I'll be listing info about ARCs I received at ALA Midwinter and have read. I'll update this post as I read, including modifying the date of the entry. There are no spoilers, beyond my personal rating. ARCs are listed in alphabetical order by author. Rating is 1-5 stars, with one being the lowest. If you're interested in any of these ARCs, just drop me a comment and I'll be happy to send the ARC to you. You can also check for more ARCs at YoungAdultARCs.
Open Court
Carol Clippinger
Publication Date: June 12, 2007
Blurb: Hall Braxton is a warrior on the tennis court, who routinely obliterates her competition. Her parents and coach want her to enroll at a prestigious tennis academy in Florida so that she can take her game to the next level, but Hall isn't so sure she wants to leave her friends and family in Colorado behind. When her doubles partner suffers a breakdown at a tournament and her coach's voice suddenly disappears from her game, Hall questions if it's possible to be a tennis phenomenon and a regular teenager at the same time.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars
The Black Sheep
Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout
Publication Date: May 2007
Blurb: Fed up with her parents and all their ridiculous rules (they keep a binder full of them), fifteen-year-old Kendra Bishop writes away to The Black Sheep, a reality TV show that offers the chance to swap families with another teen. But when the camera crew, led by brash TV producer Judy Greenberg, shows up at her Manhattan apartment, Kendra starts to have second thoughts.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars
Masquerade (A Blue Bloods Novel)
Melissa de la Cruz
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Blurb: Schuyler Van Alen wants an explanation for the mysterious deaths of young vampires. With her best friend, Oliver, Schuyler travels to Italy in the hope of finding the one man that can help--her grandfather. Meanwhile, back in New York, preparations are feverishly under way for the Four Hundred Ball, an exclusive gala hosted by the city's wealthy, powerful, and unhuman--a true Blue Blood affair. But it's at the after-party, a masquerade ball thrown by the cunning Mimi Force, that the real danger lurks. Hidden behind the masks is a revelation that will change the course of a young vampire's destiny.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
Tina Ferraro
Publication Date: February 13, 2007
Blurb: Sophomore year, Nicolette Antonovich was dumped two days before prom by the hottest guy at school--Rod "Rascal" Pasqual. As a result, she became the proud owner of one unworn, perfectly magical pink vintage dress. And she got to stare at it all evening long as a reminder.
But Nic is determined to put that night behind her for good. She's a junior now--older, wiser, and completely overwhelmed by a new set of problems.
Rating: 4 stars
Nobody's Princess
Esther Friesner
Publication Date: April 24, 2007
Blurb: She is beautiful, she is a princess, and Aphrodite is her favorite goddess, but something in Helen of Spart just itches for more out of life. Unlike her sister, Clytemnestra, she takes no pleasure in weaving and embroidery. And despite what her mother says, she's not even close to being interested in getting married. Instead, she wants to do combat training with her older brothers, go on heroic adventures, and be free to do what she wishes and find out who she is.
Rating: 3 stars
Repossessed
A.M. Jenkins
Publication Date: May 29, 2007
Blurb: When a curious demon takes a break from hell, vacationing in the body of a seventeen-year-old named Shaun, readers are in for a devilishly funny look at the complexities and perplexities of modern teen life.
Rating: 5 stars
The Breakup Bible
Melissa Kantor
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Blurb: Jennifer thinks she and Max are the perfect couple . . . right up until he tells her they'd be better off as "just friends." Jennifer's sure there must be some mistake--everyone knows that soul mates don't break up, they live happily ever after. How is she supposed to face the rest of her life (starting with school on Monday) if she's not Max Brown's girlfriend anymore?
Rating: 3 1/2 stars
Dramarama
E. Lockhart
Publication Date: May 2007
Blurb: Two theater-mad, self-invented, fabulositon Ohio teenagers. One boy, one girl. One gay, one straight. One black, one white. And SUMMER DRAMA CAMP. It's a season of hormones, gold lame, hissy fits, jazz hands, song and dance, true love, and unitards that will determine their future--and test their friendship.
