Kiss Me Kill Me

Title: Kiss Me Kill Me
Author: Lauren Henderson
Rating: 4.7/5


What this book is about:

Scarlett Wakefield has two New Year’s wishes. The first is to get boobs. The second is to kiss Dan McAndrew. In a classic case of “be careful what you wish for” she gets both of these things. Her boobs grow a little bit too much, which makes gymnastics a little harder. And when she finally gets her kiss with Dan McAndrew, he dies with his tongue in her mouth. Off the bat, everyone blames Scarlett. Her only friends hate her, and she’s been expelled from her school and forced to move back in with her grandmother who runs the prestigious Wakefield Hall for girls. The police say Dan died of an extreme allergic reaction. But what was he allergic to? And why didn’t he have his Epi-Pen in his pocket- Something he never left home without? Everyone is left wondering until Scarlett receives and anonymous note that leads her on the journey to clearing her own name and finding the true cause of Dan’s death.

What I thought about it:

Kiss Me Kill me is a prime example of the “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” philosophy. At first glance you might think, “Ick! A cheesy romance novel.” But really, this novel contains a very small amount of romance. The book has that very British feel- a little bit catty and very witty- feel similar to Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging, which is something I love. In fact, I wish more American books would have that British feel. There were some bits in between the beginning of the chapters that were in handwriting, and while the handwriting resembled thick black squiggles and was hard to read, it really added to the mystery. Overall I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed Kiss Me Kill Me, and though the year has only just started it is my favorite so far! I can’t wait to read the sequel, Kisses and Lies.

Review- Must Love Black

(I'm trying a new format for these posts)


Name: Must Love Black
Author: Kelly McClymer
Overall Rating: 2.5/5 (nothing special)



Philippa is a slightly-abnormal black-clothes-loving high school junior. Still mourning the death of her mother several years ago, and bummed both about her best friend going on a Habitat for Humanity trip and her father marrying the evil Krystal, she takes a nanny job at the secluded Chrysalis Cliff. The classified ad is strange, reading:

Wanted: Nanny for 10-year-old twins. Main Coast. Own room and generous salary. MUST LOVE BLACK.

And of course, this sounds like the perfect job for her. Discreetly planning to be picked up in a limo at her father's wedding, Philippa promptly falls in love with Chrysalis Cliff gardener and part-time driver, Geoff. Unfortunately, like in many other YA novels, Geoff seemingly already has a girlfriend, who happens to be not only Philippa's boss, but her polar opposite as well. Upon arrival she finds two very well behaved little girls, and a father who is too busy managing the Chrysalis Cliff resort to spend time with his daughters. She also finds out that the girls mother has "fallen off" the notorious Cliff of Chrysalis, and they now believe she is a ghost. So begins Philippa's very eventful summer.

Must Love Black, despite the premise, is a very typical YA novel. This may, or may not be a good thing. I personally expected something a little more out-there, and was slightly disappointed. But; if you're looking something that is very quick and cute, with characters that have slightly abnormal personalities, you'll probably enjoy this.

Review for Rancho Weirdo by Laura Chester

Rancho Weirdo is a compilation of short stories about Hispanic people, and Hispanic culture. In one story, a man and his friend who live near the Mexican border open their home to illegal aliens traveling through the hills and get more than they expected. In another story a woman struggles with her gender identity, finding peace only in her later years of life. A story titled Breaking it all Down is about a woman who is having a conversation with her ex-husbands fiancé. There are 17 stories in the book, and each story is accompanied by full-color illustrations by Haeri Yoo.




I enjoyed most of the stories in Rancho Weirdo very much. My favorite was probably The Spoon, a story about a man who spends a couple days at a strange Bed and Breakfast. The narrative voice was light and refreshing, but changed slightly for every story. You could tell they were written by the same author, yet they were unique. As much as I enjoyed the stories though, I really loved the illustrations. Some were simple sketches done in black ink, while others were done with a combination of crayon, colored pencil and marker. The drawings are in full color, which is good, because you wouldn’t be able to appreciate them as much if they were in black and white. I also liked that the book is printed on high-quality gloss paper, which makes the “book” smell that I love stronger. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves short stories and illustrations.

