Great Call of China by Cynthea Liu

Great Call of China by Cynthea Liu

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I say this every time, but I really like the S.A.S.S. series because they feature better teenage female protagonists than so many other books out there. It's great to feel good about recommending this series to teen girls. :) Having said that, I must confess this wasn't my favorite installment. The program attendees did not have the diversity I've come to expect. Usually, the students come from a variety of backgrounds and I like that. This one, however, dealt with Chinese people almost exclusively. I found that bothersome and a touch unrealistic. Yes, the program was set in China and the main character chose that program partially because of her Chinese heritage. However, I thought it was odd that almost every character was Chinese. In real life, these kind of programs should promote diversity and choose students to represent that, so I was a touch disappointed when the book didn't depict that. Overall, however, I liked CeCe's story and the way it all worked out. At the end of the day, I look forward to reading more of this series in the future as well. :)

Heart and Salsa by Suzanne Nelson

Heart and Salsa by Suzanne Nelson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I think this might be my new favorite book in the series. I really liked Cat's journey and the maturity she developed by the end. So much of it rang true! When you move away, friendships can change in ways you don't expect. When a friend has a creep for a boyfriend, she won't always believe you. And most importantly, no matter how much you plan on life going in a certain direction, it can always surprise you in ways you never planned. All of these themes help to create a fascinating character on a wonderful journey. Loved it! :) I think Spanish students would particularly enjoy this installment since it takes place in Mexico and has many Spanish words and phrases throughout. Again, these are the kinds of books I feel good about sharing with teen girls. I love the positive messages they bring and diverse characters and settings. So good. :)

When Irish Guys Are Smiling by Suzanne Supplee

When Irish Guys Are Smiling by Suzanne Supplee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really like this series because they tend to feature strong and smart female protagonists that learn a lot about themselves while traveling and studying abroad. I love that I can share these books with my young teenage cousins and feel good about it. This is another great installment that I will happily pass along to young female readers. This particular installment follows Delk, a young girl trying to escape all of the changes in her life following the death of her mother. She goes to Ireland for a semester and learns just as much about herself as she does about the country. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to any teenage female, particularly one interested in studying abroad or travel. If you're a parent of a teen girl, this is the kind of series I would recommend you give to her. While Twilight might break the ice and get a girl into reading (if she's reluctant in the first place), this is the kind of series you want her to read ultimately. Teen girls should have positive and strong female characters to look up to and emulate and these books almost always deliver that.

You Are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay

You Are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Not bad. There were a few editing problems that I noticed and that always takes me out of the story. I was a little disappointed with some aspects of the plot and entertained by others. For example, I was a little disappointed by who was behind the RC attacks and the motive. However, I loved all the zombies and the job of the Settlers. I'm not sure all of the explanations of Settlers work together, but it was an interesting concept and I enjoyed it overall. For instance, the author said zombies are attracted to Settlers in their age range and that adult Settlers that have children lose their Settler abilities. I would think more adult Settlers would be needed because so many adults have children at some point. Plus, she mentioned many older (childless) Settlers work in Settler Affairs and I wasn't clear if they still deal with zombies at that level. And then there are adults that go into Enforcement, so it's a little more confusing figuring out who deals with the adult zombies. A little nit-picky, but these are the details that distract me while reading a book. I might read a sequel, but I wouldn't run out and buy it right away either.

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Extras by Scott Westerfeld


rating: 4 of 5 stars
First of all, I must confess how much I love this series overall. I find the series to be fast paced, entertaining, and thought-provoking. Tally's story in the first 3 installments really captured my imagination. However, I was just a little disappointed with this installment. My disappointment is really very minor. I think I had expectations about the book that worked against me. I expected that the main character would be from the same part of the world as Tally. I expected that Tally would play an important role or none at all. Of course, some of my expectations were exceeded as well. For example, I would expect a futuristic Japan to be extremely technologically advanced and the author had some interesting ideas on that. I really enjoyed that exploration. At the end of the day, here's what I think happened. The "trilogy" was extremely popular and people wanted more. So, the author finally gave in to pressure and expanded the series. He was smart and chose a new character's story to tell and found a way to keep established ideas and people in it as well. Brilliant, really. But, I wanted something either entirely different or very similar to the previous stories. I did not really want a mix of the two, which is what happened. I imagine 99% of the fan base will love that approach, but I was mildly disappointed with it. Oh well. I still liked the book a lot and I love the series enough to recommend it to young adults and older adults, as well. I am curious to see how others react to the book and what the author will do next.