Pint-Sized 'Pinions: (Un)Realistic YA Fiction Edition

Today's mini-reviews are about a group of young adult books that fall under the contemporary category but have plots that would almost never happen in real-life.

The Naughty List (The Naughty List, 1) by Suzanne Young
Razorbill (February 4, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-1595142788
272 pages

As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn’t enough responsibility! Tessa Crimson’s the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad–turned–spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn’t be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty!

When Tessa’s own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa’s sneaky ways end in catastrophe?

The Naughty List. Is your boyfriend on it?

My 'pinion: The protag, Tessa, is definitely the star here. Her fellow characters are fun and interesting, but Tessa (rightly) steals the show. Young did a great job of balancing Tessa's preppy, peppy, good-girl persona with her teenage vices and imperfections. She could have easily been an annoying or hypocritical character with all of her personality elements and choices, but I ended up loving her and sympathizing with her. The over-the-top sayings peppered throughout Tessa's vocabularly are cute and the antics of the Smitten Kittens are hilarious. I was pleased with the not-so-neat ending and I'm very much looking forward to what's to come for Tessa and her gang. On a side note: I didn't expect level of sexiness present here! There's no sex scenes, but plenty of references and before-and-after stuff.

Grade: A

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Heist Society by Ally Carter
Hyperion Book CH (February 9, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-1423116394
304 pages

When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre...to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria...to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own--scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help. For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in history--or at least her family's (very crooked) history.

My 'pinion: I love heist films and reading this brought about a thrilling and fun energy reminiscent of such movies. Kat very much plays the straight-man (straight-woman? straight-girl?) to the colorful cast found in Heist Society. I found the locales, action and info fascinating. The pervasive wit was standout as well. My only issue here was how experienced and mature the teen thieves seemed. I understand that they occupy the very grown-up world of art thievery, but their wealth of experience and their jaded attitudes straddled the line of believability. It would have made more sense coming from people in their early 20s rather than their mid-teens. Still, it was a very fun read and I hope there's more from this group in the future since there were some threads left loose in the end that I'm most curious about.

Grade: B

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Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook
Simon Pulse (January 5, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-1416974338
261 pages

Popularity is the best revenge.

In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.

But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn't dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.

Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.

My 'pinion: Helen is funny as hell! Sometimes she strays a bit too close to being unlikable, but then her wit redeems her (and cracks me up).

Grade: A-

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Runaway (Airhead, 3) by Meg Cabot
Scholastic Inc. (April 20, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0545040600
320 pages

Where can you hide

When everyone knows your name?

The third and final book the NYT bestselling trilogy.

Emerson Watts is on the run: from school, from work, from her family, from her friends, from herself.

With everyone she loves furious with her for something she can't explain, and nothing but the live Stark Angel fashion show on New Year's Eve to look forward to, Em's reached the end of her rope. . .what's the point of even going on?

But when she discovers the truth about Nikki's secret, she knows there's only one person she can turn to.

Emerson Watts is on the run: from school, from work, from her family, from her friends, from herself.

With everyone she loves furious with her for something she can't explain, and nothing but the live Stark Angel fashion show on New Year's Eve to look forward to, Em's reached the end of her rope. . .what's the point of even going on?

But when she discovers the truth about Nikki's secret, she knows there's only one person she can turn to.

Will Christopher be able to put aside his personal feelings and help her expose her employer to the world? Is it even fair to get Christopher involved--since if he agrees, there's every chance that Stark Enterprises will try to have them both killed--this time, permanently?

Maybe it would be better for Em to just keep on running.

My 'pinion: I've already went on about how I feel about Em. That aside, I do love the premise of this story. While it was a good conclusion to the trilogy, in the end, I wanted more. Of what, I don't know - it was just missing something.

Grade: B-

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My Double Life by Janette Rallison
Putnam Juvenile (May 13, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0399252624
272 pages

Her whole life, Alexia Garcia has been told that she looks just like pop star Kari Kingsley, and one day when Alexia’s photo filters through the Internet, she’s offered a job to be Kari’s double. This would seem like the opportunity of a lifetime, but Alexia’s mother has always warned her against celebrities.

Rebelliously, Alexia flies off to L.A. and gets immersed in a celebrity life. Not only does she have to get used to getting anything she wants, she romances the hottest lead singer on the charts, and finds out that her own father is a singing legend. Through it all, Alexia must stay true to herself, which is hard to do when you are pretending to be somebody else!

My 'pinion: Alexia is on of those heroines that you like but won't remember much after long. Actually, that goes for the secondary characters as well. I did enjoy reading her story though. It was endearing and I'm happy about how everything ended up for her.

Grade: B

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Each book was reviewed from an ARC or copy provided by the publishers. Each synopsis was found at Amazon.com

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