"Before She Was Found" by Heather Gudenkauf

Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf is about a sleepover that went very wrong. Three girls decide to check out an abandoned rail yard at the outskirts of town. One girl is found on the tracks in a very bad way. The other girls are nowhere to be found! What happened and why?

I thought this was very good. The pacing of the book is good as the suspense builds. Will the truth of that night come out? If you could figure out how this all plays out, you are better than me.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review:
Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf is a story about three 13-yr.-old girls and how a prank destroyed several people’s lives. This is a sad story about bullying and a police investigation about attempted murder. A sleep over ends in tragedy when the three girls go out around midnight to the train yard. This is a mystery of who beat up and stabbed Cora. Was it her friend? Was it the bully? Was someone else there who did it?

I did not figure this one out and was into it right from the start. It’s a good story that warns of internet danger.  I liked Violet and Max, did not like Jordyn but liked her grandfather and thought Cora was very stupid.  I didn't care much for Kendall either.  I had to go back and read the beginning again though because I didn't think it was congruent with the ending.  Even after I reread it, I was still confused.   (4 stars)

Teaser from page 23: She is moving toward us as if in slow motion. Eyes unfocused, unseeing. The front of her white T-shirt blooms red.


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"Visitation Street" by Ivy Pochoda

Visitation Street

by Ivy Pochoda is about two girls who take a raft out one Saturday night. One girl is found by the rocks, the other girl is missing. What happened? Will the other girl be found dead or alive? This incident also affected other people in the neighborhood who have their own problems.

The story moves along and kept my attention. The last two chapters when the truth comes out about what happened that night are very good!
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton Disclafani

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton Disclafani is the story about a young girl who gets sent away to camp after an incident comes to light.  The camp is a riding camp for girls.  She learns a lot more than just horses.  There is not a lot of action, but I really enjoyed the main character's interaction with her family and the other girls at the camp.  It has a pretty good ending too.  (4 stars)

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"The List" by Siobhan Vivian (UPDATED)

The List by Siobhan Vivian takes you back to high school. Every year at Mount Washington High School, "the List" of the four prettiest girls in each class and the four ugliest girls in each class comes out. This book follows all eight girls in the week leading up to the Homecoming dance on Saturday. The Homecoming dance night is really good! I loved this book and went back and forth on how I felt about each girl. I pretty much read this in just one day. Two things I'm certain of about this book are: (1) You will enjoy it; and (2) You will be glad you are not in High School anymore! If you are still in High School, you have my sympathy! Hang in there, life does get better.
(Gerard)

Karen's review:
The List by Siorhan Vivian portrays high school girls as shallow, selfish, jealous, wild and boy crazy. The premise of the book was that every year a week before homecoming, a list came out with copies posted all over the school listing the prettiest and ugliest girl for each grade 9-12. The book followed the eight girls who made "The List" and showed how it affected them. I only really liked Lauren (one of the pretty girls), Danielle (one of the "ugly" ones and Abby's sister, Fern who had made the ugly list the year before. I just didn't relate to this book at all because I was never into fashion, looks or petty jealousy as a high schooler. Nor was homecoming ever a big deal to me. I tried to imagine how I would have felt if my high school did such a thing and listed me as ugly. Bottom line is, I wouldn't pay any attention to such a stupid list.

This is a quick read though and was entertaining. I just felt annoyed my most of the girls in this book because they were so preoccupied with what others thought and expected. They all seemed to me to have very low self esteem which I found quite sad. I liked the ending though and was surprised to find out who made the list. Of the boys in this book, I really liked Milo and felt bad that his friend, Sarah, was acting so crazy and being so mean to him. He stuck by her anyway and actually helped her.

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