Genre: Young Adult

P.O.V.: 1st Person (told from heroine’s perspective)

Sensuality: Very Subtle

Violence: A brief fight scene

My Grade: B

Looking for Alibrandi is the first novel by the Australian author, Melina Marchetta. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Josephine Alibrandi, her friends and family. In addition to being a coming-of-age story, important themes in the book include ethnicity and a sense of national identity.

Josephine’s mother, Christina, got pregnant when she was sixteen, much to the horror of her Italian Catholic parents. The father was her best friend and next door neighbour, Michael Andretti, whose family moved from Sydney to Adelaide before Josephine was born. When Christina insisted on keeping her baby, her father threw her out of the house. Josephine had no contact with her grandparents until after her grandfather’s death. She now resents her grandmother’s influence over their lives and hates going to her house after school.

In addition to boy troubles, problems with the nuns at school, and general teenage angst, Josephine is stunned to learn that her father – now a successful barrister – has moved back to Sydney. When her grandmother manoeuvres a chance meeting between them, Josephine is both horrified and intrigued by the man who is her father. Michael, for his part, is shocked to find himself the father of an outspoken, rebellious seventeen-year-old. Josephine and Michael’s awkward relationship is very well done and was the highlight of the book for me.

Josephine struggles to establish a sense of identity. She feels as if she’s an outsider at her school of mostly wealthy Catholic girls. She’s there on a scholarship, and finds it difficult to relate to most of her classmates. In addition, Josephine’s illegitimacy and Italian background make her stand out from the crowd. Josephine does have a group of friends, although she’s the first to admit that their friendship has more to do with convenience – they are all misfits in their own ways – than it does with having a lot in common with one another.

In the midst of Josephine’s developing connection with her father, she has to contend with her awkward relationship with Jacob Coote, her moody, prickly, sort-of-boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks.

Looking for Alibrandi is a strong YA novel with sympathetic characters and an interesting plot. There are a few unexpected developments in the storyline which might not appeal to readers expecting a happy clappy resolution to the novel, but they worked for me.

As indicated above, the absolute highlight for me in this book was the realistic portrayal of Josephine and Michael’s relationship. It was at times heart-warming, and at others painful. It made a refreshing change from saccharine reunion stories in which the characters devote approximately five minutes to angst and then live happily ever after.

Another aspect to the story which appealed to me was Josephine’s struggle to define herself. Is she Italian? Is she Australian? Her answer varies depending on the situation and the person she’s talking to.

I loved the Australian setting. It reminded me of my own teenage years watching the TV series Home and Away. Melina Marchetta has a few books in her backlist and I’m looking forward to reading them.

Genre: Young Adult

POV: 1st Person (story told by heroine)

Sensuality: Subtle

Violence: N/A

My Grade: B+

Sarah Dessen is my favourite YA author. I have yet to be disappointed by one of her books, and Along for the Ride is no exception. In similarity to Judy Blume, each of Dessen’s books focuses on a theme relating to families, adolescence, and real life. Her books have dealt with heavy issues such as grief, domestic violence, and rape, yet each of her stories retains her trademark good humour and superior storytelling skills.

The protagonist of Along for the Ride is Auden West. Auden’s parents are both academics and have always treated their daughter like a mini adult. Auden’s mother in particular is pushy and exacting. She expects Auden to excel at school and is disparaging of children who engage in such mundane, non-intellectual activities such as playing, and – later – partying.

While Auden excelled at school, she found it difficult to relate to her peers. She defined herself through her academic prowess, retreating behind her books rather than engaging in the normal teenage social activities. When Auden’s parents’ marriage broke up, Auden found relief in her studies.

At the beginning of the story, Auden has just graduated from high school and faces a long summer before starting university in the autumn. After an argument with her mother, Auden decides on impulse to spend the rest of the summer with her father, his much-younger second wife, and their newborn baby.

When Auden arrives at the small beach town in which her father lives, she finds her father locked in his study, immersed in writing his long-awaited second novel. Her stepmother, Heidi,  is far from the perky, fashionable airhead Auden remembers. She’s bedraggled, sleep-deprived, and struggling to cope with a squalling newborn.

Desperate to escape the screaming baby and the all-too-familiar marital tensions, Auden goes for a walk and ends up at a beach party. When she meets moody loner, Eli Stock, for the first time, little does she know the impact he will have on the rest of her summer. With Eli’s help, Auden slowly begins to experience life beyond textbooks.

