March Readalikes!

Ohhhh...if it's okay with you guys I am going to link you on over to the list on the CPL webpage.  Plus, you should know and love our website -- it is mucho useful!

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

Even before the murders, things have been wrong in Ludlow. The summer heat is stifling, a strange disease is killing the birds, and Hannah is being haunted by her dead best friend, Lillian.

These details -- the relentless sticky heat, the rotting heaps of feathers on front lawns and sidewalks, and Hannah’s matter-of-fact acceptance of Lillian’s ghost -- give Yovanoff's story the sensation of a dream where you are menaced in your everyday surroundings and can’t make your legs obey to run.

Goaded by Lillian, Hannah investigates the serial murders of young girls in Ludlow, becoming more obsessed as the victims begin to appear to her. Grief and closure are strong themes in this grisly mystery, but it is also about how people look at girls and their bodies, and how girls claim power. The killer arranges the bodies of his victims to represent innocence; Lillian’s death was caused by anorexia; Hannah chooses a romance with a strange and possibly dangerous boy.

As their circle of popular friends reorganizes itself, Hannah realizes that she and Lillian may have been mean girls at times, but she still taps into that power when another friend tries to tear her down. Now that Lillian is dead, what sort of person will Hannah be?

Too many books have a shallow fixation on romantic love, but the love between best friends is just as important.  The connection between Hannah and Lillian is what drives this story of loss and survival.

High School MUUUUUURDER Mysteries

Well HELLO.

This will not come as news to you if you're an obsessive fan, but for the moderate fans, slightly interested fans, indifferent parties and haters, let me tell you what just happened: The 12th book in the Pretty Little Liars series was released this week.

True story.

If you're waiting to get your hands on it, or you don't love this series in particular, but do want to dip your feet into the (really, truly) thrilling world of high school murder mysteries, we've got a list for you, young detective.

Here are 10 books guaranteed to make you want to get your Veronica Mars on. In fact, while you're at it, you should just watch Veronica Mars again.

  

 

Reaper by the Dozen

If you haven't read Gina D'Amico's Croak go forth and read that puppy forthwith!  If you HAVE, then rejoice! because the sequel, Scorch continues apace with snarkiness, mystery, betrayal, accidental damnation and more weird discoveries about the Grimsphere.

***SPOILERS***
Lex has returned to Croak burdened both by guilt and the whammy of all damnation powers.  While her guilt over her twin's death is somewhat alleviated by finding her happily building roller coasters in the afterlife, Lex is ostracized by most of Croak, along with her fellow Junior reapers.  It's not long before Zara's devastating attacks resume and Lex, Uncle Mort and their friends find themselves fleeing and fighting for their lives.

So much to love about this series!  First of all, the Grimsphere -- where the reapers carry on their business -- is a kooky and vivid imaginary realm.  If you've already visited the town of Croak, get ready for DeMyse, which is Vegas gone down the Rabbit Hole.

Then there's Lex, who I empathized with from page one: she's out-of-control angry but she can't always explain why.  Without going too far down the feminist path, a message that is laid on thick is that it is not okay for girls to get angry, and if they do it comes from some illogical, unreasonable, heaven-forbid emotional place.  To be told this is, well, infuriating.

Lex gets mad and gets even.  Sure she struggles with guilt and the consequences of punching people in the face, to say nothing of damning them for all eternity.  But it's her decisions that get judged, not her feelings.  Which is something rage-filled teens should appreciate.

Something else to appreciate? No. Freaking. Love. Triangles.  Yet still plenty of smoochy times between Lex and Driggs whenever they can evade the watchful eyes of Uncle Mort.

I give it 4 candy corns. 

More Halloweeny recommendations headed your way!  Have you got any of your own you'd like to share?

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Remember how I was complaining about supernatural-problem-solvers a little while back?  Well Libba Bray's new Diviners series is the exception to the rule.  Heck, she could write about baby seal clubbing and I would get behind it.  I LOVE YOU, LIBBA BRAY.

(Yow!  Will that come up in her Google alerts tomorrow?  I hope so.)

Evie O'Neill has a penchant for the spotlight and for getting into trouble, so of course her parents decide to send her from Ohio to New York City to stay with her Uncle Will.  Uncle Will runs a museum dedicated to folklore and the occult and shortly after Evie's arrival he is called in to assist in the investigation of a gruesome ritual murder.  Evie is determined to help, and she has a unique talent that may unmask the murderer...

