Falling Under

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes (NY: New American Library, 2011).

The gorgeous cover of this novel enticed me to carry it home from the library, and it was worth the effort! Theia Alderson's father has kept her isolated in England for much of her life. Her mother died when she was born, though for some reason Theia thinks her father blames her mother's lifestyle for her death. Now Theia and her father are living in California, and while her father still tries to control her every move, Theia has made a few friends and has slightly more freedom.

Then she sees the burning man. He falls right past her window, and she quietly, though somewhat hesistantly, runs down to his aid. He should be dead, right? But instead they have a brief conversation before he d incinerates to dust right before her eyes, leaving only a small scorch mark on the lawn. As if this isn't weird enough, Theia starts having dreams about an odd timeless place where skeletons cavort to haunting music and a devilishly handsome boy wearing an old-fashioned suit asks Theia to dance. Weirder still, the boy, Haden, shows up at her school! Theia feels so drawn to him, she doesn't know what to do. Her friends, especially Donny (short for Donatella), try to give her romantic advice, but Haden is giving out mixed signals. He even tells her to stay away from him, for her own sake.

Falling Under has some of the same evil-creature-trying-to-resist-naive-girl plot elements as Twilight, but it attempts to rise above them. Theia proves to be less naive than she initially appears, and she tries to figure out what is going on with her dreams and Haden's odd behavior. Her father's character remains largely undeveloped, but Theia's best friend Donny, is quite well done and very funny, especially her comments about the snotty rich kids, whom she calls "sneetches," after the eponymous Dr. Seuss characters who feel entitled to the best because of their star-bedecked bellies. It's a bit odd that Theia is supposedly so sheltered, but she manages to get out of the house relatively easily because of her father's long work hours. Overall, this is a good but not great read, though the cover is superb. Recommended for ages 13 & up. Mild sexual content, alcohol, creepy situations.

I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend

I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison (NY: Delacorte, 2010).

The novel starts out with a bang with Jenny Cooper, Jane Austen's cousin, having to save Jane from dying of a terrible fever while they're both practicially imprisoned at a horrifyingly grim boarding school. They end up back at Jane's country home, and Jenny feels very fortunate to be there. Her parents have died and her brother and his wife need the money that is supposed to go for Jenny's upkeep. Jenny keeps a journal to record all her feelings and all the happenings in the exciting Austen household, especially the antics of her witty cousin Jane. Soon enough, Jenny has fallen in love, but will a secret keep her from the happiness she deserves?

This is a lovely story in so many ways. Harrison researched Austen and the period extensively and weaves historical facts seamlessly into the fiction. Austen fans will recognize characters and situations that find their way into her novels. And of course it's wonderful to read about what Austen might have been like as a girl growing up in a large family of relatively poor means. Jenny's romance with the handsome Captain Thomas Williams is well done and fun to read, but even more fun is Jane's dramatizing of it, for she tends to be melodramatic.

Highly recommended for Austen lovers young and old. Fine ages 11 & up.

Going Too Far

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols (NY: Simon & Schuster, 2009).

Meg has dyed-blue hair and a penchant for bad behavior. That's how she ends up drunk on a railroad bridge with the town rich-boy drug dealer in the middle of the night. And she's even gotten a pair of goody-two-shoes classmates to join in the fun. Luckily, the train misses them; unluckily, they're all arrested--by a driven young cop who constantly patrols the bridge to keep teens from getting killed. The rich boy's lawyer dad gets him out of trouble, but Meg and the others have to do community service over spring break, and Meg is royally peeved about that because she had planned to go the beach for the very first time! Instead, she has to spend her vacation on night shift with the very cop who arrested her plus work her usual day shift (for free, as usual, too) at her parents' greasy spoon diner.

Echols is clearly trying for an edgier, more realistic novel than her usual fluffy romances here, but for me it falls flat. First off, Meg's character relies on physical totems, like dyed hair (but not the brow piercing displayed on the cover), to signal interior traits. But we're also supposed to ignore that and believe that Meg is a good girl who has suffered mightily. In the end, this maybe turns out to be true, but it's not revealed to the very end, which makes for an uneasy reading ride. She's nasty to her parents and it seems that the only reason for that is because they're poor and she has to work for free. Instead, she ends up sounding spoiled and whiny. The second stumbling block, for me, was the character of John, the cop. We're supposed to believe that a nineteen-year-old boy who just graduated from high school is a hard-nosed cop. Even more unbelievably, Meg had had a class with him the previous year and didn't recognize him at all because apparently he grew a bunch of muscles and cut his hair. Like Meg, John has a hidden agenda for his actions, but it's not revealed until the very end.

Many readers will likely be able to ignore these issues, but I could not. The novel starts out fast and just continues. Meg is a curious character with some funny lines which help the story out a lot. The romance is a bit forced and obvious, but it does move the story along. It seems far-fetched (oops, a third problem!) that Meg would be allowed to ride along with such a young cop, but it creates interesting situations and opportunities for growth for this seemingly selfish girl. You'll have to be the judge of whether the revelation of the reason for her actions justifies them.

