365. Romance Diaries Book 2: Ruby by Jenna Austen

Romance Diaries Book 2: Ruby by Jenna Austen
Published January 2013 Harper Collins

From the publisher:
Ruby's worried that her friends keep making the same mistakes when it comes to romance. Then she develops a theory: most girls go for either a Jane Austen guy (funny, sweet, caring) or a Jane Eyre guy (dark, brooding, serious) -- when really they should be dating the exact opposite! But when Ruby puts her theory into practice, the results don't exactly go to plan ... And if shes so smart about love, how come she can't figure out who's been sending her all the flirty emails and flowers?

Being the book nerd that I am, my first thought when I saw this book, was Who Is Jenna Austen?  I was fairly confident that this was a pseudonym, and after a bit of Googling, I came up trumps.  Jenna Austen is non other than the well know Australian writer Sophie Masson!

363. Feathered Man by Jeremy de Quidt

Feathered Man by Jeremy de Quidt

Due to be published January 2013 David Fickling Books

From the publisher:

'Where does life go?' Who wouldn't want to know the answer to that if it was almost in their grasp?  Klaus's perfect white teeth were the only thing he had. But after they brought him to the attention of Kusselmann, the toothpuller, he discovers he has nothing. Not even his life.  When a hidden diamond is discovered in a dead man's tooth, the stage is set for a terrifying mystery to unravel. Unwillingly embroiled in the twin clutches of greed and ancient omen, Klaus and his friend Liesel only understand one thing: they must escape. At any cost. But where can you go when you are being hunted by a force more deadly and more powerful than anything in this world?

Who would have thought I would read three books this year that involve the collection of teeth?  Well I have, the first two, Daughter of Bone and Smoke and Days of Blood and Starlight, and now this one.  Admittedly, the teeth in this book are used to make false teeth, not chimaera (monsters), but still...teeth?!

362. What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard

What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard
Due to be published January 8th 2013 (eBook) Soho Teen


From the publisher:
Three teenagers with XP (a life-threatening allergy to sunlight) are a species unto themselves. As seen through the eyes of 16-year-old Allie Kim, they roam the silent streets, looking for adventure while others sleep. On a random summer night, while scaling a building like any other, the three happen to peer into an empty apartment and glimpse an older man with what looks like a dead girl. A game of cat-and-mouse ensues that escalates through the underground world of hospital confinement, off-the-grid sports and forbidden love.

While there is an actual story in this book, there are two key elements that stand out in this story and are worth mentioning from the start, XP and Parkour.

360. Daughter of Smoke and Bone Book 2: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Book 2: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
Published November 2012 H & S Fiction

From the publisher:
Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living - one without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mothers' arms to take their turn in the killing and dying.

Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon's secret temple and dreamed of a world that was a like a jewel-box without a jewel - a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.

This was not that world.

Not exactly a Christmas book, but for me it was little bit like Christmas, to say I was excited about this book would be an understatement.  I discovered Daughter of Smoke and Bone quite a while after it’s original US release, the paperback came out earlier this year, so it’s a very pleasant surprise that I get to read Book 2 in the same year!

359. House at the End of the Street by Lily Blake

House at the End of the Street by Lily Blake
Published October 2012 Atom

From the publisher:

Seeking a fresh start, newly divorced Sarah and her daughter Elissa find the house of their dreams in a small, upscale, rural town. But when startling and unexplainable events begin to happen, Sarah and Elissa learn the town is in the shadows of a chilling secret.

Years earlier, in the house next door, a daughter killed her parents in their beds and disappeared - leaving only a brother, Ryan, as the sole survivor.

Against Sarah's wishes, Elissa begins a relationship with the reclusive Ryan - and the closer they get, the deeper they're all pulled into a mystery more dangerous than they ever imagined.

One thing I normally steer clear of, are books that have been adapted from movies. I was at my local library, and I can honestly say that I am struggling to find things to read at this time of year.  It’s not so much the books, just life getting in the way.  So I saw this book, I hadn’t heard of, or seen the movie, and it looked like a quick read, so I gave it a go.  Let’s just say I probably won’t be reading any movie novelisations again in the near future.

357. Summertime of the Dead by Gregory Hughes

Summertime of the Dead by Gregory Hughes

Published November 2012 Quercus

From the publisher:

Yukio's two best friends are dead. Tormented and blackmailed by the Yakuza – the Japanese mafia – they have taken their own lives. Yukio is a kendo champion and he knows all the stories of the samurai.

