Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales

Title: Mostly Good Girls
Author: Leila Sales
ISBN: 9781442409996
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Page #: 347
Source: ARC from the publisher (little delayed review)

Summary:
"Smart, wryly funny, and likable sixteen-year-old Violet is doing her best to juggle the academic, social, and extracurricular stresses of junior year at an elite prep school. Between snagging the attention of the boy of her dreams, saving her disintegrating friendship with her best friend, Katie, and - oh, yeah - passing her classes, Violet's got her hands full. Her witty, vignette-style narrative will captivate and amuse readers from the first page."
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First Lines:

"Poor Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson is my precalc teacher, and he is also the only male at the Westfield School. Unless you count Mr. Roebeck, the bio teacher, which I don't, because he is approximately two million years old and the only manlike thing about him is that he wears neckties."
Page 3
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Review:

After reading a crazy book a few days ago, Mostly Good Girls was the perfect relief book. A fun, girly story that gave me all the drama I could handle :).

It's a book about two girls that go to an elite private school - they are as close as sisters and do literally everything together. When Katie starts to pull away, our main girl Violet doesn't understand what's going on. The story is mostly about friendship and how people grow apart and can grow together. Very realistic story.

I think this is a theme that just about everyone can relate to. Who doesn't have a good friend from childhood that just took a different path and you miss terribly?! I know I have a few of those. They always seem to be the people you cannot imagine living without - but I suppose growing up happens to the best of us :).

While this is a story we all relate to, Violet is hilarious. There's something about their humor that is just quick and witty and fun. These two girls are ones that I would love to hang out with. Even when they are having fights, they still understand and love each other so much that it's super obvious. Who doesn't want friends like that?

I will be recommending this to girls who are looking for stories about friendship - and the whole chick lit thing. It's the perfect book. There's a little romance, but it's more like obsessing about boys from afar. So that's a bit of it, but more friendship stuff. There's a little bit of language and drug use, but I think this book will be good for 9th grade and up. It's a really cute story and I look forward to seeing more from this author!
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Other Blog Reviews:

Stiletto Storytime
First Novels Club
Steph Su Reads
Frenetic Reader
The Crooked Shelf
Abby the Librarian
Reading Before Bed
Wicked Awesome Books

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

Title: Slice of Cherry
Author: Dia Reeves
ISBN: 9781416986201
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Page #: 505
Source: My own copy (won from a contest, I believe)

Summary:
"Kit and Fancy Cordelle are sisters of the best kind: best friends, best confidants, and best accomplices. The daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer, Kit and Fancy are used to feeling like outsiders, and that's just the way they like it. But in Portero, where the weird and wild run rampant, the Cordelle sisters are hardly the oddest or most dangerous creatures around.

It's no surprise when Kit and Fancy start to give in to their deepest desire - the desire to kill. What starts as a fascination with slicing open and stitching up quickly spirals into a gratifying murder spree. Of course, the sisters aren't killing just anyone, only the people who truly deserve it. But the girls have learned from their father's mistakes and know that a shred of evidence could get them caught. So when Fancy stumbles upon a mysterious and invisible doorway to another world, she opens a door to endless possibilities..."
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First Lines:

"Fancy only allowed three people in the whole world to get close to her: Daddy, who was on death row; Madda, who was working the graveyard shift; and Kit, who was dead to the world in the bed next to hers. And so when she awoke to find a prowler hanging over her, violating her personal space, her first instinct was to jab her dream-diary pencil into his eye."
Page 3
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Review:

Wow. This book blows all other horror/thriller out of the water. I don't think any book is creepier.

So, this one is about two sisters who are the kids of a serial killer - and they've taken on many of his attributes. Meaning, they love killing. Like, all the way to the core. It's a crazy premise, right? Well, that's just the base of the story. After that it gets to be about family and relationships. In a very twisted way.

Honestly, I loved the story. I just had to wrap my head around the whole sadistic thing before I could get to the meat of the book. But once you do, it's a very interesting concept. It's about sisters being so close that other relationships were difficult. And finding out how different they are - even though they have seen themselves as the same until that point. Just a very cool story.

There needs to be a warning label on this book :). I kid. I kid. Sort of. It's definitely not for the faint of heart. There's lots of killing, lots of sexual situations, plenty of language. It's just packed with crazy stuff. But all of that puts this book in the upper YA category. I can imagine that this book will be too much for some adults. So, read with care.

But that being said, I thought this book was amazingly written and thought out. It's so unique that I almost don't know how to classify it - other than horror. I will be recommending this book to those who can handle the intense-ness of this book. I loved Bleeding Violet by this same author. I think if you loved that, then you will really get into this book as well.
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Other Blog Reviews:

Well-Read Reviews
Eve's Fan Garden
Novel Novice
Y.A Reviewz
Steph Su Reads
Dreaming of Books
Edifying and Edgy

Waiting on Wednesday (53)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Here's what I'm waiting on this week:

Texas Gothic
by Rosemary Clement-Moore
To be released: July 12, 2011

Summary from Baker and Taylor:
"Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face."