Sarah Dessen excels at creating a sense of place and flawed, sympathetic characters who feel real. Auden is smart but socially awkward. She has little experience of friendship and none at all of boyfriends. Her efforts with her baby sister are equally inept, but no more so than her nervous stepmother’s. Through caring for the baby, Auden forms an unexpected bond with Heidi and realises her father’s failings as a husband and a parent have carried on into his second marriage.

Her part-time job at Heidi’s boutique brings Auden into contact with Maggie, Leah and Esther, who slowly but surely drag her into their circle of friends. I thought the girls in the shop were the weak point in this book. They were almost too good to be true, especially Maggie. I understood the author’s desire to compare and contrast Auden’s one-dimensional interest in her studies with a more well-rounded character such as Maggie, but the latter’s perfection grated on my nerves.

I liked Eli. He’s a good guy with a chip on his shoulder. He cares about Auden and joins her on her insomniac wanderings throughout the town and its environs. He helps her to be more adventurous and she helps him to come to terms with his past.

What really made this book for me was Auden’s relationship with her mother and her stepmother. The difference between them is vast, but they both genuinely care about Auden.

For fans of YA fiction with heart, I can recommend Along for the Ride.

Other Reviews of Along for the Ride:

Rowena at The Book binge – 4.5 out of 5

Teen Book Review – 4.5 out of 6 windows

Persnickety Snark – No grade given. Some criticisms but a mostly positive review.

A friend recently asked me why I like Young Adult novels. She doesn’t read YA and has no interest in doing so. According to her, adolescence was hellacious enough once; Why would she wish to relive it, albeit vicariously?

I don’t see my fondness for YA fiction as a need – consciously or subconsciously – to reinvent my teenage years. It’s as ridiculous as saying I like romance novels because I’m unhappy in my marriage, or that a fondness for murder mysteries indicates a secret desire to kill.

Fiction is fantasy – no more, no less. I don’t superimpose myself into a story I’m reading, and I have no desire for fantasy to become reality. I like my real life, thank you very much, flaws and all.

On a less defensive note, there are several reasons why YA novels appeal to me, and I’ll list them here.

• My primary interest in a book is quality writing, characters I care about, and an interesting premise. There are several wonderful YA authors writing today, and I’d miss out on some great stories if I rejected their books purely on the basis of the age of their main characters.
• In contrast to many genres, YA stories seem to be permitted more room for creativity and originality than, say, the romance genre, which has become increasingly rigid its settings and themes.
• YA is a broad term and the genre encompasses several subgenres. While YA fantasy and urban fantasy are clearly on the rise, my personal favourites are YA romance and coming-of-age stories.
• I’m a sucker for romances in which a wallflower hooks up with a reformed bad boy. In spite of the young age of the characters, I find a teenage rebel who decides to change his life around far easier to believe in than a thirty-something-year-old man.
• There’s a sense of hope and optimism in YA stories, however depressing they might be. The characters’ youth means that they have their whole lives stretching ahead of them.

Here are some of my favourite YA authors whose books have been published within the last few years:

• Sarah Dessen is hands down my favourite YA author. I loved The Truth About Forever, This Lullaby, and Just Listen.
• Elizabeth Scott writes both relentlessly depressing and upbeat stories. I prefer the latter. I really enjoyed Perfect You.
• Simone Elkeles is the current Queen of YA Romance. Perfect Chemistry and Leaving Paradise are both great reads.
• Meg Cabot’s YA books are light escapism. I enjoyed both her 1-800-Where-R-U and The Mediator series.
• Melissa Marr – I’ve only read the first two books in her Faerie series – Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange – but I liked them and want to read more.
• Megan Whalen Turner writes the wonderful Thief series. I’ve read The Thief and The Queen of Attolia but have the others on my TBR shelf.

Do you like YA fiction? If so, why? Which books/authors are your favourites?

Genre: Young Adult

POV: 1st Person (alternately told by hero & heroine)

Sensuality: Subtle (but there are explicit references to sex which might be an issue for some parents)

Violence: N/A

My Grade: B+

While I thought Perfect Chemistry (2008) by Simone Elkeles was a fun read, my quibble with it was that the characters seemed too perfect. This is certainly not the case in Leaving Paradise, and I found the flawed, troubled teenagers far more compelling because of it.

Seventeen-year-old Caleb Becker has spent the last year in a juvenile detention facility. His crime: a hit-and-run accident while driving drunk. To make matters worse, Caleb’s victim is his neighbour and his twin sister’s best friend, Maggie Armstrong.

Maggie has spent the past year having a series of painful operations and physical therapy. She still bears obvious scars from the accident – both physical and psychological – and walks with a pronounced limp. She is no longer able to play the sports which once defined her, and has gone from being popular to being a social pariah. Her best friend, Leah Becker, no longer speaks to her, and her other friends avoid her. The only ray of hope in Maggie’s life is a scholarship to spend a semester at a school in Spain.

When Caleb is released early on parole, they are obliged to see one another at school. Maggie had hoped to be in Spain by the time Caleb got out, but his early release has scuppered that plan. Maggie is furious at the welcome Caleb receives from his (and her) old friends. It seems to Maggie that Caleb is regarded as the victim and she the villain for causing him to spend a year in jail. Maggie is also aware of the stares from kids she barely knows, and the fact that her former friends choose to ignore her existence. The jocks make jokes about her disability, and Maggie is convinced she’s making no progress in physical therapy.

Caleb, for his part, is angry. He’s just spent a year locked up with psychos and gang members, yet they seemed more humane than his so-called friends and family. Caleb’s father is noticeably absent, his mother is fake cheery, and his twin sister has retreated into herself. His teachers treat him like scum, and he wonders why he bothers showing up to school if they’re determined to fail him on principle. The only teacher who seems to care is his old wrestling coach.

When Caleb is sent to work off his community service hours for an old lady, he’s shocked to discover that Maggie also works for her as a companion/helper. Maggie wants him to leave but her employer, Mrs Reynolds, persuades her to give Caleb a chance. Slowly, Caleb and Maggie find themselves drawn to each other. Eventually, they have to face what really happened the night of the accident.

Leaving Paradise is an emotional rollercoaster. Neither Maggie nor Caleb are particularly likeable at the start of the story. Maggie alternates between denial and feeling sorry for herself. Caleb is angry and struggles to keep his aggression under control. In different ways, they are both struggling to come to terms with the accident and its implications for their respective futures. Maggie avoids their old friends – and they avoid her. Caleb is accepted back into the group, but feels like the people he once regarded as friends have become strangers to him.

The character of Mrs. Reynolds acts as a sort of deus ex machina by consciously bringing Caleb and Maggie together and encouraging their developing friendship. This aspect of the story is unrealistic and a little too pat, but the author pulls it off by making Mrs Reynolds a character to care about.

The conclusion of the book leaves several threads unresolved. However, I felt it ended where it needed to end for the characters at that time. Thankfully, Caleb and Maggie’s story will continue in a sequel called Return to Paradise which is due to be released in September 2010. I definitely want to read it.

For fans of YA novels which pack an emotional punch, I can highly recommend Leaving Paradise.

Another Review of Leaving Paradise:

Stacy’s Place on Earth – 5 out of 5 stars

Genre: Children’s/Young Adult

POV: 3rd Person

Sensuality: N/A

Violence: One disturbing scene

My Grade: B+

I read The Queen of Attolia as part of Keishon’s TBR Challenge. It’s the second book in Megan Whalen Turner’s wonderful series about the thief, Eugenides. I adored its predecessor, The Thief. Although these books are billed as children’s books, I think the series has appeal for a much wider age group.

While I try as far as possible to avoid major spoilers in my reviews, there is an important twist towards the end of The Thief which will be apparent when I describe the basic plot of The Queen of Attolia. If you haven’t yet read The Thief, you might want to skip this review.

The Queen of Attolia takes place a couple of years after the end of The Thief. Eugenides has grown older and more cunning, but he’s about to meet his match. On a spying mission for the Queen of Eddis, Eugenides has crept into the Queen of Attolia’s palace. His mission is to gather information for his monarch but Eugenides can’t resist provoking Attolia by moving her belongings about her room, among other practical jokes. Attolia realizes who is behind these pranks and orders the palace searched. When Eugenides is finally caught and brought before her, Attolia orders him to be hanged. A few choice words from Nahuseresh, the oily ambassador from the Mede Empire, persuade Attolia to change her mind. Instead, she orders Eugenides right hand to be cut off – the traditional punishment for a thief.

By the time an ailing Eugenides returns to Eddis, his queen has declared war on Attolia. At the same time, the country of Eddis is facing an attack from her old enemy, the King of Sounis. After a slow and painful recuperation, Eugenides is determined to prove himself useful to his queen. He succeeds in kidnapping Sounis’s chief advisor, the Magus, and starting a war between Sounis and Attolia. With Attolia and Sounis preoccupied fighting each other, Eddis hopes to gain a little time to prepare for the inevitable war with both her neighbours.

The icy Queen of Attolia, meanwhile, is wracked with guilt for what she did to Eugenides. At first, Attolia is reluctant to acknowledge that what she feels is guilt. She has been used to ruling her country with an iron fist and ruthlessly suppressing any hint of rebellion. Unlike the Queen of Eddis who is beloved by her subjects, the Queen of Attolia is feared by hers. Feeling any sort of affection for another human being is alien to her and Attolia doesn’t like it.

Eugenides has been fascinated by the Queen of Attolia since he was a little boy. When the opportunity presents itself to manoeuvre her into a political alliance through marriage, he doesn’t hesitate to do so.

While The Thief remains my favourite book so far in the series, The Queen of Attolia is a wonderful story. I adored Megan Whalen Turner’s imaginative use of Greek mythology, history and landscape to create a world which is entirely her own.

The highlight of this book was Attolia’s character. She’s ice cold and Machiavellian in her approach to politics. Megan Whalen Turner provided enough background to explain why Attolia is the way she is without rendering her a pathetic character. I wasn’t sure how Megan Whalen Turner could redeem Attolia’s character sufficiently for me to want her to marry Eugenides. By the end of the book, I wasn’t sure they would have a HEA, but I believed they could try. There are several loose ends which will no doubt continue in the next book in the series.

One niggle I had was the vagueness concerning people’s ages. I would guess Eugenides to be in his late teens. The Queen of Eddis is described as being a few years older than him, and the Queen of Attolia is even older than that. So what sort of an age gap do they have? Five years? Ten years? Given my assumption that Eugenides is under twenty years old, I do wonder how he can find lasting happiness with a woman who is probably a decade his senior. I would imagine Megan Whalen Turner will explore their relationship more fully in The King of Attolia, and I’m looking forward to reading it.

Also Reviewed in this Series:

The Thief (1996)

Other Reviews of The Queen of Attolia:

Avid Book Reader – A-

The Book Smugglers – 10 out of 10

Dear Author – B+

Medieval Bookworm – No grade but very positive review

Angieville – No grade but very positive review

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles is a sweet YA romance featuring two characters from the opposite sides of the tracks. It’s told in the first person in alternate chapters from both the hero and the heroine’s perspectives.

Brittany Ellis appears to have it all: wealth, beauty and intelligence. She’s the captain of her school’s cheerleading squad and is dating the captain of the football team. All this outward perfection masks the truth: an unhappy home life featuring a severely disabled sister, a neurotic mother, and an absent father.

Alejandro “Alex” Fuentes is the school bad boy. He’s a member of the notorious local gang, Latino Blood. He gets good grades but has no hope of attending college. and escaping life in the gang. As in Brittany’s case, Alex’s bad ass exterior is deceptive. He hates being a gangbanger but was forced into it through circumstance. As the eldest son in a family closely connected to the gang’s leaders, Alex has no choice but to do his duty. The safety of his widowed mother and two younger brothers depends on his ability to keep the gang happy.

When Alex and Brittany are paired in chemistry class, tempers flare and sparks fly. After a rough start, they slowly begin to realize that they have more in common than they’d expected. But with the opposition of Brittany’s parents to contend with, plus increasing tensions in Alex’s gang, their budding relationship has many obstacles to overcome before they can find lasting happiness.

This is a cute story. It’s a fluffy, romantic fantasy in which two unlikely lovers make their relationship work against all odds. The epilogue borders on saccharine, and the Happily Ever After stretched credibility, but I enjoyed the book nonetheless. It took a while for Brittany to grow on me as she seemed almost too perfect, but liked her well enough her by the end. Alex is a great hero.  He was definitely my favourite of the two lead characters. I also felt the portrayal of his home life was more finely-drawn than Brittany’s, and I therefore found him the more sympathetic of the two.

