In My Mailbox (9)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Academy 7 - Anne Osterlund

Summary from Amazon: With a past too terrible to speak of, and a bleak, lonely future ahead of her, Aerin Renning is shocked to find she has earned a place at the most exclusive school in the universe. Aerin excels at Academy 7 in all but debate, where Dane Madousin—son of one of the most powerful men in the Alliance— consistently outtalks her. Fortunately Aerin consistently outwits him at sparring.

They are at the top of their class until Dane jeopardizes everything and Aerin is unintentionally dragged down with him. When the pair is given a joint punishment, an unexpected friendship—and romance—begins to form. But Dane and Aerin both harbor dangerous secrets, and the two are linked in ways neither of them could ever have imagined. . . .

Set in a universe with interplanetary travel and slave planets… of course I want to read this. You just don’t get much interplanetary travel in YA fiction, and adult space opera stuff gives me migraines, so I’m hoping this will be the perfect soft sci-fi option.

Sugar Rush - Julie Burchill

Synopsis from Barnes and Noble: When Kim has to transfer from her posh school to Ravendene Comprehensive, the notoriously violent local school, she's scared -- but then she meets Maria Sweet, better known as Sugar. Sugar is beautiful and wild, the queen bee of Ravendene, and Kim falls under her spell.

They're gorgeous party girls, envied and admired by everyone. But as Kim leaves her good-girl past far behind, she realizes she's falling in love -- with her best friend.

I loved the TV series ‘Sugar Rush’ (starring the girl who plays the ghost in ‘Being Human’) so I figured I’d check this one out. Plus, I’m hopefully relocating pretty soon to Brighton, where this book is set. So this is my equivalent of reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil before visiting Savannah. Kind of.

The Compound - S.A. Bodeen

Summary from publishers’ website: Eli and his family have lived in the underground Compound for six years. The world they knew is gone, and they’ve become accustomed to their new life. Accustomed, but not happy. No amount of luxury can stifle the dull routine of living in the same place, with only his two sisters, only his father and mother, doing the same thing day after day after day.

As problems with their carefully planned existence threaten to destroy their sanctuary—and their sanity—Eli can’t help but wonder if he’d rather take his chances outside. Eli’s father built the Compound to keep them safe. But are they safe—really?

I’ve been wanting to read this for ages, and now - at last! - it’s out in paperback. It sounds like exactly the kind of dark, tense read I enjoy. Because I can only take so much light-hearted reading, if you know what I mean.