Anne Heltzel’s debut novel, Circle 9
Full disclosure: I read an advance copy, so I’m unable to quote from the book.

A fairly short novel, but not without depth, Circle 9 is the story of Abby, a girl who wakes with no memory, covered with ashes, with only a sense of connection to the boy by her side. This is a powerfully engaging story with dark themes, and no easy answers. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting. I highly recommend, but be warned that it is not a happy story.

Love’s Labours Won (available for purchase here) by S.G. Lee

This paranormal romance/thriller straddles the line between young adult/teen fiction and

adult fiction. The e-book is approximately 210 pages, and available for nearly every device imaginable.

This is a quick-paced and fun read. Sarah is young and unemployed but willing to work, making her a character that is easy to identify with. Sarah has no family to turn to for help — at least she believes she has no family. Where the book gets interesting is that when Sarah finds out (quite by accident on her part, she was just looking for a job) that she has family she didn’t know about, she opens a whole can of worms. There is intrigue, magic, murder and some doubt as to who can be trusted. Sarah is a strong-willed female character who is sweet and kind without being a pushover which I really like after reading recent fiction that involved “blank-slate” female characters with all the ambition and self-identity of a slug. Sarah never sits back and waits for rescue when she knows that she is in trouble.

I highly recommend this book. ★★★★ out of ★★★★★

The Encyclopedia of Gender and Society is a sturdy, hardcover, two volume set that proposes to address the most significant and “commonly recognized aspects of social life” and have entries by “area experts” that will discuss them through a “gender lens” (2009). This book was edited and compiled by Jodi O’Brien, professor of Arts and Sciences and chair of the Department. of Anthropology and Sociology at Seattle University, whose research into sexuality, and transgendered inmates lends authority to this reference work. The encyclopedia is current and contains topics ranging from the straightforward, “Body image” to the controversial “Abortion,” and distressing “Female genital mutilation,” but some entries show a clear bias, with the entry on “Affirmative Action” referring to anyone who may disagree with the practice as “racist,” or “sexist” rather than considering alternate points of view (O’Brien 2009).
Gender and Society mostly achieves its purpose, with a broad scope on a large number of issues, as compared to other reference books in this field, Gender and Education, and Sex and Gender, both of which have a much narrower focus. This book has a broad focus and a clear index, divided into categories such as “Arts, Popular Culture and Sports,” “Body Image, Health, and Illness,” “Crime and Criminal Justice,” and then subdivided within longer entries for easy reference. These features, its international scope and its clear easy-to-read font make it an excellent starting point for gender studies research, but because of its bias, and lack of depth, academic libraries should seek out other books to focus on more specific areas in this field. This book would be extremely useful for undergraduate students unfamiliar with gender studies, but also useful for gender studies majors, graduate students and faculty who are starting fresh research and need direction. Recommended for academic libraries.

References:

O’Brien, J. (2009). Encyclopedia of gender and society. Los Angeles: Sage. Vol. 1- 2.

I’m not available to do anything but work on my thesis until after April 13 (Thesis Defense Day!)

So, in lieu of actually doing work myself, I point you to this blog, Juiciliciousss Reviews for your fix!

AND, you should know that Juiciliciousss Reviews is doing a YA Book Giveaway: See Here for more details!

Karen Chance’s Touch of Dark, Book 1 in the Cassandra Palmer series starts out well — Cassie is a clairvoyant who has been on the run for 6 months from her vampire gangster foster father because she turned him in to the F.B.I. after learning he was misusing her abilities, and was responsible for the death of the parents that she never had a chance to know. Unfortunately, the potential appears to have gone unrealized. This book contains adult scenes which are discussed after the jump. (more…)

Carrie Jones’ Need revolves around a teenage girl named Zara who is moving from warm North Carolina to chilly Maine. That description sounds similar to Twilight’s Bella who moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Forks, Washington, but the similarity ends there. (more…)

Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series sounded similar to Alyson Noel’s Evermore series, and  P.C. & Kristin Cast’s House of Night series, but I decided to give it a chance in case it wasn’t generic young adult vampire fiction. (more…)

Claudia Gray’s Evernight, and Evernight 2: Stargazer feature a young girl named Bianca who is forced to attend

the super-creepy Evernight Academy because her parents are teachers there. The academy has dark secrets that even Bianca doesn’t realize. (more…)

As with my other reading list, I will update with book reviews and/or thumbs up/thumbs down for each of these: (more…)

I’ll update with a thumbs up/thumbs down and a book review for each of these as I finish them. (more…)