Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

At 11, Taylor Markham was abandoned by her mother at the Jellicoe Road. Taylor never really understood why but she understood that Hannah's driving by just a few minutes later wasn't a coincidence. Now, at 17, she lives at the Jellicoe School with Hannah - her guardian - and has been elected to lead The Boarders in the territory wars that have been going on at Jellicoe for almost twenty years between The Boarders, The Townies and The Cadets from some school in Sydney who come to Jellicoe every year for six weeks.

At the same time, Hannah disappears, leaving behind unanswered questions and a manuscript telling the story of five kids who lived at the Jellicoe Road twenty-odd years earlier: the orphaned siblings Narnie and Webb, their also orphaned friend Tate, a local boy (a Townie) called Fritz and a Cadet called Jude. Once these five kids were best friends, loved each other to death and ruled the Jellicoe Road.

Taylor's problems don't end there: Jonah Griggs is back in town. Three years earlier Taylor had run away from Jellicoe, she wanted to get to Sydney and find her Mom, but she met Jonah at the train platform and he ended up tagging along, just to stop her when she was almost there (with the help of a Brigadier who might know more than what he lets on and who's also back). Now Jonah is the leader of the cadets and he hasn't forgotten about Taylor.

Okay, so I'm not going to spoil the book, really, that's half the fun figuring out how everyone and everything is connected. But I will say I loved this book, I couldn't stop reading it, and that it only took a few chapters for me to get very emotionally invested. I WANTED to know what was going on and I totally wanted it there to be a happy ending (or as happy an ending as possible).

The two stories, of the five kids from the past and of Taylor, Jonah and friends; interlock nicely, the more you find out the more you want to know.

There are three great strengths about this book, about all of Melina Marchetta's books (So far: Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca and (On the) Jellicoe Road):

One: You feel for each and everyone of the kids of the story from Taylor, Jessa, Ben, Griggs to the five kids from the past.

Two: There is real humor in this book, not the laugh-out-loud-funny type, but even when I did cry for most of the book (I'm a crybaby, sue me) there were times when I found myself smiling and laughing.

Three: The adults are also very real, Hannah, the Brigadier, the chief of the Jellicoe Police, they all feel real, and none of them is a cartoonish evil interpretation of an adult. In YA fiction that's is extraordinary rare; even though we see them from Taylor's perspective the adults don't seem evil, stereotypical adults: they have problems, motives and feelings and you want them to be happy too.

I really hope I'm never pressed to pick a favorite Melina Marchetta book, I love them all including this one.

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The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

Virginia Shreves is the odd one out of her perfect, successful, thin and dark haired family (even if her Mom's dark hair is less than 100% natural). See Virginia is larger-than-average, chubby, plump, whatever you want to call it and she has decided to live by the Fat-Girl-Code-of- Conduct, which tells her is perfectly okay for her to fool around with Froggy the Fourth at her apartment ever Monday afternoon and then ignore each other the rest of the week because, of course, he doesn't want to be seen with her. Who would? (I'm compeled to say at this point that Froggy isn't a bad guy, though).

But, in a way, that's the least of her problems: her older sister Anais joined the Peace Corps to escape their mother, her father is always commenting about how good 'thin women' look, her older brother is a rugby god (and Virginia idolizes him); and her mother is a successful teen psychologist who seems fixated on Virginia's weight because she was overweight herself when she was young (even though now she's stick thin and pretty much only eats lettuce and water).

Oh, and her best friend moved to Walla Walla, Washington for the year.

Virginia is routinely either ignored by her parents and brother or criticized because of the way she looks. Driving her to crash diets and binge episodes, as well to a couple of episodes of self-harm.

Things certainly don't get better when her perfect older brother Byron gets expelled from Columbia for date-raping a girl.

It's a lot to cope with but Virginia does it in an admirably way. She had me rooting for her as she began to understand that, because she was always thinking on what she could do to please her parents and brother to earn their approval, she never thought of what she really wanted to do. I loved how she gave an identity to the girl her brother hurt, instead of calling her "that Girl" like the rest of her family, she reminded herself she had a name.

And when she begins to rebel, to make new friends... I found myself saying "You Go Girl!"

I adored this book, I loved how Virginia didn't find easy answers, how it took work for her to be comfortable in her own skin; how her best friend stayed true to her even if they were so far apart. And how she emerged, curves and all, as a strong, young woman, ready to shake the world when she thought she had something to say.

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PS! Happy Cameo apereance of two characters from Love and Other Four-Letter Words, Carolyn Mackler's first book, which was very much welcome!

One Night with You by Sophie Jordan

Lady Jane Guthrie once loved Seth, the new earl of St. Claire, with all her heart only that instead of loving her back, Seth focused his attentions on her younger sister Madeline and, by the time Madeline's ambitious nature broke Seth's heart, Jane was nearly invisible to him.

