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Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales

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If ever a book cover did disservice to a fantastic story, it would be this one. Leila Sales’s Mostly Good Girls is a story that really stands out in a crowd and would appeal to so many readers, but unfortunately, this cover kills me. It suggests the story is something else entirely, and while it will draw some readers in, it won’t draw the readers in who probably want this story most of all.

Violet and Katie are best friends, and they have been for a long time. The two of them attend an all-girls private school near Boston, and both of them are go-getting type of girls: Violet is working hard to improve her standardized test scores and put together the school’s literary journal, where she serves as editor, and Katie has earned a perfect score on her tests and works with Violet on the junior yearbook. We begin this story as the two of them list other girls in their class and “how far they’ve gone.” Both get a good giggle out of the girls who are more experienced, as neither of them is all that interested in any particular boys. But that will change. . .

Mostly Good Girls follows Violet and Katie’s changing friendship through their junior year of high school. When Katie earns her perfect test score, Violet becomes envious, and in her determination to outdo her best friend, she misses her best friend change. Katie, despite having everything, chooses to start dating Martin, a high school graduate who chose to work as a barista instead of attend college. In Violet’s eyes, Katie’s lowered her standards, but that’s because she can’s see the true problem brewing within Katie. This will be the tipping point in the story, and it will ultimately redefine their friendship and call to question what friendship even is.

Sales’s book is not written in a completely traditional narrative story but is instead told in vignettes. We know the story takes place over one school year, but the chapters are brief snippets in time and in place. This works exceedingly well in this book, as so much of what the story would do to fill in time and space holes would bore readers. Violet and Katie are normal characters. Neither has a particularly challenging aspect to their lives; they are utterly relatable but in the course of being so, they don’t have a huge obstacle to overcome physically or emotionally. Or at least, that’s kind of what we’re led to believe.

Not only is there a non-traditional method of story telling at work here, but the humor! This is a funny book. There was more than one time I laughed out loud while reading it, and there may or may not have been passages I read out loud for my husband because I found them spot on funny. Violet and Katie are a little snarky, and they conquer problems in a manner I would. When the literary journal had some extra space due to a profuse amount of garbage being submitted, the girls write a joint story that mocks their school. I may or may not have done that once in my life, too.

Besides being funny, the situations the girls find themselves in ring true on so many levels. When Katie pairs off with Martin, she invites Violet along. Violet, in the interest of being a good friend, follows along, despite being extremely uncomfortable in this environment. She wants to be a good friend. And when she sees what Martin and his roommates are like, she’s further unsettled. Who hasn’t found themselves in a similar situation?

There is a little romance in this book. We see Katie pair off with Martin, and while we don’t necessarily see the romance blossom as readers. But we do see and experience a number of great moments with Violet, as she develops a crush on Scott. He attends a nearby all-boys school. Unfortunately, a lot gets in the way of their relationship developing beyond friendship, and some of these interruptions are downright hilarious (in particular, Violet needs a ride home from a night out with a bunch of Scott’s classmates and Katie, and when Scott pipes in to offer the ride, we see her imagining this being what leads to their ultimate marriage. Unfortunately, another guy — a less appealing one — offers a ride over Scott’s, since he lives closer. A dream deferred, if you will). Did I mention I was laughing a lot while reading this because I could relate to more than one incident here?

Back to my cover comments: this cover does not work. It does not scream that this is a story about friendship or that it’s a funny book. Instead, it says this is a school drama, and it probably involves skanky girls (look at how short her skirt is). The cover will appeal to fans of Pretty Little Liars and similar titles, but this book will not necessarily make most readers of that series happy. This is a much lighter book, with little to no interpersonal drama. Instead, this is the kind of book fans of Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Siobhan Vivian will love. Many teen girls will NEED this book, to show to them that friendship isn’t always constant and that things change and shift and that that is okay and normal. This is contemporary, realistic, and funny, and without a lot of good handselling, I’m afraid it might not get into the hands of those who need it most and those who would see themselves and their friendships played out here. But believe me when I say this is a title that most teen collections need; there are too few stories about friendship that play out so realistically.

* Review copy picked up at BEA.

