All Fall Down by Ally Carter

Pages: 310
Intended Audience: Teens, mature tweens.
Genre: Mystery / Adventure
Notes for Parents: There is no coarse language or sexual content. Violence is minimal.

The Inside Cover

Grace Blakely is absolutely certain of three things:
1.    She is not crazy.
2.    Her mother was murdered.
3.    Someday she is going to find the killer and make him pay.
As certain as Grace is about these facts, nobody else believers her—so there’s no one she can completely trust. Not her grandfather, a powerful ambassador. Not her new friends, who all live on Embassy Row. Not Alexei, the Russian boy next door, who is keep his eye on Grace for reasons she neither likes nor understands.
Everybody wants Grace to put on a pretty dress and a pretty smile, blocking out all her unpretty thoughts. But they can’t control Grace—no more than Grace can control what she knows or what she needs to do. Her past has come back to hunt her…and if she’ doesn’t stop it, Grace isn’t the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

With her father and brother being active soldiers, and her mother dead, Grace is sent to live with her grandfather, the US Ambassador to the country of Adria. She rekindles old friendships from when she used to visit as a child, and makes a few new ones, but she remains obsessed with the fact that her mother was murdered and no one will believe it was anything more than an accident. This is the first book in the series.

What’s good?

Excellent supporting characters and an intriguing setting make this mystery adventure a quick and easy read.
Politics and diplomacy add interest without complicating the plot. The main character, Grace, is likeable and imperfect; she’s impulsive, jumps easily to wrong conclusions, and is preoccupied with a truth she can’t quite grasp. Her relationships with new friend Noah and old friend Megan feel authentic. There’s plenty of humor and wit, a fair bit of action and adventure, and some harmless bad behavior.
Best Part: No romance. Such a relief!

What isn’t good?

The first half was slow. It picks up in the second half, but the action isn’t consistent. There’s not a lot of character development, but this may be coming in subsequent books in the series. I liked Alexei, but he didn’t seem to have a purpose. I presume his intensions come later in the series as well. The revelation that comes at the end was predictable and disappointing.
Worst part: The end.

Recommendation þþþoo

This was mildly entertaining. I really wanted to like it, but it never really held my interest. I loved the friendships, but didn’t really care for the story, especially how it ended—it should have been a shocker, but was just…”Ya, that figures.” Recommended for fans of the author.

Carter, Ally. All Fall Down. New York: Scholastic, 2015. (Hardcover)

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Pages: 233
Intended Audience: Tweens and up
Genre: Graphic Memoir
Notes for Parents: There is nothing offensive in this book.

The Back Cover

Starting at a new school is scary, even more so with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece’s class was deaf. Here she is different. She is sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends.
Then Cece makes a startling discovery. With the Phonic Ear she can hear her teacher not just in the classroom, but anywhere her teacher is in the school—in the hallway…in the teacher’s lounge…in the bathroom! This is power. Maybe even superpower! Cece is on her way to becoming El Deafo, Listener for All. But the funny thing about being a superhero is that it’s just another way of feeling different…and lonely. Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most, a true friend?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

Cece Bell is a children’s book author and illustrator. This is a loose biographical account of the author’s childhood and living with her deafness.

What’s good?

Set in the 70s and poignantly illustrated using anthropomorphized rabbits (they have rabbit features but are essentially human), this is the story of a hearing-impaired girl adjusting to a hearing world. Heartwarming and humorous, the plot is straightforward and full of relatable moments. Cece is an endearing main character and has essentially the same problems as other kids, but with the added complication of being deaf and requiring a big, clunky machine to help her hear. The narration is witty and sympathetic, and her comically drawn self-portrait (Underpants – avert your eyes!) is hilarious.
Best Part: Are you death? (This is what she hears when someone asks her if she’s deaf.)

What isn’t good?

As with most graphic novels, it’s a quick read. It was over before I really felt like I got my money’s worth. There’s not a lot of depth to the characters, but there is development. The superhero idea is a good one, but it was underused. I expected a little more.
Worst part: Nothing was terrible.

Recommendation þþþþo

This was a sweet story. Cece was instantly likeable, and her story was simple yet engaging. Definitely recommended.

Bell, Cece. El Deafo. New York: Amulet Books, 2014.

Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner

Pages: 265
Intended Audience: Teens and mature tweens
Genre: Real life / Grief
Notes for Parents: Deals with death, grief.

