Starting out from what seemed a contemporary standpoint, readers of ‘Dawn of Rebellion’ by Michelle Lynn are introduced to the main characters, Dawn and Gabby, as students in school. Dawn is quieter and more reserved, while her sister Gabby is outgoing, pretty much getting whatever she wants, including boys. Despite their differences, Dawn and Gabby love each other very much, and they are only have each other. Their parents are not around, due to issues beyond the girls’ control, and they look out for each other as a result. When Gabby tries to pick up a present for Dawn’s birthday, all trouble breaks loose, and Gabby’s thieving spirit lands her in more trouble than she could have ever bargained for.

When she is sent from her home in London to the colonies, which used to be America, Gabby finds herself tested at every turn, aching to survive in an unknown world, full of people who don’t trust her any more than she trusts them. The few friends she makes are hard-won, and loss is all too familiar a feeling in the slave camps in which they’re all kept.

Dawn, along with Gabby’s semi-boyfriend Drew, hope to come to her rescue, even though Drew has other thoughts about what he’d like to be doing – searching for his lost and estranged brother. Going against his family and everything he grew up knowing and believing, he and Dawn find that their spirit doesn’t wane as they search for answers and escape plans. They meet up with others who help them along their path, as well as some who want to stop them from moving forward. Through it all, despite their growing uncertainty about their feelings for each other, they stay true to their motivation for coming to the colonies.

‘Dawn of Rebellion’ is a feel-good story mixed with action, adventure, downtrodden spirits, and the ability to rise up when times are tough. The title, while including the main character’s name, does a great job of symbolizing how Dawn learned to rebel as the novel went on, but at the same time, all of the characters learned that they had more in themselves than they would have ever believed as a means of starting to rebel against the evils of the world. All of this is poised against a backdrop of love and hard-earned trust that makes the characters brave and true. Michelle Lynn has captured bits and pieces of the human spirit and revealed how judgment and stereotypical thoughts about others can sometimes be turned on their heads and have you questioning who you can trust, and how people can change if you allow them the opportunity. I am looking forward to reading the sequel, as the novel did end on a cliffhanger, and there are some loose ends I would love to see tied up as the story progresses. Besides this and an issue with grammar or spelling here and there, the novel was a must read and kept me highly engaged.

You can find ‘Dawn of Rebellion’ by Michelle Lynn here: http://amzn.to/1XIahie

‘The Avery Shaw Experiment’ by Kelly Oram is a heartwarming and heartbreaking look at the ripple effects of a breakup (between friends) and the path to getting over it (especially when one person in the relationship thought it meant much more). It is an emotionally charged rollercoaster of steps in the scientific method to help support the theory that going through the seven stages of grief can help mend a broken heart.

When Avery Shaw is “dumped” by her best friend, Aiden Kennedy, so he can go off and be his own person apart from Avery, girlfriend and all, she is dumbstruck. She has always envisioned her life to go hand in hand with Aiden’s, and when he tells her, in not so many words, that he doesn’t want to be friends anymore, or at least not close friends, she is crushed. She’s in love with him, after all. The fact that he doesn’t see it is just a roadblock to their happy ending.

Swooping in to save the day and help Avery feel better about Aiden’s sudden revelation and Avery’s immediate heartbreak is Grayson, Aiden’s older brother. Grayson is everything Aiden isn’t, including exceedingly popular and amazingly attractive. Grayson and Avery are on opposite ends of the social spectrum, that is until Grayson takes Avery under his wing, partly because he’s starting to fall for her after their first encounter with potential “like” on New Year’s Eve when Aiden told her it’s better that they don’t hang out together anymore. In her haste to get away from Aiden, she jumped in the shower with Grayson. Being in the shower together when you haven’t even been on a first date is no small potatoes. Even though it didn’t happen just like it sounds, Grayson’s had a hard time shaking thoughts of Avery out of his mind since that night, but Avery is still stuck on Aiden.

As the novel progresses, Avery and Grayson plot out the steps of a social experiment as a means of coming to terms and getting past what happened with Aiden. Their experiment sends them on dates, brings first kisses to the forefront, and earns many a jealous look from a variety of parties that hold a stake in the outcome of the experiment.

A thoroughly enjoyable and intoxicating read about what it takes to get past your first love and how something better just might be hanging around right under your nose, ‘The Avery Shaw Experiment’ is a highly recommended title. Oram’s second novel in the series is due to come out in October 2015 – a follow-up about Avery’s friend Libby and her infatuation/relationship with Grayson’s best friend, Owen. Looking forward to checking that one out!

