A guest review from Teen Room staff Marisa!

This book has an interesting format; photographs accompany the story. What's even cooler is that the photographer sent the pictures to the author one by one, without knowing the story being written, and the author wrote the story to include every photograph. The end result is fascinating; for once I loved the pictures just as much as the rest of the story. Some of them were beautiful, but mostly they felt eerie. They set the tone for the text and added to the overall weirdness of the reading experience.

The plot of the book centers around Evan, who misses his best friend Ariel, who never appears in the story except in memories. Photographs of himself and/or Ariel and other events from the past months begin appearing, but he has no idea who they are from. He shares the pictures with Ariel's boyfriend, Jack, who doesn't quite believe him. It isn't revealed what happened to Ariel until the end of the book, but Evan spends a lot of time remembering the events of the last few months and obsessing over his actions. As is common with Levithan, beware of extreme anxiety and whining. This book is equal parts mystery, psychology, and guilt.

I'm not normally a fan of David Levithan; I have a hard time finishing some of his books. However, I loved this book, despite the fact that it was creepy. If you have issues with strike-through text, (as in Wintergirls) then this book will likely annoy you as it is told through the thoughts of Evan, including those he represses. If you don't mind the style, it's worth reading just to see how the author and photographer collaborated.

-Marisa

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Marisa!

Very LeFreak (Veronica) loves technology. She can't live without her laptop, phone, and especially her iPod. Very stops sleeping and going to class, in favor of spending her time searching for El Virus, her secret online flirtation who disappeared from the Interwebs. She even manages to get fired from her easy job on her college campus. Because her dead mother dragged her all over the world instead of settling down, Very relies on a scholarship to stay in school. Her only relative is a great aunt who doesn't tolerate her habits of smoking and swearing. When Very is in danger of losing her scholarship, along with the potential she had, her friends and dean convince her to give up her gadgets and go to rehab in the middle-of-nowhere Vermont, where she finally has to address all of her issues: her addiction to technology, the guilt she has from her mother's death, and most importantly, what she is going to do with her life.

I absolutely loved Very. There was something about her crazy, eccentric personality that made me keep reading. This book is one of the only books I've read with a character in college, and Very is such a different college student than I would be: getting nothing done except organizing flash mobs and huge parties. I felt like I could live vicariously through her rash behavior. This is also the only book I've read that addresses technology as something that can be addicting and can destroy your life. This books is definitely for high school and college students - especially those who spend excessive amounts of time on Facebook.

--Marisa

A guest review by Teen Room Staff Marisa!

If you like books based off of fairy tales, I would definitely recommend this. This book includes eight different versions of Little Red Riding Hood, narrated by many different characters. All of the stories are clever, ridiculous, and really funny. If you don't like the classical version due to the stupidity of the characters and the lack of any meaning, there will be a version in this book you will like. I decided that each story was my new favorite after I finished it, but my ultimate favorite was "Why Willy and his brother won't ever amount to anything." Is the wolf a bloodthirsty animal, really a person, or actually the victim? Why doesn't Little Red have a real name and why is she walking alone through the dangerous woods? Which of the characters has the most secrets? These stories will answer all of these questions, and more. It is really short (I read it in one day) and is worth the read.

--Marisa

A guest review from Teen Room Staff Marisa!

Matched is a futuristic novel similar to The Giver - in an attempt to create a perfect society, citizens no longer get to choose who they marry, where they work, and when they die. Cassia has always thought this was for the best - after all, she has a perfect job, and is Matched to her best friend, Xander. But when she views the microchip with information about her Match, another face pops up on the screen. Almost too coincidentially, she happens to know who Ky as well. It doesn't seem realistic that Cassia is the one out of a million who is Matched to one person she knows, and it's a bit of a stretch that there is a mistake Matching her to someone else she knows. She is reassured that she is still Matched to Xander, but as she grows closer to Ky, she begins to question whether love can be calculated by computers. Cassia never plots to overthrow the government or start a revolution. She is being watched closely, and she knows that she will disappear if she doesn't do what is expected of her.

The destruction of all poems and songs, excluding the Top 100, is very disturbing. Like many other novels set in the future, it will make you worry about the direction we are headed. The world created by the author is very believable and you quickly learn about the different elements of the society. It is never made clear when and where exactly the book is meant to take place. It appears too technologically advanced to be set in the near future, yet there is little mention of environmental problems. The ending of this book clearly promises a sequel. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked The Giver and The Hunger Games or simply is looking for a good romance.

--Marisa