The Cabinet of Earths; Anne Nesbit

The Cabinet of Earths by Anne Nesbet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a fun, interesting twist on the idea of immortality and the marriage between magic and science. Maya is the bookish, normal daughter in the Davidson family; her mother is recovering from cancer, her father is a scientist and her younger brother, James, is one of those naturally charming, gregarious kids everyone loves. The family moves to Paris for a year while her father works with the Society of Philosophical Chemistry, and she's thrown into a school where she must speak French and is an outsider - although she does make one friend, a Bulgarian named Valko, who lived in America for four years and speaks English.

Maya spends time with her cousin, Louise, a very faint, forgettable, grey woman who as a child survived a church collapse in Italy and through Louise meets another cousin, Henri-Pierre, who lives a very secluded life making opera sets and watching over a rather odd looking cabinet. There's another cousin, another Henri, who is young and dashing and yet somehow a little creepy. The three Fourcroys are descended from the original Fourcroy, a scientist, and his wife, a Lavirotte, a witch. Maya appears to take after the Lavirotte side, which will have consequences for her family...

There are touches of Lewis' Magician's Nephew, Tuck Everlasting and more modern "weird things happen to ordinary people" books, but the blend is new and fresh.

ARC provided by publisher.

If Only; Carole Geithner

If Only by Carole Geithner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's rare when I agree with blurbage/jacket copy like "...nothing short of extraordinary" but here, it's so deserved.

Corinna's life has been completely upended by the death of her mother in the summer between her seventh and eighth grade years. If Only is her journal of her life during 8th grade, marking the various firsts of life without her mother, as well as first in life generally. There's such deep sadness mixed with normal teen girl stuff (like her "orange crush") and her feelings of loneliness and distance from her friends are part of a pitch-perfect book. There were no moments when I felt that there was something age inappropriate or false about Corinna's voice.

While written for middle grade girls, this is a wonderful read for anyone who has lost, or knows someone who has lost, a parent when young.

ARC provided by publisher.

Starters; Lissa Price

Starters by Lissa Price
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yet another dystopian series (at least there's definitely a sequel in the works, if not more books). The twist here is that the Spore Wars (enemy unknown) have led to a situation where adults between 20 and 60 have essentially died off, and those minors without grandparents (or great-grandparents, or great-aunts/uncles) are either institutionalized or living as squatters. Because this is set in Los Angeles, there's an even greater disparity between the really rich of Beverley Hills and everyone else.

Callie has been taking care of her sick younger brother, Tyler, while trying to avoid the marshals who will separate and institutionalize them. One day she hears about an opportunity to earn a lot of money as a rental body - Elders (and in this world, that can be anyone from about 90 through 200 years old) who want to re-experience a young body pay to have their brains "implanted" (via a computer chip) into a Starter (who could be 13-19 years old) body. Of course, things are never as easy as they seem, and it turns out that Callie's renter, Helena, has only joined because her granddaughter, Emma, has gone missing. Working with an amazing brain surgeon-turned-computer genius, she's had her (and Callie's) chips altered so they can communicate... and I'll stop there to avoid spoilers.

As with many of these series, editing this down to a good single volume would have made for a better read; having said that, this isn't a bad execution of a dystopian vision. There are some interesting twists, only a few of which were telegraphed from afar.

ARC provided by publisher.

Storm Makers; Jennifer E. Smith

The Storm Makers by Jennifer E. Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

At first I thought this was going to be like Savvy, but it wasn't: not everyone has the ability to affect the weather (although I'm not sure that an earthquake is a type of weather, but whatever). Usually it's a skill/talent that emerges when the person is in their 20s, but in this case, Simon is only 12 - the youngest StormMaker ever.

The McDuff family has moved to a farm in Wisconsin, where they will make a living off Dad's invention, Mom's painting and a few crops. At least, that's the plan. But there's a drought and neither the painting nor the invention are working well. One day Simon seems to short circuit the toaster... and then a car battery. It turns out that he's a StormMaker, and the focus of Rupert London, the leader of MOSS. London has a plan to use weather to destroy, rather than help; of course there is an opposition in the form of Daisy and Otis.

The questions here are of whom to believe, which side is telling the truth, and how to be loyal to your ideals. Luckily, these teens aren't preternaturally smart and you sense their confusion, making this fantasy feel more real than most. Simon's twin, Ruby, is the narrator of this story, which makes it perfect for both middle grade boys and girls.

ARC provided by publisher.

The Downside of Being Charlie; Jenny Torres Sanchez

The Downside of Being Charlie by Jenny Torres Sanchez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What are the downsides to being Charlie? His best (only?) friend is a skinny, ADD Turk obsessed with the Rat Pack, he's 5'10" and weighs 235 (and no, he's not on the football team), and his mother disappears every so often. That's not enough? He's just spent the summer between junior and senior year at a fat camp, a very cute girl has moved in across the street, and he's sharing a locker with the class pariah.

As he goes through the first semester of his senior year he starts to come out of his shell a little, despite things going wrong - very wrong - at home. There's a caring teacher but, in true teen fashion, Charlie doesn't really turn to him for help. His food issues will resonate with any teen dealing with weight problems.

The writing brings Charlie to life is a way that makes him feel real - usually this combination of "downsides" is too much, as though the author is just throwing things in for effect. Here, that's not quite the case. Charlie's love of photography, his crush on (and near inability to speak to) Charlotte, his problems at home, etc. all made sense and don't have that kitchen sink feeling.

ARC provided by publisher.

