Tantalize

Tantalize

by Cynthia Leithich Smith

Candlewick Press, 2007

ISBN 9780763640590

311 pages

3 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her parents are dead, and her hybrid-werewolf first love is threatening to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. Then, as she and her uncle are about to unveil their hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef. Can Quincie transform their new hire into a culinary Dark Lord before opening night? Can he wow the crowd in his fake fangs, cheap cape, and red contact lenses — or is there more to this earnest face than meets the eye? As human and preternatural forces clash, a deadly love triangle forms, and the line between predator and prey begins to blur. Who’s playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along before she loses everything?

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/353016.Tantalize

Critical Evaluation

I hesitant to admit but I did not love this book. Let me mention the things I did not like first and then I will approach the book in a more positive manner.

Not so positive aspects (in my humble opinion)

• On a few occasions the writing style felt a bit stilted. The writing would break the flow of the story and I would be jolted back into reality. One example that comes to mind is whenever Quincie would talk about the moss green decorations at Kieren’s house. Moss green napkins were also mentioned at the picnic Quincie and Kieren took on the anniversary of Quincie’s parent’s death.
• I got quite confused at the end. The different types of werecreatures were confusing. Also what is the town going to do with all those vampires roaming around? And how did Quincie’s uncle meet Brad? And really I would think everyone would be much more terrified if that many people had gone missing or been killed. There were just too many unanswered questions.
• This complaint is probably just whining but I prefer a happy ending for my fantasy books. When I read “problem” novels or realistic fiction I want difficult topics handled that often have sad or unresolved endings. But I did not want Quincie to be a vampire. I realize this is the first book in a series and there is more to come but I did not love the ending.

Aspects that I liked:

• The cover art.
• I was pulled into the story near the end. I was rather intrigued to see what would happen by the end of the book. I had a hard time putting the book down once the restaurant actually opened.
• I liked Quincie’s character. She was independent and strong-willed until Brad wrecked havoc on her life, but still she is a great character.

Reader’s Annotation

Quincie and her uncle are about to reopen their restaurant with a hot new vampire thing. However, strange things start happening in their town.

Information about the author

"Cynthia has worked as a popcorn popper and cashier in a movie theater, a waitress (in a Mexican chain restaurant, and at a country club restaurant and pool), an attendant at a gas station, a receptionist at a law firm, a telephone operator at a bank, a law clerk (for a legal aid, for a small firm, for a government agency, and for a federal appeals judge), and an English tutor for students of migrant farm families. She has also worked as a reporter (for small-town and big city newspapers) and in public relations (for a non-profit agency, for a greeting card company, and for an oil company). In addition, Cynthia has taught legal writing and writing for children and young adults.

Cynthia was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Her previous states of residence are: Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, and Oklahoma. She is a tribal member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Today, she lives in Austin, Texas, with her four cats and her husband, award-winning children's book author Greg Leitich Smith."

(http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/CLS/about_cyn.html)

Genre

Romance. Fantasy.

Curriculum Ties

mythology. current literature.

Booktalking Ideas

*If you could run any business you wanted to as a teen, what would it be?

Reading Level

age 13 and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

This book was one of three assigned novels for this class. It adds a nice edition to the database as a paranormal fantasy.

Kiss Me Kill Me

Kiss Me Kill Me

by Lauren Henderson

Delacorte Press, 2008

ISBN 9780385734875

260 pages

3.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

When 16-year-old Scarlett Wakefield transfers from St. Tabby’s to Wakefield Hall Collegiate, she is relieved that no one knows her dark, haunting secret.

A few months ago, Scarlett was invited to an elite party with a guest list full of the hottest names in British society, including Dan McAndrew. Before the party, Scarlett had only imagined what it would be like to have her first kiss with Dan, but on the penthouse terrace, Dan leaned in close and she no longer had to wonder. Their kiss was beautiful and perfect and magical, and then . . .

Dan McAndrew took his last breath as she held him in her arms. No one knows how or why Dan died, and everyone at St. Tabby’s believes Scarlett had something to do with it. But now that she’s safely hidden away at Wakefield Hall, Scarlett would rather forget that it ever happened.

Only she can’t.

