John Green likes his characters to travel. Literally and figuratively.  In The Fault in Our Stars, the main characters travel to Amsterdam.  In An Abundance of Katherines, they take a road trip after graduation.  And here in Paper Towns, they take a road trip to find a friend who may or may not want to be found.  Quentin adored his neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman.  He put her so high atop that pedestal that it stunned him when she asked him to go along on a night of revenge pranking.  Leaving a note after a hug and a kiss: “I. Will. Miss. Hanging. Out. With. You.”, she disappears.  The search for Margo ensues and Q begins to understand that need to leave and the freedom that goes along with it.  He discovers that Margo is really just a girl.  She is coping like everyone else.  However, through it all she helps him to grow up and to  understand himself through the experiences he undertakes.  He learns to overcome fears and experiences things he would not have tried on his own.  I loved the characters, the writing, the settings…I loved this book.  

Marie Lu’s novel Legend is a captivating debut that will grab your attention and not let go till the very end. June is the Republic’s prodigy child, even if she is a bit willful and independent. Day is the Republic’s most sought after criminal, not the most dangerous but definitely the most problematic. When June learns that Day killed her brother her only emotions are anger and the desire for revenge. Thus begins the hunt for Day, but what June doesn’t expect is what she learns from him about her beloved Republic. This was a fantastic young adult dystopian read, and frankly the closest book that I have found to The Hunger Games. I thought Lu’s writing style of telling the story from both characters’ point of view to be an excellent way to grab the readers attention and to have you cheering for both of the characters. Her style also ensured that her story was rich with details since you are leaning about things from multiple perspectives. Lu captured the military mind so well with her writings about June and likewise the street smarts when writing about Day. You couldn’t help but think these two are a nice balance and could make an excellent team. The characters were both well developed and it was easy to tell who was speaking, even had Lu not changed the color of her text between them. The writing is wonderful but so is the story. We are just beginning to learn about the flawed Republic at the end of the book and I am anxiously awaiting Prodigy (book two due out in January 2013) to find out where the story goes. I think the corruption is going to be much worse than we initially anticipate. Legend is a compelling beginning to what is sure to be an amazing series.

Dan Wells’ teen science fiction novel Partials is a gripping post-apocalyptic tale. Kira is part of the last of civilization. Her parents’ generation built robots to end the Isolation wars, but the robots decided to turn on the humans shortly after the war ended. A deadly virus was released and all but a small number of humans perished. There has been peace from the Partials, so referred to since they are half machine and half human, but growing tension among the humans is still causing trouble. Even more upsetting, is the fact that the remaining people are unable to have surviving children. All babies born since the virus was released die within a few days since they are not immune to the disease. Kira is determined to find a cure. She knows that her species’ only hope for survival is finding a way to have children, and hopefully that will also end the violent disputes within the humans’ society. Thus she embarks on a crazy mission to cross into the Partials’ territory and find a way to cure the virus. What a great science fiction story (and I typically don’t enjoy robot related books). Wells did an incredible job describing the New York city area after the destruction. It was so easy to envision the streets with rusted out cars and the like. His characters were courageous and independent thinking. I loved watching Kira stand up to the senators and doctors even though they are shooting her ideas down since she is a “plague baby” (too young to remember the Isolation war and the Partial attack). She has such a strong understanding of her convictions even though she is only 16. It was refreshing to read a young adult novel where the main character knows exactly what she wants to accomplish. Don’t get me wrong, there is still plenty of coming of age and discovering her true self as the story continues for Kira. And I am sure book two will be filled with even more opportunities for Kira to grow and learn. If you are looking for an action filled story that isn’t your typical teen read, grab Partials, you won’t be disappointed. As a side note, I get to meet Dan Wells next week at the BEA-so excited! I hope I can get an autographed copy! Join me on Facebook June 15th where I will begin our teen discussion on this novel. Be sure to friend MostlyBooks TeenForum to join the fun.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is incredibly gripping tale of life among the Unconsecrated, or zombies. Mary has grown up surround by the undead for her entire life with only a fence separating her and her village from certain death. Life is all about listening to the Sisterhood and Guardians, who are the keepers of their knowledge and protectors. After her mother and father returned as the undead, Mary is forced to join the Sisterhood and now she is learning that perhaps there is life outside of the fence, maybe a life without the Unconsecrated. Things quickly go from bad to worse for Mary when her village is infiltrated by the undead. Now her dreams of escaping the fence has become a reality and only option for survival. With her brother and friends, Mary runs down the forbidden fenced-in path in hopes of finding the ocean and a world without zombies. What a great horror story filled with tales of first love and growing up. Ryan did such a great job capturing the fear of living with flesh-eating zombies while simultaneously showing the characters as being desensitized from the constant presents of the Unconsecrated. I also like all of the big issues that Mary was forced to work through while fighting her way to freedom. She tried to come to a better understanding of friendship, love, death, and hope. Ryan created a precocious female character who has incredible courage and determination. It was easy to cheer her on in her quest. (Jody)

