Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood by Liesl Shurtliff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having not read the previous titles, I didn't have a problem catching on with this one. The fantasy world is well described and the logic is maintained through the story. I enjoyed the authors twist on each well known story. She skillfully keeps the important parts and the easily explains the changes. Apart from the results of the quest to save Granny, the story was fresh and interesting through to the end.


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Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beautifully written, this novel shines a new light on the Japanese internment during WWII. Manami is an interesting narrator, considering her silence through most of the book. I liked this device, although her family's ability to know just what she was thinking without talking about it was a bit too convenient. I was also interested to learn about the differences between the internees, those from the city and those from the country. Each device demonstrating the families loss, from the dog to the garden worked well. However I do feel for some young readers, more explanation about the internment system might be needed. In addition, a few sections of the story feel a bit thin, like the relationship between the teacher and Manami's brother. Still, the writing and imagery is beautiful and the feeling of the character comes across well.


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The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While I admit to only a fuzzy recollection of Hamlet, I found this a novel and interesting take on the original. Hanalee is a good lead character. In fact I felt her reasons for dithering, misleading and confounding behavior were more reasonable than Hamlet's. Even so, she comes across as a tough and capable young women. The plot and peripheral characters are well done, showing a broad range of feelings toward the discrimination of the KKK, from fear, to tolerance, to support. Hanalee and Joe's friendship brings another fascinating aspect to the story, but their meetings did become a bit repetitive. The author kept the truth of the mystery from the reader through to the end, which was worth the read.


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The Heir by Kiera Cass
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have very little reaction to this book. The main character was not a very nice person, but that seemed to offer potential for self reflection and personal growth. There are some inklings that this might occur, but it never really comes across. However all the characters surrounding her felt like cardboard cutouts strategically placed to show HER how she OUGHT to behave. At one point Eadlyn is scolded for treating her suitors like they are disposable, and then the author does the exact same thing. In the end, the book falls prey to the insistence of publishers to drag everything out into trilogies. No real progress is made beyond introducing us all to the circumstances, and then the author inserts twist A into cliffhanger B and wait for the sequel.


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You Know Me Well by David Levithan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A refreshingly multidimensional novel about the lives of two teenagers during San Francisco's Pride Celebration. While a great deal of the drama comes from their romantic relationships, the beginnings and endings of friendships are just as important to the narrative. The narrators alternated by chapter, from Kate to Mark. This was largely effective, although I had to flip back a few times to remind myself who was currently talking. Still, the book read smoothly, without a jarring disconnect between the two voices, a problem I have had with multiple narrators as well as multiple authors in the past. I appreciated that the book showed teens in various stages of coming out as well as a variety of consequences to coming out, some positive and some negative. An excellent and well rounded story.


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