Bright Young Things -- Review by Hope Austin

Bright Young Things
by Anna Godbersen
***stars

The year is 1929 and best friends Cordelia Grey and Letty Larkspur are fed up with their repressed Ohio lifestyle. On the day of Cordelia's sort-of shotgun wedding, the girls abandon their hum-drum town and get one-way tickets to New York City. Once there, the two go out and try to follow their dreams: Letty wants to be an actress on Broadway, and Cordelia wants to find the man she believes is her father, who is conveniently a very wealthy bootlegger. Not long after they get there, the girls have a falling out and go their own ways. Letty gets what seems like her big break and Cordelia is taken under the wing of a socialite. The girls learn that not everything is quite what it seems.

There were a lot of times when I found this book a chore to read, especially with regards to the romance. I felt like there was no point to a lot of it. Although, this book is the first in a series, so maybe it'll all come together. Overall, it was pretty unremarkable. That said, I'll probably be reading this series to the bitter end because I just want see how it ends.

Reality Check -- a review by Bryce Foster

Reality Check

by Peter Abrahams

*** stars

This is a story about a 16-year-old teenage boy who has it all. He’s dating one of the hottest girls in his school. He has a phenomenal talent in the game of football. He has a good paying job. Everything seems to be going well for him. The setting takes place in a small town in Colorado, it also takes place in Vermont. Cody, the main character lives with his widowed father in an apartment above a bar. He is described as middle class while his girlfriend Clea comes from a rich family with controlling parents.

The turning point of the novel was when Cody tore his ACL in his first football game and ended his career. From there things got worse. They say things come in three’s. Well, in this story that theory is true. He loses his talent in football, he drops out of high school, and after Clea’s father found them alone together he lost her too. Cody’s girlfriend Clea got sent to boarding school. As he drops out of high school, he goes straight to work and one day finds out that there was a missing girl in Vermont in the news. He immediately packs his bags and heads to Vermont to look for his love. The only guide Cody has is a letter. He receives this letter right before her disappearance. This book is definitely categorized as a mystery or thriller novel that gets you on your toes. I enjoyed reading this book because of the mystery that takes place with the girlfriend. I disliked the novel because I thought the content was depressing. I thought that the main character didn’t have much maturity for his age. I don’t understand his thought process of dropping out of school and giving up in his football career. I will give him props for following his heart and searching for his love, but the rest of his decisions weren’t that wise. Although in my opinion this novel wasn't that great, Reality Check won the 2010 Edgar Award in the Young Adult category.