Book Review: Boys, Bears, and A Serious Pair of Hiking Boots by Abby McDonald

Title: Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots
Author: Abby Mcdonald
Links: Website | Twitter
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: April 13th 2010
Format: Hardback
Pages: 304
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Summary from Goodreads:
Jenna may hail from the ’burbs of New Jersey, but Green Teen activism is her life. So when her mom suggests they spend the summer at Grandma’s Florida condo, Jenna pleads instead to visit her hippie godmother, Susie, up in rural Canada. Jenna is psyched at the chance to commune with this nature she’s heard about — and the cute, plaidwearing boys she’s certain must roam there. But after a few run-ins with local wildlife (from a larger-than-life moose to Susie’s sullen Goth stepdaughter to a hot but hostile boy named Reeve), Jenna gets the idea that her long-held ideals, like vegetarianism and conservation, don’t play so well with this population of real outdoorsmen. A dusty survival guide offers Jenna amusing tips on navigating the wilderness — but can she learn to navigate the turns of her heart?

Book Review: Overnight Sensation by Hal Eisenberg

Title: Overnight Sensation
Author: Hal Eisenberg
Links: Website | Blog
Publisher: Bells and Castanets
Publication Date: July 28th 2012
Format: Paperback
Pages: 238
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Buy it: Barnes & Noble | Amazon
Summary from Goodreads;
Fifteen year-old Jonah Levine is practically invisible at Applecrest High. His Facebook page is pathetic, his baseball skills are mediocre at best, and his IQ seems to drop 50 points when talking to girls. But everything changes when his rock band, Hitstreak, becomes the hottest teen sensation in the country. And now they’re about to perform in front of 15,000 screaming fans?
So why isn’t he jumping for joy?
Well, for starters, that hit on the radio wasn’t really recorded by his band. In fact, six months ago, he and his friends could barely play a note between them. And now they’re about to perform in front of 15,000 screaming fans. What begins as a mindless prank quickly spins out of control, involving his father’s secret past as a 70’s rocker, a high school bully who wants in on the action, and a powerful, ruthless, media mogul who will stop at nothing to claim the band as his own. Will Jonah prevail? Or will he and his band go down in flames and become the biggest farce in pop music history?

Book Review: Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay ( Juliet Immortal #2 )

Title: Romeo Redeemed
Author: Stacey Jay
Series: Juliet Immortal #2
Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 9th 2012
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Summary from Goodreads:
Seductive companion to the popular Juliet Immortal, in which former lovers—Romeo and Juliet—meet, not as true lovers, but truly as enemies.
Cursed to live out eternity in his rotted corpse, Romeo, known for his ruthless, cutthroat ways, is given the chance to redeem himself by traveling back in time to save the life of Ariel Dragland. Unbeknownst to her, Ariel is important to both the evil Mercenaries and the love-promoting Ambassadors and holds the fate of the world in her hands. Romeo must win her heart and make her believe in love, turning her away from her darker potential before his work is discovered by the Mercenaries. While his seduction begins as yet another lie, it soon becomes his only truth. Romeo vows to protect Ariel from harm, and do whatever it takes to win her heart and soul. But when Ariel is led to believe his love is a deception, she becomes vulnerable to Mercenary manipulation, and her own inner darkness may ultimately rip them apart.
*Might contain spoilers, might not. Review of first book in series: Juliet Immortal

Book Review: My Super Sweet Sixteen Century by Rachel Harris

Title: My Super Sweet Sixteen Century [ excerpts ]
Author: Rachel Harris
Series: My Sweet Sixteenth Century #1
Links: Website | Blog | Twitter
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Publication Date:  September 11th 2012
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Summary from Goodreads: 
On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother-to-be and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze. 

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore. 

Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

Book Review: Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay ( Juliet Immortal #1 )

Title: Juliet Immortal
Author: Stacey Jay
Series: Juliet Immortal #1
Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 9th 2011
Format: Hardback
Pages: 307
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Buy it: Barnes & Noble | Amazon
Summary from Goodreads:
The most tragic love story in history . . .
Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.
"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume."
—Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare