How I Got Skinny, Famous, and Fell Madly In Love (4.22.14)

I read How I Got Skinny, Famous and Fell Madly In Love by Ken Baker
I received a free ARC through NetGalley
4 stars

Emery is a fat teenager. She has a fat boyfriend and a skinny family. Her dad is a professional athlete turned workout guru. Her mom is a former model. Her sister is well on her skinny way to becoming a professional model herself. Emery is just fat. She's okay with it though. That is, until her mom signs her up for the reality show "Fifty Pounds to Freedom." Is she okay with it? Definitely not at first. A camera crew following her and her family around all of the time and her not getting the money unless she actually loses all that weight in that ridiculously short amount of time is very stressful. Plus, she's okay with herself the way she is. But the money is more important than she knows, and she starts liking it a bit more when she actually starts losing the weight. Will the show change more than just her looks? Will she meet the weight loss deadline? Will it ruin her family?

I loved Emery. She was real. She was funny. She was sarcastic. I loved her boyfriend. I hated everyone else, but that was kind of the point of the story. I have read a couple of other reality TV stories, and they have definitely fallen flat. The people didn't learn, or were very unlikable, or the plot was just stupid. This story had a strong main character, some real drama happening, and an interesting conclusion. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because I got a bit bored in the middle of the book, and I was slightly disappointed with the ending. I didn't think enough was explained at the end. I like what happened, but I would have liked just a few more answers. I really liked the writing and the real-ness of a very unlikely main character. I got annoyed with what happened between Emery and her boyfriend, but even that turned out interesting to me. I would definitely recommend this one to many teens.

The Dark Lady 2/1/14

I read The Dark Lady (Sherlock, Lupin, and Me) by Irene Adler, Iacopo Bruno Illustrator, Chris Turner translator
I received a free ARC from Capstone through NetGalley (2/1/14)
4.5 stars (rounding up to 5 when necessary)



A young girl, Irene Adler, is on summer vacation in Saint-Malo in 1870. With not much to do and a lot of adventure in her spirit, she comes across William Sherlock Holmes, who introduces her to his friend Arsene Lupin. The three quickly get caught up in a murder case when they find a dead body on the shore. The police aren't having much luck in figuring out who the dead man is, let alone what happened to him. Thankfully the three young friends are also quite great detectives. Will they be able to solve the case?

This is a fun new series for middle readers. The publisher recommends ages 9-13, and I agree. It will appeal to the older kids who know who Sherlock is, but the story itself stands alone as a good mystery. Even if the reader figures out part of what is going on, I am sure the ending will still be a surprise. I love mysteries. I am not the best at solving them, so the fact that I didn't figure it out doesn't mean that no one will, but I still think it was a good surprise ending.

The author, Irene Adler, is actually Sherlock's love interest. I do not know the whole back story behind this, but it has definitely made me want to look into it. The history, the mystery, and the characters will draw the young readers in. I am definitely looking forward to more from this series.