The Season

by Sarah MacLean

Seventeen-year-old Lady Alexandra Stafford is about to undergo her first "season" in London, along with her two best friends, Vivi and Ella.  Alex's mother insists that she be perfectly dressed and perfectly well-mannered at all times, especially while at the many balls and dinners she must attend in order to catch a rich and noble husband.  Marriage is something that Alex is not at all ready for, and proper behavior not her strong suit, but there is nothing to be done but to go along.  Fortunately, Alex and her friends can have occasional intellegent and witty conversations with her older brothers and their friend, Lord Blackmoor, whom Alex has known all her life.   And the season becmes positively enthralling when the girls become involved in solving the possible murder of Lord Blackmoor's father.  Add to that the intense and surprising attraction Alex feels for Lord Blackmoor, and the London season becomes unexpecatantly fascinating.  On this year's Texas Lone Star list, The Season is a fun Regency romance perfect for girls of all ages.

The

Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

It's Reaping Day again in Panem, and every person in each of the 12 districts is required by the government to dress in his or her best clothes and appear in the city square for the lottery. Two teenagers from each of the districts, one boy and one girl, will be chosen for the annual Hunger Games, a contest among the 24 teenagers from all the districts, televised across the country. The Hunger Games, is just one way that the Capitol wields its power over its citizens, for everyone is afraid their child, or their friend, will be chosen, and no one is powerful enough to resist. This year, 12--year-old Prim is chosen, but her older sister, Katniss immediately volunteers to take her place. Katniss and Peeta, the baker's son, leave that day for the Capitol, a place of unimaginable luxury, where they, along with the other contestants from the other districts are pampered and fed and coached for days before the games begin. But none of the riches they are given can really ease the terror of what they will encounter when the Hunger Games commence. For the Hunger Games is a challenge to the death, and only one teen can be the victor!

This dystopian novel is reminiscent of Shirley Jackson's story, The Lottery, with elements of Big Brother in Orwell's 1984. Panem is a frightening future North America, the land area vastly reduced because of global warming, flooding, natural disasters, and war. But the main characters are strong, appealing survivors, and the action runs the gamut from sweet and touching acts of selflessness to brutal savagery, with the government being the true bad guy. I loved this book! It has everything a good read should have, and the best thing of all is that the sequel , Catching Fire, is every bit as good as the first. The Hunger Games is on last year's American Library Association's Top Ten best books for young adults, and Mockingjay, the final installment of this trilogy, has just come out and will be available in the LVJH library. The Hunger Games trilogy is a must read! --reviewed by Dail Sams

Vampire Kisses
by Ellen Schreiber


Raven Madison is the strangest girl in town.  Goth girl and vampire obsessed, she is convinced that vampires are real and it's her highest dream to become one.  Needless to say, in a small conservative town, she doesn't have many friends.  Only painfully shy farm girl, Becky, will put up with her weird ways, and that is because Raven became her champion when the other kids tormented Becky in elementary school.   Life in "Dullsville"  is borderline unbearable for Raven until the new people move into the dilapidated mansion on the hill.  They are oviously rich because the parents are always flying off on trips, they have a butler who does all the shopping in town, and an expensive car sits in the driveway.  But to Raven, the most fascinating person in the family is the teenaged son who only comes out at night.  Devilishly handsome, Alexander Sterling has captured Raven's imagination, and she is convinced he is really a vampire.  She is determined to meet him and wants nothing more than to receive his "vampire's" kiss.  Raven gets her wish, but the result is not exactly what she expected!  Vampire Kisses is book one in a series by the same name. Read more for the further adventures of Raven and Alexander!
                   ~reviewed by Mrs Sams