Lists

The title says it all: "Lists". Top ten lists, top whatever lists, worst ten lists, whatever I feel like at the time. WARNING: This may be something completely random. Or even kind of random. Like "Top Ten Songs to Listen To While Reading A Dystopian Book" or something like that. I will tell you if it is in order. Otherwise, assume that it is not. Okay? Enjoy!

TOP TEEN BEACH READS

Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

My Description: Lori likes Sean. Sean sees her more like a sister because she wakeboards with him and his brothers. Sean's brother/Lori's best friend Adam offers to help Lori land Sean by "making him jealous" by "going out" with Adam. What Lori doesn't know is that Adam is in love with her....oooo. I can't tell you about the second book (included in the paperback) because it would give away the first, but let me tell you that this book is the essence of summer. LOVE IT!
Note: I must admit that the reason I picked this up was because I always go for the two-books-in-one paperbacks that are super thick like "The Year I Turned Sixteen" or "I Like Him, He Likes Her" because you get more for your money. This book is one of those books.

Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate

My Description: Summer Smith goes to Florida for the summer. When she's on the plane, a lady reads her fortune and tells her that she will meet three boys: one dangerous, one mysterious, and one is right. She then meets Adam (senator's son) who is charming and swoonworthy, Diver, who is intriguing and mysterious, and Seth, who is perfect. The only problem? He has a girlfriend. This was a pretty good book. I picked it up because it was super-thick (three books in one) and I had nothing else to read. Some of the girls at school read it, so I expected it to be not-so-good because they don't read as much substantial stuff as I do. This actually had substance and a little bit of mystery. It was a great beach read.

Forget You by Jennifer Echols

My Description: Swim team captain Zoey's life is falling apart. Her father got his young assistant pregnant and led her mother to attempt suicide. Bad boy Doug is on the swim team and hates her, her boyfriend Brandon isn't even really her boyfriend, and then to top it off, she gets in a car wreck. The next day, she can't remember what she did before the wreck. She remembers the beginning of that day, but she can't remember anything else. Did she go to Brandon's party? Did she blow it off? And why is Brandon ignoring her, and Doug suddenly acting like there is something between them? As she tries to piece together what happened that night, the scariest thing of all happens: she finds herself falling for Doug. This was a pretty good book. It had kind of that calm, slightly sad feel but was good nonetheless. Highly recommended. The only thing that you might want to watch out for is that there is one slightly iffy scene for younger teens (Zoey loses her virginity).

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

My Description: Belly has gone to the beach house with her mother and brother for as long as she can remember. They go with Savannah and her sons, Jeremiah and Conrad. Belly has had a crush on Conrad since forever, and is friends with Jeremiah. This year, Belly isn't a little girl anymore. The boys see her as a girl, because she is beautiful. This year, she has decided to finally become Conrad's girlfriend, but he is distant and irritable this year. This summer, everything changes. This book was great. It is perfect. Five stars. :)

Model Spy by Shannon Greenland

My Description: Kelly thought she was helping David find his parents, so she hacks into the government system, going farther than anyone has ever been able to. A few days later, she is arrested and given an ultimatum: go to juvie or train and go undercover as a government agent. She picks the latter. She is taken to Specialist headquarters, a branch of government involving kids like her, with special talents. So why is David here? Why did he lie? After training, she is then sent on her first mission, and the stakes are higher than ever. Why? They're rescuing David's dad. This was a good book. I liked it. Great beach read and a great way to pass time. This was good and enjoyable.

The Squad: Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

My Description: When Toby recieves a letter inviting her to cheerleading varsity tryouts, she is baffled. She is a sarcastic girl who would rather wear combat boots than a miniskirt. And better yet, why is it written in code? Later, she finds out.  Bayport High’s Varsity cheer squad is made up of the hottest of the hot. But this A-list is dangerous in more ways than one. The Squad is actually a cover for the most highly trained group of underage government operatives the United States has ever assembled. They have the perfect cover, because, beyond herkeys and highlights, no one expects anything from a cheerleader. This book was hilarious. I was cracking up at every page. Toby is a hilarious narrator and I loved the story.

Oh. My. Gods by Tera Lynn Childs

My Description: Phoebe Castro is a distance runner who plans on winning a full-ride cross-country scholarship to USC with her two best friends. Then her mother returns from a family reunion abroad with a Greek fiancé who runs a private school and announces that she and Phoebe will be moving to an island in the Aegean. The news gets worse as the teen arrives to find out that there is no scheduled ferry service from the island. To top off everything, she learns that every other student is descended from one or more Greek gods. Adding to that, the droolworthy guy she met on the beach? Complete personality turnaround at school. He hates her guts, but she can't help falling for him. Great read, love the mythology in it, good characters. 5 star book.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter

My Description: Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school—that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class.  The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it’s really a school for spies.
 Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she’s an ordinary girl.  Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real “pavement artist”—but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?  This series is one of my favorites as a light read. Personally, I don't like this one as much as I like the third one, but this one is a good starter.