Caragh M. O'Brien: Birthmarked

Wow.  I started this without knowing that it was a trilogy book.
This is book one, with books two and three not due for the next two years!

Post-apocalyptic but an interesting perspective--the controlling faction (and upper class) aren't as happy or satisfied as the outsiders are taught to believe.

This is a more thought-provoking text, one with action and good characters and a moving plot, but it isn't a typical no-thinking escape.  There will be a specific reader to recommend this book to, but I am just not sure who that would be.  There is a medical/scientific aspect, a possible romance, and I am interested to know if anything more will come to fruition with Gaia's brothers.  Namely, will the older brother be evil, will Leon find Gaia, and how the heck is Gaia going to keep Maya fed???

:) I don't think I gave too much away!

Lauren Oliver: Delirium

Liked this book.  It was candy, and flew by.  Not happy about the end, but hopefully book 2 clears things up.  Similar to Hunger Games and Matched in the post-apocalyptic, government-controlled higher-class vs. lower class, but different in the sense that Lena (and the rest of society) WANTS the control...well, sort of.  I wish more was done with Hana's friendship (again, I hope that it is addressed in book 2), but the romantic tryst of the two central characters will appeal to the teen factions who devour Twilight.

Marissa Doyle: Betraying Season

 This was a fun read. The characters were good, the story was good, and the resolution was VERY satisfying.  I'm not sure about the "risque" mentions of sex--considering the time period--but this might be because it was the first quasi-realistic portrayal of Victorian late-teenage life. While many claim that this is the sequel to Bewitching Season, I read this first, and while I didn't know Pen's sister Persy, I like the inside cover's claim that this book is a COMPANION to Bewitching Season.  I might pick it up at some point, but I'm not in a rush.  I loved the Irish magic elements, and I actually hope there is a final book with both magical sisters equally represented in one final adventure. We'll see.