Tuesday, December 20, 2016

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

What a wonderful, wonderful novel.  I really enjoyed Jeff Zentner's debut novel, The Serpent King.  Through all of the depression, darkness, and family dysfunction that this book shows us, it helps to remind us that we don't have to give in to any of it.  We can rise above our own history and our own darkness and come in to the light.  This book reminds us that we are all survivors.  It reminds us that we can accomplish great things despite what our circumstances may be telling us is possible.  Before I opened up to the first page, I had heard all of the hype and I had read all of the "best of" lists that included this book.  I knew that it was receiving lots of praise.  And now that I am finished with it, I have to say that it was all completely justified. 

From Amazon:

A William C. Morris Award Finalist
A New York Times Notable Book
An Amazon Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Shelf Awareness Best Teen Book of the Year

Named to BuzzFeed's "Best YA Books of 2016" list!

Named to Mashable's "Best YA Book of the Year" list!

"Move over, John Green; Zentner is coming for you." —The New York Public Library

“Will fill the infinite space that was left in your chest after you finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” —BookRiot.com 
 

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

The only antidote to all this venom is his friendship with fellow outcasts Travis and Lydia. But as they are starting their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. Dill’s only escapes are his music and his secret feelings for Lydia—neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending—one that will rock his life to the core.

In this William C. Morris Award Finalist, debut novelist Jeff Zentner provides an unblinking and at times comic view of the hard realities of growing up in the Bible belt, and an intimate look at the struggles to find one’s true self in the wreckage of the past.

“A story about friendship, family and forgiveness, it’s as funny and witty as it is utterly heartbreaking.” —PasteMagazine.com

“A brutally honest portrayal of teen life . . . [and] a love letter to the South from a man who really understands it.” —Mashable.com

“I adored all three of these characters and the way they talked to and loved one another.”—New York Times

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King

I always tell my students that good books should make you feel something.  Me and Marvin Gardens definitely made me feel something.  I felt so happy reading this book.  So many times I would just find myself smiling as I read.  It was such a beautiful story, and Obe and Marvin Gardens are wonderful characters.  I loved to watch Obe grow in confidence and become "fearless, daring, and brave" in his own ways.  And every time Marvin Gardens would smile at Obe, I couldn't help but smile right back at him.

This is a middle grade book, but never feel like those are the only people who should read this.  I loved this story and I really believe any of you would love it to, regardless of age. 

Note: This book is not scheduled for release until January 31, 2017, so if you are interested in reading it, let me know and I can get you my copy. 

From Amazon:

Obe Devlin has problems. His family's farmland has been taken over by developers. His best friend Tommy abandoned him for the development kids. And he keeps getting nosebleeds, because of that thing he doesn't like to talk about. So Obe hangs out at the creek by his house, in the last wild patch left, picking up litter and looking for animal tracks.

One day, he sees a creature that looks kind of like a large dog, or maybe a small boar. And as he watches it, he realizes it eats plastic. Only plastic. Water bottles, shopping bags... No one has ever seen a creature like this before, because there's never been a creature like this before. The animal--Marvin Gardens--soon becomes Obe's best friend and biggest secret. But to keep him safe from the developers and Tommy and his friends, Obe must make a decision that might change everything.

In her most personal novel yet, Printz Honor Award winner Amy Sarig King tells the story of a friendship that could actually save the world.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier

I never thought a 10 year old girl could be so terrifying until I read My Sister Rosa.  This book made me utter many a four letter word under my breath (okay, probably not that quietly) over the course of the last 30 pages or so.  What an ending! 

There is so much suspense built up during the course of the book because you see this beautiful little girl who so desperately wants to appear normal.  But we know that she is not normal and as a reader, we wait for the moment when it all goes wrong.  Sure, there are little things that Rosa does and says throughout the novel that make us see her for what she really is, but we continue to turn the page because we just know something bigger is coming. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  If you are looking for something suspenseful and frightening, give it a try.  You won't be disappointed!

From Amazon:

"Beats The Silence of the Lambs for suspense—it's the kind of book that had me literally gasping aloud as it rattled to its incredible conclusion."
—Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author of Homeland

What if the most terrifying person you know is your ten-year-old sister?

Seventeen-year-old Aussie Che Taylor loves his younger sister, Rosa. But he’s also certain that she’s a psychopath—clinically, threateningly, dangerously. Recently Rosa has been making trouble, hurting things. Che is the only one who knows; he’s the only one his sister trusts. Rosa is smart, talented, pretty, and very good at hiding what she is and the manipulation she’s capable of.

Their parents, whose business takes the family from place to place, brush off the warning signs as Rosa’s “acting out.” Now that they have moved again—from Bangkok to New York City—their new hometown provides far too many opportunities for Rosa to play her increasingly complex and disturbing games. Che’s always been Rosa’s rock, protecting her from the world. Now, the world might need protection from her.

Thursday, November 3, 2016

The Light Fantastic by Sarah Combs








I finished this novel on the plane back from Atlanta.  The Light Fantastic was a wonderful novel about the pain that some kids are hiding below the surface, and the extremes they may go to to get rid of that pain.  Told through the neatly interwoven stories of several different characters, it also becomes a tale of redemption as our characters #findthehelpers that guide them through the pain, through the isolation, and into the light fantastic.  When it all comes down to it, I think our character Lincoln says it best:


From Amazon:

Seven tightly interwoven narratives. Three harrowing hours. One fateful day that changes everything.

