Book Review: The End of the Line

New York : Holiday House, c2011.

Here's another great read from a 2011 debut author.  Angela Cerrito's The End of the Line is a story that keeps you going till the very end.

It's the story of Robbie Thompson and the friend he killed.  It opens when Robbie is in a room at Great Oaks School, what Robbie calls a prison, he is locked up after all.

Cerrito has the reader alternate between past and present until the two timelines meet at the end of the book.  As we experience Great Oaks with Robbie and look back at his memories of life while he was at home with is family and friends we quickly come to love Robbie, his family, and the boy who becomes Robbie's friend and sometimes enemy - Ryan.

The End of the Line is a very powerful story with difficult family, friendship, social, and political issues throughout.  Cerrito handled all of the story elements with a talented hand to create a beautiful and well told story.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

Book Review: Clarity

New York : Point, 2011.

I started this book with a smile on my face--liked the touch of humor the author added to kick start the story.

Clarity by Kim Harrington was a really fun read and, as a murder mystery, one of my favorite genres.  Harrington's characters were well created, each of them tying into the web of mystery surrounding the tourist town of Eastport, Massachusetts and the young psychic, Clarity Fern.

I think Harrington is very good storyteller; I didn't want to put it down till I got to the end, even though I had a pretty good guess at who was behind things just a little past halfway.  I wanted to see how all the details worked out and see how the relationships turned out in the end.  I was a little surprised at the ending and found my guess at the solution of the murder was only partly right.

I started Tuesday night and had been reading a chapter or two before bed, but then, since I didn't have to work today, I stayed in bed and read till it was finished.  It made for a very enjoyable day.

I chose this as one of the books I'd read for the 2011 Debut Author Challenge because it was a mystery involving special abilities and I wanted to see what else was being published in the area, as that's the subject of the first draft I just completed about a month ago.  Although this book was quite different in the type of ability, it was interesting to see how Harrington dealt with different types of issues, such as showing Clare's visions and people's reactions to her abilities.

I really enjoyed the book and was please when the last few pages screamed "Sequel!".  If there is one to come, I'll be in line for it.

Book Review: Rival

New York : HarperTeen, 2011

I have to admit I started out very split on whether or not I really liked Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer.  I liked her writing, I like the way she structured her book, and I really liked the voices of her characters.  It sounds like there's not much not to like--actually I think most of my holdbacks were a result of not reading enough YA.  (Kind of the point in my doing this challenge:  To get myself reading more in this area.)

This story is a good example of shifting POVs and telling the story from two different points in time without confusing your reader--something that Wealer has done an excellent job of here.  Wealer also gives readers two very well rounded characters--Kathryn and Brooke--who grow over the course of their rocky high school relationship.

The overall theme of music and their drive to excel and some of the reasons and pressures behind their efforts really made the book for me.  Their journey is an enjoyable one, albeit super cram packed with high school drama.

2011 Debut Author Challenge

This year I've decided to participate in The Story Siren's 2011 Debut Author Challenge by reading at least 12 YA/Middle Grade debut authors before the year's out and posting a review of each of the 12 books.  All the books must be 2011 releases and the first YA/middle grade title by that author. Yes, that means if it's an author who has been published previously -- just not as YA or middle grade -- then they still qualify.

I decided to start after a co-worker of mine signed-up and was talking to me about one of the books she'd read as part of the challenge - Unearthly by Cynthia Hand.  She absolutely loved it and told me all about it.  She hadn't been able to put it down.  It is on my reading list, I'll just read it after I've had enough time to forget the storyline.

As for my list -- I think I've found more than enough in just the first three months of releases.  There are so many that look like great reads.

Hmmm.  So little time.

But I've narrowed it to a few to start with and I'll go from there.  Here's the first seven I'm planning on reading:

Warped by Maurissa Guibord
The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal
The Visconti House by Elsbeth Edgar
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
End of the Line by Angela Cerrito
Clarity by Kim Harrington
Timeless by Alexandra Monir

(Lists of releases are on The Story Siren site.)

I can't promise I won't change my mind and read a different one instead, but these all sounded awfully good to me. I've never done a challenge like this so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that slow-reader-me will make it to the end in time.  At any rate I'll do my best and I'm hoping this will make me better aware of what's currently getting published in the YA area.  I think this is going to be a wonderful experience and I'm excited to get started - as soon as I finish Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland!  :)

I'll keep you posted along the way.  If you'd like to sign-up for the challenge, you have until 1 March 2011 to post a link announcing your participation and sign-up at The Story Siren.