One cover through time

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You’ve seen a few of my cover features where I’ll talk you on a path down different covers from an author’s career. This time, I wanted to take one cover of a book that’s been around for 31 years and show the different iterations.

Most readers know this book, but I don’t know how many have actually read it. I read this book when I was in 7th grade, which I probably wouldn’t recommend. Although the cover’s changed a lot and now is actually marketed at teens, I’m still not entirely sure on the teen appeal of it. You be the judge:

This is the first cover of the first edition from 1979. This is the exact cover my copy had, and the other three books in this series had similar stylings, too.


This is another early cover, and I think it captures a bit of the feeling of the movie’s poster.


This is the original movie poster. It’s been made a little more contemporary over time, too.

The DVD cover still gives off the creepiness, but to me, the oldest kids look way older than I ever imagined. The mother looks perfectly evil.


This is another movie cover, and I think this one might be my favorite. It really captures the mood of the book, though the oldest kids still look a little old to me.

This cover looks a bit like a combination of the first and second ones above. I’m a fan of the use of color in this one, as I think the color actually makes it a little bit creepier.

I hope someone can provide a little expertise for me. While looking up some covers, I stumbled across this one. Can we just say this one is totally not at all indicative of the story? This is too much like a romance and too little like a horror novel. And the color seems way inappropriate. I think this is a recent Canadian cover, but can anyone verify?

Speaking of foreign covers, here’s an older UK cover. This one leaves no mystery as to the book’s genre. Oh, to be a pale girl coming out of a flower.

And one in Spanish. Doesn’t this cover kind of remind you a bit of Independence Day?


What would we do if this book didn’t just have a girl on the cover? The wind and the coloring of the sky behind give this a nice spooky touch, even if the girl tells us nothing. Notice, too, she’s Virginia Andrews here and not V.C.?

I know nothing about this one, but it gets to the point, too. A shadowy face and the large haunted house.

This is today’s cover, and it’s sold in a two-volume collection. You can find this sold in the teen sections of your local bookstore, too. While it’s got teen appeal, the cover’s the same as a few others (check back soon for that feature) and I’m not sure how today’s teens will feel about the story. Is it still horror? I would love to know what they think. All I can tell is that hipsters are using a key movie promotion image for clothing, which bothers me just a bit.

I know I’m interested in picking it up again and reliving the story that haunted me for years.

Which cover appeals most or captures the book the most for you? Do you know of other covers (US or foreign)? Share them in the comments!

Jane by April Lindner

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It’s been a few years (probably 10 or more) since I’ve read the classic Bronte tale of Jane Eyre. Most of the details are pretty much lost in my mind. But let me tell you, reading April Lindner’s forthcoming Jane makes me want to pick the classic up again just to compare the original with the retold tale.

Jane Moore’s parents tragic accident forced her to make a decision that she didn’t want to make: she needed to drop out of her elite college in order to work. The investments that they had made for her had lost all value, and now she’s found herself seeking out nanny positions in hopes of making enough money to possibly return to school some day.

That’s when she’s placed as a nanny for Nico Rathburn, a rock star who everyone knows and adores . . . except Jane. She’s been sheltered and doesn’t follow pop culture, so it takes some research and hours of listening to his music to get caught up on who he is before she begins her job as his daughter’s caretaker.

Something strange is happening at his estate, though. She’s not allowed to go up to the third floor of his estate, despite the fact someone is living there. She’s woken up more than once to strange dreams and strange people wandering around, and there have been other strange events happening at Thornfield. But despite the feeling of something being off, Jane becomes enamored with Nico and Nico draws her closer and closer, until they find themselves in a very serious relationship, ready to make their love permanent. That is, until a horrible secret from Nico unravels before them.

Jane is a well-plotted story, with a cast of strong and memorable characters. Beyond the characterization and setting that make this book work well is an incredibly pleasing writing style. Lindner is a poet and this comes through clearly in her writing: it is vivid, smooth, and pleasing to the reader. This is a world I was easily swept away in because of how fluid her words ran.

