1. Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson
Release date: March 9, 2010
Joshua Wynn is a preacher’s son and a “good boy” who always does the right thing. Until Maddie comes back to town. Maddie is the daughter of the former associate pastor of Joshua’s church, and his childhood crush. Now Maddie is all grown up, gorgeous—and troubled. She wears provocative clothes to church, cusses, drinks, and fools around with older men. Joshua’s ears burn just listening to the things she did to get kicked out of boarding school, and her own home.As time goes on, Josh goes against his parents and his own better instincts to keep Maddie from completely capsizing. Along the way, he begins to question his own rigid understanding of God and whether, as his mother says, a girl like Maddie is beyond redemption. Maddie leads Josh further astray than any girl ever has . . . but is there a way to reconcile his love for her and his love for his life in the church? -from http://www.amazon.com/I read My Life as a Rhombus by this author and I really enjoyed it!, so I'm excited for his next book! Also, I adore this cover, it's awesome :)
2. Red Polka Dot in World Full of Plaid by Varian Johnson
Maxine is as sarcastic and cynical as they come. She's an expert at using her quick wit and sharp tongue to mask her true feelings. However, her emotions get the best of her when she learns the father she thought dead is alive, and that her mother has been lying about his death for Maxine's entire life. On impulse, Maxine sets out cross-country for the small town where her father lives. But instead of finding the father of her dreams, Maxine meets a man that is nothing like she expected. Can Maxine learn to accept her father, even with his faults? And in the process, can she learn to accept herself?
Mr. Johnson's first book!
3. Who You Wit & Flipping the Script by Paula Chase (books in the Del Rio Bay Clique series)
I'm not gonna post the summaries of the book because I don't want to post any spoilers if you haven't read the first three books in the series!
4. Dance Jam Productions by Celise Downs
GET YOUR GROOVE ON! LOCAL TEEN SHOW HOSTING DANCE CONTEST!
The local popular teen dance show, Dance Jam Productions, is looking for regulars. Mataya Black Hawk and Jarek Thanos meet by chance one day and end up as dance partners at the contest the next. When they become one of twelve finalists, they have to work together to create a dance routine. As the final Dance-Off draws near, Jarek shows his interest, yet Mattie keeps him at a distance for fear he will discover her secret. A secret hidden for so long that even her closest friends don’t know. But that’s the least of their problems.
Local teens are becoming pawns in a twisted scheme and all clues point to Dance Jam Productions. Is it coincidence that the victims were dancers on the show? Will Mattie come to terms her past to find love with Jarek? Is there a price to pay for being a regular on Dance Jam Productions? Mattie and Jarek intend to find out before they become the next targets. -from celisedowns.com
I love reading any books about dancers, and if they're poc? Added bonus!
5. Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series by Celise Downs
Book One: A Royale Pain
A day at the spa can be a “royale” pain.
Sixteen-year-old Draven Atreides has just started a new gig as an FBI informant. Her To Do list includes: adjust to new life, make new friends, and try not to tell said new friends about her secret job.
A French chemist is peddling his “specially formulated” products to high class spas and his latest target is celeb favorite, The Royale Treatment Day Spa. Unfortunately, his products cause some nasty side effects and the results are so not pretty. Just when Draven’s first assignment seems to be heading south, she receives unwanted assistance in the form of Rader Deschanel. What does he want with Draven? Will she be able to solve her first official case without blowing her cover? Release date: TBA
Review:
It Chicks by Tia WilliamsRating: 3.5/5
What they want is fame. All they have is drama. Welcome to Louis B. Armstrong, New York City's most prestigious performing arts school, where the gifted, wanna-be starlets, and It Chicks are all on the rise. But when rehearsals give way to hot and heavy after-school sessions away from the barre and without the mic, the real drama begins. Meet the hottest cast in town: Tangie, the Dreamer. Skye the Drama Queen. Eden the Bombshell. Trey the Bad Boy. CJ the Thug with the Heart of Gold. Izzy the Wild Child. Regina the Silent Threat. And the Entourage: Marisol, Kamillah, Blackadocious, Vineet, and Lyle. They're all playing the fame game and will do whatever it takes to nail it.
I.Q. (Incredible Quote) "Well, my mom went into labor with me while she was lying in bed watching MTV, and the second she went into labor, the "Baby Got Back" video came on. She used to tell me she knew I'd be a dancer, because I came out of the womb doing the running man, like the girls in the video. But I think it's the reason I came out so bootylicious." -Tangie pg. 185 Love this quote!