Rating: 4 stars
The Off Season
Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Publication Date: June 4, 2007
Blurb: Life is looking up for D.J. Schwenk, star of Dairy Queen. She's made it to eleventh grade, finally. She's reconnecting with her best friend. She's got kind of a thing going with Brian Nelson, who's cute and popular and smart and seems to like her anyway. Plus she's playing for the Red Bend High School football team--as the first female linebacker in northern Wisconsin. But then the season goes suddenly, horribly wrong. As her life and her family are turned upside down, D.J. is forced to dig deeper than she ever had to on the field.
Rating: 4 stars
Call Me Hope
Gretchen Olson
Publication Date: April 2007
Blurb: Eleven-year-old Hope has friends, is doing well at school, just started a part-time job that she loves, and is looking forward to the end-of-sixth-grade "rite of passage"--Outdoor School. But all of this starts to unravel as she struggles to live under the pressure of her verbally abusive mother. But instead of running away, she chooses resilience, and ultimately, Hope is finally able to confront her mother about her hurtful words and help her begin to change. This engaging, satisfying novel about an important issue will touch and inspire readers.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars
Cures for Heartbreak
Margo Rabb
Publication Date: February 13, 2007
Blurb: "Cures for Heartbreak is full of sadness, humor, and quirky details that ring completely true. I thoroughly enjoyed it." --Curtis Sittenfeld, author of Prep
Rating: 3 stars
The Titan's Curse (Book Three, Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
Rick Riordan
Publication Date: May 2007
Blurb: When Percy Jackson receives an urgent distress call from his friend Grover, he immediately prepares for battle. He knows he'll need his powerful demigod allies, Annabeth and Thalia, at his side; his trusty bronze sword, Riptide; and . . . a ride from his mom.
The demigods race to the rescue, to find that Grover has made an important discovery: two new powerful half-bloods whose parentage is unknown. But that's not all that awaits them. The Titan Lord Kronos has set up his most devious trap yet, and the young heroes have just fallen prey.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars
Open Court
Carol Clippinger
Publication Date: June 12, 2007
Blurb: Hall Braxton is a warrior on the tennis court, who routinely obliterates her competition. Her parents and coach want her to enroll at a prestigious tennis academy in Florida so that she can take her game to the next level, but Hall isn't so sure she wants to leave her friends and family in Colorado behind. When her doubles partner suffers a breakdown at a tournament and her coach's voice suddenly disappears from her game, Hall questions if it's possible to be a tennis phenomenon and a regular teenager at the same time.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars
The Black Sheep
Yvonne Collins & Sandy Rideout
Publication Date: May 2007
Blurb: Fed up with her parents and all their ridiculous rules (they keep a binder full of them), fifteen-year-old Kendra Bishop writes away to The Black Sheep, a reality TV show that offers the chance to swap families with another teen. But when the camera crew, led by brash TV producer Judy Greenberg, shows up at her Manhattan apartment, Kendra starts to have second thoughts.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars
Masquerade (A Blue Bloods Novel)
Melissa de la Cruz
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Blurb: Schuyler Van Alen wants an explanation for the mysterious deaths of young vampires. With her best friend, Oliver, Schuyler travels to Italy in the hope of finding the one man that can help--her grandfather. Meanwhile, back in New York, preparations are feverishly under way for the Four Hundred Ball, an exclusive gala hosted by the city's wealthy, powerful, and unhuman--a true Blue Blood affair. But it's at the after-party, a masquerade ball thrown by the cunning Mimi Force, that the real danger lurks. Hidden behind the masks is a revelation that will change the course of a young vampire's destiny.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
Tina Ferraro
Publication Date: February 13, 2007
Blurb: Sophomore year, Nicolette Antonovich was dumped two days before prom by the hottest guy at school--Rod "Rascal" Pasqual. As a result, she became the proud owner of one unworn, perfectly magical pink vintage dress. And she got to stare at it all evening long as a reminder.
