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| Anderson, M.T. |
Burger Wuss
Sometimes satire can be so
biting, it's cruel and difficult to read. I kept wincing as I
read this book. Some of Anderson's story is amusing and much
is dead-on, but I found very little sympathy for Anthony, the
seventeen-ish hero or wuss who's girlfriend was "stolen"
by the neanderthal-ish bully named Turner. He gets a job at the
O'Dermott's fast food restaurant where Turner is employee of
the month and plots his revenge. Adding to the cast of characters
is Shunt, the anarchist cook who is plotting revenge against
corporate America in general, and fast food restaurants that
abuse the animals raised to become their food, in particular. |
| Bauer, Joan |
Thwonk
"Thwonk" as in the sound that Cupid's arrow makes when
it hits its mark. Seventeen-year-old Allison Jean (A.J.) McCreary
has two big problems related to her two big passions. The first
is photography. She shows great promise but the editor of the
school's literary magazine will have her head if she doesn't
come up with a cover for the Valentine's issue. The second is
that she has no love life and the object of her affections, Peter
Terris, doesn't know that she exists. Enter Jonathan, aka Cupid
who can grant one wish in either the academic, artistic or romantic
categories. She should wish for the artistic category because
she wants to go to art school against the wishes of her father,
but she just can't resist asking Jonathan to make Peter fall
head-over-heels in love with her. Jonathan begs her not to as
his last teenage romance wish did not fare that well, but A.J.
insists; with hilarious results which reinforces the old adage,
"Be careful what you wish for." |
| Cabot,
Meg |
Princess in Love
Princess Amelia Mignonette
Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo knows she should feel lucky. She's
a princess after all. That doesn't stop her nemesis from poking
fun at her every time Mia sticks her big foot in her mouth (which
is often). She's got a boyfriend and she should be happy, but
she is avoiding kissing him because there aren't any sparks.
She secretly loves her best friend's older brother which is silly
because he is a senior and attached at the hip to Judith and
only sees her as his kid sister's best friend. On top of all
this angst, she is being drilled to death by her grand mere in
preparation for her presentation to the Genovian people over
Christmas break. |
| Fleischman, Paul |
Zap
Paul Fleischman is an author
that can be counted on to try something different. This is his
first play for young adults and it incorporates our remote controlled,
channel-surfing mentality into a stage production where the "audience"
zaps the stage to change the scenery between seven plays in one
act. Clever, humorous and more than a bit confusing. |
| Korman,
Gordon |
Son of the Mob
All seventeen-year-old Vince
Luca wants to do is be a normal high school senior. But how can
a boy do that when he is the son of a mobster, not just any mobster,
but a kingpin. No one says no to Anthony Luca, so skinny, scrawny
Vince finds himself on varsity football. He also wants a girlfriend
and the girl that he falls for is none other than the daughter
of "Agent Biteme," the FBI agent who has been wiretapping
the Luca family. Laugh-out-loud funny. |
| Korman,
Gordon |
Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle
The laughs continue in this sequel to Son
of the Mob. Vince is heading to film school in Santa Monica
because it "is as far away as you can get from New York
and Anthony Luca without falling off the continent." He
drops his friend, Alex off in Las Vegas, then drops Kendra off
at her music school near the Pacific Palisades before heading
down to Santa Monica, where he meets his roommate, Trey. Trey
is the picture of California cool and the son of a moneyed and
influential congressman. He also happens to hate his father and
has a problem with kleptomania. The boys head off to a frat party
at the urging of a beautiful senior named Willow who seems to
have the hots for Trey. Once the frat boys find out who Trey's
father is; he's in. Vince gets on the bad side of the frat when
he pours his beer into Stedman, the rubber plant, inadvertently
killing it.
When a prominent union president is kidnapped
and Vince's "uncles" start showing up for "vacations,"
Vince begins connecting the dots with hilarious results.
|
| Korman,
Gordon |
Born to Rock
Leo Caraway is a Young Republican, honor student, nice guy with decent parents and on his way to Harvard with a full scholarship. As a favor to his best friend, Melinda, who is as goth as Leo is Republican, he tutors her friend Owen in Algebra. During the big exam, he sees Owen freeze and whispers an encouraging word to him. The vice-principal catches him and accuses him of cheating. When Leo attempts to explain, the vice-principal offers to shift the blame onto Owen. Leo realizes that this man is out to get Owen because Owen happens to be gay and his "X factor" kicks in. Leo refuses to back down. He takes the fall for Owen and loses his scholarship.
