Zombie Blondes, By Brian James

• By: Brian James
• Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
• Publish Date:  2008
• ISBN: 0312372981
• Page #: 240 pages
• Reading Level: Young Adult
• Classification: Fiction
• Genre: Paranormal
• Subjects: Cheerleading, Family, Fathers-Daughters, Fitting-In, High School, Popularity, Zombies
• Reader's Annotation: Ever felt like the popular girls in your high school are all the same? In Hannah's new neighborhood everything is deathly quiet and strange but she is so desperate to fit in that she decides to ignore the scary truth.
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• Synopsis: Hannah has moved to a new town with her father. The first thing she notices when she moves in is the strange quiet on the streets. When she goes to her new school, she notices that things are weird there too. The popular girls, the cheerleaders that is, are all scarily the same. They are beautiful but stark white, dead white actually, and Hannah notices their oddness. Dealing with her father who is on the run (due to personal problems ratting out a cop) moves her around constantly, so when she arrives to this town she accepts her fate as the unpopular girl. When the "cheerleaders" offer her a chance on the squad, she is faced with the hope of fitting in and being popular. The problem is, it's hard to ignore the horrible truths unraveling around her, not to mention the fact that her friend Lucas is telling her the cheerleaders are ZOMBIES!
• Notes: Zombie Blondes raises some good metaphors about high school life, fitting-in, parental relations, and communities (much like the general zombie metaphors in films since the 1960s). However it is important to note that this book is an interesting mix of predictable characters juxtaposed with some exciting twists that save the book from predictability. Zombie Blondes is a fun read that although not perfect, worth your while!
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• Stars: 4
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Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 By, Natsuki Takaya

Title: Fruits Basket

Title in Japanese: フルーツバスケット Furūtsu Basuketto

By: Natsuki Takaya

Publisher: Tokyo Pop

Publish Date: 

ISBN: 1591826039

Page #: 216

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Manga, Fantasy, Shojo

Age Level: Teen

Series Titles:

23 volumes in total

22 currently published

23rd to be released on July 6, 2009 pre-order here

Subjects: Romance, Love-Triangle, Chinese Zodiac

Reader's Annotation: Tohru Honda is alone in the world. The orphan's world changes when she meets a mystical family that represents each animal of the Chinese Zodiac.

Synopsis: After Tohru Honda's mother dies she is sent to live with her grandfather. Feeling like a burden while he gets his home renovated she pretends to have somewhere else to go. Unfortunately Tohru doesn't have a place to go. She ends up sleeping in tent in the wilderness with only a few things, herself, and a picture of her mother. Despite the situation, Tohru remains spirited, goes to school, and about her daily life as best she can. One day she is found in her tent and to her dismay she learns that she has been sleeping on someone's land. That someone happens to be a quiet boy she recognizes from school and his older cousin. The Shoma boys, Yuki and Shigure, take Tohru in and give her a place to live in return for her doing some cleaning. Tohru, who clearly has an innocent crush on Yuki, the younger of the two, hugs him which in turns lets out the secret that nobody else knows: The Sohma family are the incarnations of the Chinese Zodiac. Entrusted with the family secret Tohru becomes part of their lives and their secret. As is well until things get turned upside down when the cat comes to stay. There is no cat in the Chinese Zodiac, right? Or is their? And even though Tohru is becoming more and more connected to Yuki, she always wished there was a Cat in the Zodiac.

Notes: It was made into an anime series as well in 2001. [Worth noting is that that the Anime ends at half way through one of the eighth volume of the manga. Several plot lines are left unfinished and not all members of the Sohma family cursed by the zodiac are revealed.] Source: wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruits_Basket

Stars: 5

Awards: 

• The Fruits Basket manga received the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo manga category 
• The "Best Manga" award at the 2007 American Anime Awards.
  
• In 2001, the Fruits Basket anime won a Animage Anime Grand Prix award.
  

Extras:  

• Tokyopop's Fruits Basket Link: http://www.tokyopop.com/product/1194
  
• Fruits Basket was introduced in 1999 the magazine Hana to Yume 花とゆめ
  
• The Fruits Basket is in itself a phenomenon.  It is called "Faruba Fever" in Japan. 
  

Bad Girls Don't Die, By: Katie Alender

By: Katie Alender

Publisher: Hyperion
Publish Date: April 21, 2008
ISBN: 1423108760
Page #: 352 pages
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Age Level: Older Teen
Series Title: n/a
Subjects: Ghosts, Family, Fitting In 

Reader's Annotation:  Alexis shows herself to the world as your typical interesting teen with pink hair and a cool photography hobby. The problem is, Alexis is more alone then most teens. Her parents are self-absorbed and she lacks any real companions. Her hobby and her sister are what keep her afloat. Suddenly the things that seem secure aren't. Life is starting to become scary and unexplainable and Alexis must figure it out all on her own.

Synopsis: Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude.
When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in. Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore? (Via AMZN)

Notes: Not for readers who are not interested in fantasy or horror. Slightly scary, Bad Girls Don't Die, isn't afraid to push the fictional envelope. Bad Girls Don't Die is an enjoyable debut novel by Katie Alender. It is a page turner that satisfies your need for a bit of a horror-thriller, while at the same time delivering issues of feeling like a misfit and dealing with family issues. 

