In My Mailbox (9/28 to 10/3)

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren and Alea from Pop Culture Junkie. If you want more details, click here. In My Mailbox explores all the books that I get in a week, whether it's in the mail, borrowed from a friend, borrowed from the library, or bought from a bookstore.

Recived:

How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity by Various Authors (Hardback/ October 2009/ HarperTeen)

A girl thought to be a boy steals her sister's skirt, while a boy thought to be a girl refuses to wear a cornflower blue dress. One boy's love of a soldier leads to the death of a stranger. The present takes a bittersweet journey into the past when a man revisits the summer school where he had "an accidental romance." And a forgotten mother writes a poignant letter to the teenage daughter she hasn't seen for fourteen years.

Poised between the past and the future are the stories of now. In nontraditional narratives, short stories, and brief graphics, tales of anticipation and regret, eagerness and confusion present distinctively modern views of love, sexuality, and gender identification. Together, they reflect the vibrant possibilities available for young people learning to love others—and themselves—in today's multifaceted and quickly changing world.

Never Bite a Boy on the First Date by Tamara Summers (Paperback/ September 2009/ HarperTeen)

I've got a few issues:
I'm a vampire now.
One of my classmates was found dead, with telltale fang marks.
I didn't do it! (really!)
Nobody believes me, so . . .
I'm going to have to find the real killer. I've already got three suspects. (three very cute suspects.)
One more problem: I am seriously falling for one of them . . . but what if he's the killer?

Bought:

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold (Paperback/ September 2008/ Bay Back Books)

A woman steps over the line into the unthinkable in this brilliant, powerful, and unforgettable new novel by the author of The Lovely Bones and Lucky.


For years Helen Knightly has given her life to others: to her haunted mother, to her enigmatic father, to her husband and now grown children. When she finally crosses a terrible boundary, her life comes rushing in at her in a way she never could have imagined. Unfolding over the next twenty-four hours, this searing, fast-paced novel explores the complex ties between mothers and daughters, wives and lovers, the meaning of devotion, and the line between love and hate. It is a challenging, moving, gripping story, written with the fluidity and strength of voice that only Alice Sebold can bring to the page.

-Lexi (: