Flawless
by Sara Shepard
A “Pretty Little Liars” novel
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I was very eager for this book to be released, especially since I loved the first one so much. The Pretty Little Liars series has so far been very suspenseful with plenty of bad behavior and uncertainty to keep everyone guessing as to what will happen next. Flawless was not quite as good as the first novel in my opinion, but it still kept me up all night reading.

In order to fully understand both this review and the book itself, you should read the first novel in the series. Flawless starts us off by first taking us into the past where we learn about the “The Jenna Thing”. Then it immediately picks up exactly where book #1 dropped us off - at Alison’s funeral right after everyone gets a text message from “A” stating that she/he is still here and still knows everything. It’s been determined that Alison is dead, so she can’t be sending them messages. So who is it, exactly?

In this novel, the four girls get themselves into even more trouble. Aria, who still pines for her teacher, gets mixed up in her father’s affair with Meredith. Spencer decides to see her sister’s ex-boyfriend again. After all, her family and sister are extremely mad at her, plus she gets cut off from her credit cards, so she figures she has little left to lose. Hanna becomes even more obsessed with her weight and appearance and also gets in trouble for the stunt she pulled in the last novel. Lastly, Emily has a crush on her new best friend, but is too confused and scared to do anything about it. To top it all off, one of the people that the girls all suspect to be “A” dies.

But the “A” person continues to harass, threaten and embarrass them with emails and text-messages, driving all of the girls to the point of near insanity. Instead of confiding in each other about them, they are unfortunately driven apart because they each have a dirty secret that “A” apparently knows, but nobody else does. Will they ever find out who “A” is and be forced to reveal their secrets?

I enjoyed this book immensely, but not as much as the first simply because I started to wonder why the girls didn’t try harder to find out who “A” is. I mean, texts and emails are pretty traceable. Also, the books are a little unrealistic. How is it possible that this “A” person be present everywhere all the time without being spotted?

Other than those things, however, this was a great read and I am eagerly awaiting the third book in the series. I recommend this book to fans of the first - just don’t start it late before going to bed or you will be up all night!

reviewed by Rian
4/5 Stars

Don’t You Forget About Me
by Cecily von Ziegesar
A Gossip Girl novel
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The Gossip Girls series has been a guilty pleasure of mine for a while, although lately I have become a little tired of the story line and characters. The characters seem to go through the same things over and over. Not to mention, there is so much designer label name-dropping throughout the story that there is barely a plot to begin with. But overall this series has been an enjoyable, naughty treat, with this latest one being no exception.

Don’t You Forget About Me generally concludes the stories of the five main characters: Serena, Blair, Nate, Dan and Vanessa. Serena, who becomes a movie star overnight, can’t decide if she should stay in NYC and shoot the squeal to her hit movie, or go to Yale with Nate and Blair. At the same time, she fights her feelings of love for Nate. Nate meanwhile realizes he is in love with both Serena and Blair and can’t choose between them. Unbeknownst to Blair, he also discovers that he will need to return to high school.

Blair happily plans her and Nate’s future at Yale while getting upset over the fact that Nate is becoming more and more distant. Her family also drops a major bomb on her when they announce they are moving to Los Angeles. Dan meanwhile struggles with his “coming out” to his family friends, with the help of his mother, who flies in from Europe to throw him a coming out party. But he’s beginning to wonder why he is still attracted to Vanessa if he’s supposed to be gay. Lastly, Vanessa pines away for Dan and helps her sister with her upcoming nuptials.

This was a solid read that managed to wrap up this particular group of stories, with plenty of twists and turns along the way and a surprising outcome. The only downfall of this story was Dan’s particular story line, which seemed extremely drawn out and boring this time around. It took him an entire novel to figure out what we basically knew in the first chapter. But other than that, I highly recommend this book to all Gossip Girl fans - you have to read this in order to find out what happens to your favorite characters!

Reviewed by Rian
4/5 Stars

Bras and Broomsticks
by Sarah Mlynowski
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I was excited when I heard Sarah Mlynowski had written a teen chick lit/fantasy book - especially since she is one of my favorite chick lit authors!

Meet Rachel. She is 14, unpopular and and suffering from the usual teenage angst. That all changes one day when she discovers that her younger sister Miri is a witch. Yes, a witch. Apparently it was passed down from their mother. While Rachel wonders why she didn’t inherit her mother’s powers, she knows that she can convince Miri to help her cast spells to help her out. (Behind their mother’s back, of course). For instance, there is a freshman fashion show coming up. Rachel knew if she got chosen to be in it, she’d become popular and get invited to the A-list parties. Too bad that normally she couldn’t dance to save her own life.

Although the girls’ mother warns Miri not to use her powers until she is fully trained in them, under Rachel’s begging and pleading, Miri begins doing some small spells to help out. First it’s just to help Rachel become a dancer. Then there is the zit-away concoction. Then the girls decide to try and break up their father’s soon-to-be-wedding with a woman they feel is horrible and two-faced. Meanwhile Rachel is ecstatic with her newfound popularity - not only did she get chosen to be in the freshman fashion show as a dancer, but she suddenly is dating one of the most handsome boys in school, and the A-list is inviting her to parties.

But after a few disasters and spells-gone-wrong, the girls realize they might be in over their heads. Maybe their mother was right. Will Rachel end up losing her new popularity and best friend? Will she make a complete fool of herself in front of the school? Will the girls’ dad end up making the biggest mistake of his life? Find out this and more by reading this delightful novel.

