My Library Queue

Hello, world!  It has been far too long.  And what better way to get us reacquainted, than to take a look at a few of the items in my library queue?

1) Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
(From the author's web site)
Love can be a dangerous thing...


Hanna simply wants to be loved.  With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.


But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects.  As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul.  Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal.  As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: anything can happen and no one is safe.

I would love a closet full of frilly, violet dresses.  But until I get on top of that, I will have to make do with living vicariously through Hanna.  And in this case, vicarious living is the way to go, as I would not love to be troubled with hallucinations.

2) My Own Worst Frenemy by Kimberly Reid
(from the author's web site)
Fifteen-year-old Chantal Evans is the new girl at Langdon Preparatory Academy.  Her mother, an undercover cop, calls in a favor to get Chanti into the posh private school.  The plan was to keep Chanti out of trouble in her tough Denver neighborhood, but her mom got it twisted.  Within a week of starting Langdon Prep, Chanti is accused of a string of thefts at school.  When the crimes she's accused of grow more serious, Chanti doesn't know who has her back and who might be trying to set her up.  She must race to clear her name before her life becomes so much more complicated than being the new girl and getting Marco Ruiz to notice her.

I love books about prep school, especially when they deal explicitly with issues of class.  And I especially love books where female main characters become detectives.  This one seems like it might be an excellent contender for the "If You Liked Veronica Mars" list that Reclusive Bibliophile put together in April.

3) Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey
(from the author's web site)
At her boarding school in New Zealand, Ellie Spencer is like any ordinary teen: she hangs out with her best friend, Kevin; obsesses over her crush on a mysterious boy; and her biggest worry is her paper deadline.  Then everything changes: in the foggy woods near the school, something ancient and deadly is waiting.  


Karen Healey introduces a savvy and spirited heroine with a strong, fresh voice.  Full of deliciously creepy details, this unique, incredible adventure is a deftly crafted story of Maori mythology, romance, betrayal, and war.

On her web site, not only does Karen Healey list Libba Bray and Sarah Rees Brennan as friends, she also says the following in her author profile: "[Karen Healey] would like a hypoallergenic cat, three weeks in Florence, and Meatloaf to cover 'Hallelujah.'"  Brilliant.  I did not realize that I needed a Meatloaf "Hallelujah" cover in my life, but now Karen Healey has showed me the way.  She's already teaching me things and I haven't even read her book yet.


Special thanks to White Readers Meet Black Authors, Reading in Color, and The Brown Bookshelf for inspiring this round of Library holds.  I scrolled through these wonderful sites and ended up with 15 books on my library queue!