If you hear historical fiction and want to punch something, this the book will change your mind.  Reminiscent of Se7en, the X-Files, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer it is still it's very own Truly Great Tale.  It doesn't hurt that The Diviners is set in the Roaring 20s, the best time period for fashion hands down.  Stop trying to bring back the poncho and flash back to this classy era, Garment Industry! 

Just take a squint:



BE WARNED: At 578 pages this book will give you a wrist cramp because once you begin reading you will be unable to set it down.  I knew this book would be witty and outrageous with character revelations, thrilling derring-do and speakeasies.  What I did not know is that it was going to be off the charts creepy.


Did I mention how much I love this woman?  Run, do not walk, to the library and get a copy of this book before they're all gone.  Then settle in with some candy corn -- after double checking that the doors are locked and that the weird sound in the basement is only the clothes dryer -- and get spooked.

Nickel Plated by Aric Davis

Nickel Plated

Nickel lives in a single-family home in Michigan.  Regular place: yard, garage, nothing conspicuous.  Nickel masks the marijuana plants with corn.  Keeps a small arsenal under the bed.  Uses the garage to build pipe bombs.

Nickel was ten when he escaped from foster care.  Now he's twelve and he's making sure he never goes back.  Marijuana pays the bills.  That, and the money Nickel extorts from online child predators.  He also takes the odd job.  Okay, those jobs aren't always legal, but if you've got a complicated problem, Nickel understands discretion.


And certain kinds of jobs Nickel will do for free.

Aric Davis has written one hardboiled kid, but don't let the tough talk fool you; Nickel is a survivor who has overcome overwhelmingly bad odds, and not a day goes by that he doesn't recall the kids who didn't make it.  This book has got plenty of funny matched with plenty of tension.  It's also got a big heart.

Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper. One of the most famous (and mysterious) serial killers of all time. Now someone is saying (the way someone is always saying something) that this unidentified mad man lurking through dark shadows in 1888 London may have been a man woman. Hm.

For further rainy weather Jack the Ripper reading, check out one of these new(ish) gems.

Two mysteries, two stoic dudes

Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

Unlike his girlfriend, Clea, who gets top grades, Cody knows football is his only ticket to college.  And when Clea's father ships her off to a prestigious boarding school in Vermont, Cody knows if he really loves her he shouldn't hold her back.

So he breaks up with her.  Then his knee gets destroyed during a game and college goes up in smoke.  Cody has dropped out and is working for the local lumber yard when he hears the news that Clea has vanished...

Dooley Takes the Fall by Norah McClintock

Ryan Dooley just wants to get through high school.  He's clean now, after a year and a half locked in juvie when a robbery went bad.  Dooley lives with his uncle, a former cop who has made it clear that if Dooley screws up just once, he's on his own.

All this means Dooley's not too thrilled to deal with cops after a kid goes splat off a bridge right in front of him.  Dooley doesn't want them to know that he knew the kid, who was kind of a jerk.  Because that could make Dooley suspect number one -- unless he can uncover the real killer.


I enjoyed both of these books for their straight-to-the-point writing style.  Both feature main characters who are smarter than they think they are; McClintock's Dooley would fit right in with S.E. Hinton's crowd.

FELL

My two reading goals for the summer:

-Read more mysteries.
-Read as many books by fabulous teen fiction pioneer M.E. Kerr as I possibly can. *

The book Fell** (which is the first in a series) seemed to fit in both categories, so I picked it up. Holy crab apple! I had no idea! It was so good! I can't wait to read more! Stop this train! Goodness gracious! I'm ready for bed! Give me more!

The first book in the Fell series introduces you to the character of John Fell, and you settle in for one of M.E. Kerr's amazing stories about level-headed characters dealing with chaotic relationships. He's given a sketchy offer by a wealthy neighbor that he can't refuse. He's involved in a love triangle, and starts a new school with intense new rules. I was enjoying myself so much I didn't realize until about 2/3 of the way through the book that there was no real mystery involved. I thought this was a mystery. Where is the mystery?

Then BAM, all at once you're in the mystery! The mystery has been around the whole time! You just couldn't see it. I don't want to give too much away, but Fell is an incredibly smart young man and even he didn't see it coming. The book ends on a second-layer surprise mystery that sets you up for the second book, which I am rushing to read.

It's short, has incredibly complex and likable characters, and had me saying "OH NO!" out loud at the beach. Summer mystery WIN.

*Ask me more about her! ASK ME!
**Why did I include a picture of books covered in paper instead of the actual book? Because the cover is SO INTENSELY UGLY. I was written long ago, but that's not even an excuse. I couldn't even find a picture of it online, apparently its ridiculousness can't be photographed. This story is worth carrying around an ugly book, though. Trust.