Beautiful Days

Meet Cordelia, Letty, and Astrid, three unforgettable young women who are each trying to make it in 1920s New York. Cordelia and Letty, best friends from childhood, grew up in Ohio and are recent arrivals to the city. Clever, driven Cordelia, now reunited with her family only to have her bootlegger father shot by his rival, is planning the opening of a nightclub. She will be running the nightclub herself, and pressure is mounting. This will prove difficult to balance as she finds herself in a blossoming romance with a daring pilot who owes her his life. Opening night will be the most important night for ambitious but sweet Letty's career-- she hopes to be in the spotlight, alone with her beautiful voice. The tension will build as she finds that her dreams of being a star are in Cordelia's hands-- and Cordelia doesn't seem to be handling them carefully enough. Astrid, fiery, lovable and impulsive, is in a tumultuous relationship with Cordelia's brother Charlie, and when he becomes her fiance she must find an unfamiliar new level of maturity.

Sparks fly in Beautiful Days, the fulfilling sequel to Bright Young Things. It's full of surprises-- from the suspenseful moments (when you hold your breath without realizing it) to the glorious ones when you can't help smiling (you would jump for joy, too, if you weren't in public). Beautiful Days was a thoroughly enjoyable novel. An even more exciting follow-up to Bright Young Things, it portrays a side of the protagonists which you can relate to, and which you haven't seen before. It allows you to mourn their losses and delight in their triumphs in a wonderful new way. Stop in the middle of whatever-you-may-be-reading and take the time to read just 50 pages of this book. You won't regret it, and you definitely won't be able to stop there-- there's an undeniable appeal in watching such unique people work toward achieving their dreams.

Diane

Mercy

Mercy is a unique story, one in which the main character does not know herself any better than the reader does. She does not know whence she came, or who she is. She only knows that her name is Mercy, and that she currently possesses the body of an average teenager called Carmen with a singing voice like an angel’s. She also knows that another girl her age has been kidnapped, and as she helps the girl’s brother, Ryan, uncover the secrets behind the kidnapping in an effort to rescue the girl from a death that may have already happened, she is beginning to fall for Ryan.

I have mixed feelings about Mercy. I enjoyed most of the plot—figuring out the clues about the kidnapping, unexpected twists, etc.—but there were entirely unprecedented things that happened that remained unaccounted-for throughout the book. Maybe this was supposed to lend a sort of mystery to Mercy’s past, but it set me on edge. There were times when I had no idea what people was talking about, which was unfortunate—because aside from this it really was an interesting book. Apparently there will be a sequel to Mercy. I’m not sure whether I’ll read it yet. If it means that the loose threads left dangling from the first book will be tied up, perhaps I will.

Diane, 13

Divergent

Divergent is a masterpiece, painted by one of the most skilled of artists, which depicts a possible future for our society. I loved this book, and it was one of the only books that has ever made me cry.

Divergent really emphasizes the choice that decides the rest of your life, how difficult that can be, and how those who are indecisive pay the price.

Imagine having five different life paths laid out before you. Five different moral values, five different hardships, five different homes. There will probably be one or two you rule out pretty fast that have never appealed to you much. There will probably be one you have some sort of grudge against, for some reason or other, some past grievance, some unfinished feud. There may be one that tantalizes you, that grabs your attention and holds it . . . holds it. There will be the one you came from, where you may or may not have always fit in. However much your family wants you to stay, however much they’ll feel betrayed if—and when—you go; but they’re not what matters; or haven’t you heard? It’s faction before blood, faction before heart, faction before anything else, here in the world of Divergent.

Diane, 13