Speed reviewing (hold on to your hats!)

4 STARS

When her husband gets a new job, Marissa Price, 40, leaves the island of Manhattan for the island of Hawaii. Paradise seems like the perfect place to find herself, save her marriage, and reconnect with her daughter. But Marissa soon discovers that her new life is less about beaches and beautiful sunsets and more about cows and lava flows. Their new "home" is a fixer-upper at best, and her brilliant daughter suddenly wants to be homeschooled. But what needs fixing the most--her marriage--is the first thing to crumble when her husband announces he wants time apart to find himself. Pulled in opposite directions, Marissa is faced with the most important decision of her life-a choice that will define who she is, what she wants, and where her happiness lies.

-- Really liked this book!!!!! This is the same Author (under a different name) as "Friendship Bread".
This was a quick, easy, nice read. I loved the characters! I will be giving this book away April 20 - 25th. So come back to win!

3 STARS

Moxie Roosevelt Kipper has endured thirteen years of being an ordinary girl with an unordinary name. Now that she’s entered boarding school, the time is ripe to reinvent herself. She’ll become unusual, outlandish, unexpected, sassy—someone worthy of a name like “Moxie.“ But who exactly? From Mysterious Earth Goddess to Hale and Hearty Sports Enthusiast; from Detached, Unique, Coolly Knowing Individual to Assertive Revolutionary Activist, Moxie tries them all, while keeping her true talent for piano-playing a secret. But at boarding school, Moxie isn't the only one who isn't what she claims to be.

-- This was a cute book. Great for young readers (10 - 14 yr olds). Not much substance for an adult.

3 STARS

Raye Archer, a scholarship student at the prestigious Fulton School, can't say no when popular girl Ella Parker approaches her for help with Mandarin. But what starts as peer tutoring turns into quasi-friendship when Raye offers Ella access to her secret weapon: a Facebook profile for gorgeous but imaginary Elizabeth Lavenzck, connected to the hot guys at MacArthur school, created with the help of her friend Natalya. When Ella wields Elizabeth for revenge on MacArthur heartthrob Julian, using Raye to pose for revealing candid shots of Elizabeth, she doesn't anticipate that Julian might just fall for Raye. Griffin mines familiar territory–cyberbullying and mean girls–in a novel brimming with deception and manipulation. Readers will relate to Raye's outsider status and sympathize with her as she becomes the new target for Ella's revenge.

-- HMMM, didn't really care for this one as much. It was alright but seemed too much like a "Mean Girls" movie. It was too much like so many other mean girl books that are out there, nothing new.

4 STARS

Logical and practical, high school sophomore Erin Channing is focused on keeping her spot atop the GPA list and earning a trip to Italy with her AP Art History teacher. However, she is worried that she won't be chosen because she has “the most boring, normal, regular life ever.” All that is irrevocably changed when the aunt she hasn't heard from in years dies suddenly, leaving the teen a pink crystal ball and a set of cryptic instructions. Erin figures the object is one last example of “Aunt Kooky's” infamous eccentricity, but even she can't deny that it is more than coincidence when the ball's predictions begin to come true. Events get out of control as, at the prodding of her best friends and despite her better judgment, she uses the crystal ball without fully understanding its powers.

-- Now this book I liked! It was very original, cute, funny, and sweet. It kept my interest even though it was aimed for much younger readers (ages 10 - 14).

4 STARS

Claire's life will never be the same. After a horrific car accident takes the lives of her parents and siblings, fifteen-year-old Claire's dreams of becoming a soccer star are dashed, and she finds herself alone and without a home. Forced to move in with her estranged grandparents, Claire feels like her life is being blown by the wind and she has no idea how to make it stop. This heartbreaking story of one girl's struggle to find meaning in tragedy will draw you in from the very first page. Join Claire as she learns to embrace the winds of change and find love, faith, and hope for the future.

-- WOW! This was an amazing book! Very sad, I was in tears within the first few pages! Very heartfelt. Wonderful story!  I will be giving this book away sometime in the near future!

4 STARS

Girl meets boy...  Girl loses boy...  Girl gets boy back...    ...sort of.
Ava can't see him or touch him, unless she's dreaming. She can't hear his voice, except for the faint whispers in her mind. Most would think she's crazy, but she knows he's here.
Jackson. The boy Ava thought she'd spend the rest of her life with. He's back from the dead, as proof that love truly knows no bounds.

-- Again - WOW! This book was also amazing! This is a story written all in poetry. There were parts where I gasped out loud! And I was in tears several times... AND - I went AWWWWW at the end!

4 STARS

Alice Cohen was happy for the first time in years. After a difficult divorce, she had a new love in her life, she was rais­ing a beloved adopted daughter, and her career was blossoming. Then she started experiencing mysterious symptoms. After months of tests, x-rays, and inconclusive diagnoses, Alice underwent a CAT scan that revealed the truth: she was six months pregnant.

At age forty-four, with no prenatal care and no insurance coverage for a high-risk pregnancy, Alice was besieged by opinions from doctors and friends about what was ethical, what was loving, what was right. With the intimacy of a diary and the suspense of a thriller, What I Thought I Knew is a ruefully funny, wickedly candid tale; a story of hope and renewal that turns all of the "knowns" upside down.

-- Amazing true story! This woman has got some guts! to go through what she did AND then to actually write about it!!!! I wanted to dislike her, but ended up really liking her. 

3 STARS

For Cassia, nothing is left to chance--not what she will eat, the job she will have, or the man she will marry. In Matched, the Society Officials have determined optimal outcomes for all aspects of daily life, thereby removing the "burden" of choice. When Cassia's best friend is identified as her ideal marriage Match it confirms her belief that Society knows best, until she plugs in her Match microchip and a different boy’s face flashes on the screen. This improbable mistake sets Cassia on a dangerous path to the unthinkable--rebelling against the predetermined life Society has in store for her.

-- I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to. I think it was mainly because I am not into futuristic fantasy. It also seemed very simple to me. Not much really happened in the story, probably because this is the first book in the series so the Author is saving some for the rest of the books. NOT a bad read, just not one of my favs.

2 STARS

Sixteen year olds Maya and Roe form an intense friendship when they find themselves cast as outsiders at an all girls boarding school. Sharing their life stories, and curiosity about the adult world, they wonder how they might become “people” with style and character as opposed to school girls. When they move beyond the enclosed world of the school to experience the city, and relationships with men, both girls test the line between an emerging sense of self and its total disintegration.

-- Did not care for this book at all! I am not into provocative teenagers! It was just ICKY to  me, I felt embarrassed to be reading it, like "this shouldn't be happening".  I did get all the way to page 152 before giving up  - so this was a DNF (did not finish).