Birthright Series by Gabrielle Zevin

The first book, All These Things I've Done I picked up at BEA last year (2011) and I absolutely loved the story. Anya Balanchine is her father's daughter. The fact that her father and mother are no longer living, nor the fact that her mobster family is currently run by her uncle changes this. Set years in the future, chocolate has been banned and her family is the black market supplier of Balanchine Chocolate. Caught between being a pawn in her family's drama--needing to take care of her younger sister and older brother, and making her own way in the world, Anya struggles through high school.  This book reminded by of Ally Carter's Heist Society with more intrigue. I'm constantly recommending it.

The second book, Because It Is My Blood, will come out this September. It was the first book I picked up at BEA this year and was the one I carried around and read in all the lines. I had several people ask about it and where they could find it. I was not disappointed at all and can't wait for this book to come out. Neither can the teens at the library who have flipped through my ARC. 

Skinny--Donna Cooner

This was one of the books I heard talked about at the CLA Conference and I was super excited to get a copy at BEA. 

Ever has always used food as a comfort and she has been trying to loose the extra weight for as long as she can remember. Unhappy with herself and her life, she opts for gastric bypass surgery to help her loose weight so that she can re-make herself. Post-surgery Ever has to rediscover herself as she looses weight and learns who her true friends are. She also hopes that surgery will rid her of the voice in her head she calls "Skinny," a sub-conscious part of her that whispers depressing and negative thoughts. 

"You're not good enough."

"You'll never be skinny." 

"Why would he like you."

Yes there is a boy. And two gorgeous stepsisters. And a nerdy best friend. 

Parts of this book are predictable. Parts of it are your typical love story. But the parts that deal with a major live change, surgery and Ever's internal struggle are fascinating. I didn't know much about the gastric bypass procedure until I read this book. I'm glad I did. Teens are going to love this book and I highly recommend it for library shelves. My one complaint is that she never saw a therapist and the mental health implications of her hearing this voice were never dealt with. Otherwise wonderful. I also like the cover!

*ARC provided by publisher at BEA.

April Henry's new book is a necessary book for thriller lovers.

There is suspense, a mystery and like-able characters.

Told in multiple perspectives, The Night She Disappeared chronicles the disappearance of Kayla from the perspectives of the kidnapper, the victim and Kayla's friends.

Full of action, this is one that will appeal to reluctant readers. Perfect for a public library. 






ARC provided by Netgalley. 

Infinity Ring: A Mutiny in Time

I picked up this book at BEA knowing nothing about it, other than it was written by James Dashner (The Maze Runner Series). I'm glad I did.

Best-friends, Dak and Sera are both brilliant. Dak is a history buff and Sera knows more about science than most college professors. They live in a world similar to ours, but overseen by an organization known as SQ, whom everyone appears to fear. So yes, there are dystopian themes.

Sera helps Dak's parents complete a time machine known as he Infinity Ring, a project that has kept them on the radar of the Hystorians. This group had existed for centuries to fight the SQ and prepare to fix the time rifts that have allowed the SQ so much power. Dak and Sera are instantly initiated and sent back in time to fix the Great Breaks starting in Spain, 1492.

This fast paced middle grade novel is headed along the path of the 39 Clues series--rapidly printed action adventure books written in turn by different authors. The Infinity Ring series has a great line up of authors including, Carrie Ryan, Lisa McMann, Matt de la Pena, Matthew Kirby, and Jennifer Nielsen. All seven books a scheduled to be published by March of 2014.

I'm excited for the rest of the books in this series. It has a lot of Pontiac, and I love anything where the main character is a super history book. The plot is engaging and this will be a perfect fit for rapid and avid readers alike.

Butterscotch Scones

I love scone batter.
I love adding melted butter to flour.

And I love using this thing to need dough. 

However, I wish I had better lighting in my kitchen for these photos. 

Unfortunately, I went a little overboard improvising and I hadn't baked in so long I wanted to cram everything I could into these scones.

They started with a simple scone batter, with a little less liquid because of the melted butterscotch chips and mashed bananas (I love banana butterscotch bread). However, that turned out to be too gooey and the scones wouldn't hold shape. So I added oatmeal for consistency. And then I noticed the blueberries in the fridge.

But they weren't scones any more... muffin tops perhaps? I couldn't cut the dough and transfer to the baking sheet. These were dropped on.

They tried to be too much, and they failed. I lost the sturdy scone I was going for. Still very tasty, but not in the to try again column.

I think a plain old scone with a butterscotch should be tried. 

Happy Birthday Mommy!

My Mom turned 60 this year, and Dad and I threw her a Sock-Hop themed surprise party. The best part, she was completely surprised, until she turned into the driveway and saw all of the cars.

There were chips, and the family's requisite clam dip, veggies, wings, brie, pulled pork, mac & cheese and a deli platter. I made have gone a little overboard. I may have sent enough food home with my cousin after the party for a second party. And Jess and I still ate leftovers all week.

My favorite was the cake:

I wanted it to look sort of like the invitation. Dancers on a checkerboard floor. I was really happy with how it turned out. The floor was piped on with chocolate icing, and the rest is a homemade vanilla marshmallow frosting. The main ingredient: Fluff.

I created a stencil for the dancers using a metal centerpiece and food coloring spray. The whole thing came together with the fabulous Jute Box candle (no it isn't a tombstone all you pessimists!)

The Lover's Dictionary

I love this book.


I love that the story was told successfully out of order.
I love when it repeated and honed in on different parts of the same event, adding just a little bit more information each time.
I love that I actually had to look up some of the words.
I love that I could see myself and my relationship in some of the definitions--it made it do much more real. I believe that this covered so many emotions and scenarios, others will experience this too.
I love the gender ambiguity of the main characters and how they were only known as "I" and "you".
I love the cover.

This was an intriguing, unique concept, masterfully accomplished. A beautiful love story, heartwarming even at its most depressing. This was a joy to read and can not only be read once.