Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover

 By Ally Carter
Rated PG

This book is part of a whole series of books written by Carter that were recommended to me by my friend Melissa R. This is the only one in the series I have read, but this one is clean enough for a straight PG.

Perfect for tweens and teens, the series revolves around Cammie Morgan, a teenage girl who attends a secret school for young spies, where she learns all the latest espionage techniques and, of course, finds herself in situations where she needs them.

Secrets, mysteries and light romance characterize the novel, which should keep young readers interested from beginning to end. My only complaint with this book was that it wasn't a whole story in and of itself. None of the plot lines began or resolved themselves inside of this one book, so without reading the entire series I felt a little lost. I'd recommend beginning with book one in the series. They go in this order:
1: I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU
2: CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY
3: DON'T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER
4: ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG
5: OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF TIME
Hopefully they are all as clean as the one I read, book 3. If not, post a comment here so other will know.

Beastly

by Alex Flinn

I cannot recommend this book for several reasons, the most critical of which is that the protagonist is a sexually promiscuous 9th grader. This author will have to be evaluated on a book-by-book basis as apparently not all of his are as clean as Cloaked.

The Graveyard Book

By Neil Gaiman

Rated: PG

I am writing this two days before Halloween and thus it seemed appropriate to write about something a bit spooky. What better than a graveyard? And this book is about a little boy who grows up in a graveyard. When Nobody is just a toddler, a mysterious man named Jack kills his parents and sister and, if plans had worked out, Nobody would have died as well. But by good fortune, Nobody wandered out the open door and ended up in an old graveyard down the street where he is protected from the man Jack who so desperately wants him dead. Here Nobody Owens stays, raised by Mistress and Mister Owens, ghosts from long ago who have taken him in as their own, and his self-appointed guardian Silas, who is neither alive nor dead but something in between. Nobody is given "Freedom of the Graveyard" and walks a unique line between the living and the dead as he grows up. Of course, a graveyard provides excellent opportunities for exploring and mischief and when Nobody gets away from classes with his various dead tutors, he finds plenty in hill crypts with hissing guardians, ghoul gates, and a witch. His greatest and most dangerous adventures, however, come when he sneaks into the forbidden world outside the graveyard. In the end, the evil that has never stopped searching for him comes calling and Nobody must defeat his enemy in order to truly live.

I really enjoyed this book. Nobody is a likeable character and his interactions with his extended ghost "family" are adorable. It is well written although at times it almost seems like a collection of short stories about Nobody's life than a single flowing storyline but it all comes together quite nicely in the end. There is some infrequent mild British swearing. This book is rated PG because Jack may be a little bit scary for sensitive readers. He's really the only truly creepy part of the story. In fact, the book starts with Jack walking up the stairs to kill the toddler Nobody after killing his family. But the book is not gory and the plot line with Jack is resolved without further bloodshed. Also, and very importantly, the book does not leave you feeling scared or bad. Mostly it is just a charming read with a bit of adventure thrown in. I think it will fine for most tweens but if you want a quick check for your child, I suggest reading the first few pages and pages 265-285 as they are the ones that have the creepiest scenes with Jack.

Heart on a Chain

by Cindy C Bennett
                               Rated PG-13

For Kate, life is pain. Pain at school, where her secondhand clothing and withdrawn personality make her the perfect target for bullies, but an even worse pain at home, where she lives with an alcoholic father and physically abusive mother. There is no safe place for Kate, except maybe her backyard swingset where, if she stays long enough, her mom will sometimes forget all about her and she can sneak safely into her bedroom after everyone is asleep for the night.

But all of that changes when Henry moves back into town. Her childhood crush, Henry seems to be the same kind, honest and gorgeous guy he always was, but Kate can no longer trust anyone's motives. Is Henry's attention just a set-up for a bigger humiliation? And even if Henry is sincere, the increasing level of abuse in Kate's home makes a relationship unlikely if not dangerous.

Ms. Bennett has crafted a realistic teen drama that was hard to put down. She has a great ear for YA voices, and I'm her newest fan.

This book was clean - there's quite a bit of kissing but it never goes beyond that. However, some of the abuse scenes are difficult to read, which is why I gave this book a PG-13 read. Not for tweens maybe, but appropriate for teens.

The Princess Sisters

by Stacy Lynn Carroll, Rated PG
This is a fun story about 5 cousins who have the misfortune to all be named after Disney princesses. Like high school isn't tricky enough already! As they try to figure out the difference between all the toads and frogs out there, they end up learning that they are more than just their corny names as well.

The girls make some iffy decisions along the way, but they end up doing the right thing in the end, and even get a little revenge against a she-bully in the process.

With two teenage boys and three girls headed that way, my favorite part of the book was the fresh ideas I got for fun ways to ask people to special dances. Those ideas can be hard to come by, and the ones in the book were really cute.

Rated PG for some very minor language and mild kissing.

The Three Weissmanns of Westport

by Cathleen Schine

Not Recommended


This book is getting quite a bit of buzz, but I had to put it down due to language and adult situations. 

New Category

You might have noticed that we've added a new category (you'll see it in the list of links on the right). We added this new category, "Not Recommended", because of all the books we start that just don't make the cut for this blog.

Now you'll see the books we like as well as the ones we don't like. Hope it helps!