After a loveless marriage, now a widow, Jane lives under the thumb of her brother in law, who would like nothing more than make her his mistress. Eager for a night of freedom, Jane accompanies two of her friends to an scandalous masquerade ball given by a notorious prostitute. Just is her bad luck that, at said ball, she encounters 2 men: Seth and her brother in law (who has a really funny name).

Trying to run away from her brother in law, Jane takes refuge in an empty room where she shares a heated kiss with Seth.

Seth, for his part, is in town with the sole purpose of finding a wife - the ball was an idle diversion - and he has only one requirement: that said wife will take care of his sister as he would himself - he feels guilty because of an accident that befell his sister when they were children; but then when he sees this masked beauty (Jane) in a golden dress he's drawn near - he nicknames her Aurora, by the way, because she won't tell him her name, obviously.

Next day he meets Jane in the park and he's inexplicably drawn to him too. Only that Seth doesn't care for Jane and her family given her little sister's betrayal of him (never mind that before he fell for the pretty face of Madeline, Jane was pretty much his best friend).

Anyway, after a bad encounter with her brother in law - with the funny name - Jane decides to become 'Aurora' again and goes to search for Seth and they have a clandestine meeting (read sex). And then Jane disappears and does her best to avoid Seth. Until she finds out she's pregnant.

I could go on, really I'm only about two paragraphs away from the end. But I'll stop myself.

The pace of the book is off, Jane's attempts at rebellion are lukewarm at best and Seth, though not entirely the worst of jerks out there, he does some pretty bad stuff to Jane and he NEVER grovels! This story was ripe for groveling but no groveling happens! At all!!!!

I thought I was going to like this book, I even cried a little at the beginning because, over all, Jane is pretty likable (as is Seth's sister Julianne); but then it started to get kind of... dumb. I was also very annoyed at the fact that Seth said the same things, word by word, to both Aurora and Jane.

This is the first Sophie Jordan that I've read, so I don't know how it fares in comparison to her other books but I don't feel motivated to read more.

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Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

Once upon a time Jenna Vaughn was called Jennifer Harris, she was chubby and an outcast at her mostly-Mormon elementary school in Utah, and she had only one friend: Cameron Quick. But then, one day, Cameron didn't show up for school and a few months later some mean girl at school told her Cameron was dead, and when her mother didn't deny it, Jennifer decided to bury herself along with Cameron and so Jenna Vaughn was born.

Now, eight years later, Jenna is 17, lives with her mother and loving stepfather in a good neighborhood, and attends a small, alternative high school and everyone loves her, she's thin and popular and even has a boyfriend of her very own. Jenna's life is perfect except that there are times, like on her birthday, when Jennifer Harris comes to life and she has to admit that though she has changed a lot the past still haunts her; especially the memory of something that happened on her ninth birthday while she was at Cameron's house.

And the past takes a definite shape and form with Cameron returns from the dead - or California as it turns out to be - he was never dead, just gone... and soon Jenna has to come to terms with the person she was and the person she is now, she wonders if she's really happy, if her new friends really know her and if what she still feels for Cameron can be called 'love' when he hasn't been around for 8 years and might disappear one day just as he came.

As I write this I realize this book affected me more than what I first thought, Jenna's struggle to accept herself strikes a familiar cord and the truth is that I couldn't stop reading once I started. I don't think Sara Zarr's style is my favorite but it is compelling and it grabs you and doesn't let go.

I liked Jenna/Jennifer and Cameron and the decisions they ultimately made, though, as with Story of a Girl, there isn't really an ending but more like three hopeful dots at the end in a story that, once the book is closed, can go either way.

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Death By Bikini by Linda Gerber

Death by Bikini is the first book in the Death by Series (followed by Death by Latte and Death by Denim) an introduces us to Aphra Conolly who, at sixteen, lives on a remote island resort her father owns.

On the surface it looks like a dream come true, with exclusive guests dropping by for weeks on end, and the beach and all, but Aphra isn't really happy, she keeps wondering why her beloved mother Natalie didn't come with her and her father to the island, why she hasn't contacted her in four years.

Then, in the midst of the low season, some mysterious guests arrive, The Smiths. Mom, Dad and Adam. Adam who's hot, nice and 17. Aphra is wondering if it's wise to get involved with Adam when he's going to be leaving soon, when one of the other guests turns up death.

Who exactly are the Smiths, and what have they to do with Aphra's mom?

Lots of dangerous secrets and one little island!

It's a very enjoyable book, Aphra is smart and capable if a little cold at times, and, like I said, 'Adam' is fairly likable, there are plenty of secrets going about some of which are answered by the end of the book while new ones arise.

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