The Name of the Star  by Maureen Johnson


The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

My Book  Review
"The Name of the Star" is a great read, I loved it. What starts off as a fish out of water story about a girl from the Deep South coming to boarding school in London't East End turns out to be a supernatural thriller of the best possible kind. Rory is one of the most instantly likeable and realistic teen characters I've come across in ages, in fact I would happily have read about her simply going to Wexford and hooking up with some hot English boy but Maureen Johnson gives us much more than that. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes Johnson's trademark dry sense of humour and often unexpected comic turn of phrase because, man, does she have readable style but also to those who like a bit of grisly thrown in with their thrillers because the return of Jack the Ripper is never going to be pleasant! The East End setting is completely convincing and I say that as an East End girl who has spent many a night in The Ten Bells, it was so great to read about a less obviously touristy side of London. Finally, I'd recommend this to anyone looking to get into a new series because "The Name of the Star" isn't even out in the UK yet and I'm already desperate for the next one. Brilliant brilliant brilliant
Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

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up- come books
In the Tudor age, ambition, power and charismatic allure are essential and Catherine Howard has plenty of all three. Not to mention her loyal best friend, Kitty Tylney, to help cover her tracks. Kitty, the abandoned youngest daughter of minor aristocracy, owes everything to Cat – where she is, what she is, even who she is. Friend, flirt, and self-proclaimed Queen of Misrule, Cat reigns supreme in a loyal court of girls under the none-too-watchful eye of the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk.

When Cat worms her way into the heart of Henry VIII and becomes Queen of England, Kitty is thrown into the intoxicating Tudor Court. It’s a world of glittering jewels and elegant costumes, of gossip and deception. As the Queen’s right-hand-woman, Kitty goes from the girl nobody noticed to being caught between two men – the object of her affection and the object of her desire.

But the atmosphere of the court turns from dazzling to deadly, and Kitty is forced to learn the difference between trust and loyalty, love and lust, secrets and treason. And to accept the consequences when some lessons are learned too late
May 15th 2012 by Viking Juvenile
Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistible good looks and charm on unsuspecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him
June 12th 2012 by Delacorte Press

Auracle by Gina Rosati

On the surface, there’s nothing remarkable about Anna Rogan: She gets average grades, she’s not especially fashionable, she spends most of her time just hanging out with her best friend Rei. But Anna does have a remarkable secret: she has the ability to do astral projection. She uses her out-of-body experiences to explore the universe, until one day when there’s an accident at school and her classmate Taylor gets into her body. Now Taylor’s using her new identity to accuse an innocent boy of murder and she shows no signs of leaving Anna’s body. The only person who knows Anna’s secret is Rei, and as her feelings for Rei grow she must face a future where they can never touch...unless they can get find a way to get Taylor out of Anna’s body, stop the murder trial, and discover the true nature of Anna’s power

 out on August 7, 2012

Eve by Anna Carey 

The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life

 My Book  Review
Year 2036. A terrible plague has brutally decimated the population. Hundreds of children have become orphans, the world is in chaos. Five years old Eve is taken away from his dying mother and taken to a school to live with other orphaned girls her age. Throughout their life, they are taught that the world outside the school's walls is a dangerous place, populated by cruel and savage men, who are just waiting to seduce and deceive unsuspecting and innocent girls like them. So, Eve and her friends spend their lives learning to read, studying the arts and preparing for the day when, after graduation, they will leave the school and enjoy their new life in the City of Sand, a new, beautiful place that is being built by the King, where they will enjoy their life and be happy. But Eve, the night before her graduation, discovers where the girls actually end up after leaving school and, terrified, decides to run away. With the help of one of her teachers she plans her escape to Califia, a city across San Francisco bridge where girls like her can find salvation.
During her escape, Eve meets Arden, a girl from her school that ran away after finding out their horrible destiny. Eve and Arden have never been friends: Arden is described by Eve as selfish, spiteful and mean. Above all these, Arden has still a home and two parents, and this seems to be her biggest fault. Eve has never stopped to wonder how it was possible that a girl with a family was placed in a school of orphans, but hey, she had other things going on her mind, like playing with a baby Grizzly. And everything is fine, as long as Mama Grizzly makes an appearance. But, never fear, here comes the hero, riding his trusty steed and saving the day. Eve, at this point, instead of thanking the above mentioned hero, worries that he's thinking about having sex with her, and informs him that she doesn't like the idea very much. And yes, we are talking about the girl who had never seen a man in her life.
From here begin a series of random events that alternate between fortunate coincidences and predictable disasters, up to the -also predictable- final sacrifice.
All in all, I think the idea behind this book is mostly good, the author talented, but I couldn't help but find the story a little flat.
Eve's character often annoyed me: she was, often, selfish and moody. Sure, she hasn't have an easy life, but that doesn't justify her reckless behavior or endangering everyone around her. Caleb is potentially a great character, but we know so little about him that, in the end, I didn't care much about him.
Overall, Eve was a quick, enjoyable read, but it failed to convince me

The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

My own review on the book

The Iron King is a fast paced, magnificently written story that kept me turning the pages. The settings are exquisitely detailed without being overly wordy and even the supporting characters are dynamic and real. The heroine is tough, stubborn, and somehow vulnerable at the same time, and much more empowered than the female leads that I've found in other YA novels. While there is a wonderful romance woven throughout the tale, this is not a story of a teenage girl pining over the mysterious bad boy she can't have. There is a ton of action and adventure, including beautifully crafted and thrilling fight scenes as Megan journeys through strange and dangerous lands to rescue her brother. All told, the Iron King exceeded all my expectations and, I think, stretched the genre in new and exciting directions. I highly recommend it.