You can find ‘The Avery Shaw Experiment’ by Kelly Oram here: http://amzn.to/1W8FOcp

Having never read a dystopian novel before, I was interested, but not necessarily over-eager to begin one. I’ve always been more fascinated with other genres, even though I’ve heard wonderful words spoken about novels like ‘The Hunger Games’ and other such titles. I must say that Kayla Howarth’s ‘The Institute’ made me see the error of my reading ways.

It was truly a struggle to put my Kindle down day in and day out as I read it. The storyline and characters were extremely engaging, with twists and turns happening all the while. I thought it was great how Howarth also made sure to include references to Allira’s mother and best friend, Ebbodine, who had both disappeared, albeit several years apart. The way that Howarth makes it clear that Allira’s mother was buried, even though no body was present at the burial, leaves the window wide open for the possibility of her return, which I thought was a great tactic to keep readers curious. Allira’s Aunt Kenna, who is her mother’s sister, also played a role in Allira’s life, which I also enjoyed, since it brought the mother-daughter relationship that Allira clearly wished she could have had with her own mother to the forefront.

Reading about The Institute and what the place itself stands for, from the author’s viewpoint, of course, made me think about all the questions I have about what the government might truly be capable of. Mr. Brookfield, the director of The Institute, is basically the authority figure that everyone worries about, making readers question what his motivations are, why The Institute has a need to exist, what the issues with people who are considered “Defective” might be, and what can be done about fighting back to end this “war” against those who are considered “different.” Being different is obviously subjective, but not to those at The Institute, who see it as an evil upon society that must be quashed.

From Drew, the enigmatic boy who main character Allira fell for, confusing her all the more when she realized he may not be who she expected him to be, to Chad, who seems hard as nails but endears himself to Allira when he makes her see that working with him can have its benefits, the characters were fleshed out nicely. Everyone’s purpose, while sometimes unclear, was meant to be that way in order to keep readers on their toes, poised for those twists and turns that made the read spellbinding. I would have liked to have known more about Allira’s father, but I’m hoping he will be involved more in sequels to this first novel of the series. Allira’s brother, Shilah, was also a great character to have Allira play off of as well as the catalyst for much of Allira’s thinking about The Institute, what it all means, and why it all plays out in the way it does as the novel progresses.

Especially intriguing were the times when Howarth found ways to make me suspect someone and then come to realize that what I suspected, even though it seemingly came to fruition, is not actually what it was meant to be. I was truly surprised by the way some of the plot played out, but in the best way possible. Maybe I’ve seen too many episodes of ’24’ and other such shows where there are “moles,” or people who aren’t to be trusted, but the way that Howarth planted these types of characters in the story in ways that are capable of making readers understand their emotions and underlying motivations is something any writer should strive for, and any reader should be thankful for in their reading choices.

I cannot recommend Kayla Howarth’s ‘The Institute’ enough. As the novel got closer and closer to the end, I found myself wondering just how she was going to end it and why it had to end so soon. I am thrilled that there is another novel, ‘The Resistance,’ already out, and I’m looking forward to reading it. Having the first chapter tacked on to the end of ‘The Institute’ served as a nice introduction to the sequel. If you’re on the fence like I was about dystopian novels, never fear – ‘The Institute’ will help you realize that there was no reason to put it off. And if you have always liked dystopian adventures, this is definitely the book for you!

You can find ‘The Institute’ by Kayla Howarth here: http://amzn.to/1NgSLKP

After my first foray into Meg Cabot’s books (‘How to Be Popular’), I was eager to read another one of her novels. Even though ‘Avalon High’ didn’t quite live up to my high expectations, it certainly did a nice job of maintaining intrigue, and had me bent on keeping the pages turning, especially after the first third of the book. This is not to say that the first third was not good, but I just couldn’t get quite as into it as I wanted to, especially after having been so excited about reading another novel by Cabot. Once I started in after the first hundred pages, the story started to fly by.