But Nic is determined to put that night behind her for good. She's a junior now--older, wiser, and completely overwhelmed by a new set of problems.
Rating: 4 stars
Nobody's Princess
Esther Friesner
Publication Date: April 24, 2007
Blurb: She is beautiful, she is a princess, and Aphrodite is her favorite goddess, but something in Helen of Spart just itches for more out of life. Unlike her sister, Clytemnestra, she takes no pleasure in weaving and embroidery. And despite what her mother says, she's not even close to being interested in getting married. Instead, she wants to do combat training with her older brothers, go on heroic adventures, and be free to do what she wishes and find out who she is.
Rating: 3 stars
Repossessed
A.M. Jenkins
Publication Date: May 29, 2007
Blurb: When a curious demon takes a break from hell, vacationing in the body of a seventeen-year-old named Shaun, readers are in for a devilishly funny look at the complexities and perplexities of modern teen life.
Rating: 5 stars
The Breakup Bible
Melissa Kantor
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Blurb: Jennifer thinks she and Max are the perfect couple . . . right up until he tells her they'd be better off as "just friends." Jennifer's sure there must be some mistake--everyone knows that soul mates don't break up, they live happily ever after. How is she supposed to face the rest of her life (starting with school on Monday) if she's not Max Brown's girlfriend anymore?
Rating: 3 1/2 stars
Dramarama
E. Lockhart
Publication Date: May 2007
Blurb: Two theater-mad, self-invented, fabulositon Ohio teenagers. One boy, one girl. One gay, one straight. One black, one white. And SUMMER DRAMA CAMP. It's a season of hormones, gold lame, hissy fits, jazz hands, song and dance, true love, and unitards that will determine their future--and test their friendship.
Rating: 4 stars
The Off Season
Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Publication Date: June 4, 2007
Blurb: Life is looking up for D.J. Schwenk, star of Dairy Queen. She's made it to eleventh grade, finally. She's reconnecting with her best friend. She's got kind of a thing going with Brian Nelson, who's cute and popular and smart and seems to like her anyway. Plus she's playing for the Red Bend High School football team--as the first female linebacker in northern Wisconsin. But then the season goes suddenly, horribly wrong. As her life and her family are turned upside down, D.J. is forced to dig deeper than she ever had to on the field.
Rating: 4 stars
Call Me Hope
Gretchen Olson
Publication Date: April 2007
Blurb: Eleven-year-old Hope has friends, is doing well at school, just started a part-time job that she loves, and is looking forward to the end-of-sixth-grade "rite of passage"--Outdoor School. But all of this starts to unravel as she struggles to live under the pressure of her verbally abusive mother. But instead of running away, she chooses resilience, and ultimately, Hope is finally able to confront her mother about her hurtful words and help her begin to change. This engaging, satisfying novel about an important issue will touch and inspire readers.
Rating: 2 1/2 stars
Cures for Heartbreak
Margo Rabb
Publication Date: February 13, 2007
Blurb: "Cures for Heartbreak is full of sadness, humor, and quirky details that ring completely true. I thoroughly enjoyed it." --Curtis Sittenfeld, author of Prep
Rating: 3 stars
The Titan's Curse (Book Three, Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
Rick Riordan
Publication Date: May 2007
Blurb: When Percy Jackson receives an urgent distress call from his friend Grover, he immediately prepares for battle. He knows he'll need his powerful demigod allies, Annabeth and Thalia, at his side; his trusty bronze sword, Riptide; and . . . a ride from his mom.
The demigods race to the rescue, to find that Grover has made an important discovery: two new powerful half-bloods whose parentage is unknown. But that's not all that awaits them. The Titan Lord Kronos has set up his most devious trap yet, and the young heroes have just fallen prey.
Rating: 4 1/2 stars
- feeling::
good