Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson

Clio thought it would be a perfect summer as she just landed a job at a trendy art store where her crush, Ollie, works. But things quickly turn sour when Clio's Mom has to go to Kansas for the summer and she ends up in Italy with her crazy father.

Clio is not happy about this, she and her dad don't get along but to add to it, she's stuck on a boat with his dad's new girlfriend Julia, Julia's daughter Elsa and Julia's assistant Aidan... and no one will tell her what exactly are they all doing on the boat.

I really liked this book, the prose flows beautifully and even though it's in third person it allows you to connect with Clio and what she's feeling as things get confusing and messy and she keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop. Clio's relationships with the other crew members of the ship are the real strength of the book: her friendship with Elsa, her distrust of Julia and her lack of communication with her dad.

There is a bit of romance on the book but it doesn't overpower the story.

Grade:
1/2

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched is the third and seemingly last of the Queen of Babble books by Meg Cabot, which follow the life of Lizzie Nicholls a vintage-loving girl with a talent to refurbish wedding gowns. This book picks up immediately after Book Two (Queen of Babble in the Big City) ends, with dreamy/perfect Luke finally proposing to Lizzie.

Things should be perfect, this was just what Lizzie always wanted, her career is picking up and the man of her dreams just proposed (after breaking her heart a few days before by saying he didn't see her in his future); but there are some problems on this happy-happy picture: One, that Lizzie just almost slept with Chaz, her best friends' ex and Luke's best friend; and Two: She breaks into hives each time she thinks about marrying Luke.

What follows is Lizzie dealing with it all.

I liked this book but I'm not crazy about it, Queen of Babble started as a summer fling and it sort of outgrew itself. Just like the relationship between Luke and Lizzie, by now, Queen of Babble 3, things don't ring quite so true anymore and one wonders why Lizzie can't see it.

But I'll give Ms Cabot props for trying to do something different, instead of a more linear happy ending; the ending IS happy and satisfactory, it just doesn't happen to be my favorite book

Grade:
1/2

The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey

When you talk about the Arabian Nights or The One Thousand Nights and a Night, everyone thinks they know the story. And it would seem quite straight forward, as it belongs to a common place for most of us: the tales of a girl who spun story after story from dusk to dawn to save her life and make a king fall in love. Tells such as Ali Baba and the 40 thieves, or Sindbad the sailor, Aladdin... beautiful tales that have a place all of their own.

The Storyteller's Daughter isn't about those stories, but rather about the woman who told them and the man who listened and of how they really fell in love and how it was hard and almost didn't happen.

I found The Storyteller's Daughter to be a delightful tale, saying something I hadn't heard before about a tale I thought I knew so well.

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Moby Clique by Cara Lockwood

Miranda is back at Bard Academy for Junior Year but things aren't going all that well. First, she was stuck all summer working at her stepmother's all pink boutique and reading Moby Dick; and then her little sister Lindsay goes and crashes their dad's car through the boutique's window and gets shipped herself to Bard as well.

Miranda is less than thrilled about it, she and Lindsay are quite opposite in character and Lindsay wastes no time getting Miranda in trouble with Mrs. P - who seems to hate Miranda for no reason at all - and becoming friends with Parker, Miranda's super evil enemy.

There are some good things about coming back, though, like Heathcliff and seeing her friends again but soon Miranda finds herself having more company than she could like.

As with the previous two books, I adored this one. Having Lindsay around shows more of Miranda's family live and I found myself feeling for her. Lindsay is a bit annoying and selfish but I found their relationship quite real.

And Heathcliff is hot.

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Ps- Be sure to check Wuthering High and The Scarlet Letterman

The Scarlet Letterman by Cara Lockwood

If you go a few posts down you'll find my review for Wuthering High, the first book of the Bard Academy Series. I LOVED IT. And now is time for the second one!

The Scarlet Letterman by Cara Lockwood, picks up a few weeks after the end of Wuthering High during the second semester of Miranda's sophomore year at Bard. She has a gorgeous boyfriend, Ryan Kent, and things seem to be going all right... well, it is sort of weird that Heathcliff hasn't contacted her and then suddenly two things happen: First, a misterious man seems to be attacking students... a man who could very well be Heathcliff; and Two, someone is starting rumors about just how far have Miranda and Ryan really gone and the things she had to do to wear Ryan's letterman jacket.

As always the book is so funny, Miranda and her friends are likable and quirky and I absolutely love them. I won't say more of what happens because you won't guess. At least I didn't.

Another great read

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