Being Nikki by Meg Cabot

Okay, so I'm a teen author blog junkie. I have all my favorite authors in my blog reader. And I've been denied access to this for the last week or so (due to some filtering issues). Anyways in case you don't scour all the blogs out there that I do....Meg Cabot is currently in the process of revising the sequel to Airhead, which I reviewed many months ago and loved. Here's a sneak peek at the cover and plot.

Things aren’t pretty for Emerson Watts.

Em was sure there couldn’t be anything worse than being a brainiac trapped in the body of a teenaged supermodel.

But it turned out she was wrong. Because that supermodel could turn out to have a mother who’s gone mysteriously missing, a brother who’s shown up on her doorstep demanding answers, a former best friend who’s intent on destroying Stark Enterprises to avenge the death of his lost love, and a British heartthrob who’s written a song about her that’s topping the charts.

How can Em balance all that with school, runway shows, and weekend jaunts to St. John - especially when she’s got ex-boyfriends crawling out of the woodwork who want more than just a photo op; a sister who is headed to the high school cheerleading championships; a company she represents that seems to be turning to the dark side…not to mention trying to convince the love of her life that models aren’t really airheads after all…especially one model in particular.

But then, nobody said it was going to be easy being Nikki.

a slew of reviews...

Alright, here's the reviews that I promised you! I'm sure that I'm forgetting some books at the moment. But I can't keep too much straight at the moment. These will just have to make do :) Enjoy!


City of Bones
by Cassandra Clare
The first in the Mortal Instruments series, fifteen year old Clary is a normal teenage girl. She fights with her overprotective mother, hangs out with her best friend Simon, and oh yeah...she's starting to see things that no one else can see. Underneath the human world is a world shrouded by a glamour full of Shadowhunters and Downworlders such as vampires, werewolves, and demons. So where does Clary fit into this new world? When her mother is attacked and kidnapped, Clary learns who her mother really is and what she has been running from Clary's whole life.

This unique fantasy is fast-paced and impossible to put down. Follow Clary as she learns what it means to be a Shadowhunter, scrambles to save her mother, and tries to figure out if normal even applies to her world anymore. The story is action-packed and thrilling with a romantic twist you will not see coming. It will leave you waiting for more.... (Alert! Spoilers below in review for next volume.)

City of Ashes
by Cassandra Clare
In this sequel to City of Bones, readers find Clary struggling to keep her family from crumbling apart. This volume picks up right where the first book left off. With her mother in a coma, her father off plotting to take down the Clave, and her realtionship with her brother on shaky ground, Clary has a lot to deal with. Luckily, she has her boyfriend, Simon by her side to help her stay grounded. But when Jace and Clary learn that their father have given them each special gifts--it is up to them to figure out to use them to their advantage and stop Valentine from raising his demon army. As engaging as the first in the series, City of Ashes continues the momentum and again leaves you eager for what is next.

Living Dead Girl
by Elizabeth Scott

Shocking and chilling, Scott tells the story of a broken and sexually-abused girl named Alice. Like the Alice before her, she once had a family, a childhood, and her own thoughts. Now each day is a struggle to survive. To say the right words. To stay young. But all she longs for is an end. When she turns 15, Alice knows that she is too old for Ray now. Soon it will be her turn to die...after she helps him find the next Alice. Told in quick, short chapters, the narrative reflects the few independent thoughts Alice has left. Though Scott never describes the abuse in detail, the horror and pain is palpable. You desperately want to help save Alice. This is not a story you will soon forget.

Size 12 is Not Fat
by Meg Cabot
Okay, so this is not a teen book. SHOCKING, I know. But I'm trying to balance out what I read, a little teen book here, a grown-up book there (apparently I am a grown-up or supposed to be--yeah right), and a non-fiction title every now and then. But I'm getting off-topic as usual....since our Big Read is coming up in October (The Maltese Falcon), I decided to give a mystery title a whirl.

I picked up this book because of the title and the author (The Princess Diaries are my guilty pleasure). I've been skinny my whole life, but recently well...I've put on a lot of weight because of a heart condition I developed. Oh the joys of getting older! So the thought of a heroine who is the average size of a woman appealed to me. I love strong, confident women who are comfortable in their own skin.

I will admit that was a very predictable plot, but it was still enjoyable. Heather Wells is a former pop star who's lost it all--her career, her money, and even her cheating fiancee. When she gets a job as assistant director at a university's residence hall, she thinks now she can start living a normal life. But when girls start dying in the building, Heather gets suspicious and starts her own investigation. Peppered with pop culture references (grown-up ones at that), I couldn't help but giggle here and there. It was a nice, easy read...especially after the intensity of some of the teen books I've been reading.

airhead by meg cabot

Okay, so I finished Airhead by Meg Cabot the other day....within hours of starting it. If only work hadn't gotten in the way, I would have been done sooner!

Anyways, Emerson Watts is the girl no one sees. She's a tomboy all the way and she's in love with her best friend who doesn't seem to realize she's a girl. But all that changes when her mom forces her to take her younger sister to the grand opening of the Stark Megastore to see Gabriel Luna (insert Em gagging here).

Through a weird twist of fate and some other things I'm not going to ruin for you, Em ends up trapped in the body of the world's most popular teenage supermodel, Nikki Howard. The exact opposite of everything Em believes in and stands for. And though most girls would kill to be in Em's place, all she wants is to be in her own body again and to get her best friend to fall in love with her.

This book is a weird twist for Meg Cabot. Don't get me wrong--it's still got the romance and everything--but man, you won't see this one coming! It's one you'll really have to try and wrap your head around (heehee--that would be much funnier if you've read the book). Also, it's a fast read that will leave you wanting more, which is exactly what you'll get....in the sequel ;-)

Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

I just finished reading the final book in the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard. Unbelievable was just more of the same really. I really think that the series could have been condensed and not so dragged out. When the climax of the story finally hit, it was over instantaneously and then ended rather abruptly. It's one of those books I wasn't sure why I was reading because it aggravated me so much, but at the same time I HAD to know who A was. I even cheated and flipped to the back to look because I was getting so impatient. It also had lots of my number one pet peeves--pop culture references. I know they make teen books seem edgy and trendy, but they also date them really quickly if not done right. There was once reference to supermodel, Petra Nemcova's tsunami tragedy that I found flat out offensive. Am I being too sensitive? Or am I just getting too old to read teen books? (I hope not!)

But now I've moved onto Meg Cabot's Airhead, which so far has me perplexed and intrigued. I can't wait to read more....