So, let's talk cover art. What do you think of the one above? It's cute, right? The lady's smiling, she loves her dog, everything's hunky dory. You're expecting something Marley & Me-ish, right? Wrong!

I almost never start a book without reading the blurb on the back, but apparently I didn't do that before I cracked open Jacqueline Sheehan's new novel, Now & Then. Judging from the cover alone, I expected a sweet, heartwarming dog story. What I got, at least in the first couple chapters, had little to do with sweet and nothing at all to do with animals. Confused, I turned to the plot summary, where I discovered that the book in my hands was actually a time travel adventure story. Believe me, that's the only thing that kept me turning pages. I couldn't wait to see how the book's rocky 21st Century start segued into a "mystical, charming, and fantastic" tale of 19th Century Ireland.

Despite a rough transition, the story took a definite turn for the better once it hit 1844. Sheehan warmed to her subject, bringing old Ireland to vivid life. Her American characters bugged me throughout the entire book, but the Irishmen and women were, for the most part, friendly, lovable folk. I enjoyed the middle of the book, all of which took place in The Emerald Isle, much more than I liked either the beginning or the end.

Wow, I must be tired because this review is all over the place. Let me back up ... Now & Then stars thirty-something Anna O'Shea, who is touring an Irish castle when the book opens. She's newly divorced, devastated by her husband's unfaithfulness and her apparent inability to bear children, and exhausted from her work as a lawyer. A vacation is just what she needs. Near the end of her trip, a strange old woman gives her a wrapped gift, which she pockets and promptly forgets. Back in Massachusetts, Anna hasn't even had time to unpack before she's rushing to the hospital. Her brother's laying in a coma following a severe car accident. Since Patrick is unconscious, it's up to Anna to retrieve his teenage son from the New Jersey jail that's holding him on suspicion of committing grand theft auto. When Anna gets 16-year-old Joseph back to her apartment, things quickly go from bad to worse. Before she's really had a chance to process what's happening, Anna's waking up on a craggy shore in the middle of the night wearing nothing but her ex-husband's boxer shorts. Joseph is nowhere to be found.

Anna receives a rude awakening when she realizes she's been thrust into Irish life circa 1844. Getting home will prove to be difficult, as will almost everything else she experiences. She's frantic to wake up from her nightmare, find Joseph and get him back to his injured father. How? She has no clue. She's not even sure he survived the trip to the past. All she knows is that she has to stay alive somehow despite threats of small pox, starvation and the crushing poverty in which she now finds herself. With the help of some kindly rescuers, who are not exactly what they seem, Anna discovers great truths about her family and herself.

Everybody likes a good adventure story, right? So, what did I think of Now & Then? I'm going to do this Melissa (at One Librarian's Book Reviews)-style:

What I liked: Once I got into the story (around Chapter 10), I enjoyed it. It had some surprise elements that kept it fresh and exciting. While I didn't care for any of the American characters, most of the Irishmen/women completely won me over with their charm and pluck. I also found the folksy mysticism of the Old Country interesting.

What I didn't like: Now & Then begins oddly, travelling in strange, contrived directions. It's rough, choppy and just ... disjointed. Around Chapter 10, the story finally comes together. The ending, though, fails to wrap things up in a clear and logical manner. Sheehan's hurried explanations of the whole time travel thing felt cheap and unsatisfying.

So ... yeah, I'm kind of on the fence about this one. Do I wish I'd abandoned it at the 50-page mark? Not necessarily, I just wish the story had come together better. It didn't. Ah, well ...

Grade: C

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for language, sexual content and mature themes

To the FTC, with love: This one came from TLC Book Tours, for which I prepared this review. Obviously, the price of the book (free) didn't do much to influence my opinion.

The other night, my kids wanted to watch Disney's Ratatouille. It's not my favorite Pixar film (all those rats - ewww), but it's still a fun one. I've seen the movie a few times; evidently, I never paid attention to the ending. The story concludes with Anton Ego (voiced by Peter O'Toole), the most fearsome restaurant critic in Paris, reading the review he writes about Gusteau's. The speech is so interesting, and definitely applies to us book reviewers. Here's a YouTube video of it as well as the text of what he's says (I transcribed it myself, so there may be errors):



"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.

