Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley (reviewed by Emily TenCate)

Emily's parents just died in a tragic plane crash, and the only thing the firefighters found intact was a tray table with the words "Emily, please forgive me," scrawled in bright red lipstick. So what does Emily do?

If you guessed anything besides a full body makeover (say, for instance, trying to figure out what her dying mother's final message meant), you're wrong.

Emily's next move is, of course, to become popular queen at her new high school, speedily attracting the attentions of the two cutest boys in school. Our endearing, two-dimensional protagonist then proceeds to spend the rest of the book trying to figure out what boy she actually wants.

I suppose a person less fundamentally opposed to the genre of fluffy teen romance might call what Emily is doing "moving on." All I'm seeing here, though, is a desperate, grasping attempt by the author to make your typical high-school romance a tad more interesting than usual. That's a tall order, as it turns out, but throw in a gay hairdresser, (and absolute must when you're trying to avoid cringe-worthy cliches!) a couple of backstabbing friends, and a super rich and famous relative and you've practically got the whole novel mapped out in front of you.

And here I was expecting a mystery story. In 284 pages, the book manages to mention Emily's mother's dying message a grand total of 4 times, dealing conveniently with the issue by letting Emily find a journal explaining everything in less than a chapter of the novel. This, of course, allows Emily to pursue more suitable interest - namely, boy-chasing. The only real mystery in this book is the strange, out-of-context appearance of blatant moralizing -- and, of course, why any self-respecting hairdresser (even a fictional, gay one) would speak the words, "Owen is a hot-boy name!" I'll be cringing for the next three weeks.

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OUCH EMILY, TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL!!! ^__~

Big thanks to Emily for her amazing, completely honest, unvarnished review that pulls no punches. That's what I like to hear, people passionate about books!

Emily reviewed an ADVANCE READER'S COPY (ARC) of this book, meaning she got a chance to read it before it was published and she had a chance to let the library know if it she thought we should purchase it for our shelves or not.

Do YOU want a chance to read and review books before they're published? Do YOU think you could give your opinion on if the library/other people should buy these books? If so, you can ask at youth services or send us an e-mail for more information on how you can get a chance to be an advance reviewer.

Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley (reviewed by Lauren TenCate)

The book Lipstick Apology by Jennifer Jabaley is an okay book. It begins with a girl named Emily, who is being left home alone (with her aunt to check on her) while her parents go on vacation. Unfortunately, Emily's parents die in a plane crash on their way there. The only thing that people could find among the wreckage is Emily's Mom's last words - Emily, please forgive me - scrawled with her mother's hideous red lipstick on a tray table. Before she can figure out what this means, Emily is whisked away to live with her aunt in New York (who is a makeup artist). There Emily tries to fit in at her new school. However, the tray table incident has made her very popular and two boys are pursuing her: Owen, who is popular and Anthony, her chemistry partner. Owen is rather inconsiderate of other's feelings as Emily finds out. Anthony, on the other hand, is nice, funny, and smart. Eventually, she gets together with Anthony, finally finds out what her mother's apology meant and all is well.

What I didn't like about this book was that basically the whole idea of it was that this girl Emily was trying to find out what her mother's apology meant except that's only mentioned 3 or 4 times throughout the whole book. Basically, it's a romance novel. If you're into mysteries, don't bother. Another thing about it is that it's mostly written for older girls. However, it was interesting and the beginning was funny. All in all it was a "not that great" book in my opinion.

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Thanks for the honesty, Lauren, we appreciate it!

Lauren reviewed an ADVANCE READER'S COPY (ARC) of this book, meaning she got a chance to read it before it was published and she had a chance to let the library know if it she thought we should purchase it for our shelves or not.

Do YOU want a chance to read and review books before they're published? Do YOU think you could give your opinion on if the library/other people should buy these books? If so, you can ask at youth services or send us an e-mail for more information on how you can get a chance to be an advance reviewer.

Extra thanks go out to Lauren, who passed this book along to her sister Emily . . . who is going to review this book next. Do you think she liked it any more. . .

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (reviewed by Bear Schact)

Steam punk is a genre I had heard of, but wasn't familiar with. Leviathan is based around fact, and is set in the summer of 1914, before WWI. However, the two opposing sides are the Darwinist power and the Clanker power. The Clankers use complex machines (that clank), while the Darwinists learned to use DNA to create new species, like the airship Leviathan, actually a whale that is mixed with some other stuff so it can produce hydrogen, and fly (or float, actually). A sky whale. Weird, huh? I enjoyed the story (I read it in one day actually), which was told from the perspective of two different characters, one from each side. The illustrations were pretty cool as well. I am definitely looking forward to the sequel.

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We're all dying for the sequel, Bear!

Click here to check our catalog to see if Leviathan is on the shelves.

Steampunk is so hot right now. Remember if you ever read a book you like and want more like it? The library can hook you up! Another steampunk book you might like is Larklight by Philip Reeve, which is reviewed right here on our blog!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith (reviewed by Adam Sayre)

This is a quirky take on a classic novel that we all know. The twist is that Britan has been overrun with a zombie plague. Elizabeth and her sisters have been highly trained in Chinese fighting arts and Mr. Darcy is a renowned zombie killer. At first glance, the book seems to be a bad zombie thriller with the classic gentry lady missing something, namely her throat and jaw. The book holds to the original plot. More or less. The author just couldn't resist adding the occasional fight and zombie attack. Austen and zombie lovers alike will enjoy this amusing book.

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And who isn't a little of both, right Adam? ;)

Click here to check our catalog to see if Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is on the shelves.