I haven't read any of Ms. Clement-Moore's books before, but this one sounds wonderful! I love the whole family of witches thing... and that it's set in the South. And did I see a mention of a hot cowboy? I'm all there. I look forward to getting my hands on this one! Looks great :).

Top Ten Tuesday: Mean Girls

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week there is a new list! So fun - especially since I'm addicted to making lists. Here's this week's topic:

Top Ten Mean Girls
These are the bad girls of YA fiction that I've wanted to slap upside the head. How dare you all be so mean to my main characters. Ahem. The list:

1. Dolores Umbridge - Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
Did anyone not hate this woman?! The book she "stars" in is my least favorite HP book (even though it's still pretty high on the faves list). I just wanted to kick her pink-clad ass.

2. Savannah Snow - Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Your typical mean girl and her minions.

3. Monica Morel - Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine
I mean, she seriously throws our main character down a flight of stairs in the first book. Questions? No? Let's move on...

4. Mimi Force - Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz
Hello crazy twin girl. And weirdly attached to her brother... and just straight up crazy.

5. Marcie Millar - Hush, Hush saga by Becca Fitzgerald
Arch nemesis. Period. She's becoming important to the story, but I'm kinda pissed about that. She just seems like a bad chick.

6. Queen Mab - Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa
Not nice, missy. She may be a queen, but she's got everyone fearing her - even her equals. Not to mention the vendetta she has against our main girl.

7. Neferet - House of Night series by PC and Kristen Cast
The HoN books and I are going through a rough patch, but Neferet is the ultimate mean girl character. But older... and meaner... and heartless-er. She'll stop at nothing and I'm ready for her to be taken down a peg.

8. Amanda - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Super mean girl to an amazing main character. Rooting for Anna is the easiest thing in the world and Amanda is trying to take her down. Bad mean girl, Bad.

9. Elodie - Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
She's totally mean, but I love that she needs the help of our main girl. That makes her meanness a little more interesting - a little less shallow. But mean, nonetheless.

10. Penelope Hayes - Luxe series by Anna Godbersen
Mean is mean, even in historical novels. Penelope never gets the limelight like she wants - and she's done literally everything to get there. That makes her a mean girl in my book!

So, there's my ten! What did you decide? I had to pull info from other people's lists because I couldn't remember any names. I have a hard time remembering main character names - much less their opposites. But thanks, internet, for supplying me with names :).

Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt... by Crickett Rumley

Title: Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell
Author: Crickett Rumley
ISBN: 9781606841310
Publisher: Egmont
Page #: 296
Source: ARC from the publisher (to be released June 2011)

Summary:
"Expelled from thirteen boarding schools in the past five years, seventeen-year-old Jane Fontaine Ventouras is returning to her Southern roots, and the small town of Bienville, Alabama, where ladies always wear pearls, nothing says hospitality like sweet tea and pimento cheese sandwiches, and competing in the annual Magnolia Maid Pageant is every girl's dream.

But Jane is what you might call an anti-belle - more sarcasm and cynicism than sugar and spice. You can be sure that the last thing on her mind is joining the Magnolia Maid brigade and parading around town in an enormous dress and frilly bonnet. So when she finds herself up to her ears in ruffles and etiquette lessons, she's got one mission: Escape.

What's a girl to so? Will Jane survive Bienville boot camp intact or will they - gasp! - make a Southern belle out of her yet."
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First Lines:

"There's a whole chapter in the Magnolia Court Orientation Handbook titled 'Manners befitting a Maid Upon Announcement of Selection to the Court.' It goes something like this, but not exactly like this because I've added a few flourishes to jack up the entertainment value:"
Page 1
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Review:

This book was given to me by one of my coworkers because he knew I'd love it. Totally right. And it's completely because of the whole Southern thing. Thems my roots! :)

Jane is our leading lady who has had trouble in a ton of boarding schools, so has been sent back to her hometown to be the perfect Southern belle. She's more snark and funny than remotely girly. I loved that about here. All of it was totally a joke - even in times of stress. It just made for a really fun look on the whole thing.

I loved the concept of a belle contest - mostly because it's hilarious and I would have laughed my way through it... even if nothing out of the ordinary happened. It helps that you have a few characters who think the whole thing is bunk. The girls chosen for the court are awesome - I'd love to know Zara. She seems cool as a cucumber, but she's got a lot of depth.

There's also a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. Long lost love stuff. And the other girls have their own guy problems. You don't get a whole ton of information about them, so they are kind of a side story. But I think the smattering of boy stuff gives the story a boost.

I think all of those girls who love chick lit will really get into this one. Especially if you love Southern stuff. I do wonder if I got a few of the jokes more than someone who isn't from there. But I can't judge that. I really do plan on recommending this one to anyone looking for a funny, girly story. I look forward to it coming out in a couple months.
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Other Blog Reviews:

YA Book Nerd
Danyelle Leafty
Okay, so the book isn't out yet - so not many reviews. Let me know when you do and I'll link ya :).