Judging from the two ARCs I've read so far from fellow 2k11 members, the Class of 2k11 is off to a great start in 2011! Julia led off the year in January with XVI, which you can already find on the shelves if no one has beaten you to all the copies. Amy's book doesn't come out until April, but I'll give you a preview.
XVI
Julia Karr
Once I started Julia Karr's XVI, going to sleep was not an option. Not when Nina is facing becoming an official sex object when she turns sixteen, when her younger sister, mother, and best friend are in danger, when what she believes about her family is in doubt, and she can't tell the good guys from the bad guys. XVI is dystopia at it most alarming--alarming because although this takes place many years in the future, the situations are just extrapolations of where we are now, when younger and younger girls become sex objects--or are at least encouraged to dress like ones--and the government knows all too much about you.
The Lipstick Laws
Amy Holder
April Bowers, lonely and insecure, needs help, and readers will find themselves offering her advice as they read about her sophomore year at Penfield High. They will wince as she goes against her better self to win favor with queen bee Britney Taylor, cheer when she realize Britney's Lipstick Laws were meant to be broken, groan as April makes another bad decision that leads to a scene with her not-so-secret hottie that will remind you of Jane Austen's Emma, and sigh with relief when April finally gains the self-confidence to do the right thing.
