In a nutshell: A collection of essays about the hell that is high school. OMG: This book is hilarious. Anyone who says that high school is the best years of your life is smoking something. Those years suck. You feel like a moron 95% of the time. Trust me. I teach high school. These essays bring that angst, humiliation and stress to life for those of us who have survived to look back on a laugh. And I did. Constantly. Kids don’t get it: Try to explain to a teenager that it will all pass, that their mental state isn’t coherent and they look at you like, “Okay, old one. You don’t know.” But we do… The essays in here are fantastic and range in topics from unrequited love, mean cool kids, to home perms. Brad Land, Julianna Baggott, Owen King, Johanna Edwards and others perfectly recount high school loserdom in a collection I couldn’t put down and I wanted all of my students to read (but they can’t, there are bad words in here.)

In a nutshell: A fabulous book to help mommies-to-be put some focus back on themselves rather than just the baby. Full of goodness: There is a ton of info in this book to help women find out what motherhood means to them personally, to help balance career, family, social expectations and personal needs. A great idea: It’s so common to see women who have had a baby and become completely lost in the whirl of it all. It’s completely understandable, but it’s also important to not lose who you are. This book is full of actual tools (worksheets, lists, exercises) to help you figure all of that out. Bottom line: Love this one. Give it to all the expectant women you know.

In a nutshell: An entertainment writer is disillusioned with her job and starts to self-destruct. Meh: I’ve read Onstad several times before as she’s a frequent appearance in the magazines I subscribe to. I usually enjoy her writing but I guess only in small doses. This novel felt too long and too contrived. It’s a shame: I really want to support Canadian writers but I can’t really endorse this one. It has received some crazy positive reviews so maybe it’s just be but I found the whole thing very mediocre. The characters of Sundera and Theo seemed incredible false and Maxine was unlikeable. Read Onstad’s articles. She’s a great writer, just maybe not in this medium.

In a nutshell: A group of migrant strawberry pickers in England ends up in some trouble and starts to travel across the country in a trailer home. Magic wears off: What starts out as an enchanting story quickly gets dull. The issue is the plot which moves much too slowly to keep the reader interested. Animal lovers beware: There are some parts of the book that are really tough to read, especially the chicken farm portion. Granted, it all works out well for the chickens but you will never look at KFC the same way again. Bottom line: I found it hard to get through as nothing compelled me after the first 100 pages but you may feel differently. It’s worth a library checkout.

In a nutshell: Hilarious and completely refreshingly honest pictures and captions of little stuffed chickens going through pregnancy and taking care of a wee baby. Tanen strikes again: Sloane Tanen has been working this formula for a while now to huge success and this latest book is just as wonderful. I’ve included two of the pages from the book to give you an idea. The perfect gift: Give an expectant mother something to chuckle over and feel a bit of relief with (she’s not the only one with some of these thoughts!) And keep this one in mind, “Christy didn’t want to appear ungrateful, but there was only so much enthusiasm she could work up for another onesie, soft blanket, or Mustela bath set. If she didn’t stumble on a pair of earrings or spa certificate soon, she felt sure she would start to cry.”

In a nutshell: Sisters Riley and Alice always spent their summers on Fire Island with Paul, a friend who doesn’t show up for a few years. When he returns, they’re all young adults and the drama begins. Darn it: I loved the Sisterhood books and was super-excited for this first adult novel from their author. Instead I was bored to tears with this convoluted and trying-too-hard sobfest. The secrets, the illness, the passion…it’s a freaking soap opera. The other issue: The characters aren’t compelling. By the time Alice and Paul get together (sorry) you don’t care anymore, they’ve whined about it for so damn long.

In a nutshell: When magazine editor Nola Devlin is turned down for her dream job as an advice columnist because she’s overweight, she concocts a thin, British and hip alter ego that the public falls for. Then her magazine launches an investigation into Belinda’s real identity. Oops. Frothy fun: You don’t pick up a novel with a sparkly shoe on the cover looking for hard literature. Nola reminds me of Becky Bloomwood of the Shopaholic series but without the credit card problems. Smarty-pants: At the same time, this novel is a rare gem in the chic lit genre, it’s also incredibly smart and witty, with a powerful message.