Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Let me start off that I loved Delirium and I was eagerly awaiting this second book in the series.  But, like many trilogies, the second book wasn't as satisfying, in my opinion.  I really was disappointed and confused.  It alternates between "Then" and "Now"...so it didn't really start at the ending of Delirium.  It took me several chapters to understand the sequence.  I honestly kept putting it down as a result.  So, the main character has escaped from the society.  She's helped by a group on the outside who is infiltrating the society to help bring it down (like freedom fighters)...she, being the girl she is keeps the boy she loves alive in her heart, and has joined the cause to help bring down the society.  She has a fake id and is investigating a youth group that rallies in support of the operation that gets rid of the delirium.  Of course she meets a new boy and finds love with him. 

The action scenes did keep the novel well paced.  However, the alternating between the then and now totally threw me off.  I give this novel fried eggs.  It was okay; it wasn't as great as Delirium.  I'm hoping the trilogy will end better.  It is also a high school book...there are much mature themes including mild sexual content.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I am a huge chicken...I REALLY was nervous about reading this book, especially if you catch the book trailer.  But it was one of the most unique books I have ever read.  I was so thankful, first of all, that it wasn't a dystopian novel.  It's a fantastic mystery with a supernatural twist (with no vampires!)...It really was action pack and unpredictable.  I never saw any of it coming.  Jacob's grandfather told him stories about his childhood.  These weren't any stories but very incredible and almost creepy stories about his grandfather's friends having special abilities and living in a special place during World War II.  Then Jacob witnesses his grandfather's murder, he realizes that he needs to go to this place in order to find out why it happened. 

This is a total omelet book.  I think it is appropriate for 6th grade and up.  It has a lot of action and it is a little creepy but not nightmarish.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Being a Texas middle school librarian, I wanted to check out one of the books on the Lone Star list.  I had heard great things about it and I again totally agreed with the committee on this one, even though it is a little more 8th grade and up in my opinion.  Divergent is another one of the dystopian novels that have hit the scene.  It, like Legend by Marie Lu, are in the same class as Hunger Games but incredibly different.  In this dystopian society, there are four factions that you can belong to...you take a test and based on those you choose your faction, whether it is the one you grew up in or a completely different one.  When you choose, then it's an initiation period.  Triss (formerly known as Beatrice) finds herself in a unique and dangerous position...she is divergent which means she doesn't fit neatly into one of those factions but she chooses the faction that is opposite from her upbringing.  What she finds is that the factions really aren't coexisting peacefully as intended and that there is rebellion on the horizon.  Being divergent is extremely dangerous.

I LOVED the action.  This was another book that I couldn't put down.  The characters, especially Triss and Four are believable.  It is truly not predictable.  It is the first in a trilogy.  I would give this book an omelet rating!  However, I feel it is more appropriate for 8th grade & up due to the violence and the more mature content (an attempted rape, not graphic, it is inferred but still)...I can't wait until the next book!

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

I am a sucker for any sort of Chick Lit...especially romance.  This book reminded me a lot of the the movie Serendipity with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsdale.  The main character doesn't want to go to her dad's wedding in London.  She's still ticked off that he left her and her mother for another woman. She's afraid that her whole life is being replaced and that she's lost her father.  She misses her flight and meets a cute, British guy at the airport who is on her new flight, and in fact, the same seating row.  They talk the whole flight and are incredibly honest with each other.  They have a strong connection.  Somehow in the chaos of the deboarding, they lose each other...are they lost to each other forever? 

I did like the book.  I spent a Saturday morning enjoying my read.  The book is engaging and the plot moves along at a nice pace.  However, it is very predictable, which a lot of chick lits are...but I had fun and was able to relax and enjoy the ride.  So, while it's not an omelet kind of book.  I would totally give it the scrambled egg ranking.  I would recommend this book for 7th grade and up...not because of sex (which there is none), it's just more mature themes (adultry, death of parent, romance)

Legend by Marie Lu

I picked up Legend at my daughter's school's Barnes & Noble book fair and there are two words I have to say about this book...LOVED IT!  Seriously, loved this dystopian novel.  I know people probably getting sick of the massive amounts of dystopian novels on the market since Hunger Games made the genre so popular but holy cow, I could say this book is nothing like the Hunger Games.  There are two main characters...a girl and a boy.  They are from different sides of the tracks so to speak.  She is a military hero trained to take out any rebels against the government.  She is hotheaded and believes in her government.  The boy, on the other hand, has become a rebel out of necessity.  His family is experiencing the hard times as a result of this government.  He knows something shady is going on and has had to go underground.  He is almost like a Robin Hood character.  He is the most wanted criminal.  Nobody knows what he looks like or who he is.  He is just wanted.  The two characters lives become intertwined when he is the main suspect in her beloved brother's murder.  She is hunting him down but when she finds him, what will she find out?

I give this book the highest ranking possible.  It's a total omelet book.This book has lots of action, suspense and there is some romance. I fell in love with the characters because they were human and flawed.  Everything isn't neat and pretty.  It's gritty and real.  It is a little more mature themes, no sex at all, but there is violence.  I would recommend for 7th and up.  I hope you pick it up or check it out at your library.