Hearts of Darkness; Dave Thompson

Hearts of Darkness: James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Cat Stevens, and the Unlikely Rise of the Singer-Songwriter by Dave Thompson>
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This wasn't my favorite musical genre, but the music of these three definitely played a part in my high school experience. So I was interested in learning more about them and how this genre grew to be so popular... if only this book had been less like the songs they sung.

What do I mean by that? The timeline rambled, with long digressions into musical history and other, earlier genres (like skiffle). There were moments when the information was hedged (eg, James Taylor's stay in McLean when he was in high school). And the writing simply wasn't tight enough to sustain my interest, and I was able to put it down for long periods before coming back to the narrative.

ARC provided by publisher.

Illuminate; Aimee Agresti

Illuminate by Aimee Agresti
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm vacillating between "it was ok" and "I liked it", but decided to be generous.

Haven Terra (yes, the name has import) was abandoned as a child - found bruised, bleeding and alone at the side of the road when she was five, with no memory of her past. Taken in and raised by Joan, she's one of the top students in her class and firmly focused on the future. One day she and her BFF, Dante (and why is it that the male BFF is always gay? seriously, it's bugging me that we can't show boys and girls just being friends without one having a same-sex orientation) learn that they've been chosen to participate in an exciting internship, assisting with the opening and running of a new luxe hotel in Chicago.

Once there she feels outclassed by the gorgeous, glamorous members of The Outfit (named after Al Capone's gang) but is made to feel like a critical member of the team by Aurelia, the owner and her mentor. Her assignment seems normal at first, but slowly she realizes that something is not quite right - and her friendship with Dante is starting to loosen. Luckily, there's Lucian to romance her, and Lance to pick up where Dante's friendship has left off. There's also a mysterious book blank book that gives her instructions and orders via writing that appears.

Sounds familiar? Yep, I thought so, too. Without going into spoilers, let's just say that this is paranormal romance/suspense and there's nothing really surprising here. At times the writing was a little florid and a good editing would have helped. Yes, there's a huge Capone component (the hotel is where the Valentine's Day Massacre took place, and there's even a minor mention of Geraldo's ill-fated opening of the hidden vault) but the history is glossed over - it's there for atmosphere and nothing more.

ARC provided by publisher.

Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink; Stephanie Kate Strohm

Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Libby and her BFF Dev have found ways to escape their grey prep school for the summer: he's going to New York to do an internship at a fashion magazine (very Devil Wears Prada) while Libby will spend her summer living in 1790s Maine, acting as an Educational and Historical Interpreter for a reenactment village. Despite Libby's love of fashion and shoes, she's a passionate history buff with knowledge of cooking, needlework and, yes, fashion. Example? She can tell you when left and right shoes were invented (yes, they were invented) and create a blueberry pie that impresses a writer for Bon Appetit.

In other words, Libby's not your usual blonde bubblehead (kind of like Legally Blonde's Elle). The problem is that the other characters are no where near as fully realized, plodding along relatively predictable paths. The love triangle (of course there has to be one) is actually a little boring as a result.

ARC provided by publisher.

Lost Girls; Ann Kelley

Lost Girls by Ann Kelley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Did you like Libba Bray's Beauty Queens? I confess, the satire was a little too heavy for me, so it only rated a 3. This book? Solid 5 for me.

Apparently this is based on a true event in Thailand in the '70s: several girls on a camping trip get stranded on a deserted island in the Thai archipelago and have to survive for quite a long time before they get rescued. Sounds like Lord of the Flies, too, doesn't it? In this version (called Koh Tabu in England, where it won the Manchester Book Award in 2011), it's group of girls whose fathers are involved with the Vietnamese War effort. This cadet group (sort of Girl Scout-esque) is minus their longstanding leader, although they're thrilled that Layla Campbell, a very glamorous younger woman, will be there with them. At the last moment, Bonnie's mother withdraws as well.

A storm makes it impossible for them to land on the island they'd planned to spend three days camping on, and the boatman somehow gets them to semi-safety on another island (which he calls Koh Tabu) that has abundant fresh water. The storm worsens and in the morning they realize that one of the girls died. Then the boatman, whom they'd assumed was going to return in three days, turns up dead.

Of course there are moments of courage as well as moments of hideously selfish behavior. The island has secrets, some of which the girls find and some that are hinted at. Layla's glamor wears off quickly for most of the girls, and her leadership abilities are completely lacking. Their survival, and rescue, seems bleak.

While much of this seems like a re-tread of Golding, it's more than merely that. The girls reactions to their situations all feel completely real, and there were moments when I knew/hoped I'd have acted in a similar fashion.

ARC provided by publisher.

A Confusion of Princes; Garth Nix

A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix
My rating 5 of 5 stars

Who doesn't love Garth Nix?  There were several Middle School readers at my school anxious about missing the release of each new "day" in his Keys to the Kingdom series - they'll love this new book.

Khemri was chosen by the Emperor Hierself's minions to be a Prince, a life he believes will lead to something like the one he's seen in a number of videos: commanding a starship of some kind, ruling a world, surrounded by luxury and adventure, and many, many rebirths.  The reality of life post-Ascension isn't quite that, what with potential assassination plots, service in the Navy and trying to learn something about how to stay alive.

Turns out that he's somehow special.  Quite how special isn't revealed until later, when he's sent on a mission to a world on the Fringe.  Stripped of his "enhancements" and virtually human, he learns to survive and - most important - not be one of the cookie-cutter princes that litter the universe.  I can't go into detail here without massive spoilers, suffice it to say that the twists in Khemri's life aren't 100% predictable.

ARC provided by publisher.