Stars: 4 Stars
Awards: n/a

Extras:  Author Website: http://katiealender.com/

Discussion Guide (Contains Spoilers):  http://katiealender.com/downloads/BGDDdiscussionguide.pdf
OFFICIAL BOOK TRAILER:

Coraline (AUDIO), By: Neil Gaiman

By: Neil Gaiman

Read By: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Harper Audio
Publish Date: 2002
ISBN: 9780061660160
Length: 3 hours, 3 Compact Discs 
Classification: Fiction

Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Age Level: Children, Teens
Series Title: n/a
Subjects: family, fantasy, kidnapping, parent napping, alternative realities 

Reader's Annotation: Coraline is bored. While her busy, boring parents work she discovers a secret door to another world where everything is better. Or is it?

Synopsis: After moving into a new home, Coraline and her mother and father are forced to do what they do best: Parents work, dad cooks not so yummy food, and Coraline tries desperately to keep herself busy. But while exploring her new home she finds a door that would have connected their side of the house to the next door home in their four-plex building. One day, Coraline opens the door while her parents are gone only to find a new, tastier, prettier world. It's the same, only better! It is complete with her "other" better parents. As Coraline soon finds out, her "other" parents are something "other" all together! Now Coraline has save herself and the world she thought she hated! PS. It's CORALINE, not Caroline!

Notes: The audio book is embellished with the stunning voice work of the author himself which makes the listening experience something all together special. Furthermore, orginal music by The Gothic Archies best known for their music for "A Series of Unfortunate Events" audiobooks.

I couldn't recommend an audiobook more! It's fantastic. 

The film was released in 2009 in both regular format & 3-D by Focus Features.

Stars: 5

Extras: Film Website http://coraline.com/

Author Website http://journal.neilgaiman.com/

New Moon, By Stephenie Meyer

By: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown 
Publish Date: 2006
ISBN: 0316160199
Page #: 608
Classification: Fiction
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Age Level: Older Teen
Series Title: The Twilight Saga

Twilight

New Moon

Eclipse

Breaking Dawn
Subjects: Romance, Heartbreak, Vampires, Shapeshifters, Native Americans

Reader's Annotation: The saga continues in the second installment of  Twilight but the romantic idealism of Twilight is gone. Bella Swan finds herself severely depressed after Edward dumps her, but her best friend Jacob, gives her hope until he has to face his own porblems (leaving Bella more broken then ever).

Synopsis: Meyer’s saga continues in the second installment of the Twilight series. After Edward leaves Bella, she is faced with an overcoming zombie-like depression. In a desperate attempt to challenge her mortality and in the hopes of provoking the lost, protective voice of Edwards, Bella reconnects with her childhood pal Jacob. Jacob, more reckless then Edward, falls hard for Bella while Bella still mourns the loss of Edward. With Jacob as her new best friend, Bella begins to feel happy again. Jacob wants more and he has some secrets of his own. Unfortunately for Jacob, Edward may not be gone forever unless he has anything to do with it.
The most depressing of the four novels, New Moon is a stunning break from the first book. However, Jacob is enduring in a monstrous way, and Edward retains your affections. While Bella just keeps falling down.

Notes: As the sequel to Twilight, the film currently in production to be released November 2009. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259571/

Stars: 5

Yalsa's BBYA

Extras: Author's web page for New Moon: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/newmoon.html

The immensely popular fan site for film & book: http://www.newmoonmovie.org/

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The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1), By James Patterson

By: James Patterson

Publisher: Little, Brown

Publish Date: April 11, 2005

ISBN: 031615556X

Page #: 432

Classification: Fiction

Genre: Science-Fiction, Fantasy

Age Level: Teen

Series Titles: Maximum Ride

• The Angel Experiment
• School's Out - Forever
• Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
• The Final Warning
• MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel

Subjects: Thriller, Adventure, Mutants

Reader's Annotation: A group of kids who are the product of genetic mutation have to rescue one of their winged "family" memebers from another group of mutants called erasers.

Synopsis: Maximum Ride (or Max as her mutant family calls her) is one of a small group of kids that survived and escaped an ongoing lab experiment that leaves them into 98% human and 2% bird. They range from child to teen, and though not actually related, live as a family of mutants. Along with wings they have other special gifts that come with the 2% avian DNA that was forced upon them. The thriller starts of fast and thrilling as the youngest of the flock is stolen back to the lab by another cross-mutated group called the erasers. The erasers are designed to hunt and kill with wolf and human DNA. After the youngest is taken Max and her family set out to confront their makers, their prison, and the dreaded erasers. The Angel Experiment is the beginning of the popular series which kids, teens, and adults alike rave about. Patterson creates a world in the tradition of the X-Men that is sure to hook you in from beginning to end. This is a series that gives the imagination "wings."

Notes:  The audio book of The Angel Experiment is read by Evan Rachel Wood. Having read the book and heard the audio which is exceptionally performed, I can say that either is recommended. Great to listen to as a family since its benign nature is ok for the younger kids as well. However, the audio book is abridged.

Manga: The series has been adapted into Manga (official website link): http://www.max-dan-wiz.com/page/excerpts-maximum-ride-manga

Stars: 5

Extras: Series Website: http://www.maximum-x.com/page/max-a-maximum-ride-novel

This just in! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825283/ 

'Twilight' director Catherine Hardwicke may direct 'Maximum Ride'

Categories: Books, Film, Twilight Three months after Summit Entertainment announced that Catherine Hardwicke will not be filming the Twilight sequel, the director is in talks to helm an adaptation of another young-adult fantasy series, Maximum Ride. Ride is a five-volume series by perennial best-seller list chart-topper James Patterson that follows six genetically altered teenagers known as "the Flock." (The teens are half human, half bird). According to The Hollywood Reporter, Patterson will executive produce the film while screenwriter Don Payne is signed on to pen the script.