This book was a wonderful read. It has all of the ingredients you could ever want in a teen fantasy chick lit novel: family angst, friendship and popularity dilemmas, crushes, parties, magic, and more. Mlynowski’s trademark wit, warmth, and addictive storytelling come through in this book stronger than ever. Reading her novels is usually like having your best friend confide juicy secrets to you, but even better - and Bras and Broomsticks is no exception! The characters and dialogue are realistic, and the plot is original and absorbing.

I highly recommend Bras and Broomsticks to all chick lit and fantasy fans of all ages. Adult readers will forget they are reading a teen novel as they get lost in the pages of this book, and teen readers will be delighted. Harry Potter, move over - there is a new preteen with superpowers in town!

Reviewed by Rian
5/5 Stars

Faking 19
by Alyson Noel
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Alex, a 17 year-old AP student, has lately gone from a promising young student into failing her classes and hanging out in LA with her friend M, who happens to be the most popular girl in school. The girls wind up pretending they are 19 and snagging older boyfriends. But how long can that last? Before long, Alex is in trouble with her mother and guidance counselor. M meanwhile comes from a rich family that doesn’t care what she does.

Soon enough, Alex’s new boyfriend finds out her true age, and things come crashing down. Alex realizes she must get over her resentment for her wayward father (who refuses to pay for her college tuition), and make an effort in school of she might not graduate with her class.

“Faking 19″ was a very engaging and fast-paced read. The author does a great job of getting the reader into Alex’s head and make them feel her emotions. The story is well-written, capturing the girls’ teen angst perfectly. Overall a great book, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes the Gossip Girl series and other teen books.

Reviewed by Rian
5/5 Stars

Nothing Can Keep us Together
by Cecily von Ziegesar
A Gossip Girl Novel
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As a devoted reader of the Gossip Girl novels, I’ve begun to notice a trend with them starting from about Novel #6 on. Each book since has gotten racier, naughtier, and more outrageous. The latest one, “Nothing Can Keep Us Apart” (#8) is the naughtiest of them all. And although this quality grabbed me in the first book and kept me reading, it’s begun to wear thin.

Forget what you read on the back of the book - it has little, if anything, to do with the actual story. Blair did find her “devoted” boyfriend Nate in the shower with Serena in the previous book. But she doesn’t vow revenge. Meanwhile, Serena decides to pretend Nate and her are meant to be. Too bad Nate cannot stop neither his constant crying or stealing the coach’s stash of viagra. Meanwhile Jenny Humphrey is searching for a new boarding school. She wants to find a party school, but so far is having little luck. Blair has decided she doesn’t need Nate, and hooks up with one of the most eligible young men from England. And the other characters? Up to their usual snarky, bad behavior.

And Gossip Girl manages to catch it all in her online journal, as always.

I have to admit I was disappointed with Nothing Can Keep Us Apart. For one, the story line is just unbelievably outrageous, and so far-fetched to the point of being ridiculous. Blair hooking up so easily with the British guy? Nate suddenly turning into a crybaby because he is in love with Blair? Vanessa turning into a sex maniac, among other things? I know this series started out deliciously “bad” with plenty of twists and turns, but it’s gotten way out of hand. There was more sex in this book then there is in most adult chick lit!

The entire time I read this novel, I kept raising my eyebrows higher and higher, and actually found it hard to continue reading. The parts that were bad were too bad, and the parts that weren’t were boring. Jenny’s quest failed to interest me too much, although I’m interested in reading the spinoff series “The It Girl”.

It was the ending that made me decide to not bother reading the next book in this series. The author manages to leave it where the next book will undoubtedly be R-rated. But we may find out who “gossip girl” is.

Overall, I’d have to say pass on this unless you are a die-hard, devoted fan of this series. Anyone who has steadily become disappointed with the past few books probably won’t like this one either.

Reviewed by Rian
2/5 Stars

The It Girl
by Cecily von Ziegesar
An “It Girl” Novel
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I have been eagerly awaiting The It Girl series, which many of you know is a spinoff from one of the characters in the “Gossip Girl” series. As soon as I got my copy I eagerly devoured it, hoping that the characters wouldn’t be too similar to the Gossip Girl set. Thankfully they weren’t- in fact, this was a great book, even better than I’d hoped!

You may recall from the last Gossip Girl book that Jenny Humphrey has left Constance Billard in NYC to go to a boarding school- Waverly Academy in Upstate New York. Waverly Academy is filled with rich kids with their secrets. Jenny herself is trying to move into her “New Jenny” role, meaning she isn’t going to let people get her down anymore. She wants to be more wild, more in control, more free. So far it seems to be working, as several of the popular guys in school seem to like her already. But can that be because of the rumors that keep following her around?

The other main characters in The It Girl are just as intriguing. There is Brett Messerschmidt, a gorgeous girl who is trying desperately to hide her home life while trying to snag the cute new Disiplinary Committee advisor. Then there is the stuck up and selfish Callie, whose boyfriend Easy seems to have plans that don’t include her. Callie meanwhile is trying to manipulate everyone in site, including Jenny so that she doesn’t get kicked out of school. Easy himself can’t decide if he likes Jenny or his old girlfriend Callie. And there are others…

As with the other series, this book is told from multiple viewpoints so that the reader gets to see what is going on in each person’s head. With glamourous parties, backstabbing and snobbiness galore, The It Girl kept me reading non-stop until the end. The characters were interesting and unique; and there were many little sideplots with plenty of romantic tension thrown in for good measure. The author does a fantastic job of both providing a juicy, intriguing plot and sparking major interest in the next book in the series.

Despite the plot being a bit unrealistic, and the strange way that so many of the girls had boy names, I loved this book and cannot wait for the next!

Overall I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes a gossipy good teen novel.

Reviewed by Rian
5/5 Stars