Heist Society ~ Ally Carter

What a fun book - I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one! If I were a movie producer, I'd snap up the rights to Heist Society immediately (what a cool job THAT would be!).

I was hooked from the beginning...where the author, Ally Carter, gives you just enough descriptive clues that you know Katarina Bishop (Kat) is no ordinary student: she's always scoping out the situation ("Kat was used to looking at a room and seeing all the angles"); you glimpse inklings of her past ("Every nerve in her body seemed to stand on end as she realized that somehow, in the last three months, she had become someone who wore squeaky shoes").

Kat's father has been framed for the theft of some extremely valuable art...and unless she can prove her father's innocence - or recover the art - some very dangerous men are going to be very unhappy.

This Teens' Top Ten nominee gets high marks in my book. Heist Society reads like a wonderful crime caper - not unlike the Oceans 11 movie. It has lots of action and suspense, but also doesn't take itself too seriously. It's a quick read, perfect for the end of summer or a weekend...and I'm going to keep my eyes open to see if it gets made into its own movie - I've already mentally started casting it. Once you've read it, let me know who you think should be part of Kat's crew!

Graceling/Fire ~ Kristin Cashore

Only a few more weeks of summer (although I'm already back at school!) so I'd better get moving on all the Top Ten Nominees!!

Kristine Cashore's Fire is on the list, but I wanted to start by reading her first novel, Graceling. The 2 books are related to each other by one character, but you can read Fire without having read Graceling (although I'm glad I read them in the order I did!).

Let me just start off by saying that I LOVED Graceling. Five out of five, for sure, on the Rez Recommends scale. I reminded me quite a lot of The Hunger Games, which I also loved: feisty heroine, great adventure, amazing characters, a little bit of romance, political intrigue...all around great!

Graceling Plot summary: Katsa is a Graceling - which means she has special powers...in her case, the extraordinary fighting skills: she can take down an entire room of soldiers all on her own, and barely break a sweat. Her uncle, the power-hungry King Randa, takes advantage of these powers and uses her as a hired thug. Katsa's tired of bullying people and starts to defy her uncle. During a secret rescue mission, she meets Po, another Graceling (you can tell a Graceling by their eyes - each eye is a different colour - but they each have different skills/Graces). She's immediately drawn to him, but can't quite figure him out...the chemistry between the two of them is refreshing - there's clearly a romantic attraction, but it's not the over-the-top, swooning that seems to be quite popular these days. Anyway, the two of them uncover a plot to overthrow all Seven Kingdoms...let the action begin!! (Actually, the action starts right in the first few pages - I dare you not to get sucked in!). Overall, I LOVED it...I was thrilled to find a book that I enjoyed as much as The Hunger Games and couldn't wait to start the next book, Fire.

Fire Plot Summary: Once again, the hero of the story is female. This time, Fire, is part human, part monster...she is stunningly beautiful and has the ability to control the minds of anyone she meets. But this gift comes at a price...people obviously fear her, and that fear often leads to hate so she's always in danger - from humans and monsters. When Prince Bringan brings her to King City to try and uncover a treasonous plot, she must use this gift to try and save the kingdom. Maybe because I had such high expections after enjoying Graceling so much, I was a little disappointed in Fire. It took much longer for me to get engrossed in the story...it was like the author got a bit bogged down in the mythology/background story. Or maybe there were just more characters that I was trying to keep track of. It started off really well - the Prologue, which links the 2 books together, was fantastic. And then it seems to slow down for a while. But, if you stick with it, it's definitely worth the effort...similar elements make it a great great: adventure/suspense, a little bit of romance, great characters. Overall, Fire gets 4 out of 5 on the Rez Recommends scale. And again I should say, maybe my impression was skewed because I read it so closely after I finished Graceling.

No word yet on whether there's another book on the horizon, but I certainly hope so.

Now, I'm on to Teens' Top Ten nominee, Heist Society by Ally Carter. I'm only a few chapters in, but I'm loving it so far...I'll let you know when I'm done!

Twenty Boy Summer ~ Sarah Ockler

So, I've been doing quite a bit of reading this summer (including the first 3 books in Michael Grant's Gone series...wow!!!) and finally finished one of the Teens' Top Ten nominees - Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler. And I LOVED it!

I have to admit, based on the book's title and the cover, I thought it was going to be a slightly fluffy, but fun, romance novel. And although it definitely had romance, it was so much better than I was expecting.

Anna and Frankie are best friends. The summer before, Frankie's older brother dies - and we learn, right at the beginning of the book, that Anna had secretly started dating Matt just before he died...and promised Matt that she'd let him tell Frankie - which he never had a chance to do. The 2 best friends head off to Frankie's family cottage for the summer where Frankie is convinced to move on with her life, and drag Anna along with her, by embarking on the Twenty Boy Summer.

The author is just so good at describing things in a completely honest, real way. Grief, friendship, love. The two friends - and the way they deal with Matt's death - are so believable and real. How do you get over such a loss? Is it possible to move forward?

It earns a 5/5 from me on the Rez Recommends scale!