Drowing Instinct by Ilsa Bick

by:  Ilsa Bick

published by:  Lerner Publishing Group

publish date:  January 28, 2012

There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna Lord's first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course, there was the time she almost died in a fire.

There are stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain...magnetism.

And there are stories where it's hard to be sure who's a prince and who's a monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

Drowning Instinct is a very provocative story.  I can see that it might be a controversial book in some places.  Ultimately it is a cautionary tale about why young girls shouldn't have affairs with their married teachers.  In that regard, I would say it should be read, however it deals with a lot of grown up subject matter so I think it needs to be limited to the older YA group. 

I was surprised by this book because it seemed to be such a departure for Ilsa Bick.  It was YA, but it wasn't like her science fiction type writing.  She did a good job.  It was a believable story.

Jenna's story was sad and heartbreaking.  It's one you won't soon forget.  For sure this will be one of the more unique YA reads of the year.

Ashes

by:  Ilsa Bick

published by:  Egmont USA

publish date:  September 6, 2011

It could happen tomorrow...

A cataclysmic event. An army of "The Changed."

Can one teen really survive on her own?

An electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky, destroying every electronic device and killing billions. For those spared, it's a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human...

Desperate to find out what happened and to avoid the Changed, Alex meets up with Tom---a young army veteran---and Ellie, a young girl whose grandfather was killed by the electromagnetic pulse.

This improvised family will have to use every ounce of courage they have just to survive.

I got the opportunity to meet Ilsa Bick at ALA this year and she is a super nice lady.  I got a signed copy of this book so I was a happy girl. 

The book started off great.  I was all into it and it was going strong.  Somewhere about halfway, it just kinda lost it's appeal.  I can't really put my finger on what exactly it was.  About that point Alex loses Tom and Ellie and moves in with a different group of people and I think that's about when I didn't care anymore.

BUT, I made myself pick it back up, and I'm glad I did.  I slogged through the rest of it and the last couple of pages, while a bit confusing made it worthwhile.  The last page made me sit up and drop my jaw and flip the rest of the pages looking for more of the book.  It made me curse YA trilogies/series all over again.  Although, if this was a stand alone book and it just ended the way it did, that would be pretty cool too.