My Misadventures as a Teenage Rock Star by Joyce Raskin and Carol Chu

What You Need to Know:  Fourteen year old Alex finds herself via playing bass and skateboarding in this slight novel.

Summary:  Alexis, age 14, is miserable.  She is neither blonde, nor pretty, nor cool.  All she can do is cry and mope.  However, once her older brother suggests that she learn to play bass in a friend's band, her life turns around.  Now a "rock-chick",  she wears combat boots and revels in her new found coolness. But just being on the bass and in the band might not be enough for Alex. 

What Worked:  Alex, formerly obsessed with being like the girls in magazines, figures herself out by the end of the book.  Kind of.   Chu's doodles, while not vital to the text, add a fun and whimsical note. 

What Didn't:  The only word I can use to describe this book is lightweight.  And, that's a shame, as it glosses over some fairly heavy issues.  Sexism in music, teen gender roles, sexual assault, drugs, cheating boyfriends -- they're all here, and none are examined very deeply. 

This book is very short, only 112 pages, with some of the back matter devoted to how-tos on buying and playing a guitar and writing songs.   The slimness might work to attract reluctant readers, but it works against creating a compelling story.  Amazing things happen to Alex, but the story doesn't pause to contemplate them, as it moves on to the next chapter. 

Finally, the voice felt a little young for me, and aside from the drug use, I could see this being more appealing to a middle grade audience. 

Who would I give this book to:  Reluctant readers with an interest in music.

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

What You Need to Know:  The steampunk superhero conceit will draw in readers, but the excessive length, meandering plot and predictability of this book will turn off all but the most determined.

Summary:  Finley, a servant girl in "reduced circumstances" fears the angry thing inside of her.  When, upon being attacked, the thing causes her to harm the young lord of her household, she runs into the night.  As fate would have it, she runs directly into Griffin King, a young nobleman with exceptional abilities of his own.  Griffin is the head of a group of gifted young people who serve the English crown.  The energy that feeds the automatons was discovered by Griffin's parents, but now, the automatons are beginning to turn on their masters.  However, the criminal known only as the Machinist has other plans, for Griffin and his group...

What Worked:  The idea of a team of teenage, steampunk superheroes is a good one.  The Jekyll and Hyde nature of Finely's abilities is not the most original idea ever, but a Victorian girl learning to harness her darker nature is intriguing.

Emily, the genius inventor of Griffin's crew, is a great character.  Spunky, bright, brave and loyal, she is by far the most interesting thing about this book.

What Didn't:  Dear goddess, this book is long.   So very long, particularly for a book that could be described as The League of Extraordinary X-Men the First Class.

Cross switches between viewpoint characters frequently, which would be interesting if her characters had more depth.  Each of the members of the team came right out of central casting -- angry young man, confused girl, handsome rogue.  I admit to being charmed by Emily -- Spunky Girl Inventor -- but even she has been done a thousand times before.  Stock characters could be forgiven, if the plot of the book was less predictable.  Any reader with a basic understanding of superhero comics or Victorian mysteries will see where this book is headed, even as it takes its own sweet time about getting there.

Who Would I Give This Book To:   Fans of the steampunk genre will probably want to give this one a look, and it would be an interesting diversion for superhero fans.

Girl Wonder by Alexa Martin

What You Need to Know:  This typical coming of age novel features lots illicit behavior, but ultimately falls flat.

Summary:  Charlotte's life pretty much sucks.  Forced to transfer her senior year, a learning disability keeps her from getting into an exclusive prep school.  That same disability keeps her from getting into the gifted and talented program at her new high school.  Going to a large public high school after years spent in an all girl environment is a culture shock, and Charlotte flounders.  However, she has the good luck to fall into the orbit of Amanda.  Brilliant, beautiful and eager to break every rule, Amanda is clearly the Alpha Girl of Shady Grove.  Charlotte soon becomes her willing flunky.  Following Amanda's lead keeps her from thinking about her perfect little brother, her newly pretentious author dad, and the cracks in her parents' marriage.  However, being Amanda's "friend" may cost Charlotte more than she realizes.

What Works:  Martin nails the voice of a young woman who is completely at sea.  Charlotte has nothing to hold on too -- dad's a jerk, mom's preoccupied and little brother tries, but is a little brother.   In a family of high achievers, she's the odd one out, who has completely internalized her family's (perceived) disappointment with her.    Charlotte's lack of self-worth makes her fixation on and loyalty to Amanda believable, and a little squirm inducing.  Charlotte is such a doormat, that some readers (me) might get annoyed with her, but her actions are realistic and understandable.

What Doesn't:   The secondary characters in this book range from weak to paper-thin.  Even Amanda is little more than a rebellious attitude and a hair color.  This weakness shows up the most with the adult characters, who play a large role in Charlotte's life, but are never fully fleshed out.   Also, there is just a touch of the after-school special about this book.  Charlotte is constantly pushed into situations where she's uncomfortable, substances are ingested and bad choices are made.  The result feels a little judgmental.

Also:  The way that Charlotte's learning disability is handled bugged the hell out of me.  It is hard for me to believe that a family like this wouldn't get Charlotte the help she needs.   However, my husband, who has the same learning disability that Charlotte has, says that his learning problems were ignored until college.  So maybe I'm just super optimistic.

Please Note:  This book has an awesome cover!

Who Would I Give this Book To:  Smart Girls, Stupid Choices books are always popular, and I can see girls looking for coming of age books liking this.  I would not give it to a teen dealing with a learning disability, as Charlotte never really comes to terms with her learning differences.