Nightmares!

by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller

Charlie Laird's mom has recently passed away, and his dad remarried a woman named Charlotte. They all move into Charlotte's creepy purple mansion, and that's where Charlie begins having nightmares. His nightmares get scarier and scarier, and all involve an evil witch that suspiciously resembles his "Stepmonster." Soon his nightmares become more than just scary dreams. The witch can enter the waking world. When she kidnaps his little brother, Charlie discovers that he can also enter the Netherworld. It's up to him to save his brother, and the entire waking world.

Not the most original story in the world, but it's kind of cute, and the audio book is read by the author. (He's a pretty famous funny actor.)

NEED

by Joelle Charbonneau

Kaylee's brother needs a kidney, and suddenly, she's provided with a huge temptation. A new social media site has popped up among the kids at Kaylee's high school, which promises to grant requests as long as you do whatever the site requests of you. But there's a price for each NEED granted, and the game is soon out of their control.

I had such high hopes for this book. I'm a big fan of The Testing series, but this one isn't even in the same ballpark. The characters are completely unbelievable. Seriously, these are some dumb kids. The premise sounded fascinating, but it was just poorly executed. And the resolution was a real eye roller. I stuck with it, hoping it would all wrap up in the end, but ultimately, just not for me.

The Shade of the Moon

by Susan Beth Pfeffer

This is definitely the weakest of the four books, but it's great to see what happens to everyone. Pfeffer doesn't pull any punches--this one is a real heartbreaker.