Heartbroken and furious, he is determined to avenge the deaths of his beloved Hiroshi and Miko. And so begins a deadly struggle between Yukio and the Yakuza, and between Yukio's capacity for love, and his thirst for revenge.
Shot through with the beauty of Tokyo in spring, this is an unforgettable and uncompromising read.

A book about the Japanese Mafia with a Warning: Not For Younger Readers on the back, this has the makings of a must read for action loving boys everywhere!  Three Japanese teenagers, friends since childhood, who are as close as siblings.  One night while at an underage night club, and a chance meeting with Riko and Louise, nieces to a gangster godfather in the Japanese Mafia, the yakuza and their friend Kako changes everything. 

355. Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Published October 2012 EUK

From the publisher:

Evening Spiker is recuperating from a freak accident in her mum's medical facility. She is healing at a remarkable rate, faster than physically possible. As she grows closer to the hot lab assistant Solo, who seems to be hanging around a lot, she realises that things at Spiker Biotech are not quite as they seem. Joining forces, Solo and Eve uncover a secret so huge it could change the world completely. Spiker Biotech is about more than just saving lives. It's about creating them.

Both of the author names associated with this title will be easily recognisable.  Michael Grant is the author of the very popular GONE series, and BZRK which I read earlier this year.  Katherine Applegate is the author of the extremely popular Animorphs series, which have recently been re-issued.  She also wrote the wonderful The One and Only Ivan, which I also read earlier this year. The other thing about this writing duo, is that they are also married, and this is their first collaboration.

352. My Brother Simple by Marie-Aude Murail

My Brother Simple by Marie-Aude Murail
Published September 2012 Bloomsbury 

From the publisher:
There's unrequited love, lust (lots of it), bad romantic poetry, too many essays, and plenty of crisps. But the seventeen-year-old boy in this story has something extra to contend with. His older brother has learning difficulties and is languishing in a care home. Listening to his heart rather than his head, the boy knows he must get his brother, nicknamed Simple, out. But as their father is entirely preoccupied with his new wife, it's up to the boy to liberate Simple, and that means finding somewhere for them to live in the city. Funny, thought-provoking and clever, this French bestseller won the Prix SNCF du Livre de Jeunesse and was dramatised for French television; in Germany it won the prestigious Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis.

This book was originally published in France in 2004, and it has won awards across Europe.  I have a theory that if a novel has been translated it's a book that I must read, as I believe that only the best books are ever translated.

351. Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B Cooney

Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B Cooney
This edition published December 2012 Random House

From the publisher:
 No one ever really paid close attention to the faces of the missing children on the milk cartons. But as Janie Johnson glanced at the face of the ordinary little girl with her hair in tight pigtails, wearing a dress with a narrow white collar--a three-year-old who had been kidnapped twelve years before from a shopping mall in New Jersey--she felt overcome with shock. She recognized that little girl--it was she. How could it possibly be true? Janie can't believe that her loving parents kidnapped her, but as she begins to piece things together, nothing makes sense. Something is terribly wrong. Are Mr. and Mrs. Johnson really her parents? And if not, who is Janie Johnson, and what really happened?

OK, so it's late in the year, and here I am reading a book that was originally written in 1990, and I have read it before. I am including it because I did read it again, partly to see how it stands the test of time and also because there is a book 5 coming out next year, and I wanted to start jogging my memory.

349. Venom by Fiona Paul

Venom by Fiona Paul
Published December 2012 Harper Collins

From the publisher:
Beauty, romance, murder... A novel as stunning and seductive as Renaissance Venice itself. Cassandra Caravello is part of Venice’s wealthy elite. Her world is one of fabulous gowns, society parties and privilege, yet she longs for something more. While her fiancé is away studying in Paris, she has a chance meeting with an artist called Falco. He is attractive, audacious...and highly unsuitable. When Cass stumbles upon the body of a murdered woman - with a bloody X carved across her heart - she’s drawn into a dangerous world of secret societies, courtesans and killers. Falco is quick to offer his assistance, but then another body is found and Cass starts receiving death threats... Is Falco more involved than she imagined? And will she be able to stay true to her fiancé, or succumb to her uncontrollable feelings for someone she’s not even sure she can trust?

I am not a girly girl by any stretch, but I just love the dress on the cover of this book!  Again, I know not a good way to select my reading material, but that’s why I picked this one up.  This is a novel set in the Renaissance Venice, basically the story of a wealthy young girl, and a poor apprentice artist who should never have met, let alone fall in love, throw in a killer who is carving up women and you have a book that’s hard to put down.

