Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft

Usually, poets have a grasp on the darker side of life. And 16-year-old poet Jonathan's definitely on the dark side: his twin is dead, he's flunking out of school, he can't sleep,and jumping off a bridge seems like a great solution.

Jonathan's offered an ultimatum - to pass this year's classes and become a senior, he'll have to perform some custom-tailored tasks. His "thicks" are there to help, and along the way he makes new friends in unlikely places.

It's a pretty fast read, and dark in a good way. As a poet, Jonathan explains his musical expression well enough that, even though I don't play, I understood the emotion (guitarists will love this book). His agony over Telly's death is very real, and as the story goes on his new friendships reveal as much as the life-long "thicks." Eventually, learning old stories helps Jonathan move on to new, fresh ones.

I can't say enough good things about this book, and I'd love to see it as a teen discussion title. Themes of friendship, artistic pain, drug abuse (although mild, and legal - maybe more "misuse"), grief, and music could make for a phenomenal conversation.

It's So Easy (And Other Lies) by Duff McKagan

This is one of the best rock memoirs I've read, seriously. Duff tells it like it was, he owns it (good and bad), and he's found a way to be funny and eloquent about his own debauched life.

There's no reason he shouldn't be dead: his pancreas exploded from alcohol abuse, and tons of his friends died from addictions and AIDS. But somehow Duff McKagan skirted the edge of the abyss and lived to tell.

If you like Guns n' Roses, you'll enjoy the story. But it's actually his writing about post-pancreatitis recovery and his family that make this story such a gem. Additionally, it's amazing how many now-famous people Duff grew up with in Seattle and became friends with in Los Angeles; but he doesn't resort to name-dropping - he really just tells his own story, but with this amazing cast of characters and cameos.

(I'm putting this one near the top of my favorite rock books list - just behind Nikki Sixx's "The Heroin Diaries" and "I Am Ozzy" by Ozzy Osbourne)

Love in a nutshell

by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly

Evanovich lovers who are looking for a Plum-like twist, move on. Romance lovers, settle in. Kate Appleton's life has pretty much fallen apart. Similarly, so has the family cottage which she now wants to renovate into a B&B. Fortunately, she is able to strong arm the owner of the local brewery into giving her a job, mostly because she blames him for the loss of her old one.
Matt Culhane agrees to her proposal but with the caveat that he really needs her to be the company spy. Someone is sabotaging his business.
It's dripping with sappy sweetness, and that's why I liked it. Kate and Matt find themselves on an adventure that is too chaotic to be believable.

In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault

I'm not even sure what to say, other than I wasted a lot of my life lately with this book. I didn't like it, but I kept reading because I wanted to know who killed the damn babysitter.

I should have skipped ahead.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

First love can be true love - and this is one of those books. It's really a book about two teens who are too wise and philosophical for their age. Perhaps, that's because they're terminally ill. Perhaps, it's because they're John Green characters (who are all too smart and philosophical, but in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY). Perhaps, people like this really exist.

It's a funny book about a girl with cancer. Or it's a book about teens who despise the Kids With Cancer cliche and make jokes about the misuse of the word literally. No - it's a hilarious and heartbreaking book about the self-proclaimed King of Cancervania who is too gorgeous to exist.

How can I sell you on a book about cancer?

Just read it.

Siren Song by Cat Adams

This second book in the Blood Singer series picks up where "Blood Song" left off in the story of newly transformed vampire/human/siren professional bodyguard Celia Graves. If you haven't read book one, this is not a good entry point.

But ... having read book one, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. These are great, light books with fast-moving plots and a different take on what could be an over-done genre. Celia's coming to terms with her new body - but she's slightly different than anyone before her: she wasn't completely "turned" by her vampire sire, and it brought out the latent siren blood in her family line.

I did get a little tired of the fact she's always having to stop to "eat" something (actually drink) so she doesn't go bonkers ... yah, yah, we get it! And having not one but two ghosts at her bidding makes it tooooo easy to get out of nearly any scrape.

But, like I said: entertaining escapism.

I'm fast

by Jim and Kate McMullan

The creators of the story time hit, I stink, are back with another title sure to be crowd pleasing. Magnificent rhythm flows from the page as a train and speedy car race cross country. Who could resist chanting the engaging "Chooka, chooka, chooka" of the locomotive? Settle in with your favorite train loving toddler for this adventure that personifies Route 66 on rails.