The Happiest Are Sometimes the Most Miserable...

Happyface by Stephen Edmond is an amazing book. The story is added to and punctuated by drawings and sketches of Happyface, the protagonist, and his thoughts and experiences. The book is set up to be his journal.

Happyface can't escape his past. His brother is dead, his relationship with his former-best friend and love is torn to shreds, and his parents are separated. He moves to a new town with his mother. He realizes he has an opportunity to put his past behind him and be the person he choses. And Happyface is born. He makes new friends and even a new love interest named Gretchen. Things are going great until Gretchen's ex-boyfriend Trevor reappears. Afraid of their romance rekindling, Happyface's facade begins to slip. The situation gets worse when Chloe shows up, a dark figure in his past. Happyface struggles to keep the life he wants, without denying the one he had. Edmond unravels extreme loss in a teen's life through Happyface's story. Through the facade of joy, Happyface attempts to rebuild his life the way he'd like to be. To conquer your fears, you have to face them. While you can't run away from your past, it doesn't have to destroy you either....9/10

Almost Perfect, But Pretty Damn Close

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher. Within the pages of this book lies a story profound, controversial, and downright confusing. Katcher paints a brilliant picture of two teens and the struggles of trying to be normal in an abormal world. When Logan (a small-town track runner and average high school kid) meets Sage (the tall, pretty newcomer in town) their worlds are flipped upside down. Logan falls for Sage and her strange ways. Sage wants to be with Logan, but can't for reasons she won't explain. After a hapless kiss in the night, Sage reveals her secret to Logan: she's really a boy. So begins the emotional roller-coaster of Sage and Logan, a teen romance gone terribly askew. Logan likes Sage, but can't accept his growing attraction to her because of her "condition". From friends to lovers to enemies and back again, the suspense in the story never stops. Katcher approaches transgender transformation in a unique and stylish way. Sage Hendricks is both a believable angst-ridden teen like every other girl in high school, and a boy deeply struggling to be the girl she knows she can be in a world that doesn't accept her. Logan's feelings of contradicting love and abhorrence towards Sage is remarkable and shows the good and acceptance that someone can feel when they truly look past skin deep. A remarkably tense, gripping, and eye-opening ride, one you'll never want to put down. 10/10

*Note: The blue words are the 50 word review.

King of the Screwups by K.L. Going

Liam Geller is Mr. Popular. He has the skills, the charm, and the fashion to be the man everybody loves. But it's never quite good enough for Dad. After one too many screwups, Liam is kicked out of the house. Fortunately for him, his gay glamour-rocker "Aunt" Pete is willing to take him in. Despite its appearances, Liam sees this as more than a step down in the hierarchy of society. He sees this as a chance to remake himself into everything his father wants in a son. But Pete sees him for who he really is, forcing him to choose: be true to his father or himself?

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REVIEW: A magnificent story about finding yourself. Liam goes through an amazing shift, seeing life in a different way. He realizes the most important thing in life is being yourself, no matter who wants to change you. Lots of comedy and life lessons bundled into one. A great book, highly recommended for young readers. 9/10

Book 1: Ghost Huntress - The Awakening by Marley Gibson

Kendall Moorehead never wanted to move. She missed all her friends from Chicago, the big city. Now she's stuck in a small blip called Radisson. To make matters worse, she can't sleep. In an attempt to help her sleep, Kendall's father buys her a white-noise machine. Instead of soothing sounds, however, Kendall starts hearing voices. The more curious Kendall becomes, the deeper she is thrown into a world she never knew existed.
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REVIEW: An interesting story. The story has a good flow and despite all its focus on "otherworldly things" still manages to address the normal issues of an uprooted teenager. Kendall and her friends have good character style and development. I'm interested to see how this series develops. 8/10

Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg

Bobby Framingham has it all. He's the star quarterback of his highschool football team. He's popular, handsome, and gets good grades. But Bobby isn't happy. The one thing nobody knows about Bobby could rip his world apart: Bobby is gay. When Bobby's secret gets out, he finds himself scrambling to keep ahold of his friends and his life. He's out of the pocket and out in the open with no one to rely on but himself.
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REVIEW: This is a great story about being true to yourself and finding out how you really fit into the world. I really like the perspective on the gay side of the most popular kid in school, instead of the usual shut-in or outcast. Definitely makes people think about how simple things like orientation can affect how people really see somebody. 8/10

The Traitor Game - B.R. Collins

Michael and Francis never got along with others. Both stand-offish, they formed a friendship built upon their avoidance of others. And from that frienship came Evgard. Evgard was their secret fantasy, their escape, and Michael's everything. So when he finds a note in his locker revealing his secret, Michael flips. He begins to doubt if Francis is really his friend, or a traitor poking fun at him all along.

