Review: Top Ten Clues You're Clueless

Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas
Publication date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Harper Teen

TOP TEN CLUES YOU'RE CLUELESS by Liz Czukas is both an endearing and lighthearted book that embraces mystery and humor. Chloe Novak is your simple teenage girl, head over heels for her crush Tyson, working a job at her local grocery story, GoodFoods, and trying to merely survive high school. Nothing in her life is out of the ordinary, and Chloe is hardly ready for the action packed day she is about to receive. When Chloe heads to work at GoodFoods on Christmas Eve, nothing is out of the ordinary besides the unappealing Christmas sweaters and light up jewelry customers have decided to wear. That is, until Chloe and five of her coworkers are accused of stealing $10,000! It is up to them to prove their innocence and try to determine who is to blame for the missing money.

TOP TEN CLUES YOU'RE CLUELESS is a cozy read with a light mystery, keeping the reader fully engaged. Czukas does a phenomenal job touching on humor, romance, and mystery to attract a broad range of readers. The diversity in characters makes for an interesting plot line and resembles The Breakfast Club, in the sense that a group of assorted teens are forced together, all being accused or punished for a crime. I applaud Czukas’ incredible job of having the majority of the story take place in the time span of a day and in one location, the grocery store. With such a simple idea, Czukas creates an intricate story and manages to make it hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. I would recommend this book for ages twelve and up.

Review: Ask Again Later

Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: March 11, 2014

Heart LaCoeur has no interest in boys, dating, or romance, but when her plan to have a drama free night at prom with her friends is interfered with by two invites, she doesn't know what to do. After deciding that flipping a coin would be the best way to decide which invitation to accept, the coin-flip gives her the chance to live out both scenarios. Heads: Do a favor for her brother and go with his best friend, who is still grieving over a breakup. Tails: Attend prom with a boy from theater, who has the same interests as Heart. The only downfall being that he also wants to share all of his feelings. The characters in this book were very easy to relate too, and felt real. The book alternates chapters between the “heads” scenario, and the “tails” scenario. The only problem I had was that at times, it could was a bit confusing about which “side” the story was being told from. Overall though, it is a light read, that I would recommend for ages twelve and up.