Killer Cruise was a book I randomly stumbled upon while trying to fill out my A to Z Challenge (heard that one much lately?). And, similar to my other random choices, I really liked it.

The book is about New York socialite Ashley who goes on a cruise for her 16th birthday. Something comes up at work for her parents, so she goes with her 2 best friends, her boyfriend, her half sister and her boyfriend and her frenemy (which is her mom’s best friend’s daughter and Ashley’s biggest competition).

Within the first day, the drama starts and not until they’re back in New York does it start to calm down.

Freak accidents start to happen and it all goes back to Taylor who went missing last year. Is Ashley’s new crush, smoothie-maker Logan, behind all of the scandal? Like I’m really going to tell you.

There were some parts of this book I really like. I like that they used real movies, books, shows etc. When you talk about Project Runway, I know what you’re talking about. I hate when authors use made up titles. I have no idea what the shows about!

I also thought it was cute that each time the girls went somewhere, we always knew what they were wearing. From head to toe. This made it easy for me to imagine each one, each day.

Now there were some things I didn’t like about this book. And it makes me feel old to say this

1. Why is a 15 year old allowed to go on a cruise without any supervision? Yes, her older half sister is on board with her and yes, papa knows the captain, but are they really going to babysit? Doubt it. I don’t believe this is reality. I think it shows false hope for kids. And this is a young adult book, so those are the readers it’s geared towards.

2. The first day on the ship, the first day Ashley sees Logan, she already tells him she likes him. YIKES! Forward much? I know teens are love crazy, but this made me nervous to have kids.

3. Ashley didn’t hang out with her friends very much. There were days where she’d go all day out with a boy and not even see them. I couldn’t imagine bringing along my 2 bff’s on a cruise and ditching them for almost an entire week. This is another instance I don’t think parents would want their kids reading this book. When I was 20 years old and went to Mexico, I wasn’t allowed to leave my dads side, or be alone because he was afraid I’d get kidnapped. When you’re not in America, you don’t know what’s going to happen to you. You can’t just be running around with a stranger in the Bahamas and not be nervous that you may or may not get snatched.

4. One sentence: 16 year old sleeping in the same bed as a boy!

Ok, now I feel like an old prude after reading this book.

I didn’t start thinking about young adult books in this light until recently when my future sister-in-law was telling me one of the things that made her not love Twilight was that Edward stayed in Bella’s room. These books are geared towards teens and young adults. That’s not something they need to be reading about. I never thought of that, but I agree. My parents would NEVER have let me do that. Yes, Twilight is not real, but if Bella and Edward do it, why can’t I?

Although I ranted a lot about this book, I liked it and had to change my mind a few times about who the bad guy was before it finally came out. I give Killer Cruise 3 bookmarks. ( )

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Ashley Bishop is going to have the best Sweet Sixteen birthday party. She's asked to forgo the traditional celebration in lieu of a birthday cruise. And her father has agreed to the idea. So Ashley and her boyfriend, half-sister, and four others are off on a cruise to the Bahamas.

Ashley's half-sister, Charlotte, moved in with Ashley's family not too long ago. Charlotte had been living with her mother on the west coast. But after her mother is killed in an accident, their mutual father brings Charlotte to New York to live with them. Ashley is determined to make her feel part of the family. She is excited to have a sister that she can share everything with. The only problem is Charlotte doesn't know the meaning of fun and she's very reserved. She only wants to spend time with her boyfriend, Sam, and obsessing about getting a scholarship to a good university.

On the first day of the cruise, Ashley meets a waiter, Logan Gallo. They immediately click, and agree to meet up at the dance club that night. One small problem, though - Ashley's boyfriend, Finn, is along on the cruise. However, after Finn scares her in the hallway, it's the final straw. Ashley has been trying to break it off for weeks with Finn but could never go through with it. But the fright gives her the courage to break up with him. He threatens that she'll be sorry. After all, Ashley and Finn are two of the most popular kids at their high school, and Finn has never been the dumpee before. But Ashley is relieved she's finally done it, and vows to enjoy her cruise.

But too many strange coincidences start to happen... After the scare from Finn, the railing on her balcony breaks off and plunges into the water. Only by quick action on her part does she keep herself from following the railing. It doesn't help when her friends tell her at dinner that the previous summer a girl around the same age went missing and was never found. Rumors are that Taylor fell overboard.

In the course of the week-long cruise, too many close calls happen to Ashley that it's getting a bit too uncomfortable for her. Except for her friends and her budding relationship with Logan, she is starting to get quite antsy. At one time or another, she suspects almost everyone at trying to harm her.

To find out what happens to Ashley and how she makes out, you'll just have to pick up your own copy of KILLER CRUISE. The story is a quite heart pounding page-turner. I stayed up till after midnight to finish the book. I had to find out who was behind everything. It wasn't who I expected!

I enjoyed KILLER CRUISE a lot and hope that Ms. Shaw writes more books in the future. I know I'll be in line to read them if she does! ( )