New For 2011 - YA Book Reviews

Recently I've received some requests for book reviews.  I thought to myself...I don't have the time, they're not in my preferred genre, etc. and so I turned them down.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I'm already a major book pusher.  If I like something, I'll let you know.  I'll review it on Goodreads, I'll tell everyone I know about it, I'll buy it for family members as gifts, I'll force my friends to take my copy and read it as soon as possible.  And being that I'm always looking for ways to bring more books to readers (the Bookaday program), I thought that I really might be missing out on something.

And so, for 2011, I will be reviewing books on the blog.  Right now I'm limiting it to YA books only, being that I read almost exclusively YA and feel more confident bringing you a YA book review.  And I don't want it to feel like work.  As it is, I read 2-3 YA books a month.  I'll just write up a little report after each one.

I'm not here to tear books or authors down, my intention is that you'll read my reviews and be able to decide if it's a book for you.  I have a favorite movie reviewer in a local paper, and while I don't always agree with his reviews, it's to the point now that I can read his review, see what didn't work for him, and decide that whatever it was doesn't bother me, or I might even like what he hates.  So I do agree it's helpful to have someone guide me through the movie releases and I hope I can do the same for you with YA books. 

If you read my review criteria below, you'll see that I will be trying to keep all reviews positive.  I'll let you know what I loved, liked, and what didn't work for me.  But remember, what doesn't work for me may be your favorite thing about a book.  

5 Stars - Stop what you're doing and buy this book.
4 Stars - Pick it up next time you're out.
3 Stars - Add it to your wish list.
2 Stars - Read additional reviews to see if it's for you.
1 Star - This book wasn't for me, but that's okay...you may still like it.

I'll start out by reviewing books I have here at home, but I am willing to add books by fellow authors to the mix.  Lucky for me, I've got a Kindle, so I can check out ebooks and tree books.  If you're interested in submitting for a book review, please check out the info on the YA Book Review tab.