Jane herself is a character for whom you have great sympathy. She never once tries to elicit this feeling from the reader, despite the hardships she’s had in her young life, and this is precisely why she gets it from the reader. It’s hard not to feel bad for a girl who has lost both her parents and her seemingly open future in one incident, and it’s even harder not to feel sorry for her when she becomes entangled in a romance that comes back to bite her. She’s strong willed and has a survivor’s fight within her, and with that, she’s willing to do what she needs to do in order to accomplish her goals. This is a theme we’ll see again and again with her.

Nico as a main male character is shrouded in mystery and allure. He’s your standard rock star but he has a different side to him. Throughout his interactions with Jane, it seems obvious he sees something much greater in her than simply her nannying skills with his daughter. At times it seems downright creepy (particularly in a scene where they’re spending time together in the pool) but the last few chapters made me rethink some of the assumptions I’d had about him. This in and of itself should speak to the writing skills of Lindner.

Though the book it set in contemporary times, this had all the feelings of a classic. While reading, it was hard not to feel like I was back in Victorian England along side the original Jane Eyre, despite the rock star musician and other pop cultural elements. It works well in this case, and I think it will give this book a little more staying time in an expanding teen market. This is the kind of book that would be well used in a classroom setting alongside the original. There are some language and situational issues to be aware of, but the book’s setting and characters make them work. They aren’t gratuitous or detract from the plot.

One element that didn’t quite work for me in this book was the pacing. This is a lengthy book — well over 400 pages — but many chapters have large time jumps in them, particularly in the second half of the book. Jane’s post-Thornfield time moves at breakneck speed, in an attempt to bring it to its conclusion more quickly. As a reader, this was a little irritating, as I found it hard to believe in some of the situations and some of the relationships she made after leaving Thornfield, and I wanted this to be as well-fleshed as her time at the estate.

This is a great book to hand to your fans of Victorian literature, as well as fans of the original Jane Eyre or similar titles. There’s romance, mystery, and a cast of enjoyable (and frustrating!) characters. Fans of Lauren Baratz-Logsted’s The Twin’s Daughter will find this an excellent readalike, as well. Give this one to your skeptics of young adult literature, too; it’s a fantastic example of what’s out there and could make those skeptics rethink their assumptions. And for people who haven’t read the original in a long time, it might just make them revisit the classic.

Did I mention that Lindner is a debut author, too? This is an author to keep an eye on. Jane comes out October 11!

*Review copy received from the publisher. Thanks!

In My Mailbox (8)

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Welcome to In My Mailbox, the weekly meme hosted by Kristy at The Story Siren. It’s a showcase of what books I got this week, either for review, from the library, or I purchased.

For review:

Empty by Suzanne Weyr (out now from Scholastic). Abby’s reviewed this one and it sounds like a really good speculative/realistic book.

You Are Not Here by Samantha Schutz (out now from Scholastic). This one is a surprise but it sounds pretty good — and you’ll see this cover again pretty soon in a cover feature.

From the library (or as I should probably say, Cybils books to read):

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Nothing Like You by Laura Strasnik

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Purchases (or, I guess I like buying craft books):

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Amigurumi: I’m working through a crochet book I bought a couple weeks ago, pattern by pattern right now. It’s got 6 patterns, and I’ve done 3, so I need a few simple things for when I finish it. I really want to make amigurumi!

Other mailbox goods:

I purchased a canvas bag to support the Cybils (and haul the reading load) and it’s really nice! I also got my Hunger Games Blog Tour prizes in the mail. I won 2 pins and a water bottle. Both of those will be going into a giant cabinet I have of awesome summer reading prizes for the kids at work.

Speaking of Cybils…:

Make sure you go nominate books for The Cybils! You don’t need to be a blogger, a librarian, a teacher, or anything. You may only nominate one in each category, and all you need is the 13-digit ISBN, which you can find on Amazon.com. They must be books published between October 16, 2009 and October 15, 2010. Since I’m a panelist and will be reading gads and gads of books in the next couple of months, I’d like to read some stuff I’ve been itching to read or some stuff I really liked the first time I read it. If you’re stuck on titles to nominate for the YA category, here’s a few suggestions (conveniently linked to their Amazon pages with ISBNs) I’m deleting them as they’re earning nods:

Hopefully that gives you an idea or two! Be prepared for tons more YA reviews in the next few months….and then I promise I’m going to offer up a lot more adult and non-fiction book reviews.