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Steel Toes by Eddie Little
Rating: 8.5/10
Synopsis: Bobbie is a young criminal prodigy. Living in Boston he's approached by a mysterious Greek on behalf of an anonymous shipping tycoon, who wants to commission a theft. The Fogg museum is the target; a collection of ancient Greek coins the score. Everything goes fine with the burglary, but with easy street just around the corner Bobbie's life takes an unexpected twist and his big score evaporates. With his life on the line, Bobbie must learn who he can trust when trusting anyone can make you lose everything. (from bn.com)
Prequels: Another Day Paradise
Sequels: None that I know of.
Review: You may be thinking, 'What do steel toes have to do with escaped convict druggies robbing people?' Steel toed boots of course! That's what all of the boys wore in case they needed to bring some pain (yes, that was a reference to MSI's cover of Bring the Pain). Pain. Man, that was a big part of it. Lots of killing, face slicing (heeheehee), gun wielding, and groin destruction. Brains got destroyed, too, I just thought that that guy getting his crotch blown off was hilarious.
Poor little Bobbie was raised wrong, so he got into drugs, went to jail, and with the help of his 'dogs' Phil, Red, and George busted out. Went to meet some of Bobbie's old friends, got kicked outta Ben's and moved on to Syd, his motha from anotha... family....
Anyway, the writing style was pretty cool. And, considering my (limited) knowledge of drug abusers and criminals from books I've read, my parents (dad was [is?] a druggie and used to rob places and my mom worked for LAPD), and the knowledge that Eddie Little used to be one of them, I'd say it was really accurate and really interesting. It captured his mind set really well, and the language was so... really gangster/thug as opposed to the little kids at school squeaking 'Yo Gee dawg. What up!' *pound fits and gangsta hugs*.
WAIT! STOP! Don't read it!
Read Another Day in Paradise first. I miss that It was a sequel and am terribly, terribly, sorry. DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL YOU READ Another Day in Paradise.

Grand & Humble by Brent Hartinger
Rating: 6.5/10
Synopsis:Harlan is slowly losing his grip because he's plagued by panic attacks he can't control. And Manny has started having nerve-racking nightmares that leave him exhausted and terrified.
In this complex and original novel, popular author Brent Hartinger takes us on an intense psychological journey as Harlan and Manny struggle with a fear they can't name. It's a journey that eventually leads downtown, where a secret lies at the intersection of Grand and Humble. (from bn.com)
Prequels: None that I know of
Sequels:None that I know of
Review: Review to come.

The Last Chance Texaco by Brent Hartinger
Rating: 9/10
Synopsis: From the author of "Geography Club" comes a portrait of a subculture of teenagers living in a group home they call the Last Chance Texaco. The group home is the last stop before kids are shipped to the juvenile detention center. When a series of local arsons threatens to close it down for good, Lucy Pitt must expose the real criminal or risk losing her last chance for happiness. (from bn.com)
Prequels: None that I know of
Sequels:None that I know of
Review: Review to come. (If I didn't already review this... sweatdrop )

The Queen of Everything by Deb Caletti
Rating: 9/10
Synopsis: In the San Juan Islands in Washington State, high school junior Jordan MacKenzie learns about different kinds of love as her divorced father's troubling affair with a married woman ends in tragedy, and she tries to fit into her hippie mother's new family while halfheartedly dating the popular boy at school. (from bn.com)
Prequels: None that I know of.
Sequels: None that I know of.
Review: Now this owas one interesting story. It goes from some melodrama about her parents being split up to her dad having an affair with a married woman to murder to her going out with and screwing the popular loudmouth Kale Kramer. It was weird. Not bad weird, just unexpected weird.
Mmkay, so I liked the main character. She was kind of spontaneous, stupid, genious, and just plain out there. It was kind of like looking at a somewhat interesting person after bland days of my middle school life. Somebody who thought differently but in a way was just like everybody else.
Add in bagpipes, crotch-squeezing, smoking, running away, having sex on a boat, and visiting an old friend and there ya go. Pretty interesting. Definitely threw me for a spin.
Sound interesting? Good. You should definitely go read it.