“Don’t Judge A Girl By Her Cover” by Ally Carter

I started reading the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter last year while on holiday, and devoured the first two books in a single day! The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women to the outside world is a private girls school for the gifted girls, but behind the facade, it prepares the next generation of skilled intelligence operatives. It’s not just a secret within the school, it’s one of the country’s closely guarded secrets with not even the majority of the CIA knowing about its existence. After the death of her father, Cameron Morgan moves to The Gallagher Academy with her mother, who has removed herself from the intelligence world – to become the school headmistress.

The books follow Cammie and her friends not only through their extraordinary classes but also through the pitfalls of being teenage girls! They’re great fun, and quick reads, and there’s something about a female spy story that I find glamorous and thrilling, despite the dangerous risks, and added with my current penchant for YA books, these were always going to be a winner with me.

Don’t Judge A Girl By Her Cover which was a great Sunday afternoon, lazy, and purely entertaining read. Can’t wait for the next book to be out later this year.

“Ghost Town” by Rachel Caine

This is the latest in the Morganville Vampire series. Claire Danvers has moved to Morganville to attend college there, but has ended up an unwillingly embroiled in the vampire politics of the local community. As the series has gone on, Claire’s fate has become almost inevitably entwined with the Founder of Morganville. The vampires in this series are for the most part, every bit as menacing and dangerous as their kind should be, making for a spine tingling thriller of a plot.

I’ve loved every one of this series of YA books, they’re funny and exciting, and there is a genuine sense of peril for the characters up against the strained relationships between the humans and vampires. A quick, easy read, I know, but the pages just whizz by as I get caught up in Claire’s story. I wondered how Caine would continue the series as the first six or seven books had a cliffhanger to take you on to the next book each time, and the last couple of books have had an uneasy conclusion but didn’t leave you on the edge of your seat exclaiming, “You can’t leave it there!!!!”, but I have liked how she’s developed what’s happening in Morganville. This one doesn’t leave you on tenterhooks as such, but it does leave you feeling you know what the next book will be about, but not how she’ll deal with it.

“The Knife of Never Letting Go” by Patrick Ness

Todd has grown up in Prentisstown – a town on New World, where the early settlers have been exposed to an alien germ which has caused the thoughts of all men to be audible and has killed off the women. The “Noise” is everywhere, and it’s not just the men, but the animals have been infected too. But even this doesn’t stop the town men keeping secrets, especially from the boys. And when Todd is just one month away from becoming a man, these secrets start a chain of events and Todd must flee from everything and everyone he knows …

This book was excellent. The story expands from starting with the small scale of the farm in Prentisstown, gradually revealing the wider landscape of New World and in parallel Todd’s character expands as the experiences force him to develop from boy to man, and because of the first person narrative, the reader learns at the same time as Todd what all the secrets are, and begins to understand what has happened in this broken society.

There is no doubt that violence, rage and corruption of power play a big part in making this story seem very real, but it is the possibilities of what might be at the end of the quest that keep it from spiralling into a nightmarish, dystopian tale, and give the reader a sense of hope and optimism rather than despair.

The author has chosen to write Todd’s speech and thoughts in dialect, so there is some unusual spelling and grammar used, but it is written very much as it would be spoken, so I never felt that it jarred or took me out of the story, more that it added to the feeling of authenticity.

I don’t want to say too much about the other characters because it might give away too much, too early, but the story and the characters affected me, and I don’t mind admitting I shed a few tears at various points in the story, as I could feel the heartbreaking emotions that simple words on a page can evoke.

“Captivate” by Carrie Jones

[SPOILER ALERT for the previous book in the series Need]

Captivate is the second book in this YA supernatural series about pixies and shape shifters. In the first book Need, teenager Zara is having a tough time after witnessing the death of her beloved stepfather and moves in with her grandmother to try and move on with her life. A mystery involving teenage boys going missing leads Zara to find out that she is the daughter of a Pixie king. She also learns that pixies are not the only supernatural creatures in the world, but shapeshifters in the form of wolves, bears, eagles and tigers exist as well. At the beginning of this second instalment, Zara and her friends are holding her father and his pixies in captivity, but this means her fathers kingdom is weak, and it’s not long before the arrival of another pixie king looking to take over the territory. Zara must find a way to keep herself and her friends safe from the war that is brewing in this supernatural tale.

