Book Review: Never Have I Ever (The Lying Game #2) by Sara Shepard

Title: Never Have I Ever (The Lying Game #2)

Author: Sara Shepard

320 pages, Published by Harper Teen, Ages 14 and up

Sara’s Info: Twitter | FB | Website

Buy The Book: Amazon

Summary:

My perfect life was a lie.

Now I’d do anything to uncover the truth.

Not long ago, I had everything a girl could wish for: amazing friends, an adorable boyfriend, a loving family. But none of them know that I’m gone—that I’m dead. To solve my murder, my long-lost twin sister, Emma, has taken my place. She sleeps in my room, wears my clothes, and calls my parents Mom and Dad.

And my killer is watching her every move.

I remember little from my life, just flashes and flickers, so all I can do is follow along as Emma tries to solve the mystery of my disappearance. But the deeper she digs, the more suspects she uncovers. It turns out my friends and I played a lot of games—games that ruined people’s lives. Anyone could want revenge . . . anyone could want me—and now Emma—dead. (Summary provided by Harper Teen.)

My Thoughts: Rarely does a series get better with each new addition, but that is absolutely the case with Never Have I Ever (The Lying Game #2) by Sara Shepard. This time around Emma is still being forced to live her life as her twin Sutton by Sutton’s mysterious killer, and she is still trying to uncover the truth behind the mystery of Sutton’s death. However, she has a new set of suspects in her twin’s death, and she finds they might just have a grudge against Sutton because of a prank gone bad. Sara’s pursuit of the suspects leads her on an investigation that includes many exciting twists and turns. Emma works on the investigation with Ethan, the only friend she has who knows her true identity. Sara Shepard is a master at framing up a good mystery. Filled with page turning action and a budding romance between Emma and Ethan, Never Have I Ever will entertain teen readers that enjoyed Sara Shepard’s other series Pretty Little Liars.

Note To Parents: As with the previous Lying Game book, a number of pranks played by Emma and Sutton’s friends are described throughout the book. Some of them are very dangerous. So you may want to discuss with your child prior to reading that they are for entertainment purposes only, and they should not attempt them with their friends.

Extras

Click here to read a Q&A with Sara Shepard and here to read the first 67 pages of Never Have I Ever.

Click below to check out a preview clip of the new ABC Family TV show The Lying Game (based on the book series!) which premieres on August 15th:

~~
Don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe to Young Adult Smash and here to follow me on Twitter.

In My Mailbox (IMM)

In My Mailbox (or IMM) is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

I had a particularly great past couple of weeks, so I decided to share my mailbox.

I received a BIG box of awesome from Little, Brown, LB Kids and Poppy earlier this week containing the following 8 YA ARCS:

DJ Rising by Love Maia Goodreads | Little, Brown

Dumpling Days by Grace Lin Goodreads | Little, Brown

How To Save A Life by Sara Zarr Goodreads | Little, Brown

How To Rock Braces And Glasses by Meg Haston Goodreads | Poppy

Rock On: A Story Of Guitars, Gigs, Girls, And A Brother (Not Necessarily In That Order) by Denise Vega Goodreads | Little, Brown

The Queen Of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker Goodreads | Poppy

The Rivals by Daisy Whitney Goodreads | Little, Brown

Winter Town by Stephen Emond Goodreads | Little, Brown

I also received the following YA books in the mail for review from other awesome publishers:

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead Goodreads | Razorbill

Dark Souls by Paula Morris Goodreads | Point

Witchlanders by Lena Coakley Goodreads | Atheneum

FYI Witchlanders and Dark Souls are both books I have scheduled for review on my other site, The Well-Read Wife.

I received the following adult books for review on my other site The Well-Read Wife:

BedBugs by Ben H. Winters Goodreads | Quirk

Pretty by Jillian Lauren Goodreads | Plume

Silas by Robert J. Duperre Goodreads | CreateSpace

What did you get in your mailbox this week? Leave a comment and let me know!

~~
Don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe to Young Adult Smash and here to follow me on Twitter.

Book Review: The Hollow by Jessica Verday

Title: The Hollow

Author: Jessica Verday

528 pages, Published by Simon Pulse, Ages 12 and up

Jessica’s Info: Website | Blog | Twitter

Buy The Book: Amazon

Summary:

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead…and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.
Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity. (Summary provided by Simon Pulse.)