If you like contemporary YA romances which don’t contain any paranormal elements, Perfect Chemistry might be for you. Grade: B-

The Thief is an excellent adventure story aimed at older children/young adults.

Set in a fictitious world loosely based on Byzantine Greece, The Thief tells the story of Gen, a cocky young thief. At the story’s opening, Gen is a reluctant resident of the King of Sounis’s prison. His arrogance led him to brag that he could steal anything, including the king’s seal. Unluckily for him, the person he brought it to happened to be a royal spy, thus bringing Gen’s illustrious criminal career to an abrupt end.

Cold and alone, Gen is very surprised when his cell door opens and he is led out by none other than the king’s trusted advisor, the magus. The magus has a mysterious job for him, one which involves a journey to an unknown destination. He and the king want Gen to steal an object on their behalf. Gen is accompanied on this journey by the magus, his two apprentices and a bodyguard. They travel for days through lush countryside until they reach enemy territory. It is here that Gen is to prove his skills as a master thief.

The Thief is a wonderful book and one which I look forward to reading to my children when they are older. It’s beautifully written and I appreciate the fact that Megan Whalen Turner does not dumb down the vocabulary to cater to a younger audience. The world she creates is vivid and imaginative. She’s taken Greek legends and created her own mythology, complete with gods and goddesses. Some of these legends are told by the characters as they make their journey, with each one having a different slant on the original.

Gen is a marvelous character. He’s young and arrogant, but highly amusing. Although his age is not specified, I would guess he’s in his early to mid teens. The secondary characters are also well-drawn. The magus, in particular, is a strong member of the supporting cast.

The twists and turns in the story maintain the suspense until the very end. As this is a children’s book, it is only 280 pages. The author packs a lot of detail into a relatively short novel but doesn’t overwhelm her readers with unnecessary information.

My one and only criticism of The Thief was that I didn’t have the second and third volumes in the series sitting on my bookshelf! Thankfully, Megan Whalen Turner has continued Gen’s story in two further books, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia, and a fourth title is due out in 2010.

Even if you don’t usually read children’s literature, I urge you to make an exception for The Thief. Grade: A

Ink Exchange is a beautifully written book and one which will stay with me for a long time. It is the second in Melissa Marr’s faerie series, although it’s not a sequel to Wicked Lovely in the traditional sense (I believe Seth and Aislinn’s story will continue in Book 3, Fragile Eternity).

There are three main characters in Ink Exchange: Leslie (Aislinn’s best friend); Niall (Keenan’s friend and advisor); and Irial (King of the Dark Court). Despite the three points of view, this is ultimately Leslie’s book.

When we first met Leslie in Wicked Lovely, she was portrayed as flight and slutty – the ultimate party girl – and I dismissed her as such. In Ink Exchange, we see an entirely different side to her. Leslie’s drug-addict brother sold her to his friends in exchange for drugs and she was the victim of a horrific gang rape. Ink Exchange is the story of her struggle to reclaim her body and sense of self-worth. Leslie wants to aid this process by getting the tattoo of her dreams.

Irial, King of the Dark Court, is trying to retain control over his people. Now that peace reigns, the Dark Fae are restless and seek trouble wherever they can find it. It’s Irial’s responsibility to feed their darker desires. In order to avoid doing so by means of warfare with the other fae courts, Irial decides to satisfy his people through a so-called ink exchange with a human. By tattooing his magic symbol onto a human, Irial can control that person and feed his people’s hunger. The human he chooses for the ink exchange is, of course, Leslie.

Unbeknownst to Leslie, Niall has been appointed her guardian by Aislinn and the Summer Court. Although he is usually invisible to her, Niall watches over her and endeavours to keep her safe from harm. Once he becomes aware of Irial’s interest in Leslie, Niall is immediately suspicious. As a former member of the Dark Court, Niall is all too familiar with Irial’s sadistic nature.

The plot in Ink Exchange develops slowly but surely. When I initially learned that Leslie would be the main character, I was disappointed as I hadn’t liked her in Wicked Lovely. However, her harrowing story was wonderfully done and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her character develop.

Irial is fascinating. He’s evil, yet he’s not. To say more would spoil the plot. Niall was the weak link for me. He’s overly worthy and struggles against his baser nature. I wished he would just give in to himself and act according to his wishes, as opposed to how he feels he ought.

