Elizabeth Eulberg is one of my favorite authors when I want a guaranteed enjoyable book (we bonded over our cheeseheadedness) and have been a huge fan of all of her books since I first read THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB. Then came PROM & PREJUDICE, followed by TAKE A BOW, and the latest, REVENGE OF THE GIRL WITH THE GREAT PERSONALITY. So I was thrilled when I heard that Elizabeth’s latest book was set in Wisconsin (finally!) and even more excited when I was able to get an early copy of BETTER OFF FRIENDS to read in September. And let me tell you, I was up early the next morning to keep reading the book because I couldn’t stop thinking about Macallan and Levi. When I finished later that day, I declared it Elizabeth Eulberg’s best book yet. And now (well, tomorrow) you get to read it, too! We Wisconsin bloggers were so excited that Elizabeth’s launch part would be in Milwaukee, and I knew I had to be a part of the blog tour. And the best part? Elizabeth is visiting my school today! 

*If you can’t make it to the launch party event,  SIGNED copies can be pre-ordered or purchased after the Better Off Friends Launch Party through Boswell Books by calling (414) 332-1181. If you want it personalized, you have one more day to order!

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Author: Patrick Carman
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (a HarperCollins imprint)
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Number of Pages: 336

          When Will Besting approaches Fort Eden for the first time, he knows something isn’t right. With more terrifying secrets at every turn, he discovers a hidden fear deep inside himself, a dark mystery a thousand years in the making, and the unexpected girl of his dreams. But can he save everyone from the dangers of Fort Eden before it’s too late?
          Patrick Carman’s Dark Eden is a provocative exploration of fear, betrayal, the power of memory, and the mystery of love.

I’m excited to share this student recommendation/book response with you today. For one thing, it’s a book I loved that has always been very popular with my students – once one reads it, it gets passed hand-to-hand through the rest. For another, I was so impressed with some of the thoughts Jessica, a seventh-grader, had about this book and the way in which she expressed them. She was happy when I asked to post it on my blog since it is one of her favorite books.

Title: PERFECT CHEMISTRY

Author: Simone Elkeles
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers
Release Date: December 23, 2008
Number of Pages: 357

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.
When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created ‘perfect’ life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she’s worked so hard for: her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect.

Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.
In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

Title: CRASH
Author: Lisa McMann
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Number of Pages: 233

If what you see is what you get, Jules is in serious trouble. The suspenseful first of four books from the New York Times bestselling author of the Wake trilogy.

Jules
lives with her family above their restaurant, which means she smells
like pizza most of the time and drives their double-meatball-shaped food
truck to school. It’s not a recipe for popularity, but she can handle
that.

What she can’t handle is the recurring vision that haunts
her. Over and over, Jules sees a careening truck hit a building and
explode…and nine body bags in the snow.

The vision is
everywhere—on billboards, television screens, windows—and she’s the only
one who sees it. And the more she sees it, the more she sees.
The vision is giving her clues, and soon Jules knows what she has to do.
Because now she can see the face in one of the body bags, and it’s
someone she knows. Someone she has been in love with for as long as she
can remember.

In this riveting start to a gripping series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa McMann, Jules has to act—and act fast—to keep her vision from becoming reality.

Title: PIVOT POINT

Author: Kasie West
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: February 12, 2013
Number of Pages: 352

Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison
Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is
faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes.
It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought.
When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has
to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the
paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is
staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as
it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the
future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is
adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high
school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands
her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in
school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When
Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s
unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she
holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which
reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live
without.

From an 8th grader:
The book I have
most recently read and was also my favorite book of third quarter is Pivot
Point by Kasie West. Pivot Point is my favorite book for
third quarter because it was very nerve wracking and I like that in my
books because then I can’t predict what would happen next.  I chose Pivot Point because I wanted
to read something different and also because I loved the way the cover looked
so unique. Pivot Point was different from the books I usually I read
because I’ve mostly read books that involve teenage problems and this book was
more about decision making. For Pivot Point I’d rate the book 5 stars
because when I would read I wouldn’t want to stop reading. I would recommend Pivot
Point to mostly just girls because girls can more relate to the main character
than boys can. I won’t forget this book and will probably end up reading it again
in the future.        

Title: DIVERGENT
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (a HarperCollins imprint)
Release Date:  May 3, 2011
Number of Pages: 487

In Beatrice Prior’s
dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each
dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue–Candor (the
honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the
peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every
year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will
devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between
staying with her family and being who she really is–she can’t have
both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During
the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames
herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out
the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical
tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with
devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must
determine who her friends really are–and where, exactly, a romance with
a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life
she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from
everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she
discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her
seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help
her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Title: OUT OF MY MIND
Author: Sharon M. Draper
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Release Date: March 9, 2010
Number of Pages: 295

Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic
memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And
there’s no delete button. She’s the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one
knows it. Most people—her teachers and doctors included—don’t think she’s
capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of
listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and
again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks
and knows . . . but she can’t, because Melody can’t talk. She can’t walk. She
can’t write. Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her
mind—that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the
first time ever. At last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is
ready to hear it.

From multiple Coretta Scott King Award winner Sharon M.
Draper comes a story full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose
voice you’ll never, ever forget.

Title: FRACTURE
Author: Megan Miranda
Publisher: Walker & Co. (a Bloomsbury imprint)
Release Date: January 17, 2012
Number of Pages: 272

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy
waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her
heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead.
And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly
fine-despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone
wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she’s far from normal.
Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney finds
herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death,
or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with
similar abilities. At first she’s reassured to find someone who
understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon
discovers that Troy’s motives aren’t quite what she thought. Is their
gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a
fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the
fine line between life and death.

Student #1:

     I love Fracture by Megan
Miranda. It literally felt as if I were in the book, feeling the character‘s
emotions. This story had the perfect combo of a thrilling romance mystery, with
a thickening plot. While reading this, I never really knew what to expect
because the main character, Delaney, was just thrown into this whole lifestyle
that seemed absolutely terrifyingly creepy.
     Although
Delaney had become one of my favorite characters, there were some points in the
book where I just couldn’t stand her. Like when she befriended Troy. He was
just so creepy, how could you not sense the danger and trouble that would come
with him or when she got angry at Decker for dating someone else while she did
the same thing. Delaney’s mother was messed up too. She reminded me of a witch,
evil! I mean, who drugs their own child so they don’t wake up and have
‘hallucinations’, as she put it. Anyways, I would recommend this book to
someone who likes a good thrilling, mystery, romance book. I rate this novel
five stars.