This book was hot, hot, hot! I read this book two years ago and I'd never seen Fame (heard awesome things about it!) and Taking the Stage wasn't out yet, and I totally connected to this book and remember thinking "How cool if they made this book a movie!" This year I saw Fame (loved it!) and MTV produced reality-TV show Taking the Stage (it's really good! The only MTV show I watch anymore, although season 1 ended). I'm still hoping that movie producers/directors discover this book and someone decides to make it a movie! Also, at my middle school all the girls read and shared books. The 'in books' of my 7th & 8th grade years were cliqueish, rich girl books (i.e. The Clique series, Pretty Little Devils, Gossip Girl, etc.) No books with poc main characters. Then I found this book. Rich, talented, poc (AA & Asians mostly). It was awesome.
I read and passed it on to the 6 black girls in my grade (out of 50 kids, I figured the white girls would have no interest and I was right). Now my copy is worn, torn and dog-eared. All my friends loved it. The plot is great,and the characters relatable (even if you're not amazingly talented or rich). Now I'm slightly biased, because I read any and all books about dancers, as a former dancer myself, and I always get excited when I find books about poc dancers (so be prepared for more reviews about dancers of different ethnicities!). My favorite character was Izzy. She was so cool, sweet,experienced and down to earth. After my friends and I read this we all tried to come up with names for ourselves in the same fashion as her rapper name (Izzy Duz It). Although, none of us were aspiring rappers! No luck on my part (my name just doesn't work!), but a couple of my friends came up with some.
What I did dislike: A lot of typos that made confusing conversations. For example in one scene a mother is talking to her oldest daughter, Eden. the conversation goes on and then the name Skye, randomly pops up, "Skye replied." Skye is the younger sister. This results in confusion. Whose speaking? Did the character just enter the conversation or have they been there the whole time? This happened often throughout the book, so the writing could have been a little better. Also, (this is minor) the main character personally bothered me at times. Sometimes Tangie (the main character) was so naive toward guys and it was frustrating. Same with Skye. Most of the characters naivete towards guys was frustrating, but that doesn't make the book bad, just teaches you what to watch out for in guys.
Read if you're into chick lit, Fame like books, reading multicultural fiction. I highly recommend this book. Cop this for your daughter, niece, granddaughter, and that aspiring dancer/singer/actress/filmmaker/artist who lives down the street!
Also you can check out the It Chicks website for more info on the characters (although I don't imagine any of the characters looking like how they do on the page, but that's just me) here
Check out Tia's beauty blog, Shake Your Beauty. It's awesome. Great tips, advice and product recommendations. Also it's how I find out the day the 2nd It Chicks book was coming out!
I really want to read some more by Varian Johnson! It chicks looks way too much like Gossip Girl for my liking, but I might try it since you say it's so good. I saw a comment somewhere saying they were alike, too.
ReplyDelete--Tashi
Varian Johnson is a really good author. The only connection It Chicks has to Gossip Girl, is some students are gossipy and they are all rich except for two major characters. I don't compare the two because the gg characters have no talents or goals. These kids do. And they're pretty funny/entertaining. I'd love to hear what you thought if you do end up reading it.
ReplyDeleteI recently found out about Saving Maddie and will be anxiously awaiting its release.
ReplyDeleteIt Chicks is better than Gossip Girls. There is actually some substance behind all the craziness. I thought author had too many characters in the first book, but she did her best to make it work. She also trim down the characters in the second book. Its a really good series.
ReplyDeleteMiss A, looking forward to seeing what you think of Red Polka Dot in a World Full of Plaid. I didn't do much for me.
Hi Miss Attitude. Thanks for mentioning my books, "Secrets" and "DJP", however you need to remove #5. That book isn't being published any time soon. I don't want to mislead your readers.
ReplyDeleteHi celise! Well I'm still waiting for it :) I'll just edit the release date to TBA, how's that?
ReplyDeleteDoret, I definitely agree with you on It Chicks being better than Gossip Girl.
Shalonda can you believe we have to wait a yr?! arghh!! lol
Well, I'm convinced. I'm definetely willing to read It Chicks now. Gossip Girl just makes me cringe inside. lol And thanks for commenting on last post. I hope more people pay attention to it.
ReplyDelete~Tashi
Welcome to the blogosphere! I'm looking forward to having your insight and opinions out there. I've yet to see many reading blogs helmed by an African American teen. This is more exciting than you know!
ReplyDelete