The secondary characters provide a tantalizing glimpse at possible future storylines. For example, we learn more about the tattoo artist, Rabbit, and his extended family. Aislinn, Seth and Keenan play important roles. I haven’t said much about them for fear of spoiling Wicked Lovely for those who haven’t yet read it, but I will say this: there is a plot reveal which paints Aislinn in a very bad light and makes me question her actions towards a girl who is supposed to be her best friend. I didn’t like Aislinn in this book and I can only hope she redeems herself in the third book, Fragile Eternity.

Although I’ve read several criticisms of the conclusion to Ink Exchange, I thought it was fitting. As far as I’m concerned, this is Leslie’s story, and I think it ended just as it needed to end for her. I’m not certain Leslie will be featured in future books, but I’m sure we’ll see more of the other characters and unresolved plot threads will continue. I’m definitely looking forward to reading Fragile Eternity in the near future. Grade: B+

Also Reviewed:

Wicked Lovely (2007) by Melissa Marr (Book 1 in the Faerie series)

Wicked Lovely is my second foray into the world of the fae and Young Adult urban fantasy. It’s the first in a series of books, all of which have garnered rave reviews.

Aislinn sees fairies. She’s always seen them. Heeding her grandmother’s advice, she strives to keep her sight a secret from her fellow mortals and – most especially – the fae themselves. Aislinn struggles to ignore the havoc-wreaking faeries she sees around her, and concentrates on navigating the rocky waters of high school and boys. When it all becomes too much, she can visit her friend, Seth, who conveniently lives in an iron-clad residence: a train car.

When Keenan, the Summer King, decides Aislinn is his missing Summer Queen, he is insistent and persistent in his pursuit. Keenan’s mother, the Winter Queen, has somehow bound his powers in order to rule alone. (We’re not told exactly how she achieved this. Apparently, more information about the curse will be revealed in the second book in the series, Ink Exchange.) The only way for Keenan to regain control over his half of the fae is to find his queen.

To further complicate matters, Beira, the Winter Queen, has attached a curse to the search for a Summer Queen: a girl who agrees to become queen must hold her staff and swear an oath. If she is the true Summer Queen, she will be infused with power; if not, she will be doomed to wander the earth as the Winter Girl until the next person takes the challenge. The current Winter Girl is Donia, whom Keenan loved but ultimately betrayed. She is dispatched by the Winter Queen to watch over Keenan’s search for a Summer Queen and report back.

When Aislinn realizes Keenan has chosen her as his queen, she is terrified. She confides in Seth and together they try to find away to prevent her from having to take the challenge.

Melissa Marr writes beautifully and her rendition of the world of the fae was more to my taste than Holly Black’s in Tithe. Marr’s fae seem more human than Black’s, and she explained much of the folklore surrounding them. I felt a little at sea while I was reading Tithe, so I was relieved that Marr didn’t assume I knew a lot about faeries from other fantasy books. As someone who has read very little fantasy, I will say that my favourite scenes are those which take place in the mortal world. I liked the juxtaposition of the humans and the faeries.

The characters are multifaceted and I wanted to learn more about them. Aislinn is a strong heroine who begins the book frightened and vulnerable, but slowly discovers her inner strength and confidence. Seth is incredibly nice, but perhaps too perfect. He’s been in love with Aislinn for ages but waits until she’s ready before pursuing her. The development of their relationship is probably the strongest aspect of the book. Donia, the Winter Girl, is intriguing. To say more about her would spoil the end of the book, but suffice it to say I’m looking forward to reading more about her. Keenan is spoiled, arrogant and shallow. I have no idea how his character could be redeemed in future books, but perhaps Marr doesn’t intend to.

Wicked Lovely is a riveting read which managed to captivate a reluctant fantasy reader such as myself. I plan to read Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity in the near future. Grade: B

Also Reviewed:

Ink Exchange (2008) by Melissa Marr (Book 2 in the Faerie series)

Note: As part of their YA appreciation month, The Book Smugglers have a new review of the manga version of Wicked Lovely.

I meant to add a link to The Book Smugglers Young Adult Appreciation Month in my Saturday link list. Ana and Thea of The Book Smugglers are hosting a month of blog posts devoted to Young Adult fiction. This week, they’re spotlighting teen books of the supernatural persuasion. I noticed they’ll be reviewing the manga version of Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely, so I’ll be sure to link to that when I post my review of the book tomorrow.