The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman

Charming and absorbing young fantasy, set in the special collections are of the New York Public Library. The magical objects mentioned in the Grimm fairy tales are kept in the Grimm Collection, but evildoers are out to steal them. Elizabeth Lew, a student in a nearby high school, is one of a handful of workers allowed access to the special collections. The exceedingly far-fetched plot is one of the reasons I think this was more of a children's book than YA, but Shulman's special brand of clean and delightful characters made this a great read. She is an author I often recommend to young readers who are reading above their age level, but aren't ready for some of the darker actual YA out there.  

Enthusiasm, by Polly Shulman

This was so fantastic! I've been eyeing it for a few weeks and finally read it tonight- wonderful YA!

Now, I've read Jane Austen, but I've been baffled by the flood of Jane Austen based books lately- everything after Bridget Jones left me high and dry. But this was a blast- with teen female characters who I totally wanted to know, a romance that I wanted to work out, interesting characters and language, and it was so much fun. Yay!

I've been reading so much dystopian and suburban melodrama YA that it felt incredibly new and fresh to read about absolutely healthy people. Lovely.