Wings

Wings by Aprilynne Pike is a beautifully written book. Pike's first novel (and I hope she writes more....I could see a 2nd novel about these same characters), stretches the reader's imagination ever so gently to suggest that all those we know as human might not be as they appear.

Laurel, the main character, has moved to a new town and begun high school which is quite a change from being home schooled. On the first day of school, she meets David in biology class. They become friends and as Laurel begins to trust him, they discover that while Laurel looks human and sounds human, she's not human!

The characters are wonderful and there's enough romance, suspense, and drama to keep the reader quickly turning pages. For the guys who might be thinking this is a "mushy love story", I promise there are guns, fights, and people get thrown in the river with huge rocks weighting them down.

I'd give this novel two thumbs up. You'll have to check it out from the public library for now, but I'll be adding it to the BMS Library as quickly as I can. Happy Reading!

The Possibilities of Sainthood

Mamma Mia! This is one fun book. Fifteen year old Antonia Luchia Labella is still waiting for her first kiss AND she wants to be a saint. You might think that first kisses and sainthood can't possibly go together. I mean, aren't saints supposed to be holy, virginal and untouched? Oh yeah, they're also supposed to be dead!

Antonia has it all worked out. She wants to be the Patron Saint of First Kiss and Kissing. She thinks she knows exactly how her first kiss will happen and who the kisser will be...but is she right?

Along her way to sainthood, Antonia's life is full of twists and turns as she navigates life with her stereotypical Italian mama who refuses to let her date until she's sixteen, her forgetful grandma, her best friend Maria, her hateful cousins and Andrew, the boy she wants to kiss and Michael, the pesky, good looking creep who always turns up in the most impossible places (like the fire escape outside her window!).

This book's on the Lone Star list and will be one of the Name that Book titles for 2009-2010. Move it to the top of your "must read" list!