Guitar Girl by Sarra Manning

Seventeen-year-old Molly Montgomery never planned on becoming famous. Starting a band with her best mates, Jane and Tara, was just a way to have some fun. But when the group is joined by charismatic bad-boy Dean, things onstage-and backstage-start happening, fast. Their band, The Hormones, is front-page news, and their debut album is rocketing up the charts.

Molly is the force behind the band-a superstar diva-but the hazards of fame, first love, screaming fans, and sleazy managers are forcing the newly crowned teen queen of grrrl angst close to the edge. Fame never comes for free, and Molly's about to find out what it costs.

I had a lot of fun reading this novel. Everybody wants to be a rock star once in there lives, right? This book shows you that it's not the best thing in the world. Molly is really just a normal teen girl barely eighteen. I loved all the characters created in this novel. It was highly enjoyable. With the scandals and touring and rows (as a British person would say); it's just a great read.

Sarra Manning is, after reading Let's Get Lost and Guitar Girl, my favorite British author. And maybe close to the top of my favorite authors of all. She writes with cleverness and there is always a small but also huge problem in the two books I've read of hers that make it even more good. (But you have to read to find out what they are...)

I would hugely recommend Miss Sarra Manning's books, without a doubt. It's a great book that every body should read. Along with the other book I've read of Sarra's, Let's Get Lost. I can't wait to get my hands on her other books.

~Kelsey

Kiss Me Kill Me by Lauren Henderson

When 16-year-old Scarlett Wakefield transfers from St. Tabby’s to Wakefield Hall Collegiate, she is relieved that no one knows her dark, haunting secret. A few months ago, Scarlett was invited to an elite party with a guest list full of the hottest names in British society, including Dan McAndrew. Before the party, Scarlett had only imagined what it would be like to have her first kiss with Dan, but on the penthouse terrace, Dan leaned in close and she no longer had to wonder. Their kiss was beautiful and perfect and magical, and then . . . Dan McAndrew took his last breath as she held him in her arms. No one knows how or why Dan died, and everyone at St. Tabby’s believes Scarlett had something to do with it. But now that she’s safely hidden away at Wakefield Hall, Scarlett would rather forget that it ever happened. Only she can’t. Especially when she receives an anonymous note that will set her on the path to clearing her name and finding out what really happened to the first and last boy she kissed.

A perfectly charming beginning to a series. This is my first book written by Lauren Henderson that I've read and I loved it. It has mystery, love, and adventure. I also loved the format of the book in two sections: A.D. and B.D. Her writing is full of suspense. I couldn't put this book down. I loved the England back drop. The scenery Henderson described was beautiful.

I loved that Scarlett did gymnastics. The description in some of the parts of the book she uses was really good and impressive. The part of the story where Dan dies is so crafted. And when Scarlett goes on the hunt to find out what truly happened that night, well, the mystery in this novel is hard to guess, very unpredictable. Only a true genius at writing mystery could be that good.

And don't you just love the cover art? It's beautiful. I can't wait for the next book, Kisses and Lies, out January 2009.

Here's the synopsis for Kisses and Lies:

After discovering that someone saw what looked like Dan's emergency EpiPen in A-lister Plum's designer handbag, Scarlett and her tough American sidekick, Taylor, sneak into a posh London nightclub, where Plum has a private table. Scarlett is stunned to discover a piece of evidence that might implicate another girl in Plum's exclusive circle, Lucy Raleigh. Which means Scarlett must cast a wider net in order to catch the right suspect.

Back at school, groundskeeper Jase is hoping to take Scarlett's mind off her troubles with some heart-stopping kisses. Scarlett can't help but feel guilty for indulging in romantic rendezvous when she should be hunting down Dan's killer. However, once Scarlett finds out how Lucy is connected to Dan, she knows she must drop everything and travel to the McAndrew estate in Scotland to hunt for more clues. But when she arrives, Scarlett becomes the target of a dangerous hunt herself.

~Kelsey

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

California high school student Audrey Cuttler dumps self-involved Evan, the lead singer of a little band called The Do-Gooders. Evan writes, "Audrey, Wait!," a break-up song that's so good it rockets up the billboard charts. And Audrey is suddenly famous!

Now rabid fans are invading her school. People is running articles about her arm-warmers. The lead singer of the Lolitas wants her as his muse. (And the Internet is documenting her every move!) Audrey can't hang out with her best friend or get with her new crush without being mobbed by fans and paparazzi.

Take a wild ride with Audrey as she makes headlines, has outrageous amounts of fun, confronts her ex on MTV, and gets the chance to show the world who she really is.

Audrey Cuttler was a perfectly outrageous heroine for a story like this one. She's a crazy fun personality that you just have to love. Audrey, Wait! starts out with her break-up with Evan, and throughout the novel you see her transform from a regular teenager who has a best-friend and loves listening to music loud to a popular just-trying-to-have-a-private-life teenager who wishes she were normal again. It's an awesome ride that you can't miss.

Robin Benway is a great new voice in YA fiction that you will have to keep an eye on. Her writing is young and fresh, everything you want and expect in a YA book. Robin's characters are so quirky and fun that, in my opinion are the best part of her novel. I loved the setting of L.A..

I would recommend this hilarious novel to anyone. It's a nice summer read. I can't wait to find out what Robin Benway will come up next.

~Kelsey

Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess

Meredith was promised nine years of safety, but they only gave her three.

Her father, who was sent to prison for sexually abusing Meredith and other children in their small town, has been released on good behavior. He was supposed to be locked up until Meredith's eighteenth birthday, when she could legally be free of both her abusive father and her delusional mother who dwells on a fantasy that the three of them will be a happy family once more.

But Meredith is only fifteen, and her father is out of prison...and her mother is bringing him home. And Meredith won't let him hurt her, or anyone else, ever again. No matter what the cost.

The first page caught me in and kept me reading. The writing was fabulous. The plot was amazingly sad, but great. I could not put this books down. Meredith seems so much older then she really is in the story. The book was short but it was still an amazing story. The characters Wiess crafted was probably the downside of the novel. They weren't really well done. I don't feel like they had enough emotion in them. But other then that the novel was great.

I loved how she held together Meredith's father and mother. They are such different characters. I loved how she made Andy paralyzed. Laura's writing was great. I would definitely recommend reading this book to anyone.

~Kelsey

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:Debate Club.Her father’s “bunny rabbit.” A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15: A knockout figure. A sharp tongue. A chip on her shoulder. And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks. No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer. Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society. Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places. Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them. When she knows Matthew’s lying to her. And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16: Possibly a criminal mastermind. This is the story of how she got that way.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Frankie was an awesome character. A very smart and captivating character with a ton of wit along with the smarts. Her mind is so unique and interesting. The way Frankie thinks and does is so exuberant. I mean who doesn't want to read through the eyes of a mischievous teenager with the mind of a criminal mastermind? The pranks were unguessable and awesome. The storyline was notorious.

E. Lockhart scores on this memorable novel. Lockhart created a vivacious novel to be read for years to come. Her writing is clever and innovative. YA Fiction readers will appreciate it. It was very unpredictable and a fun, mysterious read. I highly enjoyed this novel. I plan on reading E. Lockhart's other books soon.

~Kelsey

OMG! New Twilight Trailer!!! *Quick Note Also*

Amazing right?

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Okay, I know I haven't had a review on here since June but I've read a few books and I hope I can do the few reviews before the end of this upcoming weekend. Look forward to The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Such a Pretty Girl, Audrey, Wait!, and soon to be read She's So Money and Kiss Me, Kill Me. Sorry and thanks!

~Kelsey