How many books have you started because they looked interesting only to abandon them a few chapters in because they just ... weren't? Tons? Me, too. A perfect example: My God, What Have We Done? by Susan V. Weiss. I liked the synopsis (this one is taken from Amazon):

At first glance, David Sun and Charlie Nuvola appear to have little in common. Sure, they're the same age and go to the same progressive all-boys school in Westport, Massachusetts, but that's it. David, the pampered son of a millionaire computer designer, lives in a towering mansion on the fashionable side of the lake. Charlie lives with his botanist father, attends St. Sebastian's on scholarship, and dwells lakeside not because of fashion, but because of fauna and flora. David, who hangs with the popular crowd, can get any girl he wants. Charlie's a loner who can barely look at a girl, let alone talk to one. Hanging out online is one of David's favorite pasttimes; Charlie prefers an unplugged kind of life.

Despite their differences, the school psychologist thinks David and Charlie have the same problem - they're too disassociated to make genuine connections with other people. To encourage more "human" interaction, Dr. Roger suggests a revolutionary new therapy to both boys. The solution involves purchasing a Companion, a female robot who looks, walks, and talks just like a real girl. To discourage inappropriate behavior, Companions come with built-in intimacy controls - if a boy gets too forward, he gets an electric shock. While Charlie scoffs at the idea of a bot, David's parents immediately buy him a top-of-the-line model named Rose.

Rose is the kind of hot that makes Barbie look like a rag doll, but David finds himself growing increasingly frustrated with her. It's an irritation that's both physical and emotional. Rose, who's programmed to love only David, finds her beloved's response baffling. It's only when she meets Charlie that she begins to understand not all boys are like David. Still, she can't reroute her "feelings," no matter how much she likes Charlie. As the three struggle to find their way in a world that pits virtual reality over virtually everything else, they will finally begin to understand what it means to connect and what it really means to live.

Girl Parts, a debut YA novel by literary agent John M. Cusick, is a multi-layered story about creating relationships in a time when humans are, at the same time, more and less connected than ever. Although the book's disturbing in some ways, it's enlightening in others. It's more than just a meditation on our computer-saturated world, however, it's also an entertaining novel with a fast-paced storyline, all-too-human characters, and a timely moral. If you dig a little twist of sci fi in your contemporary teen fiction, give Girl Parts a go. It's original, thought-provoking and different. In a good way.

(Readalikes: Hm, I can think of some movies, but not books. Any ideas?)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language (1 F-bomb, plus milder invectives) and sexual innuendo/content

When 17-year-old Benson Fisher receives a scholarship to Maxfield Academy, he's thrilled. Nervous, but thrilled. After being bumped from foster home to foster home for most of his life, he hopes the private high school might provide the kind of haven he's never experienced before. Maybe he'll make friends for once. Maybe living with a bunch of other kids at a secluded boarding school will make them all super close. Like a family.

The knots in Benson's stomach pretzel even tighter when he sees the school. Housed in a sprawling mansion, Maxfield Academy looks like the kind of rich-kid prep school you see on t.v. Only it's stranded in the middle of the New Mexico desert, not in some quaint New England town. It's remote, exclusive and ... sinister. Benson can't quite put his finger on it, but he knows something's not quite right at his new school.

It doesn't take him long to discover there are no adults at Maxfield Academy. Divided into three gangs, the students run the school - as much as they can while taking orders from a nameless source that watches their every move and doles out punishments to make sure the rules are always followed. Constantly monitored by security cameras, the kids at Maxfield are forced to attend class, wear their uniforms, keep the school clean and orderly, play brutal war games, and get along. Small infractions result in demerits. Breaking the Big Four - No Sex, No Violent Fights, No refusing punishments, and No escaping - equals death.

Disturbed by his classmates' calm acceptance of the way Maxfield runs, Benson's determined to escape. He doesn't care if no one's ever done it before. Foster care has made him both tough and street smart; if anyone can get out of the place, he can. Only, the longer he stays, the more connected he feels to his new friends. He can't leave them all behind, but he can't get them to abandon Maxfield either. None of the kids at the school, including Benson, have anything to go home to - whoever runs Maxfield made sure of that - so maybe everyone else is right, maybe staying at the creepy institution is better than the alternative. Or not. When Benson stumbles on the terrifying secret behind Maxfield's elegant facade, he knows he has to get himself and every one of his classmates out. Now. But, how? Maxfield might as well be Alcatraz. And trying to get a whole pack of teenagers over an impenetrable wall feels a lot like suicide. Running out of time and options, Benson has to act - before it's too late for them all.

Variant, a new YA dystopian by Robison Wells (available October 4), feels so familiar it could have been subtitled The Maze Runner Goes to School. Although the story's got a twist toward the end that differentiates it from James Dashner's popular series, I still wanted more originality from this debut novel. Also subtlety and complexity and just more depth overall. That being said, I'm intrigued by the possibilities suggested by the ending of Variant. While I didn't love this first book in the series, I'll give the second one a chance, if only to see how Wells explains everything that's happened thus far. Despite my hang-ups with Variant, it's still got me asking that most ancient and compelling of questions: "What happens next?" In spite of myself, I need to know. So, yeah, I'm lukewarm about this one, but still willing to give the series a chance. I'm hoping Wells will surprise me. And good.

(Readalikes: Reminded me a lot of The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials by James Dashner; also a little like the Hunger Games trilogy [The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay] by Suzanne Collins)

Grade: C

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

To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Variant from the generous folks at Harper Teen. Thank you!

I usually write my own book summaries, but occasionally, I come across one that recounts a difficult-to-describe story so well, I just have to use it. Case in point:

Of especially naughty children, it is sometimes said: "They must have been raised by wolves." The Incorrigible children actually were.

Discovered in the forests of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.

Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. Though she is eager to instruct the children in Latin verbs and the proper use of globes, first she must eliminate their canine tendencies.

But mysteries abound at Ashton Place: Who are these three wild creatures? Why does Old Timothy, the coachman, lurk around every corner? Will Penelope be able to civilize the Incorrigibles in time for Lady Constance's holiday ball? And what on earth is a schottische?

Penelope is no stranger to mystery, as her own origins are also cloaked in secrecy. But as Agatha Swanburne herself once said, "Things may happen for a reason, but that doesn't mean we know what the reason is - at least not yet."

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling, the first book in a series by Maryrose Wood, is just as quirky as the summary makes it sound. Penelope's adventures with her infectious charges, her fussy mistress, and the inscrutable Mr. Ashton, make for a funny, warmhearted romp that's as charming as it is engaging. I enjoyed it so much I would have read the next book anyway, but the plot twist at the end of this one clinched the deal. Now, I have to see where the story goes. I'm pretty sure I've already got the mystery of the children's origin solved - now I just have to find out if I'm right. See you soon, Incorrigibles!

(Readalikes: The book's tone reminded me a little of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events books, although the story's much different.)

Grade: B

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

To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling from the generous folks at Harper Collins. Thank you!