msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

A hilarious yet sad debut novel set in San Francisco, TDDNI, revolves around a series of murders and the life of recent MFA graduate Korean-American Philip Kim. When his baby boomer neighbor is shot, and turns out to be a semi-famous adult film star named "The Grey Beaver," he unwillingly gets caught up in the ensuing investigation, and becomes the target of a complicated, dangerous scheme. Underneath the light is an incredibly dark look at what it means to be Korean-American, especially in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings. If you live or have ever lived in San Francisco, where much of the early action takes place, you'll enjoy Kim's stinging yet delightfully comical portrayal of the city and all of the local references. Click here for a full review . Grade 12+

Dare Me has been dubbed The Fight Club of cheerleading stories, and for good reason: it is a dark, subversive, unique look at teen girl boredom, power, and misbehavior. Mean girl cheerleaders Addy and Beth are BFF; Beth is squad leader and Addy her bad lieutenant. When new beautiful bad-ass coach Colette French arrives on the scene, the squad willingly answers her jump with a how-high, and Queen Bee Beth is removed from the top of the totem pole with a dismissive shake of Coach French's perfectly-manicured hand. As the squad falls in love with captivating Coach French (Addy is completely twitterpated, "driving by her house like a boy might do"), Beth's resentment and need for revenge rises, culminating in a surprise ending that will leave you gritting your teeth. Teen readers will eat this up. Give it to fans of Chuck Palahniuk and Brett Easton Ellis. Click here for a full review. Grade 10+

Another creepy gothic thriller set in a small German town from the author of The Vanishing of Katherina Linden . Seventeen year-old Lin Fox is uprooted from her comfortable life in the UK when her father, a renown scholar in medieval history, decides to move to a tiny village to study the legend of the Allerheiligen Glass, a series of medieval stained-glass windows that may or may not be inhabited by demons. The problem is, nobody actually knows where the windows are, and the locals aren't exactly helpful. In fact, it quickly becomes clear that Lin's family isn't welcome when bodies start turning up, surrounded by shards of broken glass. Ms. Grant is a master of building suspense; you'll find yourself turning on lights and checking that the doors are locked if you read this late at night. Give this to fans of Agatha Christie or anyone living in a small German village. Grade 8+

Sixteen-year-old Jack gets drunk in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up kidnapped and molested by a psychotic doctor and that is where this horror-fantasy-sci-fi story begins. I have to admit I was underwhelmed by TML; I didn't empathize with the characters and I just didn't believe the romantic subplot. The alternate universe of Marbury wasn't fleshed out enough for me to care about and I found the use of the glasses as transporter to the alternate universe rather weak. I could have gotten past some of those issues, but Smith's constant use of the f-bomb (and I mean on every single page multiple times) felt comical and I found myself making fun of the story long before the end. I'm hoping Smith's In the Path of Falling Objects will be a more inspiring read. Grade 10+