The plot revolves around Ellie Harrison, a high school girl who has moved to Annapolis, Maryland with her parents, who just so happen to be Arthurian scholars. Coincidences start to abound, from the name of Ellie’s new school being Avalon High, to the names of the people in the popular crowd that she finds herself quickly becoming a part of – Jennifer, Lance, and Marco especially, since their names seem to resemble those of Guenevere, Lancelot, and Mordred, all of Arthurian lore. The guy she finds herself liking – A. Will Wagner – also seems to have similarities with King Arthur, including the way his father is remarried to his former best friend’s wife, and allegedly sent that best friend to his death in a roundabout way.

Soon enough, Ellie finds that people think she is involved in what she can only consider an absurd fantasy about how King Arthur might someday return, reincarnated as someone else. Could any of this be true? Or is Ellie just over-thinking what is going on around her as she attempts to find a way to get Will to like her? Uncertainty and curiosity keep readers on the edges of their seats, wondering if there is some explanation apart from extreme coincidence for all the goings-on around the multitude of seemingly Arthurian characters.

It would have also been nice if Cabot had found a way to wrap up Ellie’s relationships with her friends from the track team. It seemed that once the storyline with Will truly came front and center, these other friends fell into the background and were not really resurrected (pun intended!) as much as they could have been to give proper closure to Ellie’s relationships with them.

Overall, I recommend Meg Cabot as an author who knows how to engage her readers and stimulate their thought processes. I was truly curious how the story would wrap up and what explanations would be given for the coincidental occurrences that were ever-present throughout the story. I guess when coincidences abound, sometimes that means that they may not be coincidences at all!

You can find ‘Avalon High’ by Meg Cabot here: http://amzn.to/1RtPEjN

‘Ethan’s Secret’ is a wonderful sequel to ‘Joshua’s Island,’ and yet another wonderfully written novel by author Patrick Hodges. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced reader’s copy of Hodges’ sequel.

Whereas in ‘Joshua’s Island,’ we were introduced to Kelsey Callahan, a new-to-town fifth grader who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what (or who) she believed in, ‘Ethan’s Secret’ introduced us to the softer side of Kelsey. Even though she will still stand up for what’s right, she comes to learn that she sometimes might have to take time out for herself, namely in the form of Ethan, the mysterious boy who is new-to-town and not necessarily looking for friends.

This is easier said than done, though, as he and Kelsey find themselves interested in each other. Kelsey’s fascination with detective work might possibly bring out more curiosity than would normally be warranted, but being an over-analyzer myself, Kelsey’s choices to delve deeper into who Ethan really is made her more like a teenager than anything else.

Hodges’ writing style stayed consistent from book to book, putting readers at ease from the very first pages. I especially enjoyed the prologue that helped readers make sense of what had happened three years ago to lead Kelsey to be more of who she is today. The side characters – April, Bree, Baz, and Penny – rounded out the cast of characters quite well, each helping to populate the story with personalities that were indicative of all the issues that plague teenage life – indecision, lust, courage (or sometimes the lack thereof), and even love.

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. The only detail I would have loved to have seen added would have been more cameos, especially of the Joshua and Eve variety, since they were the basis of ‘Joshua’s Island.’ Cameos in sequels always make me feel more situated in the world I’m reading about. ‘Ethan’s Secret’ did have great areas that mentioned past characters to help bring the story more in focus based on Kelsey’s past experiences, though, and these helped provide readers with a window into the past, without Hodges having to include full flashbacks to remember everything.

If you have yet to read ‘Joshua’s Island,’ I recommend that you pick it up and find yourself breezing your way through it so that you’ll be ready for ‘Ethan’s Secret’ once it’s released in August 2015! You’ll be happy you did!

You can find ‘Ethan’s Secret’ by Patrick Hodges for pre-order on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/1LhBa70

‘Crayons – Color My World’ by Sharon Straka Hendricks is the second of her books that I’ve read. She is quite adept at writing in a way that makes sense for both children and parents alike. What I mean is that children can find meaning in their own way, while parents can explain underlying metaphors as they feel important. The book is colorful and imaginative, and it provides a window into feelings of uncertainty and methods of observation that children desperately need in order to make sense of the world around them and know how to deal with it accordingly. The crayon exercise that main character Jenny’s mother did with her was enlightening and resourceful, and as a parent myself, I truly appreciated the simplicity of it and how it truly gets the moral of the story across well. Children are so accepting and loving by nature, and we should nurture that. Tolerance and acceptance are two different things, and Sharon Straka Hendricks does a wonderful job in her writing of making that distinction very clear. Jenny’s mother does not teach tolerance of other races or people; she teaches acceptance through her crayon activity, and that is to be applauded.

