Runaway

by Meg Cabot

I sort of wish I hadn't started reading this series until all of the books were out. The trilogy of Airhead, Being Nikki, and Runaway really read more like one whole story than 3 separate ones. I also had a really hard time remembering what had happened in the previous book. Cabot provides her reader with some clues, but a lot of the time I was just not sure what was going on.

Runaway concludes the story of Emerson Watts, average teen girl turned supermodel when she almost dies from a giant TV falling on her, and has her brain transplanted into a teen supermodel Nikki Howard's body. Problem is, Nikki's brain was removed and secretly placed into another body. And Nikki would really like her original body back. Oh, and Nikki's employer, billionaire Robert Stark, wants Nikki dead, and Em to obey his every command - after all, he gave her her body and her life back, and he can take it away. In this particular book Nikki is on the run with her ally/enemy Brandon Stark. She's also trying to figure out what shading dealings Robert Stark is undertaking that Nikki overheard and cause Robert to have her killed.

This is Meg Cabot, so of course there's a tumultuous romance, and a neatly-wrapped up ending. The series as a whole was fun. This book was fine, but I think I would have rather read the story as one book rather than three. The Mediator series is still Meg Cabot at her best.

Still Sucks To Be Me

by Kimberly Pauley

After all the teen vampire books lately that demand to be taken seriously, Still Sucks To Be Me is a fun light-hearted take on the genre. This book is the sequel (not sure if it's going to be a series) to the book of a similar name, Sucks To Be Me.

At the end of the first book Mina has made her decision to become a vampire. She was finally able to tell her friend about it (although secretly), she now has a vampire boyfriend and she doesn't have the Vampire Council on her back anymore. Things should be looking up. However, it's not long before Mina learns that she and her parents are being relocated and must fake their deaths. Mina is distraught to learn she'll have to leave her best friend behind. She's even more upset to learn that her boyfriend George is travelling to Brazil to spend some time with his parents.

Mina end up moving to a tiny town in Louisiana. She make a few friends, but things are not going the way she'd hoped. Her pal back home is stressed about her parents and Mina can't be there to help. George doesn't answer her emails, and while her new vampire friend Cameron may seem nice, he associates with some questionable people. Mina's starting to wonder if her life will ever NOT suck.

This book is funny and light-hearted. Mina's narration is funny and sarcastic. It's not sophisticated, but if you're looking for a funny take on the vampire genre, this might fit the bill.

Winter's Passage

by Julie Kagawa

It feels strange to be reviewing this "book" as it's really quite tiny - only about 66 pages. It's more a teaser for the next book in the series than something to be read on it's own.

However, I love this series, and I loved the teaser! I am now more anxious than ever to get my hands on The Iron Daughter, which comes out at the beginning of August.

Winter's Passage tells the story of Meghan's journey with Ash to the Winter realm. They encounter the menacing Hunter along the way, and of course, there's a little romance thrown in. Happily, Grimalkin makes an appearance as well. Can't wait to read the next full-length entry in this adventure!

The Books of Elsewhere: The Shadows

by Jacqueline West

I finally got my hands on a copy of this book with all the correct pages (thanks Dani!) and was able to finish it!

I love this book. It's like a delightful mix of 100 Cupboards and Coraline.

Olive and her parents just moved into a big, old Victorian house. Her parents are pretty busy with their jobs, so Olive has some time to explore her new house. Olive examines the paintings left on the walls and well as the drawers of dressers and other furniture left in the house when her parents bought it. Before long she discovers and old pair of spectacles, and and even bigger surprise - when she's wearing the glasses she can step into the paintings! However, there is something sinister lurking in the "elsewhere". Olive must muster up all her bravery and resourcefulness now to protect herself and her family from the mysterious presences that wants it's house back.

The book is just the right mix of funny, creepy, and fantastical. I loved it from beginning to end and can't wait to read where this story goes next! (I just hope that the next time I get a book with all it's pages!)

Glimmerglass

by Jenna Black

Glimmerglass is another good faerie book with unique aspects and puzzling characters. It's also a successful beginning entry to a series: it has a complete story unto itself, but there is more than enough material left to expand upon in future novels. This aspect is one of the most crucial to me when reading a series, and I'm happy to say that Glimmerglass provides.

Glimmerglass is the tale of Dana, a high school student who is fed up with moving from town to town and having to deal with her alcoholic mother. She knows her dad lives in Avalon (the one place on earth where the faerie realm and the human realm intersect.) What she doesn't know is the reason her mother has kept her from Avalon and her father her whole life - she's about to find out that it's a lot more dangerous there than she ever imagined. Dana runs away to Avalon and soon learns that she's a Faeriewalker. While humans can't enter Faerie, and the Fae can't enter the mortal realm, a Faeriewalker can enter both. A Faeriewalker can bring magic into the human world, and technology into Faerie - this makes Dana very dangerous, and very desired by those who seek power. As Dana learns who she is, she must also decide who to trust - and it's not an easy decision.

I loved how difficult it was even for the reader to determine who could be trusted and who couldn't. You are forced into trying to make a judgement on very little information - just like Dana does, and it gives the reader a great perspective on what Dana is going through.

If I had one complaint it would be that is was unclear if all humans know about the Fae. Dana speaks of them as if they're no bigger a surprise than a English person, but it's not exactly clear if everyone knows of the Fae or if Dana simply does because of her heritage. It's not crucial to the story, but I was curious about this for the first portion of the book.