347. Watersong Book 1: Wake by Amanda Hocking

Watersong Book 1: Wake by Amanda Hocking

Published August 2012 Macmillan

From the publisher:

Beautiful. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Thea, and Lexi have caught everyone's attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it's her sister, Gemma, they've chosen to be part of their group. Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all - carefree, pretty, and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion has always been the water. She craves late night swims under the stars, where she can be alone yet belong to the sea. Lately she's had company. Penn, Thea, and Lexi spend their nights dancing, singing, and partying on the cove - and one night Gemma joins them. When she wakes up groggy on the beach the next morning, she knows something has changed.

Book 2

What prompted me to go back and read this book was actually the second book in the series, Lullaby which was released at the end of November.  I liked it because of it’s cover, but thought I had better start with book one, which was only released in August, so not that long ago. It’s a book about mermaids, but not as we know them.

346. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
Published September 2012 Simon & Schuster

From the publisher:
In the remarkable, bizarre, and heart-wrenching summer before Cullen Witter's senior year of high school, he is forced to examine everything he thinks he understands about his small and painfully dull Arkansas town. His cousin overdoses; his town becomes absurdly obsessed with the alleged reappearance of an extinct woodpecker; and most troubling of all, his sensitive, gifted fifteen-year-old brother, Gabriel, suddenly and inexplicably disappears.  Meanwhile, the crisis of faith spawned by a young missionary's disillusion in Africa prompts a frantic search for meaning that has far-reaching consequences. As distant as the two stories initially seem, they are woven together through masterful plotting and merge in a surprising and harrowing climax.

This book has won a multitude of awards, so I hoped I wouldn’t be disappointed, given all of the hype.  I wasn’t disappointed, but it is quite a sleepy story.

344. Dark Souls by Paula Morris

Dark Souls by Paula Morris
Published December 2012 Scholastic

From the publisher:
Miranda Tennant arrives in York with a terrible, tragic secret. She is eager to lose herself amid the quaint cobblestones, hoping she won't run into the countless ghosts who supposedly roam the city. Then she meets Nick, an intense, dark-eyed boy who knows all of York's hidden places and histories. Miranda wonders if Nick is falling for her, but she is distracted by another boy-one even more handsome and mysterious than Nick. He lives in the house across from Miranda and seems desperate to send her some sort of message. Could this boy be one of York's haunted souls? Soon, Miranda realises that something dangerous-and deadly-is being planned. And she may have to face the darkest part of herself in order to unravel the mystery-and find redemption.

Two ghosty stories back to back, although this one doesn’t have any laughs.  What it does have is a teenage girl recovering form the death of her best friend and a visit to the most haunted town in England, York.

339. The Twice-Lived Summer of Bluebell Jones by Susie Day

The Twice-Lived Summer of Bluebell Jones by Susie Day
Published December 2012 Scholastic

From the publisher:

On her thirteenth birthday, Blue makes a desperate wish. To be transformed into a cool, confident teenager. Enter Red, appearing from nowhere like a wacky fairy godmother. She's only visible to Blue-in fact, she is Blue, but a year older. With Red by her side to guide her, Blue can avoid all the gruesome embarrassments! But her future self causes a heap of crazy trouble-and there are dark secrets she's not telling...

I was almost tempted to not include this book, not because I didn’t like it, but because to say too much would spoil your reading of it.  There's a real OMG factor that I won't mention, but if you want to know the ‘spoiler’, email me, and I will tell you, but it a real spoiler in the sense that it may spoil how much you enjoy finding out for yourself.

338. How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

How To Save a Life by Sara Zarr

Published December 2012 Usborne

From the publisher

From the best-selling author, Sara Zarr, comes the remarkable story of what it means to be a family, and the many roads we can take to become one. Jill MacSweeney just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends - everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's trying to replace a lost family member with a new one. Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted - to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy falls pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. But will she ever find someone to care for her too? As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy - or as difficult - as it seems.

This is a book that's full of sadness, but it isn't a sad book.  It is about death, birth, family, grief, anger, wrong decisions and hopefully being able to make the right ones.  Sara Zarr has managed to capture the confusing mix of emotions that sometime make us behave in ways that are at complete odds with our true selves.  Told from dual perspectives, we have the stories about two very different girls, who ultimately want exactly the same thing.

335. Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagon

Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon
Published September 2012 Harper Collins

From the publisher:
Sixteen-year-old Noa has been a victim of the system ever since her parents died. Now living off the grid and trusting no one, she uses her computer-hacking skills to stay safely anonymous and alone. But when she wakes up on a table in an empty warehouse with an IV in her arm and no memory of how she got there, Noa starts to wish she had someone on her side. Enter Peter Gregory. A rich kid and the leader of a hacker alliance, Peter needs people with Noa's talents on his team. Especially after a shady corporation threatens his life. But what Noa and Peter don't realize is that Noa holds the key to a terrible secret, and there are those who'd stop at nothing to silence her for good. Filled with action, suspense, and romance, this first book in a new trilogy offers readers nonstop thrills.


The blurb on this book likens it to Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for teens, there are definitely elements of it in this book, but it also really reminds me of a book called Being by Kevin Brooks.  As I was reading I also found the style similar to that of the adult author Harlan Coban, when I read the author info I found out that Michelle Gagnon is a well known adult writer, so that explains the more adult feel of the book.  Saying that, it is absolutely a teenage fiction title, a really good thriller which we are seeing more and more of in the YA world.

333. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
Published August 2012 Pufffin

From the publisher:

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight Judge Judy - loving best friend riding shotgun - but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

After reading Fault in Our Stars earlier his year, I have been dying to read another John Green novel.  Happily for me, this edition came out in August, so it fills my ‘must be published in 2012’ criteria.

331. I Made Lattes for a Love God by Wendy Harmer

I Made Lattes for a Love God by Wendy Harmer
Published November 2012 Allen & Unwin

From the publisher:
Elly Pickering has a juicy secret. A secret her PR mum won't let her tell anyone because if the kids at Oldcastle High knew that mega-star Jake Blake (yes, THE Jake Blake, teen sensation and all round heart-throb) was coming to Oldcastle to film his latest movie, they might just explode with excitement.
Elly is determined to get on set and to get more than a glimpse of her Hollywood crush. But now thanks to an unfortunate incident involving a car, a red handbag and the paparazzi, it looks like Elly's lost a lot more than her opportunity to be close to Hollywood royalty. She's lost her dignity, her job and her best friend. How can she get everything back to normal?


For those of you that loved Harmer’s first foray into teenage fiction I Lost My Mobile at the Mall, you will be very happy to know that this new book continues the adventures and sagas of the one and only Elly Pickering.  This book will appeal to teenage girls everywhere, because who hasn’t wished that the teenage screen idol of the day would one day be filming in their town, which will of course lead to meeting him and then him falling in love with you!?

328. Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
Published November 2012 Doubleday

From the publisher:
Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet. Why would they? Anna is sixteen in 1995, fiercely determined to leave her quiet town and finally travel the world. Bennett's seventeen in 2012, living in San Francisco and trying to control his ability to travel through time - an incredible gift, but also an unpredictable curse, which constantly threatens to separate him from the people he loves.

When Bennett suddenly finds himself in Anna's world, they are inescapably drawn to one another - it's almost as if they have met before. But they both know, deep down, that it can never last. For no matter how desperate Bennett is to stay with Anna, his condition will inevitably knock him right back to where he belongs - and Anna will be left to pick up the pieces.

It's funny, as I was reading this book I thought to myself, if I had to choose one ability, I would choose time travel.  When I read the little author bio at the start of the book, the author thought exactly the same thing, and that his how this book came about.  This book is unashamedly a romance novel.  I say that with no disrespect, as I find so many dark books, deep and meaningful books, and depressing  books for teens, that I feel there is a lack of something that is just a great pieces of escapist reading.

324. This Is Not a Drill by Beck McDowell

This I Not a Drill by Beck McDowell
Published November 2012 Hardie Grant

From the publisher:
The door swings open and a man walks in like he owns the place. He raises his fist. Gripping a handgun. Aimed directly at the teacher. Emery finds it awkward as hell tutoring a bunch of grade-one kids with her ex-boyfriend. It's not easy for Jake either - he knows Emery thinks he's useless, especially after what he did to her. But when a boy's father turns up at school with a gun, a bad situation for Emery and Jake suddenly turns deadly. The boy's father - a soldier home from Iraq - says he just wants to spend time with his kid. But resistance from the teacher has deadly consequences. The man isn't afraid of opening fire, even in front of the children. And one way or another, he's not leaving without his son.

Imagine you are a 16 year old girl, who has recently broken up with her boyfriend, he is not your favourite person.  Imagine then that you have been partnered with him to teach French to grade one kids.  That is not the way you want to spend three mornings a week.   When that grade one class is held at gunpoint by an angry ex military father of one of the students, well that ex-boyfriend turns out to be the only person you can turn to.