Specials by Scott Westerfeld is the exciting conclusion to the Uglies trilogy (although there is a extra book in the trilogy that explores life after Tally’s adventure). Tally is turned into the creatures she hates, the specials. She now has the appearance of a cruel beautiful person and has incredible strength to use against the uglies and pretties. However, she’s also still Tally, and knows that something about her isn’t right. After the operation, she finds herself getting more and more angry. She tries to control the monster within her and keep her true-self intact, but it is an ongoing struggle. At the same time, Tally is realizing that she needs to find away to fight back against her corrupt government that is convinced it must keep everyone the same. So, Tally secretly joins up with the Crims in the hopes of making everyone regain their previous minds that they had before they were turned pretty. But things are much more challenging since Tally is supposed to be fighting to keep the corrupt government in charge. A great end to an already exciting trilogy. Westerfeld does a great job with keeping the action and adventure going throughout the series. His characters are strong and defined, and he continues to push them in new directions as the story progresses. This is a great series for anyone looking for a good dystopian read.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin is an extraordinary read, albeit a hard book to categorize. At first glance it appears to be a contemporary fiction novel for young adults, but as you read the story you discover it has so much more to offer. Sections of the book read like a thriller novel and has your gripping the book in anticipation, the next moment you’re swooning and in love much like Mara, and then the paranormal twist just throws all your previous conceptions out the window. And because Hopkins keeps you guessing about the true reasons behind all of the deaths and Mara’s madness, you find that you stumble across an amazing new series. Mara, after waking up from a coma, finds out that three of her friends were killed in a terrible accident that she herself was in. She was the only one to survive the collapsing of a run-down local asylum building, leaving her alive but emotionally damaged with no recollection of the accident. Her family quickly decides the best way for Mara to cope with her post traumatic stress disorder is to move to Miami. However, Mara knows that the only true way to cope with her grief and new life is to find out what really happened at the asylum. Luckily, she meets a mysterious boy who helps keep her sane, so to speak, and find out the truth about herself. As I have said before, this was a fabulous read. The characters are really well developed for book one in a series. I found Mara to be incredible realistic and easy to relate too. Her interactions with other characters never seemed forced and the dialogue is playful and sophisticated . Mara and Noah have a great love story that was mature for teens, but magical enough to still be first love. Hodkin did a great job making the reader feel all of Mara’s emotion; this is a fantastic debut novel. If you are looking for a book with a great love story, a few thrills, and a little off the beaten path, this would be a great choice.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare is a riveting Victorian paranormal tale. This series is a prequel to Clare’s Mortal Instrument series, but really each one stands perfectly well as it’s own series. (You don’t have to read one in order to enjoy the other.) This series does introduce new family members or characters that are in the Mortal Instrument series, giving a little taste of the older generations. Tessa has set out for London to be reunited with her brother, but things go terrible wrong when she lands and two ladies greet her at the docks instead of her brother, who in fact has gone missing. What Tessa doesn’t realize, is that she is being kidnapped and forced to learn about her special abilities. Thankfully, Will and Jem stumble upon Tessa and immediately take her back to the Sanctuary for safe keeping. Once there, Tessa meets new people and a whole new world that she must somehow learn to accept, all the while continuing her search for her brother. This was a great beginning to the trilogy (so sad that it is only going to be a trilogy). I love the world that Clare creates. You get a sense of the dark dreariness of London, but also the wonders of the industrial age where new inventions are springing up everyday. I wouldn’t classify this as a steampunk story (no alternate history to speak of), but Clare stills adds the flavor of mythical inventions that we all love in our steampunk fantasies. The characters are incredibly engaging and have great interactions with each other. I find myself laughing at their sarcastic comments to one another and than immediately wondering what they are brooding over. Needless to say, I am really excited to see how Clare continues to develop the characters, specifically Tessa. Clare did a wonderful job of keeping me reading, she never stopped the excitement as the characters continue on their adventures. I cruised through the entire book and quickly got Clockwork Prince to continue the fun.