Leo's "X factor" is Maggot blood- his biological father is none other than King Maggot, leader of Purge, the founder of punk rock and hero of Melinda. What follows is a wild ride spent as a roadie for Purge's comeback tour.
|
| Limb, Sue |
Girl, 15, Charming But
Insane
This charming, fluffy British
import reminds me a bit of the Georgia series, except the fifteen-year-old
protagonist, Jess Jordan, is more likable. I laughed out loud
often but kept wishing that the characters were more fully developed
instead of acting as straight-men to Jess' punch lines. The title
refers to the beginning of a personal ad Jess is constantly composing
as she ponders what to do about her non-existent love life. She
is best friends with Flora, so beautiful, she dazzles. She has
a crush on Ben and is best mates with Fred, who suddenly stops
talking to her. There's a lot to like about this book, but just
like eating cotton candy, I was left with wanting more substance. |
| Limb, Sue |
Girl, Going on 17, Pants on Fire
Somehow, I missed the second installment of this trilogy, but the third volume can stand alone and continues the non-stop zany predicaments of lovable Jess, now nearly 17. After a perfect summer of romance with Fred, he and Jess have a row and Jess is about to begin the term Fred-less. To top it all off, she gets off on the wrong foot with her witchy new Engligh teacher and finds herself telling lies left and right as she fumbles from one hilarious disaster to the next.
Each chapter is annotated by pithy advice from Jess' father, who came out in book 2 and is now living with a significant other. The situations, though madcap tend to be a bit mature, the book contains some mild obscenities but is otherwise a fun read in the style of Georgia Nicholson. If you have the two previous books or girls who love Georgia or Brit Lit, the book is a must purchase.
|
| Maxwell, Katie |
The Year My Life Went
Down the Loo
Fans of Georgia Nicholson and the LBD will enjoy this series
of books about a sixteen-year-old girl whose Medieval Scholar
father, called "Brother" by everyone, moves the family
to England for a year so that he can do research and teach. Needless
to say, Emily is not pleased, especially when she finds that
she will be repeating her sophomore years because the British
and American school systems don't exactly mesh. This novel is
told in e-mails from Emily to her BFF, Dru in Seattle. Emily
is boy-crazy and self-centered but quite funny. There is a lot
of talk about sex and condoms but no action, and Emily attends
an under-age drinking party. |
| Maxwell, Katie |
They Wear What Under
Their Kilts?
Emily and Holly are spending a term in Scotland on a sheep farm
for W.E. or Work Experience. The farm is owned by Emily's Aunt
Timandra and her husband Alec. Both Emily and Holly fall for
Alec's helper, Ruaraidh, Scottish for Rory. He is a "Schottie,"
Scottish Hottie, and Emily and Holly decide they are both going
to go for him and may the best GF win. Maxwell is due out with
What's French for Ew? in May. |
| Rennison, Louise |
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal
Snogging
This book is not for everyone.
Boys will not be interested in this book. Girls will definitely
love this book. But it can get a bit over the top. I loved this
book. I laughed until I cried throughout much of it. It is the
diary of fourteen-year-old Georgia. She is one of the most obnoxious,
self-centered, cruel teenagers one could imagine. She lives with
her mother, father and baby sister somewhere in England. She
is completely PRE-occupied with the zits on her face, the size
of her nose(among other things), her appearance and boys. |
| Rennison, Louise |
On the Bright Side,
I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God: Further Confessions of Georgia
Nicholson
Georgia's irreverent diaries
continue as she starts dating Robbie (aka the sex god), and worries
about a possible move to far off New Zealand among countless
other minor and major events in a teenager's life. Not as laugh
out loud funny as the first, but Georgia's voice is frank and
funny. |
| Rennison, Louise |
Knocked Out by My Nunga
Nungas
The third installment of the confessions of Georgia Nicholson
continues as she is dragged on a vacation to Scotland by her
mother and father. How will she ever survive their general dimwittedness? |
| Rennison, Louise |
Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants
Georgia's back as opinionated
and obnoxious as ever, Angus has impregnated Mr. and Mrs. Next
Door's pedigreed cat, the SG is touring and Georgia has dreams
of following him on tour. Muti and Vati continue to be annoying
and clueless, Libby is not yet potty-trained and still a tyrant.
She and the ace gang make a class trip to Paris and Paris survives. |
| Schusterman, Neal |
The Schwa was Here
It has been a while since I
laughed so hard and loved a book so much. Eighth-grader Anthony
(Antsy) Bonano likes hanging out in Brooklyn with his friends,
Ira and Howie. The boys are given the opportunity of a lifetime
when Antsy's dad provides a plastic mannequin which is supposedly
indestructable. The boys' mission: to prove or disprove the destructability
of Manny Bullpucky which leads to some sanctioned mischief and
the addition of Calvin Schwa, the invisible eighth grader. The
Schwa blends in so well that teachers mark him absent, fail to
call on him when his hand is raised and forget to issue him a
report card. Antsy and his friends decide to quantify "The
Schwa Effect" and set up scientific experiments to prove
their hypothesis. And that's only the beginning.
Thanks to Mrs. Mak for recommending this
book to me!
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