I have to admit, after I read the first book in the series, I thought I probably wouldn’t bother with any more, but I ended up choosing it as the free book in a 3 for 2 offer. It was okay, but nothing more. The author did surprise me with the direction she took with Zara’s story, as I thought it would be exactly the suspense of how to keep her from the action she ends up taking that would keep the series going, so now I’m sort of intrigued to see the next instalment as well. Having said that, I’ve read a lot of books in this genre since the accursed Twilight saga got it claws (or should that be fangs) into me, and this series ranks very low down on my favourites. There is a third book out now, and a fourth planned, and although I am mildly interested in following it up, I’m not going to be rushing out to buy it at the moment.

“I Capture The Castle” by Dodie Smith

A very English novel, written at a time when there was no genre called “Young Adult” and books were either for children or adults, and playwright Dodie Smith wrote this, her first novel and a story of teenagers and first love told by Cassandra about her eccentric family. Living in a gradually crumbling castle, her widowed father has remarried, but is struggling with writers block, leaving the family in financially dire straits.

I’d heard lots of people talk with affection for this book, so I’d settled in for a good read when I picked up my copy for my reading group, but I actually found it quite an unsettling read. Although the narrator says how old she is on the first page, I’d actually forgotten this fairly quickly, and struggled to place her. At times she seemed to talk as a young teenager, and at other times she spoke of things as though she was bordering on adulthood and in her late teens. And I didn’t only struggle with Cassandra, I also had problems with other members of the family. Her younger brother was spoken of as a child initially, then towards the end of the book, it seems as though the author suddenly needed him to be almost an adult, and he is shoe-horned into the plot with knowledge of psychiatric principles!

I didn’t like the development of the relationships between Rose and Cassandra with Simon and Neil, it all felt too staged and predictable, but I wonder if this was more original at the time it was written, and I’ve read many other books and seen films since which have similar stories.

An uneven narrative and I didn’t find any humour in the book which others have commented on. I didn’t feel satisfied by the book, and felt a bit discomforted by some of the story, and overall, I just didn’t enjoy it.

“Last Sacrifice” by Richelle Mead

In the final installment of the Vampire Academy series, someone is trying to frame Rose for murder, and Lissa and her friends must try to clear Rose’s name.

Rose is one of my favourite characters of recent years. As a dhampir, she is strong and can fight to defend her assigned Moroi and herself against all comers, and as a person, she’s determined, strong-willed and independent, and always tries to do the right thing even if she gets it wrong sometimes.

I have to admit, I’d sort of guessed how Rose and Lissa’s stories would end in this series, but I had a lot of fun reading how they got there, and there were some twists and turns I hadn’t seen coming. I also see where I think some of the other characters will go in the future, and I’m pleased that although Rose won’t be a main character of the next Vampire Academy books, and we’ll follow other people and stories, the author has still said that we will be able to catch up with her in the future as she’ll still be writing about that world.

I think Richelle Mead writes great adventures, develops her characters well and all these books have been fast-paced page turners. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the entire series (despite my initial grumblings about the names which I found difficult to get in my head!), and I’ve also read all her other books as well now. Great fantasy books that are entertaining escapism with strong female characters.

“Stolen” by Lucy Christopher

Sixteen year old Gemma is abducted while waiting to catch a flight home with her parents from Bangkok airport. Her kidnapper, Ty, takes her to an isolated spot in the Australian outback, and Stolen is a letter written by Gemma to Ty, looking back at the time they spend there.

Compelling, absorbing, engrossing – you won’t want to put this book down once you start it. Gemma’s letter evokes all the emotions you’d expect from the story of an abducted teenager, but what surprised me was how I came to feel about Ty from Gemma’s retelling of his story.

The heat and isolation of the outback is brilliantly described, and the observation of the natural world in Australia is detailed and beautiful, and in another context could make the reader yearn to visit, but in the heightened emotional situation of this story it is a claustrophobic prison that you’re desperate to escape from.

Or are you? The author challenges you to listen to Gemma tell you Ty’s background and his explanation of events leading up to his meeting with Gemma in the airport in Bangkok, and you too begin to question his motives and consider whether there could be a future for these two.

The conclusion is wonderfully open ended, leaving unanswered questions, and giving the you the option to decide on what you think the truth is.

The Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare

The three books, City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass make up the Mortal Instruments trilogy and I think they really warrant reading all three fairly close together and immerse yourself in the world that Cassandra Clare has created.

The world itself is the world we know, but there is a hidden side to it. Our way into the story is through Clary, and New York teenager and her best friend Simon, who after witnessing a murder, suddenly find out about the world of demons, angels, vampires and werewolves. The mundanes (humans) in the story are oblivious to this hidden world that exists all around them, but for some reason, Clary starts to be able to see through the glamour, and is drawn to the mysterious Jace.

I enjoyed reading these books, there were interesting characters and the secrecy of the Shadowhunters in the mundane society made the adventure seem all the more exciting. The epic nature of their quest makes for a thrilling adventure, and I loved that each of the characters has their own part to play and their own story which contributes to making them feel real and alive.

I loved the relationship between Jace and Clary, and had sort of guessed how it would be resolved, just not sure of the exact details, and I lost my heart to Simon with all the things that happened to him throughout the story.

However, I did find the concept of Idris and Alicante a bit confusing – was it part of our world or a different one altogether? Maybe I missed something in the explanation of it, but I didn’t really understand how it worked.

Now, this is a very strange observation I know, but there was an episode of a Victoria Wood television series about 20 years ago called “We’d Quite Like To Apologise…” about getting stuck in an airport waiting for a flight for a holiday to Alicante in Spain, and the association with that was so strong for me, that I couldn’t help but smirk at the reference each time Alicante was mentioned. Was the Alicante in Idris supposed to be the same Alicante in the real world of Spain? I’m sure this wouldn’t bother anyone else who read the books, but unfortunately, it just took me out of the story occasionally.

On the whole though, a very satisfying series of books, and I’ve recently heard that another two books have been commissioned by the publishers, but I haven’t seen any more details, so it will be interesting to see where she takes the story. I’m also looking forward to the prequels, the first one due out in a few weeks time, called Clockwork Angels.

“Linger” by Maggie Stiefvater

I absolutely loved the first book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, Shiver, and it was such a great story, I’d been hoping it would remain as a stand-alone book, so when I found out there would be two more I had mixed feelings. However, as time drew nearer to the release of Linger, my anticipation mounted and I couldn’t wait to read it when it was finally released.

What a wonderful book Linger turned out to be. Stiefvater plugs into the gamut of teenage emotions including Isabel’s anger, Cole’s depression, Sam’s insecurity and loneliness and Grace’s hidden sadness and worry. I did miss the closeness and intimacy of the story of Grace and Sam with the inclusion of Isabel and new character Cole as narrators, but both felt necessary as the story develops and leads up to a heart wrenching climax and cliff hanger for the final part of the story.

There is an undercurrent of sadness running through this book. It pervades every line of the writing, and left me with a feeling of melancholy as I finished the book. Stiefvater’s writing is beautiful yet measured, and her style is clean but emotive.

I was a little disappointed with one aspect in that one of the elements I loved most of Shiver was the descriptions of landscape and homes and even trucks, yet this was missing from Linger although I guess the setting hadn’t changed at all, so the need it wasn’t there, nevertheless, I missed them.

Overall though I loved it, and will wait eagerly for the final installment so I’ll be able to read the whole saga again in one fell swoop!

“What I Saw And How I Lied” by Judy Blundell

Not long after Evie’s stepfather, Joe, returns home after the end of the Second World War, he and the family decamp to Palm Beach for the summer. They become friends with the Graysons and Peter, an ex-GI who was in the war with Joe. But Evie notices that all is not as it seems between Joe and Peter, and while she gradually gets to know Peter, there seems to be an ominous undertone building up in his relationship with her mother and stepfather.

The cover of this book looks stunning, with a film noir feel, drawing me in to what I anticipated would be a thrilling book with a teenage [I]femme fatale[/I]. What I actually got, was a coming of age story for a teenager with the elements of mystery, war, prejudice and adultery, albeit on a fairly domestic scale.

I loved the sense of period that the author created, and the language and characters felt authentic for that period. Once the story moves to the setting of the hotel, it does start to feel slightly claustrophic, only adding to the general darkening atmosphere of the plot.

However, I don’t think it lived up to my expectations, and by the time I got to the end, I was a bit disappointed that the heroine hadn’t either been or developed into that [I]femme fatale[/I] I’d been hoping for.