(Image from Indiebound)

Eighth grader Maureen Saunders is far from the most popular girl at Grover Park Middle School. Far, far from it. In fact, if it wasn't for honey buns and cupcakes, she'd have no friends at all. She's so low on the totem pole of popularity that even the geekiest kids want nothing to do with her. Until the day she stands up to the ThreePees, a trio of pretty, popular, perfect girls who delight in torturing lower life forms like herself. Maureen's heroics endear her to Allergy Alice and Beanpole Barbara, two girls who are as dorky - if not more so - than Maureen. Together, they form their own clique, the Nerd Girls.

The geek squad has one goal: to steal the ThreePees' thunder by beating them at the school talent show. Their only problem is talent. They have none. Unless you count Barbara's ear wax-cleaning skills, which Maureen certainly does not. When an unlikely source presents Maureen and her friends with the perfect showstopping act, it looks like the girls might finally get their revenge through pure nerdy awesomeness. But, The ThreePees never lose, especially to social nothings like the Nerd Girls. Can Maureen, Alice and Barbara win against Grover Park's reigning queens or are they destined to wallow at the bottom of the social food chain forever?

What sticks out most about Nerd Girls: The Rise of the Dorkasaurus by Alan Lawrence Sitomer is Maureen's very authentic voice. Kind of weird considering her creator is a middle-aged (I don't actually know how old Sitomer is - he looks youngish - so hopefully I'm not insulting the author by calling him "middle-aged.") man. A teacher man, well-acquainted with the way kids speak/act, but still, creating such a vivid, real character is no small accomplishment. Maureen's snarky, but she's also honest, quirky, and sympathetic. It's kind of impossible not to like her. I didn't love every twist the plot took, but I still enjoyed this funny, upbeat read. My 9-year-old (who read the book on the sly - it's recommended for ages 11+) thinks the book's hysterical. I'm not quite as enamored, although I liked Nerd Girls: The Rise of the Dorkasaurus. I just didn't love it.

(Readalikes: Reminded me a little of the N.E.R.D.S series by Michael Buckley)

Grade: B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for some crude humor

To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Nerd Girls: The Rise of the Dorkasaurus from the generous folks at Disney/Hyperion. Thank you!

(Image from Indiebound)

Zachary Beatrice has never felt that connected to the Colorado desert where he and his father live in an old, aluminum-sided trailer. After his mother takes off, determined to finally realize her dream of working on a cruise ship, Zachary's even more unmoored. So, when his dad suggests moving, Zachary's all for it. Falls, Connecticut, is a quirky little town, and it doesn't take long for the Beatrices to feel right at home.

One of Falls' most notorious residents lives right across the street from Zachary. Like him, Rachel Spinelli is 14. Unlike him, she has a fearsome reputation as a scrappy, hot-tempered fighter. Zachary really doesn't want to get on her bad side, but it soon becomes apparent that anything can happen during the long, hot summer in Falls, Connecticut.

Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face (available August 30), a new middle grade novel by Paul Acampora, is one of those gentle stories that always put a smile on my face. It's warm, funny, and touching in a subtle, melodrama-free kind of way. There's not much of a plot going on in Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face, but I really couldn't have cared less. I loved it.

(Readalikes: Reminded me a little bit of the Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall; also, the relationship between Rachel and her big brother reminded me of the one between Anya and Leo in All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG

To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face from the generous folks at Macmillan/Roaring Press. Thank you!

(Image from Indiebound)

It's 2083 and the mean streets of New York City haven't gotten any kinder. Gangs rule the buroughs, making violent crime a daily battle. With water rationing, food shortages, constant changes in the law, and few police officers left to enforce them, the bankrupt city's become a bleak, dangerous place to live. Residents can't even turn to chocolate for consolation, since that's been outlawed along with caffeine, cell phones with cameras and a million other things. Still, it's not like 16-year-old Anya Balanchine's being forced to hunt other teens in a treacherous arena or marry a stranger against her will - her life really is fairly routine.

As routine as life gets for the teenage daughter of New York City's most notorious crime boss, anyway.

Anya's life has already been ripped apart by her association (however innocent) with "the family." Her parents are dead - both murdered by hitmen - leaving Anya to deal with her ailing grandmother, her brain-injured older brother, and her vulnerable younger sister pretty much on her own. Her mafiya relations have done quite enough damage; she wants nothing more to do with them. Ever. She'd like to shuck the whole Balanchine legacy, go to college in some faraway city, and live happily ever after in some anonymous place where no one knows her. If only her siblings didn't need her so much. If only she wasn't next in line to inherit her family's chocolate-manufacturing business. If only she wasn't Anya Balanchine.

But she is.

So, she'll deal with her siblings, her lowlife mafiya relatives, and the fallout from being a mobster's daughter. Which means that when her jerky ex-boyfriend lands in the hospital after illegally consuming Balanchine chocolate, Anya takes the blame. But she's not as guilty as her surname would suggest. In fact, she's perfectly innocent, she just has to prove it. To clear her name, she'll have to take on the most feared family in New York City - her own.

All These Things I've Done (available September 6), the first book in a new YA trilogy by Gabrielle Zevin, introduces a gutsy heroine with an irresistible voice. It's impossible not to root for Anya as she takes on the tough-as-nails world of organized crime in an effort to save herself and what's left of her family. I had a few issues with the book (Don't I always?), but mostly I just enjoyed this romp through one of the scariest dystopian societies I've ever enountered (No chocolate? Terrifying.). Seriously, though, I loved the originality of the novel's premise, most of the characters, and even the forbidden romance between Anya and the assistant DA's son (although Win could use some roughing up - he's a little too perfect). All These Things I've Done hasn't even come out yet, but I'm already aching for a sequel. Write like the wind, Gabrielle!

(Readalikes: Reminded me a little of Heist Society by Ally Carter and The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Kidnapped by Yxta Maya Murray)

Grade: B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), violence, and a little bit of sexual content/innuendo

To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of All These Things I've Done from the generous folks at Macmillan/Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Thank you!