2013 Sophomore Reading Challenge Recap

Challenge:  Sophomore Reading Challenge
Host:  Chick Loves Lit
2013 Level:  10 books - FAILED!
Thoughts: This is just too hard to figure out, so it's possible I read more, just don't know.
1. Deep Betrayal by Anne Greenwood Brown
2. Revenge of a Not-So-Pretty Girl by Carolita Blythe
3. Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris
4. Script Kiddie by Michael F. Stewart
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Script Kiddie

Script Kiddie

by Michael F. Stewart

published by Non Sequitur

August 2013

ISBN 9780981269979

Why Read?: Review

Challenges: Sophomore, 100 Books in a Year

Michael Stewart is back with his spunky heroine, Janus Rose in the second Assured Destruction novel, Script Kiddie.  Still recovering from the events at the end of Assured Destruction, Janus also has to serve 2000 hours of community service.  Because Detective Williams sees more to Janus than just a juvenile delinquent, she gets Janus assigned to help in the cyber crimes division for her community service.  Janus's first case involves someone stealing account numbers from a bank - the bank that is about to take back the mortgage on her mom's store.  Mrs. Rose's MS is getting worse, leaving Janus to run Assured Destruction alone...with some unwanted help from her mom's new boyfriend, Pete.  As if Janus does not already have enough on her plate, her friend Hannah asks for her help to stop an older guy she met online from stalking her.  Janus is feeling pretty good about herself, until she ventures onto an hacker forum and is called a script kiddie.  Now Janus must prove to the police, Hannah, Pete, and herself that she has what it takes to truly be a good hacker.

Script Kiddie was go, go, go from the first page.  Stewart really knows how to keep the action moving with an intriguing and compelling plot and a lovable heroine - even if her methods are somewhat unethical.  Stewart does a good job weaving together multiple storylines but some of the situations are rather unrealistic.  I'm not talking about Janus's actions, but those regarding her school and what seems like a wavering truancy policy.  This is just a small thing, though, and does not hinder the story in any way.

Script Kiddie is a very fun read - but anything with Janus Rose as a main character is bound to be a thrill ride.  Michael Stewart has a winner in his Assured Destruction series, which is unlike any other YA on the market today.

Rating 4/5

2013 Sophomore Reading Challenge

Challenge:  Sophomore Reading Challenge
Host:  Chick Loves Lit
2012 Level:  10 books - FAILED
2013 Level:  10 books 

1. Deep Betrayal by Anne Greenwood Brown
2. Revenge of a Not-So-Pretty Girl by Carolita Blythe
3. Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris
4. Script Kiddie by Michael F. Stewart
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9.
10.

Sophomore Reading Challenge Recap

Challenge:  Sophomore Reading Challenge
Host:  Chick Loves Lit
2012 Level:  10 books - FAILED
Thoughts:  This was a lot harder than I thought, and I may have read more sophomore books, it is just hard sometimes to find out.  I think I will try again, though.Books:
1. Night Sky by Jolene Perry
2. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
3. Revived by Cat Patrick
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Night Sky

Night Sky

by Jolene Perry

published by Tribute

2012

ISBN 978-0-9837418-6-2

Why Read?: Review

Challenges:  YA Contemporary, Sophomore, Standalone, YA Saves, Multi-Cultural, 100 Books in a Year

Night Sky is so far my favorite YA contemporary of 2012.  Jolene Perry's smooth writing style pulled me in immediately and did not let me go until the last page.  

Jameson world has just come crashing down - or so he thinks.  Sarah, his best friend and the girl he has a crush on, used him as a date to their dance just so she could hook up with the guy she has a crush on.  Devastated, Jameson finds himself driving around his hometown of Las Vegas where he picks up Sky, a college freshman who is living with her grandparents just down the street from him. With just one night swim, Jameson finds that he has fallen hard, and Sky's demand for honesty brings their relationship to a whole new level that anything he ever had with Sarah.  But when he learns that Sky is keeping some of her own secrets, Jameson learns that the one whom he must be the most honest with my just as well be himself.

Perry's writing is just as honest as Jameson tries to be with Sky.  She delivers a realistic story that many high-schoolers - especially seniors on the verge of adulthood - can relate to.  Nothing in the plot or character development feels forced, and Jameson is truly the type of guy that every girl wants but tends not to notice.  Telling the story from his point of view adds an additional level of realism than I think would have come across if Perry chose Sky as the main character.

With a very believable storyline and characters, Night Sky is a must read.  Jolene Perry is definitely a YA contemporary author to watch.  

Rating: 5/5

Sophomore Reading Challenge

 

Challenge:  Sophomore Reading Challenge
Host:  Chick Loves Lit
2011 Level: n/a
2012 Level:  10 books


1. Night Sky by Jolene Perry
2. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
3. Revived by Cat Patrick
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