Love? Maybe by Heather Hepler

I have some sort of distant cousin who was born on Valentine's day.  When I was eight, I thought that it was the coolest thing ever.  However, for Piper Paisley, it's an absolute tragedy.  She's possibly the most cynical person anyone will ever meet- she's watched her mom go through two divorces, and doubts that love even exist- and her birthday's on Valentine's day.  It's approaching soon, and her friend Jillian has the perfect plan to get Piper, their friend Claire, and herself all boyfriends by everyone's favorite holiday in February.
The story's a bit predictable, but still fairly good.  There's likable characters- Piper's next door neighbor, for example- and characters that you can't help but hate, like Claire's ex.
Overall, Love? Maybe is definitely worth a read.

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

The book starts out with our main heroine, Elise Benton, complaining about her new school, Coral Tree.  She and her sister Juliana are starting in their junior and senior years, having moved to California from Amherst, MA due to the fact that their mom- Dr. Gardiner- got a job as the new principal.

Elise's first day doesn't go too well- she hits the popular girl Chelsea with a door, then doesn't have anyone to sit with at lunch.  Elise ends up at a table with her Juliana, her crush, Chelsea, and Derek Edwards.

You've heard of love at first sight, but what Elise experiences with Derek?  Hate at first sight.  Elise thinks that Derek's really stuck up because his parents are movie stars, so she just tries her best to ignore him and move on with her life.

That's not incredibly easy though, seeing as how her sister and Derek's best friend start to date.  Also, she sees him every day in astrology class.

Speaking of astrology class, the guy of her dreams seems to be part of it: Webster Grant.  Derek has some sort of weird grudge against Webster, but Elise just dismisses it as Derek's moody personality.

Any of this sound familiar?  Pride and Prejudice, anyone?

Yup!  Epic Fail is another one of those modern-day adaptations of everyone's favorite book from two hundred years ago.

When you're not comparing it to Pride and Prejudice, it's actually quite good.  It's another cute, fluffy, teenage love story that everyone loves.

But when it's being compared?  You'll notice the lack of Charlotte and Mr. Collins (two of my favorite characters, cut from this adaptation!), and the differences will drive you absolutely insane- Darcy, or Derek doesn't send Elizabeth, or Elise a letter, or email right after he tells her that he loves her, or asks her out to the semiformal- the letter comes much later.

Overall, the book was good.  Not, great, but good.  Somewhat relatable characters, adorable romance stories, and of course, hilarious younger sisters.  Read it if you want, or show it to your cousin who doesn't know who Jane Austen is.  Both of you will enjoy it, but it's definitely not the best book I've ever read.