Reviews written by Mark Lichtenfeld

The summer, California coast setting makes this a fun, winter read. The plot utilized a nice twist, with Matt's demise so early in the story being totally unexpected. Nice descriptions of Anna's anxiety as she desperately tries to move forward after Matt's death. Just the right amount of conflict between...

Great to have a male protagonist in YA. This was an interesting story that takes place on a lonely island where teenage Rudy is desperate for human interaction. Story was gritty, powerful and at times suspenseful. Nice touch of romance, too, with the sole teenage girl on the island. There...

Great to find YA with a boy protagonist. Writing from Mike's two internal points of view was very interesting. I loved how the anorexic Mike battled to take control of Mike's soul. Mike's constant denial of his problem and the relentless provocation of anorexic Mike was thrilling. And Mike's reliance...

A quick and fun read.

I chose this book because half of it was from a boy's POV and it's always hard to find boy-oriented YA. Anyway, I was not disappointed. Plot not terribly heavy, but really liked the alternating POVS, especially those chapters where the same incidents would be re-told by Sara and Tobey....

I was checking out the new release section at our library, hoping to find some YA featuring a male protagonist. Of course, this was not to be. So I decided to read this recently-published book since I love cross-country drives. The story was cute, but I could not get myself...

Loved the concept, the setting and the story. It had everything. Wilderness, Colonial history, coming-of-age and frontier hardship. It was like a history lesson in an appealing YA novel. Very creative concept as the story evolves over decades and generations. Nicely interwoven with shocking and surprising chapter endings. Depressing, at...

Wow. I was excited to read this book and was not disappointed. But it was nothing like I expected. The "camp" portion of the book was simply an element of the entire hook. I assumed the whole plot would involve the turmoil at camp. Still, the story was powerful and...

Love the narrative style. Kept the story moving fast and real. Could almost feel the clique-like tension as the character starts a new school in the middle of the year. Fun and witty, with some serious messages, too. A very nice read. ----Mark L. Author of LINE CHANGE ...

I have always liked Alyson's style.