3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brashares

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Publication date: 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 318
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 12+

Ama, Jo, and Polly have been friends since the first day of third grade, but by the last day of middle school they had drifted apart. Jo wants to be popular and thinks Polly needs to grow up. Ama spends all of her time either doing homework or in the library--doing homework. But during the summer before high school all three learn what friendship is and grow closer together.

This book takes place at the same time as the fourth Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book. There are a few appearances of the original sisterhood, but they are not the focus.

While the individual stories were interesting, I just didn't feel that 3 Willows held the same kind of emotional impact as the original series did. There wasn't the same heart, nor did I care as much about Ama, Jo, and Polly as I did about the previous sisterhood. But, as a standalone, this is a fun read, especially good for younger teens.

There was one thing at the beginning that threw me off. There is a time when the three girls all share how they became friends, but at first I thought that they were letters written to the other girls, then I realized that it was a first person perspective. But it only happened at the beginning and not more than two or three times. Other than that, the writing was well executed and the pacing of the three plots was good.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.

My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding

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Publication date: 2012
Publisher: Penquin
Pages: 318
My rating: 3.5 stars
Ages: 16+

In this memoir of an "English Treasure," Balding discusses what it was like growing up the daughter of a champion race horse trainer. As the daughter she was seen as less than her brother, but during her time in the amateur racing circuit, she proves to everyone just what a woman can achieve. Balding's storytelling is quintessentially British, showcasing the stereotype that Brits only show affection to dogs and horses.

I was first drawn to My Animals when I saw an interview with Balding in which she discussed this book. Being American, I had never heard of Balding, nor did I know much of anything about racing (other than what I had picked up from movies such as National Velvet and Seabiscuit). But I wanted to read her book because it seemed so odd to me that the Queen Mum would eat breakfast with the family of the man who trains her horses.

For the most part, Balding explains the racing terms in such a way that even someone like me can understand. But it's really more than racing--I would say that the racing is actually a secondary part of My Animals. I think it's more about growing up thinking that you need to be a certain way to get recognition from your family, and that you need to meet certain expectations. I like the uniqueness of having the chronology given through which dogs where in her life or which horse she was riding, though I felt a little thrown about in some of her chapters as she would go forward or backward in time and then return to whatever event she was initially talking about. They were all related, it just seemed abrupt.

This is a good read for older teens and up, especially those who like horses.

*I am not compensated by Amazon.

Cress by Marissa Meyer

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Publication date: 2014
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Pages: 550
My rating: 4 stars
Ages: 14+
Series: The Lunar Chronicles, book 3

In this continuing story, Cinder, Scarlet, and the rest go to rescue Cress--a lunar "shell" being kept on a satellite orbiting earth. In the process of the rescue, the group is split up and must find each other again while coming up with a plan on how to stop the wedding between Emperor Kaito and Queen Levana.

There are few series that I'll read all of, and even fewer that I look forward to the next installment every year. The Lunar Chronicles is one of those. Each book is fresh, without feeling as if the story is being dragged on past its expiration point. I think this is because of the introduction of new characters and a new subplot in each book.

The Lunar Chronicles will be loved by sci-fi fans, as well as fans of fantasy, fairytales, and dystopia. Each new section has a sentence or two from the classic fairytale that book is focusing on, but Meyer presents the familiar stories in a unique and unexpected way--leaving you guessing what's going to happen next, and excited when you recognize a part of the fairytale we all know. The books may be long, but the pace is good, and for teens (even younger teens with a higher reading level) who have read Harry Potter, it will be easy for them to make it through. Book 4, Winter, will come out probably next January.

*I am not compensated by Amazon.

The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare by MG Buehrlen

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Publication date: 2014
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Pages: 410
My rating: 4 stars
Ages: 14+

Alex is a social outcast--by her own design. She can't let anyone know about the visions she's been having since she was four years old--visions that are too realistic to be just visions. Then she meets Porter, a mysterious stranger who has been looking after her her entire life, and she learns the truth. Or does she? Someone doesn't want Alex to keep going into the past, putting her family and her life in jeopardy.

Buehrlen's debut novel is fantastic; I couldn't put it down. The story and the characters kept drawing me in, which meant that I finished it in less than two days. This is what the world needs: more amazing stand alone novels.

There is something in the design of the book that I wish was done differently. There are times when someone is speaking to Alex's mind, but it isn't set off any differently than the rest of the text. Maybe that confusion was intentional, but I found it distracting and would have liked it set off by italics or something else. Other than that the story was easy to follow, and the world of "descenders" was believable.

*I am not compensated by Amazon.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

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Publication date: 2014
Publisher: Full Fathom Five
Pages: 452
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 16+

Amy Gumm has been picked on for years--ever since her dad left, and her mom got addicted. So when she's taken from Kansas to Oz, she's ready for a change to good. Unfortunately, Oz is not the Oz in the stories. Dorothy has returned and the power has gone to her head. In order to save Oz and its people, Amy must kill Dorothy.

I was really intrigued by this book when I saw it at the bookstore; an intrigue which slowly lessened into interest as I started reading it. It was hard for me to overcome Judy Garland's Dorothy and believe that Dorothy had become a power hungry despot who showed way too much skin. This book is full of gray areas and very little black and white, good and evil. Just as Amy doesn't know who to trust, neither do the readers.

My biggest disappointment came as I was nearing the end. I had about 50 pages to go and started wondering how the story could be completed in that amount of time. Simple answer: it couldn't. This was the beginning of a series. There was absolutely no way this could even try to act as a stand alone novel, but there was no clue anywhere that I could see (and I started looking at the back of the book, and on the flaps) that there would be more books. Instead of feeling that I completed a story in 450 pages, I ended the book feeling like it had all been set up to the real story that was to come.

There was some hard swears, but no sexual situations.

*I do not receive compensation from Amazon.