"Is it possible to peak at thirteen?"

"There is no way I'm dancing with Howard Goldstein."

So starts Rachel Lowenstein's quest to sin more and break some Teen Commandments in search for a more interesting existence. First up? Dating Luke Christiansen, the blond, blue-eyed basketball star who attends Catholic school. Definitely not Jewish and definitely not family-approved.

Goy Crazy by Melissa Schorr is everything a romantic comedy fan could ask for. It's sweet and sincere and better than any rom-coms in the theater recently (have there even been any decent ones of late?). Rachel searches for herself amid all the normal teen pressures of popularity, drinking, dating and morality. She sneaks around, hiding Luke from her family, but as always, what you expect from life doesn't always pan out, and your family is always there for you. Sometimes, they can even surprise you. So can the boy next door.

You can also find Melissa Schorr at MySpace.

Other fab blog reviews:

Sara's Holds Shelf
Little Willow
Cynsations Interview of Schorr

The plans, they go astray.

Fisher works hard. He studies for the grades he gets. The problem is that he's only doing it to make his father feel less guilty over his mother's leaving. He doesn't have a life outside of school, and he's beginning to fracture over the stress of having perfect grades and getting into college. So he does something drastic.

When his father goes out of town, Fish decides to blow off studying and go on a road trip with the neighbor's shady brother. He wants to see a bit of the world before he's totally committed to the rest of his life. Besides, he'll be home before his father ever finds out... These things, they never go according to plan...

This is an entirely personal opinion, based on nothing but my own issues: Fish! What are you thinking? You are a very smart kid! How could you possibly think that leaving with Lonny is a good idea? So, this is to say that I had a bit of a problem believing that Fish would get himself into such a predicament, AND THEN HAVE SUCH A HARD TIME GETTING OUT OF IT. But, this is me putting myself in his place. I'm not much for the rebelling. Maybe I just haven't been pushed far enough...

For other thoughts on Adrian Fogelin's The Real Question:

Mindy @ Proper Noun
TadMack @ Readers' Rants

I'll skip the cloistering. Thanks.

Rome, 1680's, under the rule of Pope Innocent XI. Angelica Voglia would have attracted attention simply because of her beauty, but since she also has the best voice in Rome, she finds herself part of power struggles ranging from her social-climbing mother, to one of highest offices in the world - the Pope. Innocent has banned women from performing in public in fear of their feminine natures... distracting... the laity and clergy alike. For her own safety, to escape confinement in a convent, and to sing, Angelica becomes The Queen's Soprano.

Carol Dines found just the barest mention of Voglia in research she was doing and it inspired this tale of what felt like a very oppressive religious regime. I wanted more than anything for this innocent girl to find happiness, which always seemed just out of her grasp. It is court intrigue at its finest. There is no predicting the next turn, or anticipating who is truly good or bad, and poor Angelica must learn alongside us. We see her grow from a dutiful daughter to a confident, sure woman who will make her own way and refuse to be a pawn.