Saturday, July 25, 2009

In My Mailbox 3

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

Everything Sucks by Hannah Friedman"By my senior year [in high school] I am the chair of the student body and disciplinary committee, coordinator of 3 community service programs, I have a 4.0 GPA, a millionaire boyfriend with a BMW, and finally, for the first time in my entire life, I am considered 'cool.' But when an article of mine about the college admissions process is published in Newsweek, everything I've worked so hard to achieve is pulled out from under me...and I resolve once and for all to stop allowing other people to define me."
 
The Elite by Jennifer BanashWhen her mother moves to London to do research, Casey finds herself living with her grandmother in a rent-stabilized apartment in a posh building on the Upper East Side of New York City. The Bram is the home to an assortment of the rich and fabulous, including Madison, Phoebe, and Sophie, three of Casey's new classmates at the exclusive Meadowlark Academy. Casey quickly finds that her clothes and her pocketbook are not in the same league with those of the Bram Girls, but they form a wary friendship that will be tested by her budding interest in Madison's on-again, off-again boyfriend Drew. Switching points of view among Casey, the Bram Girls, and Drew, Banash tries to cram too much into the pages, and her characters suffer. Solutions to Casey's boy and money problems magically appear when needed. Sophie's struggle to accept the news that she is adopted takes place largely off-page, and her cutting habit is mentioned only in passing. Phoebe's adulterous mother is forgettable. Madison's sob story of disastrous first sex actually makes her more interesting than most.
In Too Deep by Jennifer Banash: The Bramford building’s newest resident and small-town transplant Casey McCloy is adapting to life in the Big Apple and loving it. She’s got the look, the attitude, and a delish new boyfriend, Drew Van Allen. But she’s starting to have second thoughts as to whether the “New York” Casey is the real Casey. And she’s not so sure she likes herself much anymore. She’s not the only one. Madison Macallister has always had her Manolo Blahniks firmly planted on the top rung of the social ladder—until that corn-fed cow Casey stole Drew away from her and made her look the fool. So what if Madison wasn’t exactly dating Drew at the time? She wanted him. And everyone knows that Madison gets what she wants, like Drew—and a little revenge. 
Simply Irresistible by Jennifer Banash: Small-town girl turned Big Apple beauty, Casey McCloy is really beginning to enjoy the high life in her high-rise. She's climbing the social ladder, to the dismay of her neighbor and rival, Madison Macallister. And Casey could end up as popular as Madison now that the two are set to star in their own reality show, "De-Luxe." But reality TV can be so unreal…Madison loves the attention, but having every bit of her life caught on tape is often less than glamorous. Yet fame comes at a price-and she's willing to pay. Meanwhile, now that Casey and her almost-boyfriend Drew Van Allen are currently more off than on, she's beginning to wonder if everything in her life is just an illusion-and how much longer the illusion can last. 
Little Black Lies by Tish CohenSara and her father are moving to Boston from small-town Lundun, Massachusetts. She is going to attend the prestigious Anton High school—crowned “North America’s Most Elite and Most Bizarre” by TIME Magazine—harder to get into than Harvard. As the new girl, Sara doesn’t know anyone; better yet, no one knows her. That means she can escape her family’s checkered past, and her father can be a surgeon instead of “Crazy Charlie” the school janitor. What’s the harm of a few little black lies? Especially if it transforms Sara into Anton’s latest “It” girl. But then one of the popular girls at school starts looking into Sara’s past, and her father’s obsessive compulsive disorder takes a turn for the worse. Soon, the whole charade just might come crashing down...
Suite Scarlett by Maureen JohnsonThe Hopewell Hotel, 75 years ago a stylish Upper East Side haunt, has fallen on hard times. Its proprietors, the Martin family, have let the last remaining employee go, and now it’s up to the four children, Spencer, Lola, Scarlett, and Marlene, to keep things afloat. Enter one Mrs. Amy Amberson, a flamboyant, mysterious guest, back in New York after a long absence, with some clandestine motives. Mrs. Amberson is to occupy the Empire Suite, just today entrusted to Scarlett as a “present” on her fifteenth birthday (a family tradition), for the entire summer, and keeping her happy will test Scarlett’s ingenious mettle. What follows is some utterly winning, madcap Manhattan farce, crafted with a winking, urbane narrative and tight, wry dialogue. Beneath the silvered surface, Johnson delivers a complex sibling relationship.
I won The Elite Series from The Story Siren (along with Gossip Girl season 1!!!) and Suite Scarlett from What Bri Reads! Thanks. :)
Look for reviews of these books soon!! 

9 comments:

Kelli said...

Great Haul!
I won a copy of Suite Scarlett too! I can't wait to get my copy. I love Maureen Johnson! She's amazing :)

Enjoy!

Jaime said...

Lots of interesting books! Enjoy!
http://booknerdextraordinaire.blogspot.com/2009/07/in-my-mailbox-38.html

Rebecca said...

Great books you got this week, I like the sound of Suite Scarlett. Enjoy.

wdebo said...

Hope you enjoy Suite Scarlett!! And the Elite, I really need to read In Too Deep.

Anyways, would you like you to do a link exchange, I'm linking to you right now!! :)

Wdebo :)

Anonymous said...

OMGOMGOMG I finished Everythin gSucks in literally one day. It was fantastic! So well written and funny but also really touching and totally on point- amazing debut. Seriously, you guys gotta check it out. Also the book trailer tells you more about it. She has a MONKEY as a sister!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptHq72aRt90

Test said...

Wow, you got a ton of awesome books this week! Happy reading!

the story siren said...

awesome books! glad you got them!! happy reading!

The Book Bug said...

Suite Scarlett sounds good, happy reading

Brittany said...

Everything sucks sounds pretty good!

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