From the back cover: Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted. But beneath all the fun—the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom—is a nagging sense that something's wrong. Something important. Then a message … [Read more...] about Pretties by Scott Westerfeld: B
Books
So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld: C+
From the back cover: Ever wonder who was the first kid to keep a wallet on a big chunky chain, or wear way-too-big-pants on purpose? What about the mythical first guy who wore his baseball cap backwards? These are the Innovators, the people at the peak of the cool pyramid. Seventeen-year-old Hunter Braque is a Trendsetter, on the second level of the pyramid. His job: find … [Read more...] about So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld: C+
Innocent Blood by P. D. James: B
From the back cover: Philippa Palfrey, adopted as a child, exercises her legal right to apply for a copy of her birth certificate when she becomes eighteen. Although she has always had a fantasy of being the illegitimate daughter of an aristocratic father and now dead mother, she soon learns the shocking truth about her parents—and finds that her mother is about to be released … [Read more...] about Innocent Blood by P. D. James: B
My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman: A
From the back cover: Born and raised in a college dorm and chafing under the care of "the most annoyingly evenhanded parental team in the history of civilization," Frederica Hatch is starting to feel that her life is stiflingly snug. But then, into this cozy but claustrophobic world, comes Laura Lee French, a wannabe Rockette and the new dorm mother at the lackluster women's … [Read more...] about My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman: A
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling: A
From the inside flap: We now present the seventh and final intstallment in the epic tale of Harry Potter. Review: Spoilers beyond the cut. "I'm going to keep going until I succeed—or I die. Don't think I don't know how this might end. I've known it for years." Overall, I liked Deathly Hallows a lot, though there was one thing that seriously threatened my enjoyment of the … [Read more...] about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling: A