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar is an excellent young adult read. Alton’s parents are forcing him to drive his old uncle Lester to his bridge games and be his cardturner. His uncle is blind, very sick, and rich, thus making his parents want to get on Lester’s good side and hopefully end up in the will. So now Alton is at every game, and starting to have an interest in learning bridge. As the summer progresses, Alton and his uncle begin to grow very fond of each other and develop a very endearing relationship. Sachar has written such a terrific book. He has great characters that keep you entertained and coming back for more. I loved that you also learned a little bit about bridge; at the end of several chapters, Sachar includes hints on how to play the game. It was a great read and overall a wonderful coming of age story.

Chosen by P. C. Cast and Kristen Cast is the third book in the House of Night series and the story just keeps getting better. Zoey has just found out that her bestfriend didn’t exactly die like everyone thought. Instead, Stevie Rae has become an “undead dead” vampire creature who is embracing all of the horrible stereotypes of vampires; such as killing any human she encounters (due to her blood craving), burning up in the sun, being unable to enter a building unless invited inside, etc. To make things worst, she has a foul odor wafting around her since, after all, she is dead. Zoey could maybe handle fixing Stevie Rae and keeping her life in order, but then she also has the problem of three boyfriends (one human, one fledgling, and one vampire), and her mentor and surragate mother is the most evil creature she has even encountered. Needless to say, Zoey is having a hard time keeping it all together. The Casts authors have created such a vibrant and full personality in Zoey that I just love to read this series. She is a funny, witty and caring character that instantly draws the reader to her. The dialogue, as well as inner monologues, is entertaining and often quite funny. This series has plenty of paranormal excitement as well as the normal teenage drama to keep you fully engaged and craving the next book.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy, and things just keep getting better. Katniss and Peeta have just won the Hunger Games and should be basking in the glory and relief. However, everything is different. Her friendship with Gale is strained and there is intense pressure put on her and Peeta to be the perfect couple. There is also the issue of the rebellion rumors that are starting to surface, and the fact that everyone is associating Katniss with the rebellion. Not to mention the fact that all previous winners of the Hunger Games are being recalled for another major battle. Katniss and Peeta are thrown back into the deadly battles and new alliances are being made as well as new enemies. Collins has such a gift for keeping her readers glued to her books. She fills her pages with great characters and adventure. Katniss is a strong female character who is learning her full potential, and Collins has done such a great job with fully creating her. Collins has also written an incredible dystopic world that is so detailed and thought-out that it is easy to imagine yourself in this futuristic environment. Filled with non-stop action and suspense that is certain to keep all ages reading till the exciting conclusion in book three. This is a must read.

Cynthia Hand's debut young adult novel Unearthly is a captivating tale of destiny and free will. Clara has known for sometime that she is part angel. Her mother has been preparing her for her vision which will lead her to her destiny; for all angels (full blood or partial) have a vision which they must then follow to the letter. This all seems fun and exciting to Clara, until she finds out that her destiny is in Wyoming and not her home-state of California, making her feel the true pressure of her task. The entire family packs-up and moves in order for Clara to piece together the puzzle of her vision and then make it a reality. Hand did a great job of bring in new character voices and creating a setting that was easy to imagine. I found myself really liking Clara, except in the beginning I thought her relationship with her mom was too picture perfect. Hand has already developed a strong main character in her first book rather than slowing developing the character over several books. As a reader I appreciated seeing Clara start to mature in the first book, it makes her seem more realistic. This novel does have a romance component between Clara and two boys, and I have to confess I was cheering on the underdog to capture her heart. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and all it's quirky characters, and the end left me craving the next book, which to my dismay isn't due out until 2012-hopefully in January as it has been predicted.

Amy Plum’s debut novel Die For Me is wonderful teen paranormal love story. If you are still looking for a follow up to the Twilight saga, this would be a novel(and hopefully series) to read. Kate and Georgia’s parents just died in a car accident, now the girls have decided to move to Paris to live with their grandparents. Kate, especially, is having a hard time working through her grief, and often finds herself alone with a book. Then one day she meets a mysterious and handsome boy, and the world she thought she knew changes forever. Filled with fun new characters to meet, and of course a love story that may or may not workout due to one being a supernatural person. I really enjoyed this novel. I found Kate easy to relate to and entertaining. Even though she is mourning her parents, she isn’t overly whiny or self-absorbed, in fact she is rather logical and cautious. I liked Vincent, but am hoping he becomes more complex as the series progresses. The story gave a unique look at the paranormal world instead of following the vampire, demon, or angel trend, that I found to be refreshing. It is always fun to be introduced to a new supernatural being. Overall, I found this to be an addictive read and can’t wait to see what Plum has in store next.

