3 - Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver is a werewolf story.  I'm not giving anything away by saying that, because it's obvious almost immediately (if you didn't guess by the gorgeous wolf peeking through the branches on the cover of my copy).  It's also a story of love and loss and betrayal and hope.

The story is told in chapters that alternate between the voices of Sam and Grace.  Each chapter is marked with the temperature, which eventually plays into the story.  Much like Two Boys Kissing, as the story climbs toward the climax, the author uses shorter chapters, choppy line breaks, and unusual punctuation and capitalization to pull the reader into the intensity of the moment.

The reimagining of werewolves for this story is intriguing.  In the world Stiefvater has created, up in Minnesota near Canada, the werewolves are all bitten humans, infected with a disease that makes them more and more wolf-like, until finally the human is gone and wolf remains.  It's a hopeless progression, hated by some and embraced by others, until Sam and Grace meet and fall in love.  Then there is a race against time and the peculiarities of the disease.

Pages: 390
Find it on Amazon!

4, 5, 6, 7 - Mortal Instruments and more!

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
The first book in the Mortal Instruments series! I am hooked! I devoured this, rushed to the bookstore to get the second book when I was about 50 pages from the end, and started it immediately. It's a beautiful alternate-New York setting. There are vampires, werewolves, and warlocks. There are mysterious, beautiful, tattooed Shadowhunters. What more can a girl ask for?

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Again, I devoured this! I am particularly enjoying Alec and Magnus! :) Also, Clary's developing talent with runes is intriguing! Makes me want to go study runes...but then again, I love languages, so that's not too surprising. I don't want to say too much because I hate spoilers!

Wide Awake by David Levithan
This political fantasy by the author of the fabulous Boy Meets Boy was a lot of fun! I will say up front that there were many political comments that I emphatically DID NOT agree with (I am fiscally conservative and a strong supporter of less government), but I can definitely get on board with the idea of a world in which we could elect a gay, Jewish President. Especially one who is married with kids. What a wonderful world that would be. I hope, for the sake of my friends, my family, and my future children, that such a thing comes to pass.

Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez
This sweet novel chronicles the development of the relationships between Nelson, out and proud teen; Kyle, Nelson's best friend who is lurking in the shadows of his closet; and Jason, the school's star jock who loves his girlfriend but might like Kyle too. I enjoyed the budding relationships among the boys. The story was full of hope and joy, even when things were filled with angst.