Shuyler Van Alen is a girl who just wants to fit in. She lives in New York and attends a private school of elite, rich and spoiled teens. When she turns 15, stranges things start happening to her. She has flashbacks of being at a place hundreds of years prior, her body is undergoing strange changes and she is having unusual food cravings. After attending an exclusive meeting, she finds out that she is apart of an ancient group of vampires called the Blue Bloods. Something is wrong though as the vampires are under attack by someone who wants them dead.
 
Read this first book in a series and enjoy the life of vampires mixed with a social club to die for.

This was a good fast read of the vampire genre and it sets you up for the upcoming release, Love Sucks! Somehow the author manages to get into the teenage/vampire mind and form a fast-paced story that incorporates all of our modern social networking but also the icky parts of being a teenager who is misunderstood. The language is right on for the age, I think. At times a little raw, but it seemed very real. Good writing--I wasn't clear where we were headed and I liked that. :)

If you can get past the vulgarity, and I suppose what can you expect from a book about vampires?, you actually encounter a pretty rich plot with subplots and an emotional development of the narrator/main character. This book is full of puns and off-color jokes and the vampire culture is very well woven throughout. There actually is a very sweet relationship here between the vampire and the young mortal girl who he adopts. There is also a happy ending. There are vague references to this world inhabited by vampires and I wished we were told more about how & why that all came about. The way technology was described in this future place--the fears and capabilities--were reminiscent of today which is kind of weird because the novel is already five years old. Not for the faint of heart--get used to all the blood and be able to laugh about it and you will be okay!

Anita Blake is able to raise the dead and a vampire hunter. Vampires now have rights in St. Louis so an execution order is required to kill a vampire to stay legal. Anita stays on the right side of the law, mostly. People want bodies raised for many reasons; to settle a will dispute, forgiveness, even to find out who killed them--as long as their throat wasn't ripped out. Anita is also on the police Spook Squad that is called to investigate murders that may have been committed by vampires or other otherworld characters. She is also involved with Jean Claude, a very old vampire that becomes the Master of the City--kind of like mayor for the vampires in the area. Anita is only 5'3" but armed with her silver bullets and silver knives, she takes on the oldest and most powerful vampires she comes across, usually with a little help from her friends. The books are very graphic in describing the deaths of the victims and zombies Anita raises. The action moves the plot along and there is usually a mystery of "who done it" that gets resolved. This is the first series of Anita Blake books. I have read several and while it would be helpful to read them in order, it's not absolutely necessary. I've enjoyed them and will finish the series.

This is the first of a list of books starring Betsy, the Queen of the Vampires. Betsy is having a really bad week. First, she loses her job, then she is killed in a car accident. Betsy can't seem to stay dead, as she has been turned into a vampire. Her first concern is how she was nearly buried in cheap knock off shoes instead of one of her designer pairs in her closet. There are very funny scenes of her adjusting to her new life. This is Chick Lit meets Vampire.

Jane lives in a California beachside home on the Pacific Ocean with her father and beloved dog. Her grandmother invites her to visit Elvie, the Scottish estate of her early childhood. Jane meets up with Sinclair, her close cousin. Jane discovers that Sinclair is no longer the man she once dreamed of marrying. Even though he is charming she can no longer trust him.

Dr. David Henry, an orthopedic surgeon, delivers his own son when his wife Norah goes into labor in the middle of a blizzard in 1964 and the obstetrician cannot make it to the hospital. David and Caroline, the nurse on duty, keep a secret from Norah for many years. This engrossing story keeps you wondering if the secret will ever be revealed. This is a well-crafted story you won’t want to miss.

I read this heartbreaking true story, about the author who suffers from OCD, in one sitting! She gives us hints of how she became who she is and also offers us a glimpse at the people in her life who provided a net for her. Particularly, there was a heroin addicted friend. The parallels between the 2 were interesting. I like to count and sort to soothe myself. But this and similar behaviors were taken to a whole new level of paralysis. Finally, Emily is medicated @ the end of the book and experiencing relief. The brain is so interesting! She ends the book with a corker, however. It seems that she can't get past one of her quirks. You learn about it on page 1. Her last words in the book are, 7480 stars. That made me cry. You'll have to read the book to see what I mean.

Margaret and Steve Frawley’s three-year old twin girls, Kelly and Kathy, are mysteriously kidnapped the evening of their birthday while their parents attend a black-tie dinner in New York City. They return home to find the babysitter unconscious and the girls missing. An eight-million-dollar ransom note has been left behind by the kidnapper who calls himself the Pied Piper. Clark takes the reader inside the minds of the parents and gang of kidnappers as they try to rescue both girls from the clutches of evil. Clark is a master of suspense and this page turner will not disappoint.

Clay is a marine who did three tours in Iraq. He finds a photo of a fellow marine posing with his sister @ a county fair. Clay decides to track down this woman whose name is Beth. He is never able to find the fellow marine who originally owned the photo. The photo becomes somewhat of a lucky charm for Clay and he feels that it has saved his life. This belief is intensified by another marine named Victor. Clay eventually finds Beth and falls in love with her, her son, and her grandmother. The ex-husband of Beth is mostly evil. The story culminates with conflict between Clay and the ex. The plot is pretty strong but the writing is weak. I found too much use of prepositions and adverbs and would have enjoyed the book more if the writing had been edited and tightened up.

Derrick Anderson, a retiring quarterback for the San Fransisco 49ers, promises his son he will win one more Super Bowl for him. His hope may rest with a womanizing, glitz and glamour seeking young quarterback named Aaron Hill. Cody is a young boy who is convinced he is the son of Hill. Megan, Cody's foster mother tries to stop him from telling Aaron. When Aaron and Megan meet, sparks fly. Find out if the story has a fairy tale happy ending.

The concluding book in the trilogy picks up where Inkspell left off. In the magical Inkworld. The Adderhead became immortal with the White Book bound by Mo, the Bluejay. But the Adderhead's body is decomposing and he wants Mo to make a new book. Will Mo give in and create the new book or will he take the chance and kill the villian? Read to find out.

After surviving the Columbine shooting, Maureen and Caelum Quirk move back to Connecticut to the Quirk family farm. Here they discover a trove of family memorabilia that reveals painful truths about Caelum's pasts. As usual, Wally Lamb has many different story lines going on throughout the book.

Victory Conditions is the fifth book of the fast-paced Vatta's War series.  Young Kylara Vatta was thrown out of the Space Academy and though she disappointed her merchant family by becoming a privateer, in this volume she has risen to command of a multi-system Space Defense force.  

Political intrigues, personal conflicts with company-oriented cousin Stella and former spy turned CEO Rafe Dunbarger, and front-line views of battles contribute to the complexity and depth of this space opera. 

Excellent plotting, technical details, and well-developed characters are found in this military series.  Elizabeth Moon has degrees in history and biology, and was formerly a Marine, which contributes to the realistic portrayal of battle and it's psychological toll.

Simon, age 15, has just completed third grade for the fourth time.  Miss Rogers, his third grade teacher, thinks Simon is ready to go out in the world, away from his aunt and uncle who call him a pea-brain. When Simon has a great idea, she lends him her life's savings to buy 1000 bronze turkeys.  He has a plan to walk them a thousand miles from eastern Missouri to Denver and sell them for a fortune. 

There are numerous adventures along the way--turkey rustlers, his no-good father, helping a runaway slave, and rescuing a girl on the prairie. 

A fast, humorous read.  A good choice for a reluctant reader or to read aloud, due to lots of action .  The story is inspired by actual turkey treks which took place in the 1850s and 1860s, when there were no roads or railroads to bring turkeys to market.