Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters is another fantastic book in the Percy Jackson series. Percy has been looking forward to returning to Camp Half-Blood for the summer but learns that the camp is in danger. He sets off on a forbidden quest with Annabeth and his new Cyclops friend Tyson to save Grover and find the one thing that can save the camp and his friends. They face unimaginable dangers in the Sea of Monsters and stumble upon an evil plot to bring the Titan lord Kronos back to power. I love the way Rick Riordan incorporates his own ideas into the legends of Greek mythology, and I look forward to the rest of the series.

Pretty Little Liars: Heartless

The Pretty Little Liars' world is being turned upside down and there's nothing they can do to stop it. They all believe they saw Ali, alive, but nobody will believe anything they have to say anymore. Hanna has been dubbed "Psycho" and shunned from popularity again. Emily is in denial that the body belongs to Ali. Spencer was scammed out of her college fund and learns shocking secrets about her family. Aria is convinced that Ali's ghost is trying to contact her. A has each of them suspecting somebody new is Ali's killer as they uncover new revelations and mysteries, until the girls become the main suspects themselves. The four friends soon learn that in a town as perfect as Rosewood, nothing is as it seems.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. It is a great story and well written. Percy Jackson is a lot like Harry Potter, but more believable, injected with Greek mythology rather than magic. Percy is a 12-year-old troublemaker who suddenly finds himself faced with monthers and mythical creatures. He arrives at Camp Half-Blood, where he learns that he is the son of a god, but his father is still a mystery. As more of his ancestry is revealed, it becomes clear that Percy is being framed for a serious theft and is in danger. Along with his friends, Annabeth, daughter of Athena, and Grover, a satyr assigned to protect Percy, he sets off on a quest to find Zeus's master bolt, return it before the Summer Solstice deadline to avoid war among the gods, and rescue his mother from Hades. Along the way, Percy discovers he can't always trust who he wants to, accepts his demigod abilities, and learns that there may be something lurking that is far worse than the fury of the Olympians.

Maximum Ride: Fang

Max and her crew are on another save-the-world mission in Africa when the mysterious and wealthy Dr. Gunther-Hagen enters their lives... along with Dylan, a brand new bird kid who was designed to be Max's "perfect other half". The Doctor wants max to work with him to help humans evolve, but of course she declines. In the sixth book of the series the flock is forced to adapt to new circumstances - a new member, losing other members, and a new leader. Not to mention Angel's premonition that Fang would die soon. For me, Fang was the most fulfilling and the most frustrating of the Maximum Ride books, with an unexpected and devastating ending.

Pretty Little Liars: Killer

In Rosewood, Pennsylvania four pretty little liars are falling deeper into their web of secrets and lies. The new "A" is manipulating their every move and sabotaging their relationships with their families, boys, and each other. It seems the girls aren't the only ones with something to hide though. As they begin to uncover shocking truths about those they thought they could trust, the four friends don't know who or what to believe, including their own eyes.

Pretty Little Liars: Wicked

The fifth book in the Pretty Little Liars series starts off with Alison's killer behind bars. Mona, who sent Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily threatening messages as "A", is dead. The girls can finally move on and start living their lives again. But of course the truth is never so simple. In Wicked, suddenly the four friends have new secrets, receive messages from a new A, and are forced to acknowledge that there may be a new killer.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

We all know the stories about Jesus, the Son of God. but Levi, or Biff, is here to tell us what happened during the majority of Christ's life that was left out of the New Testament. Christopher Moore's amusing speculation describes the childhood and young adulthood of Jesus. Biff provides comic relief as he accompanies Jesus through his trials and travels. Christopher Moore portrays the Messiah as a regular guy who also happens to be our savior, and who travels the world dutifully studying Hinduism, Buddhism, and martial arts. Biff is hilarious and the complete opposite of his best friend, but loyal to a fault, and I love that he takes credit for things like sarcasm, lattes, and pencils. The crucifixion is a given, but it was especially devastating to see it from the perspective of someone who loved Jesus so dearly. I have been a Catholic my entire life and I know Lamb is purely fiction, but I found it extremely entertaining and it helped me identify a little more with Christ.

Maximum Ride: Max

The fifth book in the Maximum Ride series left me itching for more. Max's mother has been kidnapped and it's up to Max and the flock, with the help of the US Navy, to rescue her. The series gets a little more far-fetched when the bird kids develop gills and discover a new mutant species in the depths of the ocean. But Max finally gets over herself and expresses her true feelings for Fang, giving me the love story I'm such a sucker for.

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

In The Final Warning, Max and the flock are recruited to help study the effects of global warming in Antarctica and be spokespersons for a worldwide mission to save the planet. The group finally has a safe place to stay, plenty of food, and nothing to worry about. Then they are abducted and delivered to a horrifying captor they know nothing about. The inevitable escape is pretty much accidental and has nothing to do with the group's survival skills, and the book quickly comes to a close. For me, the fourth book in the series was anticlimactic and disappointing compared to the first three books, but it was educational and stressed the importance of saving our planet now, not later.

Sweet Little Lies

If I ever think about picking up Lauren Conrad's third book, remind me to not. The former reality television star seems to be using her writing to express her feelings about former friends and lovers from The Hills in L.A. Candy and Sweet Little Lies. The incidents and characters are weakly masked. The wardrobe descriptions on every page take away from what little plot the story actually has. The main character is weak and insecure, and uninteresting to read about. My urge to find out how the series ends is not strong enough to endure more tedious descriptions of the same outfits over and over. To sum up, it's very sad that just about anyone can get published if they're famous enough, and L.C.'s efforts would be better applied somewhere else.