My Thoughts: I have always been a sucker for books and movies with a spooky cemetery setting. So when I heard The Hollow by Jessica Verday largely takes place in Sleepy Hollow cemetery (yes that Sleepy Hollow!), I was hooked. From the eerie Sleepy Hollow locale to the quotes from The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow at the beginning of each chapter, Jessica Verday is a master at creating a hauntingly romantic setting populated by intriguing characters. The plot of The Hollow uses Washington Irving’s classic tale as a backdrop for the events of the story. It is not a retelling of The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, but more of a tribute to the legendary story. The storyline revolves around Abby trying to come to terms with her best friend’s death while in the midst of developing a relationship with a mysterious boy named Caspian. My only critique is that I wish a couple of things were explained in a little more detail (i.e. what exactly happened to Kristen, why was Caspian able to touch Abby sometimes and not others). However, since this is a series, I have a feeling my questions will be answered in the next two books. And I am definitely going to read the next books!

Jessica Verday has not only created fascinating series, but she is also promoting the books in a unique way. Abby, the main character in The Hollow, wants to be a perfumer and open her own store called Abby’s Hollow. Throughout the book she is creating a new scent (in addition to others that she has in the works) inspired by her friend Kristen as a way to honor her memory. In conjunction with the books in The Hollow series, Jessica Verday has launched an online store called Abby’s Hollow where she sells perfumes and necklaces inspired by the books. I think this is such a cool idea and can’t wait to receive the perfume that I ordered from the site!

Click here to go to the Simon and Schuster page for The Hollow where a preview of the book is available to read.

Click below to view the book trailer for The Hollow:

~~
Don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe to Young Adult Smash and here to follow me on Twitter.

Book Review: Dead Rules by Randy Russell

Title: Dead Rules

Author: Randy Russell

384 pages, Published by HarperTeen

Randy’s Info:

Website | Twitter | FB | FB Fan Page

Buy The Book: Amazon

Summary:

Till death

Jana Webster and Michael Haynes were in love. They were destined to be together forever.

Do

But Jana's destiny was fatally flawed. And now she's in Dead School, where Mars Dreamcote lurks in the back of the classroom, with his beguiling blue eyes, mysterious smile, and irresistibly warm touch.

Us

Michael and Jana were incomplete without each other. There was no room for Mars in Jana's life—or death—story. Jana was sure Michael would rush to her side soon.

Part

But things aren't going according to Jana's plan. So Jana decides to do whatever it takes to make her dreams come true—no matter what rules she has to break. (Summary provided by HarperTeen.)

My Thoughts:

I am fascinated by ghosts. In fact, I spent the weekend of my 30th birthday at Myrtle Plantation in Louisiana. It is supposed to be one of the most haunted places in America, and I really wanted to finally see a ghost. But alas there were no ghosts to be seen at Myrtle Plantation on that particular weekend. I’m 35 years old now and still have yet to see a ghost. But I would love to. So what does this little anecdote have to do with Randy Russell’s book? Dead Rules is about a high school for dead teens (aka ghosts)! So, it was totally right up my alley.

I was initially drawn to Dead Rules because of the beautiful cover artwork and design. I was quite happy to find the story was just as intriguing as the gorgeous cover. Dead Rules centers around the school’s newest student Jana. Jana died in a freak bowling accident and is determined to have her boyfriend join her in the afterlife no matter what it takes to get him there. Jana is willing to break all the rules even if it means getting help from the school’s social outcasts the Sliders. Enter Mars Dreamcote the handsome Slider who wants to help Jana. I loved the Risers (“good guys”) vs Sliders (“bad guys”) set up. It reminded me a little bit of a modern day, ghostly version of the socs and greasers from The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.

Another highlight of Dead Rules is the series of breaks in the story where each of Jana’s new friends at the dead school tell their respective death stories (i.e. ghost stories). Each spooky story within this already intriguing novel is sure to send chills up readers’ spines. Jana is an interesting and quite complicated protagonist. Jana has a singular interest in getting her boyfriend to join her in the afterlife, and she is a little psychotic at times in her efforts. She kind of reminds me of a much perkier Veronica from the classic teen film Heathers. And this is a very good thing, because I love me some Heathers. Basically, Randy Russell has created an awesome new paranormal series, and I can’t wait to read his next book!

Note to Parents: While this book sounds incredibly dark, it is actually surprisingly teen friendly despite the dark subject matter. For example, Jana’s favorite curse phrase is “Fudge, fart, popcorn!” The publisher recommends it for ages 12 and up, and despite a couple of very tame sexual references, I’m inclined to agree.

HarperTeen has added even more incentive to read Dead Rules by Randy Russell. They have generously put the first 75 pages of the book on their website for free. Also, according to the Dead Rules fan page on Facebook, Randy Russell is sponsoring a series of indie bookstore credit giveaways to teens, readers, classroom teachers and librarians. Click here to go to the Facebook page for more information. And be sure to “like” the Facebook page while you’re there.

Be sure to check out the awesome trailers for Dead Rules on the HarperTeen Youtube page! Here is one of many of the promotional videos for Dead Rules:

~~
Don't miss a thing! Click here to subscribe to Young Adult Smash and here to follow me on Twitter.