What Comes After by Steve Watkins

Publication Date: April 12, 2011

 Summary from Goodreads:

After her veterinarian dad dies, sixteen-year-old Iris Wight must leave her beloved Maine to live on a North Carolina farm with her hardbitten aunt and a cousin she barely knows. Iris, a vegetarian and animal lover, immediately clashes with Aunt Sue, who mistreats the livestock, spends Iris’s small inheritance, and thinks nothing of striking Iris for the smallest offense. Things come to a head when Iris sets two young goats free to save them from slaughter, and an enraged Aunt Sue orders her brutish son, Book, to beat Iris senseless - a horrific act that lands Book and his mother in jail. Sent to live with an offbeat foster family and their "dooking" ferrets, Iris must find a way to take care of the animals back at the farm, even if it means confronting Aunt Sue. Powerful and deeply moving, this compelling novel affirms the redemptive power of animals and the resilience of the human spirit.

 My Two Cents:

Wow this was such an emotional and heart-wrenching story! We meet Iris who's father just passed away. She begins living with her best friend Beatrice and her family until they decide that it just wasn't working out. Her only family besides the mom that left her is her Aunt Sue and cousin Book. Aunt Sue is abusive and just plain mean. Book is not so bad but with a mother like Sue who could really blame the way he behaves?

Even though Iris is afraid of Aunt Sue she stands up for what she believes. She's a vegetarian and no matter how much Aunt Sue shoves the meat in her face she refuses to give in. The only thing she likes about living there is all the animals. She loves the goats especially and has names for them. I, for one am not a big animal lover but I truly cared about these goats as well. The author gives Iris such a innocent but strong voice that makes us root for her the whole time. When Iris is beaten senseless by Book for letting the baby goats go she doesn't recoil and hide herself from the world like a victim. She stands up and does what she has to do for the animals...even if that means going up against Aunt Sue. I truly enjoyed this novel from beginning to the end. I recommend this for ages 14 and up.

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OYMG by Amy Fellner Dominy

 Publication Date: May 10, 2011

 Summary from Goodreads:

Jewish girl. Christian camp. Holy moly.

Ellie Taylor loves nothing better than a good argument. So when she gets accepted to the Christian Society Speech and Performing Arts summer camp, she's sure that if she wins the final tournament, it'll be her ticket to a scholarship to the best speech school in the country. Unfortunately, the competition at CSSPA is hot-literally. His name is Devon and, whether she likes it or not, being near him makes her sizzle. Luckily she's confident enough to take on the challenge-until she begins to suspect that the private scholarship's benefactor has negative feelings toward Jews. Will hiding her true identity and heritage be worth a shot at her dream? 

My Two Cents:

Ellie is the type of character that is confident and very head strong. She knows what she wants and she goes after it. Having that kind of attitude all her life she thought that was all she needed to do in order to secure a scholarship at the best speech school in the country. Boy was she wrong! Ellie's family is very religious but she didn't want that to interfere with her dreams. So she goes to this Christian speech camp hoping to do well enough in their competition in order to win a spot at the best speech school in country.

Eventually she finds out that the woman in charge of giving these out is biast against Jewish people. She also happens to be the grandmother to the very hot Devon.

OYMG is a story about being around people who accept who we are or trying to change ourselves to fit in. Ellie has to make that choice. We all want things in life but the question is how far will we go to get them. Ellie gets caught up in trying to win the scholarship and wanting to be with Devon and wanting his grandmother's approval. She doesn't realize that it all comes with a price.

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Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Publication Date: May 10, 2011

Goodreads Summary:

Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her—and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance.

My Two Cents:

Tempest has been dreading her 17th birthday  for as long as she can remember. When she was a little girl her mom left her and their family to go back to the sea. Only a letter telling Tempest that she would have to make the same decision one day is what she left behind.

I really like mermaid books mostly because I love learning about the different sea creatures and the descriptions of the underwater kingdoms. For the first half of this book I had to keep telling myself it would get better and fortunately it did. It seemed like the author spent a good amount of time setting up the plot and introducing the characters.

The second half moved much quickly. I loved the way the author described this whole different world under water. Kai seemed very swoon worthy and mysterious. I enjoyed him much more than Mike. Mike seemed like he really cared about Tempest he was just extremely possessive. So I was definitely Team Kai. I'm happy to add Tempest Rising to my list of good mermaid books.

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