Waiting for Normal

By Leslie Connor

Finally, a good book! I’d kind of lost my reading mojo with all of these thoroughly mediocre books, but this book was really, really good. It even made me cry. And while those Foundation for a Better Life commercials can make me tear up no matter how many times I’ve seen them, books don’t usually get me all weepy, so that’s saying a lot. Waiting for Normal is about a girl who lives with her bipolar mother, wishing she could live with her former stepfather and half-sisters, waiting for a normal life. It’s a young adult book, but it’s not just for kids. Go read it.

Killer Wedding

By Jerrilyn Farmer

This is the third in a mystery series of which I haven’t read the first two books. That never bothers me though. This was a pretty good mystery book. I liked the characters and the plot was decent enough. However, I had the following criticisms. First, the detective character (Madeline Bean) is a caterer, but the book contains no recipes. Now I know mystery books with recipes are a dime a dozen, but I still think if you’re going to describe food in detail, you need to give a girl a recipe. Second, Madeline has no real flaws. Every detective in a mystery book needs some sort of flaw—they should be chubby, or addicted to caffeine, or afraid of commitment. Madeline is darn near perfect, and that’s annoying. I would read more from this series if they came my way (thanks, Mom), but I wouldn’t go out of my way to seek them out.

Sweet 15

By Emily Adler and Alex Echevarria

There’s nothing objectionable about this book, told from the perspective of a Puerto-Rican American girl caught between her parents’ desire for her to have a traditional quinceanera (Sweet 15), her sister’s belief that such ceremonies are sexist and degrading, and her friends’ lack of understanding of her cultural traditions. But it’s kind of a boring, predictable book. I had to make myself keep reading it.

Witches and Wizards

By James Patterson

Witches and Wizards is proof that not everyone can write young adult fiction. I generally enjoy James Patterson (except when he tries to write from a female perspective…it doesn’t work and has that narrator describing her breasts ick factor), but this book was just flat. It was a Harry Potter/Twilight knock-off that wasn’t anything but a knock-off. I set it down when I was almost done with it and had no desire to finish it. When I finally returned to it weeks later, I discovered that the ending had absolutely no resolution, just a lead-in to another book. Very disappointing.