Girl in the Arena does have similarities to Hunger Games – strong female protagonist who will fight to the death to save her family.  But this dystopian novel is set in current times, with a ne0-gladiator league that rivals the NFL.  Lyn wants nothing to do with the gladiator culture – not shocking after losing 6 previous fathers.  But she really liked the 7th father and this time more is at stake.  Claiming her 7th father cheated during his last match, the gladiator company, called “Caesar’s”, will take away everything promised to her mother–her house, future inheritances from the deaths of her husbands, everything.  And, during the last battle, the winner, Uber, took Lyn’s bracelet that had fallen from her father’s wrist in the match.  This meant Lyn would have to marry Uber.  Whether she wins or loses, she will save her family and herself if she becomes the first woman gladiator fighter.  Add in a little romance and an autistic brother that sees of the future and this is a pretty good story despite the annoying dash marks used instead of quotation marks.  Recommended as one to get to continue to satisify those who liked Hunger Games.

Coe Booth continues the story of Tyrell (2006), a boy whose constant struggle living in the Bronx should be bringing him down.  But he remains optimistic.  Tyrell’s father comes home from jail and Tyrell hopes the family can pull it together enough to get his younger brother out of foster care.  But Tyrell’s dad and the people he’s living with remain connected to illegal activity and Tyrell finds out his mother slept around while his father was in jail.  Physical abuse, drug use, and sexual activity abound.  Tyrell’s language is much more raw in this new chapter of his life.  It may be realistic, but it’s probably too harsh for most school libraries.

Dalton Rev is a man with a mission.  He’ll do whatever it takes to find out who killed Wesley Payne.  Well, sort of.  Dalton is a seventeen year old 007, coming into a school steeped in bribery, cliques and now murder covered up as suicide.  This story reminds me a lot of the movie Pulp Fiction – everything is overstated and understated at the same time.  Sean Beaudoin’s writing is farcical, yet drives home the hypocracies in every high school.  Tongue in cheek glossary and “Salt River High Clique Index” push this so far over the edge that it boomerangs back as crafty and witty.  Upper level high school boys and a few girls who are rather witty themselves and so “done” with the high school scene find this funny.  Others may see it as over the top annoying.  Additional selection.

This book is well written and well organized. It begins with an introduction explaining ‘freeganism’, then the following ten chapters explore different aspects of consumer culture from different perspectives. A different author, explaining their views of consumerism’s pros and cons, writes each chapter.

The writing is informative and concise. The widely differing perspectives give the total book a balanced view. The reader can explore contradicting concepts and make their own decisions.

Short biographies of each author are given at the beginning of each chapter. There are charts, an index, bibliography, and an appendix giving statistics to back up each chapter’s claims. A final chapter, “What You Should Do About Consumer Culture” gives a clear summary of how teens should evaluate the advertisements they are bombarded with.

With college tuition and fees at an all time high, and continuing to rise dramatically each year, 1001 Ways to Pay for College serves as a very useful reference for students, parents, and school counselors.  The authors, Gen and Kelly Tanabe, have written numerous guidebooks on funding college, including books on scholorships and how to write scholarship essays.  The fifth edition of 1001 Ways to Pay for College has been updated to include new options and changes in the tax codes.

There are 22 chapters that cover undergraduate, part-time, adults returning to college, military, and graduate school options. There are chapters on financial aid, scholarships, tuition savings plans, tax breaks for students, grants, internships and part time jobs, loans and loan forgiveness. Other chapters provide warnings against financial aid scams, ways to live more frugally while at college, and even options for colleges that provide free tuition.

Some of the 1001 essays are brief and leave the reader wishing for more details, but other essays are lengthy and provide details, including information on various states’ tuition savings plans.

This guidebook is relatively inexpensive with used or discount copies available. It would be worth continuing to purchase future revised editions to keep as up to date as possible on changes in tax laws, student loan interest rates, government opportunities for loan forgiveness, etc.

Express Makeup is devotes itself  to professional models / extreme runway looks that few girls or women could ever wear in real life.  The instructions are minimal, assuming that the reader already knows the techniques and best brands that are found in Morris’ first book titled Makeup: The Ultimate Guide.

This book is of minimal value as a stand alone source due to the extreme runway looks featured in it, and because the styles featured are ‘express’, assuming the reader knows the basics the author is referring to.

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick is a face-paced, action-packed thriller filled with car chases, thugs, graphic killing scenes, exploding buildings, sexual tension, and a random bear fight, and is so intriguing that the book is hard to put down.

There are plenty of holes in the plot, but for youth readers looking for an engaging read, this novel is perfect.

The plot involves Perry Stormaire, a normal high school senior who is busy applying to colleges and rehearsing with his band. His life dramatically shifts when his parents pressure him into taking Gobi, the Lithuanian exchange student who’s been living with his family, to the prom.  The night of prom, Perry learns firsthand that Gobi is actually a highly trained killer, on a determined mission to avenge her sister’s death. Perry goes on a wild ride through the streets of New York City as Gobi commandeers the Jaguar his father lent him for the prom in order to take out her targets. Perry ends up with some terrific material for his college application essays.

A nice touch was having each chapter open with a college application question which the chapter then proceeded to answer in a roundabout way, and these play into the climatic ending.

The Student Athlete’s Guide to Getting Recruited is the definitive guide for all high school students that dream of playing college sports. This guide is very useful to both female and male student athletes and their parents, and addresses how to get recruited by top colleges and universities. Additionally, it offers vital tips on how to excel academically in both high school and college to ensure a successful career as a student-athlete, and dispels a multitude of myths about how athletic scholarships are awarded and who gets them.

This guidebook offers information provided by a range of high school and college counselors, athletic trainers, and successful college sports coaches from private and public college universities. Each chapter uses student athletes as case studies and walks the reader through their experiences with scholarships and financial aid, recruiting rules, recruiting practices, college interviews and visitations, sports training and healthy lifestyles, transitioning from high school to college, and the rigors and realities of being a student athlete.

The guidebook provides tips for understanding the complicated NCAA recruiting rules and information on what colleges really want from athletes in their programs.

The appendix includes athletic, financial and educational resource and college coaches’ websites.

iBoy, the most recent novel by British novelist Kevin Brooks, is a high tech, action packed, violence laced story of a boy who, through an injury received through an act of violence by a youth gang, has pieces of an iPhone embedded in his head.

Throughout the book, the hero used the technological features of the phone within his brain to try to hunt down and seek revenge on the gang members who not only injured him but also raped his girlfriend.

The graphic violence in the novel will be hard for many readers to take and, unfortunately, the gang actions are based on recent true-life incidents in England.

Kevin Brooks’ novels appeal to young adults who enjoy action – adventures and iBoy likely will be as well received as its predecessors.

Evercrossed is a sequel to the popular teen love story Kissed by an Angel series. Fourth in the series, Evercrossed continues the story of teen sweethearts Ivy and Tristan. Tristan has been killed in a car accident and a year later Ivy has moved on with a new boyfriend Will. Ivy then is seriously injured in a car accident and as she hangs between life and death, she meets her soulmate Tristan and they share one heartbreaking kiss. The kiss, however, brings Ivy back to life. Tristan, as an angel, is prohibited from interfering with matters of life and death and therefore falls from heaven. As a fallen angel in a stranger’s body on earth, Tristan must find his way to Ivy.

Although this book is part of a series, there is enough background information provided to the reader to make it a stand alone read.  Evercrossed has mystery, romance (although some readers may find some dialog a bit sappy), and an engaging plot.