The Back Cover

Torrey Grey is famous. At least, on the Internet. Thousands of people watch her videos on fashion and beauty. But when Torrey’s sister is killed in an accident—maybe because of Torrey and her videos—Torrey’s perfect world implodes.
Now, strangers online are bashing Torrey. And at her new school, she doesn’t know who to trust. Is queen-bee Blair only interested in Torrey’s infamy? What about Raylene, who is unpopular, but seems to accept Torrey for who she is? And then there’s Luis, with his brooding dark eyes, whose family runs the local funeral home. Torrey finds herself drawn to Luis, and his fascinating stories about el Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.
As the Day of the Dead draws near, Torrey will have to really look at her own feelings about death, and life, and everything in between. Can she learn to mourn her sister out of the public eye?

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the author’s second book for teens.

What’s good?

Revealing flashbacks, a realistic romance, and a premise relevant to today’s social media-savvy teens makes this story about a grieving vlogger an engaging and ultimately heartwarming story. The writing is smooth with good transitions and an even pace. The plot is simple but emotional. There are great supporting characters, like cousin Raylene, Luis the undertaker’s son, and Mrs. Annie Florence. Using recollections of her sister, and a gently developing romance, we witness the main character, Torrey, change from a shallow, self-involved teen, to someone more introspective and mature. I loved the use of el Día de los Muertos traditions as a tool for Torrey to explore her grief.
Best Part: Sugar skulls and the socks with socks.

What isn’t good?

The main character is tough to take. Torrey is shallow and materialistic, clearly seeking popularity over real friendship. Though I felt she matured by the end, she never completely loses that egocentrism and this may turn off many readers. The story itself lacks movement. There’s not a lot of action and most of the good stuff comes at the end. Also, the mean girls are total clichés. It’s difficult to understand why Torrey—as shallow and self-centered as she is—would even want to be seen with them.
Worst part: Blair.

Recommendation þþþoo

By the end, this was an uplifting story about a popular online beauty blogger who is suddenly forced to deal with a life-altering tragedy. It’s tough to watch her struggle. Her identity was so wrapped up in being Beautystarz15—posting “haul videos,” checking view statistics, giving make-up tutorials—that she really doesn’t know how to deal in the real world. It’s a nice story about dealing with grief. Recommended.

Cooner, Donna. Can’t Look Away. New York: Point, 2014.

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Pages: 469
Intended Audience: Teens
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Notes for Parents: There is some mild violence and descriptions of violent deaths.

The Back Cover

Sometimes, one must do the unthinkable.
For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the mountain. When Cecile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she realizes that the trolls are relying on her to break the curse.
Cecile has only one thing on her mind: escape. But the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time…
But the more time she spends with the trolls, the more she understands their plight. There is a rebellion brewing. And she just might be the one the trolls were looking for…

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is the first book of the Malediction Trilogy.

What’s good?

Interesting world building highlights this unique story about trolls trapped under a mountain by a curse. An engaging premise, a solid plot, and good writing making this an attractive tale filled with magic, witchcraft, spells, curses, and monsters. There is a struggle for power, a fight for freedom, and an intense romance that guides the plot with action, drama, and even some humor.
Best Part: Glass gardens.

What isn’t good?

It’s wordy. The infrequent change of point of view from Cecile to Tristan is awkward. Cecile is a weak, shallow, gullible, insecure girl. I was way more interested in the supporting characters, like Anais, Marc, and Christophe. There was too much drama and not enough action. The romance was unconvincing and the declarations of love were exhausting, melodramatic rants. Stones and sky!
Worst part: The trolls were beautiful, powerful, intelligent beings affected by iron. Doesn’t that make them fairies? Maybe this is addressed in subsequent volumes.

Recommendation þþooo

I bought the book based on a multitude of reviews that said it was amazing and unbelievable, and the best book they’ve ever read. I may have gone into it with too high an expectation, but regardless, I found very little to my liking. The main character was so weak. SPOILER ALERT: She’s kidnapped, dragged underground, and sold, but when she’s told she’ll be bonded to a troll, her biggest worry is that he’ll be ugly. Enough said. Not recommended by me, but loved by many others.

Jensen, Danielle L., Stolen Songbird. Nottingham, UK: Angry Robot, 2014.