds out that her good friend Molly has been accused of killing her boss.  The only suspect, Molly is in a lot of trouble and hopes that Andy can help her. As Andy sets off on the travel to find out who really committed the murder, she must go undercover at the restaurant where Molly worked. Unfortunately, a place called “Jugs” is not really Andy’s idea of an ideal job. As she learns more in more, she may find herself in more trouble then she bargained for. Will her mother and Molly’s cute attorney be able to help her?

The first book in Susan McBride’s Debutante Drop-Out series has definitely got me hooked! I LOVE Andy and her mother Cissy. As Andy works to solve a murder I fell more and more in love with her character and I can’t wait to read more! I would recommend this to EVERYONE!

The other author of the Miracle Girls series, May Vanderbilt had just as much to say as Anne! May graduated from Baylor University and has an MA in Fiction from Johns Hopkins. Here is what she had to

BTB: Has writing always been a passion of yours?

May:Always. Some of my earliest memories involve writing little stories by the closet light when I was supposed to be asleep in bed.

BTB: If you weren’t writing, what do you think you would be doing?

May: Like Anne, I have a day job and I love it. I help my company give back to the local community and take good care of the earth. Truthfully, writing is the only thing I ever dreamed of doing—but being a professional do-gooder is a dream come true for me.

BTB: Where/How did the Miracle Girls series begin?

May: I’m giving Anne all the credit for this one. She read a magazine called Sweet Sixteen, and they often featured incredible stories of teens who miraculously survived near-death experiences. From that small idea, our four main characters began to take shape and soon the series seemed to be writing itself.

BTB: Which of the girls most resembles what you were like in high school?

May: Riley, no doubt about it. I am blonde and was a cheerleader for six years, but like Riley, I wasn’t that caught up in it. I was in the “nerd program” at my high school, I was a total goody two shoes, and spent my days dreaming of when I would graduate and leave my small town far behind. Now I wish I could go back and tell my younger self, Enjoy today! Tomorrow will come soon enough.

BTB: Did you ever find yourself in detention as a teen?

May:My parents were way stricter than my school so detention was never really a concern. However, I was once grounded for NINE WEEKS for getting a B on my report card. And during junior year I got in a fender bender in the Subway parking lot and had to spend the whole summer working at my dad’s company to pay him back for the repairs. Whoops!

BTB: What messages and life lessons do you hope your readers will walk away with after reading this series?

May: There are so many lessons I hope they learn. We tried to make each Miracle Girl very different and show her dealing with her own set of pressures. From Ana, you can learn how to be a strong leader and that bending the truth can catch up with you. From Christine, you can learn that someday, somehow healing will come. From Zoe, you’ll see that being an adult is harder than it looks. And from Riley, you’ll come to understand that sometimes finding your way in the world is a rocky path.

BTB: What has it been like working with Anne- how is it working as a team as opposed to working solo?

May: Working with Anne is amazing. I have always felt she makes me a stronger writer and that the writing process goes faster when you have someone to bounce ideas off of. Writing solo is like fumbling in the dark much of the time. When you’re working together, you light the way forward for each other.

BTB: What are you currently working on? Any new books in 2010?

May: Love Will Keep Us Together publishes in April 2010 and I can’t wait. It’s finally Riley’s turn to tell the story.

And beyond that, I’m working on relaxing and seeing a bit of the world. At the end of last year, I took a volunteer vacation to Peru. We lived with poor children from the surrounding villages and it changed my life. I’m hoping to take another volunteer vacation this year, but first, I have to decide what corner of the world I want to give back in. There’s so much need.

To learn more about May Vanderbilt and Anne Dayton, be sure to check out their website!

*Interview questions by Jessica Fisher and Meagan Anderson

Author: Courtney Summers

Pages: 256 pages

Rating: 4-stars (Loved it!)

Random Quote: “”I ruin lives-I get it,” I say. “I don’t need to be told over and over and over. “”

Regina used to be one of the most popular girls in school and part of the “Fearsome Fivesome.” She was feared and revered by all of the students at her high school. Along with the other girls in the clique, she made the lives of many people completely miserable. Unfortunately, her time at the top has come to an end.

After rumors start to circulate about her and her best friends boyfriend, Regina finds herself being “frozen out” of the group. Her old friends are out for revenge and they manage to turn the entire school against her. Regina desperately tries to tell her friends the real story, but no one will believe her. The only person who will even give her the time of day is Michael, a boy who she herself had victimized. Unfortunately, Michael seems to simply enjoy watching her suffer, but will that change?

This book was great from beginning to end. Having read “Cracked up to Be” I assumed that I would love this book as well and I was right! Regina is a great character and I definitely found myself feeling really sorry for her. The way her friends treated her really bugged me and I was even really annoyed with how Michael treated her at first, even though she did deserve it. The book has some great twists in it and was extremely easy to get into. I would definitely recommend it to everyone!

*This book was received before December 1st, 2009. It was sent by the publisher in order to be reviewed. By the Book Reviews was in no way compensated for this review. The views expressed here are strictly those of By the Book Reviews and are not influenced by any outside sources.

Author: Zoey Dean

Pages: 295

Rating: 5-star (Must-Read!)