The F*** It List

High School Fiction

G/M  Halpern, Julie.  The F*** It List.  Feiwel, 2013.  247p.  978-1-250-02565-4.  16.99.

It’s Alex’s senior year of high school and after a rough summer where her father died and her best friend slept with her boyfriend, she’s ready to forgive and forget. But on the first day of school, she finds out that Becca (the best friend) has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Becca convinces Alex to help her fulfill her bucket list, since she won’t be able to complete everything on it herself. The whole year turns into doing crazy things off the bucket list, falling in love with a boy and dealing with a sick best friend all while coping with the major loss in her own family. Not a lot happens in this novel, but the major messages of learning to grieve, coping with the unexpected and first love make it a decent realistic fiction option. The multiple pop culture references, bad language and graphic sexuality make this book for older teens only. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial Branch Library

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

High School Fiction

G/A. Armentrout, Jennifer L. White Hot Kiss. HarlequinTEEN, 2014. 382p. 978-0-373-21110-4. $9.99.

Layla is half demon and half gargoyle.  She feels as though she doesn't fit in anywhere. Her human friends don't know that she's really not human.  She can't shape shift like the other gargoyles or Wardens. And she constantly has to deal with her demon half that craves the stealing of souls.  She's lived in relative safety all her life with an adopted Warden family, but now that she's seventeen, the number of demons coming topside has skyrocketed and too many have been hunting Layla. She meets Roth, a high level demon who claims he's there to protect her.  Layla doesn't believe him; demons are the enemy after all.  Yet he's saved her life more than once.  Roth challenges her perception of demons in general and gets her to take a closer look at them, at herself, and even at him.  Roth is nothing like Zayne, the Warden she's been in love with forever, but who only looks at her as just a younger sister.  While Roth may be a vain and sarcastic demon, he's not evil.  There's more to him than what she initially assumed, and as her distrust of him lessens, her feelings and attraction to Roth grows.  With the demon threat against her life growing, Layla decides that she can't just stay at home.  She and Roth strike a bargain to work together discover the demon who's after her and maybe together they can stop what is sure to be the coming apocalypse if they fail. 

FINDING BIGFOOT

ADULT/YA NONFICTION

G/A  Brockenbrough, Martha.  Finding Bigfoot.  Feiwel, 2013.  978-1-250-04090-9.  14.99.  An absolute, unequivocal truth about the existence of an Asiatic yeti/abominable snowman  or  a  North American sasquatch/bigfoot has not yet been scientifically proven.  Fascination and interest in these "creatures," however, are supported by documented sightings, noises, and trackings.  And there's an ongoing Animal Planet documentary program with which this folio size book is affiliated.  Color tone pages form a backdrop for the text plus photos and illustrations, recipes, jokes, a question/answer section plus lists of movie titles and websites.  Welcome to an inviting source of information for everyone -- for those who believe, for those who doubt and for those who are simply curious.  
E.M. Roublow

Cute Girl Network

New Adult Graphic Novel

G/M  Means, Greg.  The Cute Girl Network.  First Second, 2013. 179p.  978-1-59643-751-7.  17.99.

When Jane falls off her skateboard in the street, the cute, goofy, soup cart salesman, Jack, helps her to her feet. After just a few dates with Jack, Jane is smitten. He’s forgetful and weird, but he’s sweet and he likes her too. But when Jane’s friends find out she is dating Jack, they introduce her to the “Network,” a group of women who help each other by sharing details about their ex-boyfriends to prevent future agony. Everyone has something mean to say about Jack, but it’s up to Jane to make up her own mind about him. This cute graphic novel would appeal to the new adult genre of 20-somethings, more than teens, due to the subject matter, but since there aren’t too many realistic, romantic graphic novels with strong female characters, it’s a good addition to any collection. Loren Spector, LAPL, Memorial

100 QUESTIONS YOU'D NEVER ASK YOUR PARENTS

YA NONFICTION

G/A  Henderson, Elisabeth.  100 Questions You'd Never Ask Your Parents.  Roaring Brook, 2013.  978-1-59643-875-0.  12.99.

"What" or "how" is the lead-off word of most questions addressing bullying, drinking and driving, drugs, huffing, self-injury and sex.  Answers range from one to five paragraphs.  Topics can also be approached via the glossary and/or a detailed index.  Useful, hopefully, as a bridge to further information about any of these interests.  As a 5"X7" paperbound item, it will be less likely to get lost if placed in a small rack or trough when purchased for a library.  E.M. Roublow

WORDS WITH WINGS

MIDDLE SCHOOL FICTION

G/A  Grimes, Nikki.  Words with Wings.  WordSong, 2013.  84p.  978-1-59078-985-8.  15.95.

Daydreaming is Gabby's (short for Gabriel) favorite pastime, especially when it soothes her angst about her parents' separation.  Noticing that Gabby is trying extremely hard not to be distracted from school work, her intuitive teacher allows a daily 15 minute period for all students to daydream and document their dreams as a writing exercise.  Story is presented in verse format -- making it a good candidate for classes studying poetry.  E.M. Roublow

SALT

V/A Frost, Helen.  Salt.  Farrar, 2013.  138p.  978-0-374-36387-1.  17.99.
A near battle in 1812 causes misunderstandings and threatens friendships.  Each twelve year old -- Anikwa, a native American, and James, son of a trading post proprietor -- alternate telling their family's side of the story as soldiers arrive to claim land in Indiana Territory.  This historical novel's format is verse.  Intermittent poems about salt -- which literally preserves food -- acts, in this story, as a symbolic ingredient that preserves the relationship of two families.  E.M. Roublow