But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends ...

Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere."

Interesting, right? What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Discuss.

Have you ever read a book so fun, so imaginative, so clever that you wish you'd written it yourself? That's pretty much how I feel about invisible i, the first book in Stella Lennon's new series (I'm definitely book-crushing over here). If you haven't heard of Lennon, there's a good reason: she doesn't exist. The name encompasses a group of YA authors (including Laurie Faria Stolarz and Peter Silsbee) who will alternate writing the books in this series. Invisible i is by Melissa Kantor, who's penned popular YA novels like If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? (my review is here) and Confessions of a Not-It Girl. Its September debut launched a unique, interactive fiction experience called The Amanda Project. Readers can follow the mystery in the books, then hop online for more clues, puzzles and fun. But, I'm getting ahead of myself ...

Invisible i concerns Callie Leary, one of the ninth grade's popular I-girls. Even though she doesn't consider herself model-beautiful like her friends, she's somehow part of their very in group. They can talk about everything - clothes, makeup, cute guys - well, everything except what's really important, like the fact that Callie's world is falling apart. How can she admit, even to her best friends, that her mom took off and her dad's drinking himself into a daily stupor? How can she tell the group, at least one of whom lives in a sprawling McMansion in the best community in town, that she's afraid she'll come home to no electricity, no food, no house? They wouldn't understand.

When Callie's summoned into the vice principal's office, she receives a shock: her friend, Amanda Valentino, is missing. As if that isn't strange enough, Amanda decided to spray paint the vice principal's car, implicate three other students (including Callie) in the prank, then disappear without a trace. Callie thought nothing about Amanda could surprise her - after all, the girl wore outrageous costumes, couldn't speak without quoting something, worked math problems like some kind of genius, and flitted around at all hours without any parental supervision whatsoever - but this really takes the cake. The weird thing is, as Callie and her supposed cohorts clean the paint off the VP's car, they all come to the same conclusion: Amanda must be trying to send them a message. But figuring out what that message is becomes a strange, frustrating quest. Is it possible that none of them really knew her at all? Clearly, the question they should be asking is not "Where is Amanda," but "Who is Amanda?" Clues keep appearing out of nowhere, but they don't seem to be leading anywhere.

As the search for Amanda consumes Callie, she knows she has to keep her interest hidden from the I-Girls. They would never understand her friendship with Amanda, a girl they'd quickly labeled "freak," and they definitely wouldn't get her desire to play Nancy Drew with super nerds Hal Bennett and Nia Rivera. The more Callie searches for her friend, the more she realizes how much she misses the free spirit who, she's realizing, made a huge impact on her life. Along with Hal and Nia, she's determined to answer the big questions: Who is Amanda Valentino? Where has she gone? What does she want from Callie, Hal and Nia? And most important of all: If she needs help, why doesn't she just ask?

I've been wracking my brain for anything I didn't like about this book and well, I got nothin'. The plot gallops along at a perfect pace with plenty of curves and cliffs to keep it exciting. It's not all action, though - the story has a surprising amount of depth. It delves into the importance of being true to oneself, not being too quick to judge, and looking behind the mirages so often created by wealth and popularity. All of the characters, even the most minor ones, come off as complex and intriguing. The author creates a very real, very absorbing story that just gets everything right. Kantor's got me dying to know: Who is Amanda Valentino? Sequel, come quick!

(To learn more about The Amanda Project, check out its website. You can get additional clues, hang out with other Amanda devotees, even write your own stories [some of which will be published in the subsequent books or in an online 'zine]. I don't know if I like the idea of story people hopping out of their books and into my computer, but it's an interesting concept. You'll definitely want to check it out. Oh, but read the book first - you'll be glad you did!)

Grade: B+

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for mild language and a teensy bit of innuendo

To the FTC, with love: This is another gem from HarperTeen. Thanks, guys!