Blahhhhh. Things have not been going my way this week.

Moxy Maxwell Does not Love Writing Thank-You Notes

Moxy Maxwell and her twin brother Mark are supposed to spend the last week of Christmas vacation with their father in Hollywood. They are supposed to go to a big Hollywood party, with big Hollywood stars. But first Moxy has to write twelve thank-you notes for the Christmas presents she received the day before. This task is a lot harder than it seems.


Moxy Maxwell Does not Love Writing Thank-you Notes is short and fun. It did not have the charm that I expect out of a children's book though. The photographs were a nice touch, but in many of them it was hard to tell what was going on, because they were shot in color, but copied in black/white. I felt the chapters were much too short, and I didn't really enjoy the dialog. It tried to be funny but just didn't work out. I would have enjoyed the narrative better if it had been from Moxy's point of view instead of an unknown third person. While the book is OK, I wouldn't recommend it.

(An actual review) The Crazy School

Madeline Dare is a reformed Debutante from Syracuse, New York. In the fall of 1989 she moves to the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts with her husband Dean. She takes a job as a history teacher at the Santangelo Academy, a “therapeutic” boarding school for outcast teens. One night a student named Mooney punches his fist through a window, and then revels in secret to Madeline that his girlfriend Fay is pregnant. Madeline vows to tell no one but her best friend and fellow teacher, Lulu. When Fay and Mooney are poisoned at Fay’s birthday party, Madeline is arrested for murder. She must then uncover the secrets of this “crazy school” and clear her name at the same time. The Crazy School is a follow-up to 2006’s A Field of Darkness.

The Crazy School is a somewhat accurate portrayal of damaged teens. The Santangelo Academy is a place my parents would most definitely send me if it were real. In fact I’m pretty sure my three brothers would’ve been sent there as well, though they would’ve ran away. The story does not divulge too much into the lives of the mentally-ill and drug addled teens, but instead focuses more on the murder mystery at hand. While I would’ve preferred a deeper look into their lives, I definitely enjoyed this story. Having not read the synopsis or the first book, I was very surprised when the two teens turned up dead, especially since the characters Fay and Mooney were so easy to relate to, I really felt sad for them. Though the book quickly turns into a darker more serious novel, it is filled with dry humor and silly characters like Madeline’s lawyer Markham and the stuffed-toy obsessed Mindy. It is nicely balanced out with the heartbreak felt within the character of Dhumavati, who is the school’s Dean of Students. This novel tackles hot topics such as teen pregnancy, without the political narrative being too overpowering, which I really liked. The ending was definitely not predictable, in fact I was a little shocked when the murderer was finally revealed. Actually I was very shocked! Though at times the book was a little slow-moving, The Crazy School is a good read filled with lots of mystery, a little suspense, and a dash of silliness good for those nights when you just can’t sleep.

I wrote this review a while ago, in fact it was one of the first I did. To sum it up, I love this book, and highly recommend it.

Freeze Frame Review

Heidi Ayarbe’s debut novel, Freeze Frame is certainly very exciting. It’s fast pace, short sentences and back-and-forth timeline makes it almost TOO exciting. Reading this book just nearly drove me into panic attack mode. The novel stars Kyle Caroll, a 15-year-old from Nevada. On a cold Winter morning Kyle and his best friend Jason decide to into the shed. The next thing Kyle knows, Jason is lying on the floor bleeding to death. Kyle has apparently shot his best friend. He then wakes up in police custody, not knowing where he is or that Jason is even dead. The novel is set up like a movie, some scenes are re-shot, and it is filmed out of order. It may seem confusing but it was really easy to get into. I felt really bad for the characters Jason and Kyle. Being a huge movie nerd, I loved all the Pop Culture references. The story’s format makes it all the more heartbreaking, since you only get bits and pieces of the story at a time and it’s up to you to piece them together. This made it a very unique read and though it’s a hefty 300+ pages, I read it in one day. I would definitely recommend this novel for the teen who likes darker stories, but it’s probably not for the Gossip Girl crowd.