"Ruined" by Paula Morris

Judge a book by its cover

The book looked cool.  That's why I picked it up.

Synopsis

Rebecca has to move to New Orleans for the school year to live with her aunt Claudia while her dad travels on business.  But as far as Rebecca is concerned, New Orleans might as well be a completely different planet with how different it is from her home New York.  Her aunt reads tarot cards for a living, she attends a snooty prep school were family names  and Mardi Gras mean everything, and her only friend is Lisette, who just so happens to be a ghost.  The ultimate question is - why can Rebecca see Lisette?

Humble Opinion

It was a fun ghost story.  New Orleans has always seemed like such a foreign and mystical place to me full of history and lore, so I was thrilled that this ghost story took place in New Orleans.  I feel like if ghosts do exist, then New Orleans is the ghost mecca!!

I enjoyed how cleverly Ruined was written.  I felt like I learned about New Orlean's past and culture, yet Paula Morris kept the story moving and didn't give everything a way in the beginning.  Morris wrote Ruined in such a way, that you had sudden "aha!" moments, yet you still didn't know everything.  She kept you guessing as to who was really good and bad up until the very end!  I really appreciated that.

Final say

Very interesting book!  If you like ghosts and mysteries, then you'll really like this book!

"Generation Dead" by Daniel Waters

Judge a book by its cover

I'm a YA fan AND a zombie fan (I LOVE "The Walking Dead"), so if you combine those two... of course I'm going to read it!  I mean, there's zombie cheerleader on the front cover, how could I not pick up this book?

Synopsis

In America, some teenagers who died, aren't staying dead.  But when they come back, they aren't the same people they were when they are alive - the first time.  The zombies, or the politically correct term "differently biotic", are trying their best to fit back in to a world that doesn't want them.

Phoebe finds herself falling for the cute boy in her algebra class - Tommy.  Only problem is, Tommy is a dead kid.  Not only will her best friend, Margi, and her neighbor, Adam, not approve, but society wouldn''t stand for it either.  Phoebe feels like there is more to the dead kids, especially Tommy, that people aren't willing to see.  So, she convinces Margi and Adam to join the Undead Studies group that their high school is offering, to learn more about the "differently biotic", from the dead kids themselves.  Adam, however, has feelings for Phoebe that run deeper than "just friendship".  He would do anything for her.  But does that include putting his own happiness aside to protect Tommy for Phoebe's sake?

Humble Opinion

Loved it.  It was funny, cute, and kept a great pace.  I didn't want to put it down, but I also didn't have "withdrawal" if I didn't read it as soon as I got home.  (Endless Knight anyone??)  It had a Twilight forbidden love feel to it (only much better written), yet it's easily able to stand on its own as not to be thought of as "another Twilight book".

Phoebe and Adam are very likable characters.  Their friendship seems a little odd since he's the football star and she's the "goth girl", but since they have been neighbors for years and Adam has a crush on Phoebe, I bought into it.  Tommy is... mysterious.  I wanted to like him, but at the same time he was a huge question mark for me because there is so much that you don't know about him.  Meanwhile, Margi is written as a realistically, annoying best friend that most people don't like, but for some reason you're friends with.  The other supporting characters - Karen (who I'm pretty sure is supposed to be the girl on the book cover), Pete, Thorny, Colette, etc - are nicely developed and definitely add welcomed layers to the story.

Final say

I really enjoyed the book!  So much so that I ordered the sequel, Kiss of Life (which I am reading right now), immediately after finishing the book.  I could see this as a Disney series (since Disney's Hyperion Books is the publisher), and I would totally watch it.  I think the book is able to appeal to tweens, Twilighters, zombie fans, and general YA fans.  It's a fun book for everyone!

"If You Could Be Mine" by Sara Farizan

Judge a book by its cover

My friend got me the book when he went to an industry book fair.  He told me, "It's not the usually 'vampire stuff' you like.  It's about lesbians in the Middle East, so I don't know if you'll like it".  The premise intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try.

Synopsis

Sahar and Nasrin are best friends and have been in love since they were six years old.  But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls to be in love.  The punishment could range from being beaten, imprisoned, or even death.  Sahar and Nasrin carry on in secret - until Nasrin's parents arrange a marriage for her.  Nasrin tries to convince Sahar that their secret affair with each other can continue on as before, but Sahar wants to love Nasrin exclusively, and openly.  In Iran, homosexuality is a crime, but if you're a man trapped in a woman's body - that's nature's mistake and a sex reassignment is legal and government approved.  As a man, Sahar wouldn't have to love Nasrin in secret anymore.  But Sahar must decide if this life altering change is worth the love of her life.

Humble Opinion

I am a huge gay rights supporter so this book really captivated me!  The thought of two people having to hide their love for one another because of their gender is sad enough, but the punishment for such love is government approved death?!  I found it fascinating that Iran is against homosexuality, but they are okay with sex changes...  That's so bizarre in my mind - that Iran believes God (or Allah) made a mistake by putting a man in a woman's body (or vice versa), and therefore allows such drastic changes to be made to something as holy as one of God's creations - the human body.  Woman can't show their hair or elbows in public because it's "sinful", but completely changing the physical appearance and gender of a body isn't??  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people having a say about what happens to their bodies - if they want to have sex changes, or abortions, or full body tattoos, etc - that's totally their choice.  I just find the whole concept so weird and interesting.

If You Could Be Mine is so beautifully written.  The struggle that Sahar goes through with loving her best friend, Nasrin, even though it's forbidden; dealing with her best friend/love being betrothed to another and not fighting it, while she desperately tryies to find a way to be with Nasrin, even if it means being untrue to herself - it's all so heart wrenching.  Living in America, where arranged marriages don't really exist anymore, the thought of marrying someone you don't know or don't love, is so strange to me.  Even though the man that Nasrin is set up with seems like a great guy, the idea of two people who are in love, not being able to be together, is so depressing.  This book is like the anti-fairy tale.

Final say

It's a FABULOUS book!  I would recommend If You Could Be Mine to anyone - gay, straight, man, woman, black, white, etc.  It would be interesting to see a homophobic or ultra religious/Christian's view on this book.  I feel like it might open some eyes to the struggle of homosexuals.  I think it also gave me a little more insight to Muslim culture and the struggles that Muslim women face on a day to day basis.  Great book.  I loved it.