Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (audio)

Burn for Burn (Simon & Schuster Audio)
Audience: Grades 9+

My Rating: 4* of 5

Summary: Postcard-perfect Jar Island is home to charming tourist shops, pristine beaches, amazing oceanfront homes—and three girls secretly plotting revenge. KAT is sick and tired of being bullied by her former best friend. LILLIA has always looked out for her little sister, so when she discovers that one of her guy friends has been secretly hooking up with her, she’s going to put a stop to it. MARY is perpetually haunted by a traumatic event from years past, and the boy who’s responsible has yet to get what’s coming to him. None of the girls can act on their revenge fantasies alone without being suspected. But together…anything is possible. 
Comments: Okay, I confess, this is my first Han read. Not what I expected; there was bite behind all the lip gloss! Some turns were predictable while others not at all. Some mature content--drinking, drugs, and a sex crime that is left unresolved (at least in this installment). Definitely leaves you burning for book 2!
Read-alikes: Other titles by Han/Vivian. Pretty Little Liars series by Shepard.
 

How to Rock Braces and Glasses (galley)

How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston (galley). Poppy; Oct., 2011.

Audience: 5th-6th grade

My Rating: 3* of 5

Summary: Uber-harsh, and uber-stylish Kacey Simon is the undisputed social dictator of Marquette Middle School. That is, until an eye infection and a visit to the dentist leave her with coke-bottle glasses, a mouth full of metal, and...a littttthsp! Dissed and dismissed by her popular friends, Kacey is forced to hang out with a boy who wears skinny jeans and jams in his own band. Could rocking braces and glasses be the best thing to ever happen to her?

Comments: Kacey begins the book as an unlikable character of Massie proportions! So much so that I almost put the galley down for good. But after a few chapters, and the entrance of intriguing rocker, Skinny Jeans. It takes most of the book for Kacey to finally do the right thing and the romance thread is left a bit unresolved...perhaps for a sequel. All told, a fun and surprisingly unpredictable ride.
Read-Alikes: Clique series