6.10.2006

MORE NEW BOOKS

Mismatch by Lensey Namioka
From the book jacket...
"How far would you go to please your family?
Fifteen-year-old Sue Hua has just moved from racially diverse Seattle to a white-bread suburb where she feels as if she must be the only Asian American for miles. Then she meets Andy, a handsome and passionate violinist who happens to be Asian American. Sue feels an instant attraction to Andy, and her white friends think they're made for each other -- after all, they both use chop-sticks and eat a lot of rice, right? There;s just one problem. Andy's last name is Suzuki. And while that may mean nothing to the other students at Lakeview High, it present a world of troubles for Sue's family.
Years ago, Sue's grandma Mei survived the Japanese invasion of China. Grandma Mei still has terrible stories to tell, and she still believes that the Japanese are monsters capable only of cruelty. Andy thinks his family is much more open-minded -- until he asks his parents how they really feel about the Chinese and gets an earful of insulting stereotypes. As Andy and Sue continue to date in secret, an upcoming school trip to Tokyo intensifies their confusion. They're both Americans, aren't they? Why should they be concerned about what happened in China more than fifty years ago? And how much loyalty do they owe to their parents, and how much to their own hearts?"
Thicker Than Water by Carla Jablonski
From the book jacket...
"When does escape become obsession?
Kia is searching for an escape. From her mother's cancer. From her father's apathy. From her own rage.
The pressure is building. There's a craving in her veins, a secret urge. She needs a way to let the inside out. But she knows she must resist. She knows she must find another way.
When she becomes immersed in an underground scene -- goths who live as vampires -- Kia thinks she's finally found that way.
At the center of everything is the sexy and mysterious Damon. With his otherwordly presence he pulls Kia deep into his world: a world where the unbelievable can be believed, the unreal made real, until Kia herself can no longer draw the line."

No Right Turn by Terry Trueman
from the book jacket...
"I heard the gunshot and I knew what had happened. Even before I made it downstairs to Dad's office, I knew what he'd done.
How do you live your life after catastrophe hits your family? How do you go back to football practice or ask girls out on a date as if your life is regular? How can you talk to your friends about normal stuff when nothing is normal anymore and there's just nothing left to say?
Three years later Jordan is a self-described zombie. No real friends, no interests, nothing. He feels like a nonperson -- invisible and alone. But then salvation comes, in the most unlikely form. It's gorgeous, it's beautiful, it's sexy. It's a 1976 Corvette!
Slowly, drawn by this beautiful car and the doors it opens for him, Jordan realizes that maybe, just maybe, he can start living again. But the real question is: Does he want to?"
and from the back of the book...
"I hit the gas, and we shoot up to seventy mph. The 'Vette is handling it perfectly. At the bottom of another curve is another straight stretch. We're hitting eighty-five before I ease off for the next set of sharp turns.
Suddenly I see headlights ahead, so I ease off a bit more. But we're still going over seventy mph as we fly past a county sheriff's car. I glance in my rearview and see his brake lights flash. There's a small turnout only a few yards up from where he is; I see him spinning around to come after us.
'Uh-oh,' Becka says. 'Wasn't that a cop?'
I don't say anything, but I slam the accelerator to the floor."
Check 'em out at the Imperial Beach Library