Interwoven in Michael's dilemma is the story of Argent, a resident of Evgard. After being captured by a sadistic duke, Argent forms a tentative friendship with the duke's son. As tension mounts and a chance for Argent to escape draws near, Argent must make the fateful decision between loyalty and becoming a traitor...

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REVIEW:

A masterful tale of fear, paranoia, and friendship. Collins draws Michael and Francis together like magnets to metal. His inner tale of Argent and his troubles adds to the struggle within Michael, cleverly voiced in the world of his own creation. 8/10

Write Before Your Eyes by Lisa Williams Kline

Gracie is the quiet child. Only twelve-years old, Gracie keeps a low profile, always a blip on the radar screen. But when Gracie buys an old journal at a yard sale, things start to get wierd. Gracie soon realizes that whatever she writes in the journal comes true, in one way or another. Gracie is awed with her new power and begins to use the journal to attain the life she always wanted. After losing the journal, Gracie and her best friend Dylan are so caught up in chasing it down, Gracie barely has time to fix the damage she's done. Along the way, Gracie learns just how powerful words can be...
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REVIEW:

An intriguing read despite its designation for a younger audience. Kline delivers a powerful message of what change simple writing can cause without disconnecting the plausability from her twelve-year old protagonist. A pleasure to read. And it even features a special guest appearance from an Alice In Wonderland favorite.... 8/10

The Rule of Won by Stefan Petrucha

Caleb Dunne, slacker extraordinaire, coasts through life doing the minimal effort. His overachieving girlfriend, Vicky, has different ideas about Caleb's future though. She convinces Caleb to join a club based on the controversial book The Rule of Won. Caleb goes along with it, thinking the whole thing is just a big joke. As the club gains popularity, however, things start to get out of hand. Caleb realizes that the only thing worse than doing something about the new cult is not doing anything at all. But he soon realizes, stopping The Rule and it's followers won't be as easy as it sounds....

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REVIEW: A definite gem. Petrucha sheds light on the dangers of group thinking and how sometimes our inner desires can be taken a little too far, all with a twist of some delightfully dark humor. Excellent plot and characters. A marvelous read, definitely recommended. 9/10

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Part 2

The adventures of Vladimir Tod continue in this sequel to Eighth Grade Bites. As Vlad discovers more about his own powers, he begins to realize how much a part of both the human world and the vampire world, and yet how much apart. But his training won't come easy, not with a slayer in Bathory. And he might be closer than Vlad thinks...
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REVIEW: A remarkable book. Definitely upholds the story I sought as a sequel. Weaves a charming tale of a boy not quite sure where he belongs in the world, but still pulls through thanks to his friends and family. A good read for those interested in the winged and sharp. 10/10

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer

Vladimir Tod is a vampire hybrid living among the people of Bathory. His best friend Henry and his surrogate mom Nelly are the only ones who know. Since the death of his parents, Vlad has been on his own. But his father's legacy seems only to bring him trouble. It seems Vlad's father took something the vampires want back, and they'll do anything to get it....

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REVIEW: I absolutely loved this book. It's a gripping tale of a child struggling to live where he doesn't feel he belongs. A tale of friendship, courage, and most of all, family. A marvelous read. 10/10

Caught Between the Pages by Marlene Carvell

PJ Barnes is a high school slacker on the fast-track to nowhere. Everyone is on his case about getting his life in shape, specifically his English teacher Mrs. Jordan. After a mix-up with some papers, PJ ends up with Mrs. Jordan's personal notebook. He reads the journal, hoping to an easy A in his English class. What he finds startles him more than he anticipates, connecting him and Mrs. Jordan like PJ never expected.

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REVIEW: The book was a good example of a confused teenager trying to sort things out. Despite his torn apart family, PJ desires to do the right thing. I found the book an entertaining read and recommend if you are looking for a little something to pass the time. 6/10