Frankly, my dear, I couldn't put these down

The drama, the tears, the longing. A week of romance. Sigh.



Friend is Not a Verb by Daniel Ehrenhaft.

Henry suffers the usual teenaged fantasy of wanting to be in a rock band. He auditions for the beautiful girl and ends up a bass player and her boyfriend. When she dumps him, he's not sure what upsets him more, losing the girl or the gig. Probably the gig. Henry also suffers the unusual reality of a sister who mysteriously disappeared a year before the story opens. He finds support and companionship with long time best friend and neighbor Emma. As the story moves along, and the mystery of his sister unravels, he discovers that Emma, and not his gorgeous ex, is the girl he truly loves.

A classic, "you were right here in front of me all along," story with some cute twists. I was attracted by the title. Light and sweet, with the fun twists you'd expect of a romance in New York City.



Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles.

A love story between a wealthy white girl and a poor latino gang member. The boy's determination to rise above his situation, or at least save his brothers from going down the same road, and the girl's relationship with her sister who suffers from cerebral palsy attempt to bring this story to a higher level.

I had to read this after hearing it was all the buzz at the summer's ALA meeting. Reading How to Ruin Your Boyfriend's Reputation over the summer only increased my desire to read it. But, alas, it was consistently rated at High School so I put it at the bottom of my list. But here was my chance! And it was dreadful, in my opinion. Full of stereotypes and stilted language, with heavy doses of spanish to approximate authenticity. And a fairytale ending. Ugh.



Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle.

Lissa and Kate have been best friends forever, in spite of the fact that Kate is tiny and blond and popular and Lissa is, well, not. When Kate gets drunk and kisses Lissa it drives a wedge between them. Lissa realizes she has romantic feelings for Kate. Kate seems to share those feelings, but refuses to entertain them.

A lovely coming of age story. Lissa's character feels real. Her attempts to understand her own feelings and examine relationships around her with objective eyes is both admirable and believable. She leaves us happier and more confident, but the question of whether she is gay or not is left at, well, maybe. I came across this in my library.



Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

Dash has confused his divorced parents into thinking he is spending Christmas with the other one and ends up alone, on purpose, in New York. While browsing in the Strand around his favorite author's books he comes across a notebook containing clues. Intrigued (and bored) he follows them. What ensues is a back and forth between he and Lily. The initial impression one gets of Dash is a cynical, holiday hating misanthrope. Lily, a corny fan of any holiday that involves singing and family gatherings. And yet, they bond through the back and forth dares they leave each other anonymously. Will they ever meet in person?

I'm only half way through this but can't put it down. Odd, different, funny, sad. And very smart. It keeps popping out at me at every bookstore I enter so I broke down and read the first ten pages and was hooked. Bought it plus two more - Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist (heard of that before, HS rated again?) and Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List (any book in which a stick of gum plays an epic role must be worth the read).



Getting the Girl by Susan Juby.

Sherman tries to solve the mystery of who is D listing girls (turning them into instant pariahs) while saving his crush from this fate.

I only read a few pages of this but was instantly snorting with laughter. Sherm's single mom, a bartender who dances burlesque as a hobby (his friends refer to her as a "peeler") and his official male role model, a divorced guy next door named Fred whose passion is plants (Shem suspects he only agreed out of pity for their brown lawn) promise great side characters.

And on that, 'read that, loved that' list:



Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd.

One of the sweetest romances I've read in some time. Set in Ireland, on the border between north and south, during 'the troubles.' Told from the perspective of a teenaged boy hoping to get through his last year of high school and then get as far away as possible. He befriends a welsh boy who stands guard at the border and wonders why things are so bad, falls in love, and discovers his family's role in the IRA.