Harlan Coben writes his first novel for the young adults. He takes a minor character from his last book, Live Wire, making him the main character in Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel. Fifteen-year-old Mickey Bolitar has gone through a tragedy. His father has died in a car accident. In the aftermath, his mother has turned to drugs and is now in rehab forcing Mickey to move in with his uncle Myron. He is in a new city going to a new school. Ashley is also new to the school. Because of their circumstances, Mickey and Ashley become fast friends. After several weeks Ashley disappears. The mystery begins. Walking to school each day, Mickey passes an old house where an old lady, nicknamed “The Bat Lady,” lives. Who is she? Will we find out? Mickey has made other friends. Spoon is the son of the school janitor. Ema is an overweight goth, dressing in black. Rachel is an attractive girl who is attracted to Mickey, and who seems to be connected to Ashley’s disappearance. There are a few events in Shelter that stretch believability. One is where Spoon’s dad, the school janitor, loans Spoon his keys so they can get into the school after it is closed. The second, near the end of the book, Mickey, Ema, and Rachel are able to enter a go-go dance club through the front door. Three tenth graders are allowed into this club. But both of these are essential to the plot. The plot is compelling. I finished one chapter, and I immediately wanted to know what the next chapter had to say. Shelter is a very good book, and I strongly recommend it for young adult readers who enjoy mysteries. Thanks Howard for you review!

Jenifer Castle’s debut novel The Beginning of After is a compelling young adult novel about grieving and learning to live after death. One fateful night, Laurel decides to stay home and study her French homework instead of going to get ice cream with her family and neighbors. While she is home, her parents and brother get into a terrible car accident that results in their deaths. Laurel must now come to terms with the deaths of her family and her survivors guilt of not being with them. Castle does a wonderful job of showing all of the emotions that Laurel goes through and creates a believable story. It was interesting to see how all the characters, not just Laurel, changed as the story continued. The topic is depressing, but Castle did such a good job of bring in moments of happiness and the end leaves you feeling satisfied and hopeful. Overall, this was a great story and I look forward to seeing what Castle will have for us next.

Allison Courtney Moulton's debut novel Angelfire is an exciting beginning to her new series. Ellie is your typical teenage girl who is dealing with school, college applications, and her social life; until she meets Will. Now she learns that she is the Preliator, the one person who is destine to level the playing field between heaven and hell by killing the reapers who are in Lucifer's army. If that isn't enough to try to cope with, Ellie also learns that she has been doing this for centuries in her past lives, she is just unable to remember her true identity at the moment. I really like Ellie's magical abilities and am excited to see where Moulton takes the character. She is defiantly an amazing warrior and is sure to become even more exciting to read as the series progresses. The angel mythology was interesting to read about and I really enjoyed the flashbacks that Ellie had of her previous lives. It was fun to learn how she became the person she is now. My only complaint for this novel is that some parts felt a bit drawn out and would have flowed better with more action. Moulton had great fight scenes, but there seemed to be too much time in-between battles. I am hoping that the next book will focus more on the story and less on Ellie and Will getting reacquainted. That being said, I still found myself unable to walk away from this book and I did enjoy the story.

Blue Bloods by Melissa de La Cruz is a highly addictive teen fantasy read. Schuyler Van Alen is your typical teen outcast who is struggling to find her place in an incredible uppity private school in Manhattan. Her family was once the most powerful and influential families in New York City, but now all that remains from the fortune is the family name. Things suddenly start to change when Jack Force, the most popular boy in school, starts to talk to her and she gets an invitation to the most prestigious group in Manhattan. Oh, and lets not forget about her classmate that mysteriously dies and the fact that all of the socialites of Manhattan are vampires. I thought de La Cruz did an excellent job on her vampire mythology. She made the “creatures of the night” much more complex then other novels have and really captivates the reader with their history. It was such a refreshing twists that she is sure to standout in the genre. The historical information about the settlers on Plymouth Rock was also interesting to read and gave the book just one more level of depth. I loved that de La Cruz mixed her writing format up by including letters from the settlers into her story. It was such a great way to keep readers engaged. I enjoyed Schuyler’s character; sure she is a teenage girl, but she isn’t whiny or overly self-involved. Instead, she is independent, resourceful, and driven to find the truth. Needless to say, as soon as I finished the first book I was rushing out to get the second so I could find out what happens.

