Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles will make you fall in love with contemporary YA.  The story, told in alternating POV of Alex, a Latino member of a gang in the suburbs of Chicago and Brittany, the All-American girl who appears to have it all.  

For the first few chapters, I didn’t like Alex.  He was arrogant and spiteful and don’t get me started on “the bet.”  I liked how Brittany dished it right back to Alex and was compelled to keep reading to find out how everything would turn out.  The book is aptly titled with a wonderful dual meaning and the chemistry between Alex and Brittany is amazing and captured so well on the page.   Alex turned into quite an awesome character who you just have to cheer for. 

It was really cool to read a book with multi-cultural characters that seemed to be so authentic.  It was a fabulous book and I just bought, Rules of Attraction which follows the story of Alex’s brother, Carlos.  

This gets four out of four clouds in TL’s Dreamworld.  Go read it.  Like yesterday!!!

Imagine a world where impending death was announced by a Deathday Letter.  When it was your time to go, you’d receive a letter telling you that within twenty-four hours, you’d be dead.  What would you do with that time?  This book is about fifteen year old Ollie Travers and what he does with his last day.  It’s morbidly hilarious with wonderful insight into an adolescent male mind.  Which by the way is why it was on my To Read Pile.  Remember how I need to work on “manning up” my male characters? 

Ollie’s voice is fun and engaging.  He’s honest and most of all really a cool guy who I enjoyed spending 240 pages with.  Ollie’s friends Shane and Ronnie (Veronica) were great sidekicks and the family dynamics, especially Nana, were comical.  There is a little debauchery (drugs, sexual innuendo, a strip club) but hey – the kid had less than twenty-four hours…

The entire book had me laughing and cringing and yes – even crying at the end. 

The Deathday Letter by Shaun David Hutchinson is getting three out four clouds in TL’s Dreamworld.

I hate to admit it took me longer to finish LINGER than I wanted.  Life just got in the way…  It was one of my most anticipated reads of the summer, since SHIVER, the first book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series, is one of my favorite books. EVER. 

Maggie Stiefvater didn’t disappoint.  The book was a slower read than SHIVER, but it was me.  Not her.  She alternated POV between four characters and I found myself wanting to analyze the novel as I read it.  Which slowed me down.  Aside from that – her writing is just magical.  I love the humor and beautiful imagery she provides the reader.  Wonderful characters you totally fall in love with.  I loved Sam in SHIVER and he’s pretty great in LINGER – but Cole… ahhh Cole…  I enjoyed the chemistry between Isabel and Cole.  Isabel is a very strong female protagonist with a strong personality that despite her attitude, is very endearing.  Above all else – this continues a really cool story!  Her take on werewolves is very fresh and creative. 

To me the mark of a great book is the feeling you get toward the end.  You can’t put it down.  You are terrified for the characters and I’ll be honest – I want to read a book that makes me cry.  Which I did at the end of LINGER.  And I couldn’t stop thinking about the ending when I went to sleep, dreamt about the characters and the next morning was still depressed.  Well – depressed may be a slight exaggeration, but sort of a SPOILER ALERT --- the ending – is not your typical HEA.  But it’s how the book HAD to end.  So now, I am waiting… patiently... for the final book in the series, FOREVER. 

LINGER gets a dreamy

Five out of Five clouds…