Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Kaleigh and Raeanne are twins who live in California with their father, who is a judge, and their mother, who is running for Congress. Their home life appears to be perfect, but is just the opposite. Daddy is sexually molesting Kaeleigh. Raeanne does drugs, is sexually promiscous and bulemic. Mother is never home and Daddy is controlling. It is not until Kaeleigh tries to commit suicide that the reader discovers what really happened one night that changed all of their lives. Very mature.

Untamed by P.C. Cast

Zoey Redbird is attending the House of NIght which is a training school for vampyres in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has found that she has special powers and an affinity for all five elements - air, water, fire, earth, and spirit. When Zoey's friends begin dying and returning as Undead, Zoey along with her friends, Aphrodite and Stevie Rae, must confront Neferet, the High Priestess, who wants to start a war between the vampyres and humans.

Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper

Simon Bloom is on his way home when he feels a breeze. The breeze seems to blow him in a certain direction and he ends up in Dunkerhook Woods, a magical place where he finds a magical book - The Teacher's Edition of Physics. Simon takes the book home and finds it is full of formulas - not very interesting until he tries one and finds himself floating around in his bedroom like an astronaut in outer space. He and his friends Owen and Alysha try out some more of the formulas and are having a great time until they discover that others are after the book and their lives are in danger. They must learn the formulas and be able to use them at a moments notice in order to save the book and return it to its rightful owner. This was a funny science fiction story with lots of actual explanations of scientific principals and how they could be applied or what would happen if they were not there. Kids who like science would love this book. The information about the author on the back blurb was very funny and could be used in an introduction to the book. This is his first novel, but I see a series on the way.

Marked by P.C. Cast

Zoey Redbird Montgomery is marked by a vampyre tracker and must go to the House of Night, a vampyre finishing school in Tulsa, Oklahoma where she will learn to become a vampyre. There she meets Neferet, the High Priestess; Stevie Rae Johnson, her new roommate; Erin and Shaunee who act like twins; Damien, who is gay; Aphrodite, the school queen bee and head of the Dark Daughters Society; Erik the new love interest. Zoey learns that she has extraordinary powers and pits herself against Aphrodite. With the help of her friends, she takes over as leader of the Dark Daughters and begins her training for High Priestess.

This reminded me of the Harry Potter series for vampires. She goes off to a special boarding school, meets new friends, separates from her parents, takes special classes, has more powers than the ordinary fledgling, must overcome the evil student who is in charge. Not very well written. The author's daughter helped write the book so that the dialogue would be true to the way teenagers talk. It is, but it will be quickly dated because of all of the slang used. This is the first in the House of Night series. Some sexual activity and profanity but not too bad.

I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan

Julie, the cheerleader; Ray, her boyfriend; Helen, the TV Golden Girl; Barry the star quarterback are coming home late one night from a party, driving too fast, when a 10 year old boy on a bike appears in front of them. They hit him, but don't stop to help him. They call the police, but the boy died enroute to the hospital. They make a pact not to tell anyone what happened, but it affects all of their lives. One year later, Julie receives a letter - I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. Ray gets a copy of the newspaper clipping about the accident. Helen receives a picture of a boy on a bike and Barry, who was driving, is shot. Who is sending the messages and who knows about the accident? Should they go to the police and tell them what happened? Are all of their lives in danger?

This is a very good mystery, but it is really dated. It was originally written in 1973. One of the main characters has just returned from the Viet Nam war. The phrases used by the teenagers are dated. A comment is made about TV - if you don't have one, there's one in the lobby. The phone is out at one of the houses - no cell phones, of course. I just wonder if there are enough out of date things in the story that it would not be of interest to today's teens.