Love You Hate You Miss You by Elizabeth Scott is a wonderfully written young adult novel that examines some of the social and emotional issues that kids are facing today. Amy has spent the summer in rehab overcoming her issues with alcohol as well as the death of her best friend. Now she is headed back to school alone and with everyone staring at her. She knows she will never fit in and make friends, so she decides to write letters to her deceased friend. As her letters continue, Amy finds that the past may not have been as rosy pink as she initially remembered, and the future may actually turn out to be okay. Scott does a great job portraying the emotions of grief, anger, and guilt that Amy goes through after her friend dies in a terrible car crash. I especially loved the portions of the story that were letters written to her friend. I found it interesting to see how Amy was working her new life out in letters and trying hard to continue with her old life. The social topics that are brought up in this novel are tough to discuss, but this book is a great start in having a dialog with your teen.

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater is a magical tale that is sure to make you wonder about the things that go bump in the night. The story is about an incredibly gifted young girl, whose life turns upside down when a mysterious stranger walks into her life. Dierdre has always had a bit of stage fright when it comes to performing her harp for large groups, but everything changes when she meets Luke, who both calms and inspires her. With Luke's help, Dierdre finds out that she is a much stronger individual than she once thought. However, her puzzling new friend seems to be both hunting and protecting her from evil faeries who want her dead. The prologue sets the entire novel up perfectly with its ominous tone. Stiefvater does a wonderful job circling around and resolving the prologue rather than leaving it forgotten in the main story. This novel has a fantastic faerie world. Stiefvater brings to focus many types of faeries as well as showing the different cultures. I appreciated a darker look at the magical creatures, since in most faerie myths, and especially the Celtic myths that she refers to, they are known as tricksters. However, Stiefvater balances out the dark faeries with her pure heroin, making the tale truly about good and evil. And yes, the teen love story was quite sweet throughout. All and all, I found this to be a wonderful read for anyone interested in faeries or magic.

I have just started reading the new series, Soul Screamers, by Rachel Vincent. The first book in the series is My Soul To Take, and it was a breath of fresh air from all of the young adult vampire books that are currently out. Instead, this series is about a sixteen year old girl who finds out she is a banshee, or to be more accurate a "bean sidhe" which is Gaelic for "woman of the faeries". Kaylee has been having premonitions of teen girls who are about to die. The worst part is that her visions are coming true, and for some reason she has an urge to scream whenever a premonition occurs. Thankfully, Nash has been able to calm her during the episodes, but more and more girls are dying for no apparent reason. Kaylee knows that she must get to the bottom of this, and while she is trying to save her high school classmates she learns all about her family's secrets. I have to say I did enjoy this book; Vincent created a suspenseful tale that kept me turning the pages until the exciting conclusion. I also like that her banshees worked together in pairs, male and female, in order to save souls. I thought this was a nice addition to the banshee folklore. Now, I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, My Soul to Save.

Holly Black's latest novel, White Cat, was just a great read and so different from every other fantasy book right now. I loved that she says on the dedication page, "for all the fictional cats I've killed in other books"; finally, cats will prevail. Well, it should be pretty apparent that a white cat is going to be a main character in this story, but it is also about a boy who, unlike his family, has no magical skills and is therefore not a curse worker. Instead, he is desperately trying to be a "normal" kid. This is rather hard to do since he may have murdered his best friend and his entire family is working for one of the big crime families. Now he must uncover the truth about the day he committed murder and the secrets his family has been keeping. One of my favorite things about this book was the way Cassel describes the cons he is planning, as well as the mistakes he makes during the con. The crime mixed with magic gave this book a unique twist; it was a nice mix of modern world meets imagined world . Black sets a great foundation for her newest series, and I am anxious to see where she takes it. I am hoping we will get more background information on a few of the other characters that were introduced, as well as more magic and more mobster mayhem.

I recently read Green Angel by Alice Hoffman. I found the story to be incredible uplifting and am eager to read the sequel Green Witch. Hoffman has once again created a world with just a hint of magic.The story is about a girl named Green who has a gift for growing plants. Her family and a large portion of the town are tragically killed in an explosion. Green is naturally overcome with guilt and grief. She spirals downward, consumed with her pain. Yet, some how, through it all she finds a way to live again. The characters' reactions to the tragedy are very true to life. I felt that I could relate to the characters' pain and joy. Overall, it was truly a delight to read. This is a great book for young adults and adults alike to enjoy.