Sexual situations, intense situations, alcohol, drugs. OK for ages 14 & up.

The Other Girl

The Other Girl by Sarah Miller (NY: St. Martin's Griffin, 2011).

Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn introduces Midvale Academy, a ritzy East Coast prep school where Gideon has just started. Unbeknownst to him, a girl on campus can hear all his thoughts, from the moment he enters the grounds. This girl turns out to be scholarship student Molly McGarry, who has come to love Gideon after spending so much time in his head. Gideon and Molly are a couple now--and Molly's still inside Gideon's head. This is not a totally bad thing. She can give him just what he wants, and he thinks she's amazing. But then Gideon happens to focus Pilar Benitez-Jones, the most beautiful girl on campus, at a tender moment with Molly, and she abruptly dumps him. But what to do about their mind connection? Problem solved when Gideon actually kisses Pilar, until Molly discovers she's now inside Pilar's mind. And it's pretty weird. Molly realizes fairly quickly that she's made a mistake in dumping Gideon, and the whole mind connection thing has seriously messed up other parts of her life, too.

The Other Girl lacks the intense mystery of the first Midvale Academy novel--not knowing who was inside Gideon's mind really propelled the plot, though just the premise of a girl finding out firsthand about what guys really think made for an engrossing tale. This novel develops Molly's character nicely and has its own plot twists and turns, but nearly gets dragged down in some of the standard aspects of prep school novels--sex, drugs, pranks. Molly, however, is a wonderful, buoyant girl whose liveliness and tenacity make this story well worth reading. Recommended for ages 14 & up. Sex, alcohol, drugs, language.

The Last Little Blue Envelope

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson (NY: HarperTeen, 2011).

This novel picks up where 13 Little Blue Envelopes left off. Ginny Blackstone has returned to her home in New Jersey after her European adventure following a series of enveloped instructions from her recently deceased artist-aunt Peg. Ginny's backpack--and all the envelopes--had been stolen in Greece, but she had read all but one and was able to complete the tasks, or so she thought. But as she procrastinates about writing her college application essays, she receives a message from a guy in London named Oliver who happened to purchase her stolen backpack and has her letters, including the last one. Ginny has to go to London and get it, which leads to another adventure. She's hoping her romance with actor/playwright Keith can pick up where it left off, but she soon finds that he has a girlfriend. And the guy who has her letter won't give it back to her unless she'll make a deal with him about the art this new adventure will yield.

Johnson delivers another fine story of travel and personal growth. Ginny's awkward reunion with Keith is well rendered as is her nascent relationship with Oliver. Recommended for ages 13 & up. Mild sexual situations, alcohol.

Moonglass

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby (NY: Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2011).

Seventeen-year-old Anna loves the ocean, the soothing tidal rhythms, the blue water, the shifting sand. She loves running on the beach and looking for sea glass, something she used to do with her mother. She still combs the shore hoping to discover new, colorful treasure. It helps her remember her mother, despite the sadness of knowing her mother left her by walking into the salty waters and never returning when Anna was only seven.

Anna doesn't really want to move when her beach supervisor dad gets a promotion and transfer to a different town--the town where he met Anna's mother when she was just a teen. Anna worries about the memories this will stir up for both of them, but also that she won't fit in at the new high school attended by the town's many wealthy residents. But their new cottage on the beach is cozy and immediately feels like home. And there's a lifeguard who immediately catches her eye, too. Plus, one of the rich girls, fashionista Ashley, befriends her and persuades Anna to go out for the cross country team, where she and the senior leader challenge each other.

As Anna becomes acclimated to her new home, she also starts learning about the town's history--as well as her mom and dad's history. And she finds there are some secrets, including in the abandoned cottage next door.

This novel starts out languidly with the story unfolding gradually but steadily--a mellow pace that manages to avoid being dull because of Anna's introspection about her dead mother, her still somewhat grieving father, and her own memories and curiosity about her mother's youth and what could have led her to eventually leave her young daughter. The romance adds some interest to the story, and Anna's friend Ashley shoots in some humor. All in all, this is a fine summer read. Recommended for ages 14 & up. Sexual situations, alcohol, drugs, language.

Clarity

Clarity by Kim Harrington (NY: Point, 2011).

Clarity "Clare" Fern considers herself a freak. Actually, her whole family is freakish. She's a psychic--one touch and she has a vision. Her mother is a telepath, and her brother is a medium. They make a living in their Cape Cod tourist town of Eastport by giving readings. They're popular with the tourists, but with their fellow townsfolk, not so much, so Clare doesn't have a lot of friends and has only recently had a boyfriend--who ended up cheating on her. As the summer season begins, a teen-aged girl is found dead--murdered--in a hotel room, and Clare's brother turns out to have been the last person to see her alive. Clare has to join forces with her cheating ex and a hot new boy in town, who happens to be the son of the new police detective, to suss out the truth and help her brother.

Tired of paranormal romances that follow the same old plot line? Want something a little different to pop in your beach bag? This novel fits the bill. Yes, there's some romance, but there's also an ocean front setting and a murder to solve. Recommended for ages 14 & up. Sexual situations, drugs, alcohol, language.