Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Publisher- Balzer + Bray
Publication Date- September 18, 2012
Pages- 294

SHHHH!
Don't spread the word!
Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn't scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

I've never read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but I am always up for a good mystery/thriller. And that's what this was, a very good mystery/thriller.

It started off kind of weird, I didn't like it at first. I kept getting Meg and Minnie confused and I didn't know which one of them was supposed to be the main character, and they were both acting like immature pre-teens, they were not acting like older teenagers. But as the book progressed, I got less confused, and while Minnie still acted immature, we didn't see much of her, and Meg started thinking like an actual person.

There were times when I was yelling at the characters because they were being stupid and doing irrational things, but if they weren't making these decisions, there wouldn't be a book.

I did find this very suspenseful and I had to keep reading. The on;y reason I ever stopped was because I kind of needed to me mentally-present at school the next day, but I was reading through classes all day at school just so I could finish.

My Rating:

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Publisher- Dutton Books
Publication Date- September 29 2011
Pages- 338

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket—a gifted inventor—steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

I'm going to start off with the negative, just to get it out of the way.

This was not as good as Anna, but I still really enjoyed it. Throughout the first third of the book, I wasn't enjoying it too much. What kept me reading was the hope and anticipation for it to get better. I didn't like Lola too much and I didn't like her boyfriend. Lola seemed like a totally unrealistic person, and she really got on my nerves. But it did get better!

The second 2/3 of it were so much better. I remembered why I liked Stephanie Perkins' writing so much. 

The setting wasn't as good as it was in Anna. I'm not saying that the location wasn't good, I just couldn't imagine it as well. (I have been to both Paris and San Francsico).

And the love interest. I still think I like St. Clair better, but I really liked Cricket too. 

I honestly don't have too much to say about it, but I did enjoy it overall.

My Rating:

WOOHOO! I have now read 50 books this year! But I'm not stopping!