If It Haint Broke by MIaureen Hardegree
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a great book! The sixth in a series about a high school girl who is able to see ghosts and help them move on to the next life.

This book is about Heather Tildy, who is a freshman at her high school. She’s worried about her big date for homecoming with her crush, Drew, who is a junior. In the bathoom at school, she’s approached by a ghost. She knows that if she connects, she’ll be sucked into helping her so she tries to avoid her as long as possible.

Eventually, it’s not possible and the starts to learn about Wheatherly Raines, a girl who supposedly committed suicide at her school 20 years prior. As Heather and her best friend, Zach, delve into the events surrounding Weatherly’s death, they come to the conclusion that she was suicidal and that something else must be the cause for her death.

As they go through figuring everything out, they do some bold things that aren’t looked upon favorably at their school. Heather and Drew have their homecoming date which was nearly derailed by another girl, and didn’t turn out like Heather planned. But all ends well. She solves what’s keeping Weatherly around, allowing her to move on, and she ends up with Drew.And that’s how the book ends.

Such a cute story and I plan to read the books that came before!

View all my reviews

Ever After by Jude Deveraux
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book by Jude Deveraux and I didn’t read the first two books in this trilogy, although I’d like to now.

This story of Hallie Hartley, a physical therapist who learns she’s inherited a house on Nantucket. As part of the arrangements to her taking possession of the house, the man who informs her lets her know that she’ll have a client there, as well.

Jamie is a former soldier who was involved in a vehicle explosion in the war. He’s scarred everywhere and has a really hurt knee Hallie is to try and help heal. He also experiences flashbacks and nightmares. Hallie is able to help him get past most of these things.

They form a relationship that is more than just client/therapist. They fall in love with each other. Aided by the Tea Ladies, ghosts who are said to inhabit Hallie’s house, they overcome all of the bad stuff to head towards happily ever after.

I can’t wait to read the first two books in this trilogy. I didn’t feel like I was missing anything by not having read the first two books. Two thumbs up! 🙂

View all my reviews

Those Girls by Lauren Saft

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m not sure how much I liked this book. However, I couldn’t stop reading it. I’m pretty sure that these kinds of events happen amongst a lot of high school kids.

Mollie, Alex and Veronica are the “It” girls at their school. I liked the bond between the three girls, Mollie, Alex, and Veronica. While they went through some tough times, they ended up sticking together as friends, when they remembered all they’d been through together.

I felt uncomfortable for Mollie in her relationship with Sam. But high school is a confusing time. Not knowing how to keep Sam interested, thoughts about “how fat I am”, and the complicated friendships with the other girls are common feelings in high school that I have experienced.

I could relate to Alex and her feelings about Drew. Both of them found it hard to express how they felt about each other to each other or even themselves. I loved how Alex joined the band and sort of came into herself via her music.

Veronica I just felt flat out sorry for. Poor little rich kid, I feel like she was missing love so she was trying to get it anyway she could even though a lot of it was pretty raunchy.

Couldn’t put the book down. At times I felt like I wanted to take a shower but I believe this is a “real” book and sometimes those aren’t so pretty.

View all my reviews

Skinniness is Next to Goddessness? Anna’s Story by Julia Keanini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I give this book a 4.5 star rating. I really liked it. It’s the second in a series but seemed like a stand alone book. I didn’t feel like I had missed anything.

From the titles of the books, I gather that the books encompass the stories of the girls in the Sunday Lunchers eating disorder group. Other than the title though, the eating disorder was sort of a small side issue in Anna’s story.

The story, however, was really good. Anna, a 16 year old girl of Japanese descent, is derailed from “The Plan” that has been a part of her life since third grade. The plan would get her through an Ivy League college education to become a heart surgeon at a great hospital.

With the arrival of little AB, all of a sudden, the plan takes a back seat. AB is the baby daughter of her cousin, Aya. She helps Rhys, the baby’s father, to care for her and develops a huge crush on him. Through the course of the story, Aya tries to sell the baby to make good on a drug/gambling debt and much of the book is about this.

At the end of the trial, and the book, Rhys takes AB and moves to Colorado and Anna is free to be a 16 year old with a plan again. After what her family has gone through, her new plan is a more revised version of the previous plan which will allow her to have a more complete life.

There are family dynamics issues that contribute to Anna’s bulimia and those seem to resolve themselves as well, leaving her to feel free of the bulimia.

I liked this book. It was well written and I’d like to check out book one and any sequels. 🙂

View all my reviews

Being Layla Hart by Amanda McKelt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Such a cute book!

April and her friend, Sofia, are not among the popular kids at their school. They make plans for April to say hi to a boy she has a crush on, going to the pool where his water polo team is finishing up a match. As she goes to try and talk to him, his girlfriend and her BFF come up from behind and push her into the pool while video taping the event. As she falls into the pool, all she can think about is the fact that she’s wearing My Little Pony Pinkie panties and she just flashed Zach and everyone else, on video.

When the girls get home, April decides she can never go out of her room again. She deletes all of her social profiles because she can’t bear the thought of all the feedback she’ll get from the Pinkie Pants video.

She and Sofia make up a fake profile, Layla Hart, and decide that April should pretend to be Layla. Somehow when they wake up int he morning, April IS Layla. A quickly devised story of exchange students explains to Aprils mom what happened to April and how Layla came to be living in her house. It also gets her enrolled in school as Layla Hart.

The book travels along the path of April as Layla where all of a sudden it seems like she’s getting everything she wants: a beautiful face, a nice body, popular friends and a boyfriend.

In the end, though, she almost loses her best friend and decides all she really wants is to be herself. This is a really cute book and I highly recommend it! 🙂

View all my reviews

I Am the Traitor by Allen Zadoff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the third book in The Unknown Assassin trilogy and I ate it up like a bag of chips. I love the way this author writes! So readable.

Zach is back waiting for a new mission. He finds his friend, Howard, from Book 2 is being held by the Program. He finds where he is, because Mike wants him to prove his loyalty by the Program by killing Howard. When he gets there and sees Howard, he realizes he can’t kill him. There’s also a girl, Tanya. Zach decides to break both of them out and make a run for it.

They come against all kinds of trouble with Mike hot on their trail. Tanya turns out to be an assassin for the Program and Zach isn’t sure whether he can trust her or not.

The story wraps up nicely although I will miss reading another installment. I highly recommend this, and the two books that come before it. Highly recommend!

View all my reviews