My two-year-old son was fascinated by the pictures, swiping the Kindle pages back and forth and pointing to items as I mentioned them, including the flowers and various bright colors used throughout the story. One other item that bears mentioning is how Jenny’s forehead wrinkled in thought as she chose her colors to draw her picture. I thought this was a subtle, yet important mention, as children often put more time and effort into considering, rather than acting impulsively all the time.

Even though this was not a necessity, and therefore didn’t take away from enjoyment of the book, one item that I would have loved to see on the pages was a picture of Jenny playing along with the lady she asked her mother about who prompted Jenny’s questions about skin color. Since this was the main motivation of Jenny’s question-asking, I thought it would have been a neat picture to include, maybe even in a thought bubble above Jenny’s head while she asked, of Jenny coming into contact with the woman whose skin color was different. Again, this is not a requirement, as children can be asked to make predictions or suggestions as to what other skin colors there are, which can be a great lead-in to further discussion.

The lessons that Sharon Straka Hendricks teaches in books like ‘Crayons – Color My World’ are eye-opening. I very much recommend her books.

You can find ‘Crayons – Color My World’ by Sharon Straka Hendricks here: http://amzn.to/1MAZVZZ

Robin Benway weaves a fascinating tale of Audrey, a girl who, if she had just waited, like her ex-boyfriend Evan yelled for her to, could have led a very different sixteen-year-old life. After all, if she had waited when Evan yelled, “Audrey, wait!” they may have ended up getting back together. Then, “Audrey, Wait!” may never have been written, or it would have been another sappy love song that people for some reason aren’t as keen on, and it wouldn’t have made it big like “Audrey, Wait!” ended up doing. Maybe if she had waited, her life would have remained semi-normal. Maybe if she waited, she wouldn’t have learned that she liked James, and that he also liked her. There are so many “maybe” and “what if” scenarios, but the fact is that Audrey didn’t wait, and so starts the tale of Audrey skyrocketing to stardom, almost literally overnight, when Evan and the Do-Gooders release the song and watch it take the charts by storm.

I almost felt as though I was really watching all of Audrey’s misfortune (or fortune, as her best friend Victoria would claim) come her way. The story is written so vividly and in such a relatable way that anyone can see how this type of fame (or infamy) could happen to them. Audrey’s just a girl who broke up with her boyfriend, but he is making a fortune off of their break-up while she deals with teenage girl stalkers from other schools, real-life paparazzi, and a best friend who doesn’t seem to get that Audrey doesn’t want all the attention she’s getting. She just wants to live a normal (whatever that is) existence. She also has to contend with a girl named Sharon who used to be set on getting Audrey’s boyfriend Evan, and is now seemingly set on taking Audrey’s new boyfriend, James, if she has her way about it.

Publicists, reporters, paparazzi, best friends, boyfriends, arch-enemies, worried parents, and rock stars round out the cast of characters in this delightful dramedy that mixes love, lust, aggravation, and the public eye into one realistic and intriguing read. Highly recommended!

You can find ‘Audrey, Wait!’ by Robin Benway here: http://www.amazon.com/Audrey-Wait-Robin-Benway/dp/1595141928

J.L. Lipp has worked a sort of magical realism into a fascinating story that had me interested from beginning to end. The book read rather quickly for me, as it is only 126 pages, so I finished it all in one day. Even though the members of the Monsters’ Anonymous Club (MAC) are all explained in terms of their personalities and skills that make them fit to be part of the group, the three main characters were Jeremy, his kid sister Kimmy, and their neighbor, David.

Jeremy and Kimmy got the book off to a rousing start, playing a scary prank on their mother, making her think that Kimmy was dead. Little did they know, but a spirit had taken over their mother’s body, causing her to become a creature who seemed completely bent on doing away with her children if she could have her way about it. Jeremy and Kimmy did the only thing they could think of – escaped from their house and ran to their good friend David’s house down the street. What followed was a barrage of ideas for what might have occurred and how to deal with it. New clues were constantly coming up, leading the members of the Monsters’ Anonymous Club to Mr. Crankle’s house, where they used the power of ESP and other stealthy maneuvers to help them solve the mystery of Mr. Crankle’s death as well as save one of their good friends who was taken “hostage” by the ghost of Mrs. Crankle who resided inside.