Especially when she receives an anonymous note that will set her on the path to clearing her name and finding out what really happened to the first and last boy she kissed.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2005138.Kiss_Me_Kill_Me

Critical Evaluation

This book was great. It is an odd combination of mystery, romance, and maybe even moving into chick lit. That being said, I greatly enjoyed it. Scarlett is very funny. She reminds me a bit of Angus in Angus, Thongs, and Full-frontal snogging by Louise Rennison. This book contained the time honored teen traditional of ditching your real friends for 'cooler' friends and then bad things start to happen.

Reader's Annotation

Scarlett has her very first kiss with the handsome Dan, but then he dies in her arms.

Information about the author

Lauren Henderson was born in London and educated at Cambridge, where she studied English literature. She worked as a journalist for newspapers and music magazines before moving to Tuscany to write books, work as a waitress, learn Italian and party through the rest of her twenties. Finally, after eight years, she dragged herself away and, lured by “Sex and the City”, moved to Manhattan. She has now moved back to settle in London, long-suffering husband and an unfeasibly large cat in tow. Lauren’s interests include trapeze, pole-dancing, watching “America’s Next Top Model” on TV, and cocktail-drinking.

Lauren has been described in the press as both the Dorothy Parker and the Betty Boop of the British crime novel. She also writes for many UK-based publications, including Grazia and Cosmopolitan and several national newspapers.

http://www.laurenhenderson.net/lauren.html

Genre

mystery. romance. humor.

Curriculum Ties

allergies. interpersonal relationships.

Booktalking ideas

*If something awful happened to you, but it wasn't your fault. Would you still want to change schools?

Reading level

ages 14 and up

Challenges Issues

N/A

Why included?

I found this book on a list of recommended teen reads from my local library.

Reincarnation

Reincarnation

by Suzanne Weyn

Scholastic, 2008

ISBN 0545013240

293 pages

3 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

From prehistory to the present, theirs was a love for the ages. It starts with a fight in a cave over an elusive green jewel . . . and then travels over time and lives to include Egyptian slaves, Greek temples, Massachusetts witch trials, Civil War battlefields, Paris on the eve of World War II, America in the 1960s . . . and a pair of modern-day teenagers. For readers who believe that love is stronger than time or death, this is an unforgettable novel from a wonderful storyteller.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2507213.Reincarnation

Critical Evaluation

So I did not love this book. I felt like I did not get to know the characters. They kept dying and being reincarnated as other people. I never got to know them and then they were dead.

However, there were two things that I liked about the book. First, the concept of two people being "soul mates" and continue to die and meet again over and over throughout time is a nice romantic idea. Second, although they would be reincarnated near each other in time and place, sometimes that would be it. One time they both came back as the opposite gender. Sometimes they would be a generation apart in age. Sometimes they would be different races from each other and from their previous races. All of that variety was very interesting to think about. So much of my identity is my gender and even my race. But this book transcends all of that. I believe that concept alone makes this book a great addition to any YA collection.

Interestingly enough when I first rated this book I gave it 2 stars. But I am going to change that because it speaks to me more now thinking back on it than it did while I was reading it.

Reader’s Annotation

A pair of lovers meet in prehistoric times and then keep meeting over and over again throughout the ages.

Information about the author

Suzanne Weyn was born in Flushing, New York, and raised on Long Island. She is the oldest of four children. As a girl she was very interested in theater and in reading. Louisa May Alcott was her favorite author. Suzanne lived pretty close to the ocean and going to Jones Beach was one of favorite activities. Even today, if she goes too long without seeing the ocean, she starts feeling restless. In times of stress it is her first destination. She has a big poster of a giant wave in her living room.

Suzanne now lives in upper New York on a former horse farm in a cottage from the 1930s. There are active horse farms all around her and they help inspire her middle grade horse series, Wildwood Stables, which began in March of 2010 and is still going on with new books being added every few months.

http://www.suzanneweynbooks.com/

Genre

romance. maybe also fantasy.

Curriculum Ties

history

Booktalking Ideas

*If you could come back and live in any time period, which would you pick?

Reading Level

age 12 and up

Challenge Issues

N/A

Why Included?

I wanted some romances that were not just basic chick lit. This is a different type of romance and adds a nice flair to the collection.