Even though this book could be considered a bit scary for some kids, based on the talk of monsters, death, and mentions of the afterlife, the story does a nice job of being believable without having to suspend too much disbelief. It makes me curious what other situations the Monster’s Anonymous Club has helped to solve without their parents’ or anyone else’s knowledge. Maybe Lipp will write about other scenarios in the future!

There were a few spots where continuity (in terms of the name of the old man who lived on 3rd Street) and grammar were not spot-on, but the overall premise of the story and the character development was well-written and intriguing.

You can find ‘The Monsters’ Anonymous Club: Don’t Play with Dead Things’ here: http://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Club-Dont-Play-Things-ebook/dp/B00T8OIXEY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434045295&sr=8-1&keywords=monster%27s+anonymous+club

I have always been a sucker for happy endings. So, even though the title ‘Dream Factory’ could have deterred me, simply based on the fact that it makes it sound like dreams are simply manufactured rather than achieved, attained, or excitingly developed, I picked up this book. It was fun learning about what some of the inner workings of Disneyworld are (or might be, depending on how factual the book really is in that respect). However, Ella and Luke’s relationship, the main crux of the novel, was not as developed as I would have liked. I could tell, of course, that they liked each other as the book went on. It was very clear that they preferred each other to the significant others they had while working as scabs at the park while the regular workers were on strike. Metaphorically, I suppose that Cassie and Mark, their respective girlfriend and boyfriend, were like scabs filling in the space where Ella and Luke truly belonged. I love symbolism, and the metaphorical thought processes that Ella and Luke had throughout the novel as they thought about their own lives and how they felt about each other were interesting.

Even though I liked the metaphorical structure, I didn’t feel overly connected to any of the characters. However, I kept reading, because I really did want to see how it would all end up. The setting was a huge draw for me. Being in the Disneyworld environment and picturing what the behind-the-scenes life is really like was intriguing. It was also appealing the way they had the characters join together to find out more about the park. It moved the storyline along and the scavenger hunt brought new relationship developments into play.

There was one spot where Cassie and Mark were working together to complete the scavenger hunt and Mark came back drunk, and then told Luke that Cassie kissed him. This was never further developed, as far as I can remember, even though Luke did internally realize Cassie’s ability to be phony at times.

It is also important to note that the novel switches off chapters, with one being from Ella’s perspective, the next from Luke’s, the next from Ella’s, and back and forth throughout the entire novel. Even though I tend to like this type of give and take, back and forth, I often found myself checking to see who was speaking. I wasn’t always overly clear on that, and it took away from my full enjoyment of the story.

All in all, this was an entertaining read, but it had some spots that I wish had been developed further to make the characters resonate more.

You can find ‘Dream Factory’ by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler here: http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Factory-Brad-Barkley/dp/0142412988/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1434045025&sr=8-2&keywords=dream+factory

‘How to Be Popular’ was my first Meg Cabot read. I found it extremely hard to put this book down. Every chapter ended in such a way that I was extremely eager to get to the next one.

The premise is pretty simple. It’s basically what a large portion of the contemporary realistic novels that I’ve read have at their cores – someone who wants to be popular but doesn’t quite know how to achieve that goal by herself (or himself). In this case, Steph Landry is the main character who wants to break out of the rut she’s been stuck in since spilling a Super Big Gulp drink on her now arch-enemy, Lauren, five years ago. Due to how trying the past several years have been on Steph since Lauren turned the whole town on her with a mean-spirited catchphrase, she enlists the help of a book found in her soon-to-be step-grandmother’s old stuff, and realizes that the rules of popularity still ring quite true, despite their ringing true to the tune of older times, like when her grandparents were young.

Jason and Becca, Steph’s two best friends, are not quite as intrigued about being popular as Steph is. She doesn’t even tell them about the book. But, whereas Becca just thinks it’s weird and not like Steph, Jason is full-on angry and upset, demeaning Steph for being so set on becoming popular and being nice to the “mean girl” crowd while turning her back on everything he thought she stood for.

Steph, however, is not easily deterred, as she has focused her sights on the most popular boy in school, the high school quarterback, senior Mark Finley. As she comes up with new and unique ideas to cement her popularity, she finds her old friends changing, and realizes that not everything is quite what it seems. Friendships, relationships, and popularity are all at stake in this awesome read that mixes the uncertainties of high school life with the utter realizations of life in general. A must read!

You can find ‘How to Be Popular’ by Meg Cabot here: http://amzn.to/1I3S6IT