Delaware, the morning of April 19. Senior Skip Day, and April Donovan’s eighteenth birthday. Four days after the Boston Marathon bombing, the country is still reeling, and April’s rare memory condition has her recounting all the tragedies that have cursed her birth month. And just what was that mysterious gathering under the bleachers about? Meanwhile, in Nebraska, Lincoln Evans struggles to pay attention in Honors English, distracted by the enigmatic presence of Laura Echols, capturer of his heart. His teacher tries to hold her class’s interest, but she can’t keep her mind off what Adrian George told her earlier. Over in Idaho, Phoebe is having second thoughts about the Plan mere hours before the start of a cross-country ploy led by an Internet savant known as the Mastermind. Is all her heartache worth the cost of the Assassins’ machinations? The Light Fantastic is a tense, shocking, and beautifully wrought exploration of the pain and pathos of a generation of teenagers on the brink—and the hope of moving from shame and isolation into the light of redemption.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Still Life With Tornado by A.S. King

As usual, I was blown away by the writing of A.S. King.  It was such a strong and powerful novel about the struggle that kids go through living in an unhappy home.  Sarah tries her hardest to fully understand what is going on in her life while being helped along by both past and future versions of herself.  These characters help guide her through the turmoil while at the same time reassuring her that things are going to be okay.  It is a novel full of heartbreak.  Heartbreak for Sarah as she learns the full truth.  Heartbreak for her brother, Bruce, and their mother for having to have dealt with the worst of the abuse coming from their father/husband.  But in the end it is hopeful.  We have hope that Sarah, Bruce, and their mother are going to find a life of peace and love.  A future where they don't have to be afraid.  A future where they can be original.

From Amazon:

A heartbreaking and mindbending story of a talented teenage artist's awakening to the brokenness of her family from critically acclaimed award-winner A.S. King.

Sixteen-year-old Sarah can't draw. This is a problem, because as long as she can remember, she has "done the art." She thinks she's having an existential crisis. And she might be right; she does keep running into past and future versions of herself as she wanders the urban ruins of Philadelphia. Or maybe she's finally waking up to the tornado that is her family, the tornado that six years ago sent her once-beloved older brother flying across the country for a reason she can't quite recall. After decades of staying together "for the kids" and building a family on a foundation of lies and domestic violence, Sarah's parents have reached the end. Now Sarah must come to grips with years spent sleepwalking in the ruins of their toxic marriage. As Sarah herself often observes, nothing about her pain is remotely original—and yet it still hurts.

Insightful, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, this is a vivid portrait of abuse, survival, resurgence that will linger with readers long after the last page.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Kids of Appetite by David Arnold

"The lived, and they laughed, and they saw that it was good."

I just want to start out by saying I love this book.  David Arnold has done it again.  Mosquitoland is one of my favorites and I wondered how he would ever live up to it, but he did.  I just can't get it out of my head.  There are so many wonderful lines in this book.  Lines that make you stop what you are doing and just sit there and think.  I took so many pictures of this book, parts that I just loved and wanted to remember.  Lines from the book that I had to text to my wife so she could read them.  In fact I am trying to convince her to get a tattoo with me that was inspired by this book so that we "never lose each other."  I think all I can do at this point is leave some of those pictures here and let you see for yourself.  And after you have looked at these pictures, go read it!





From Amazon:

The bestselling author of Mosquitoland brings us another batch of unforgettable characters in this tragicomedy about first love and devastating loss.

Victor Benucci and Madeline Falco have a story to tell.

It begins with the death of Vic’s father.
It ends with the murder of Mad’s uncle.
The Hackensack Police Department would very much like to hear it.
But in order to tell their story, Vic and Mad must focus on all the chapters in between.

This is a story about:

1. A coded mission to scatter ashes across New Jersey.
2. The momentous nature of the Palisades in winter.
3. One dormant submarine.
4. Two songs about flowers.
5. Being cool in the traditional sense.
6. Sunsets & ice cream & orchards & graveyards.
7. Simultaneous extreme opposites.
8. A narrow escape from a war-torn country.
9. A story collector.
10. How to listen to someone who does not talk.
11. Falling in love with a painting.
12. Falling in love with a song.
13. Falling in love.

Monday, September 12, 2016

The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner

Wow!  What a fantastic read.  This was such a beautiful read and one that has just continued to linger with me since I finished it last night.  I'm pretty sure it will be sticking with me for a long time. 

This story is told from the perspective of two main characters, Kyle and the mystery girl he found covered in ash and wearing wings as he returned home on the morning of the attacks of 9/11.  It is told in both narrative and verse and weaves them together beautifully. 

While this is a tragic tale of people directly effected by the attacks of September 11, it is so much more than that.  This is a story, most importantly, of hope.  It teaches us that through tragedy, through disaster, through sadness, we can all find hope that things will be better.  We can all believe in the hope that things will be good again, that things can one day return to normal. 

It is also a story about family and all the ways that our family plays a part in our lives.  About how our family is our life line, our tether to everything that is important to us. 

It is about first love and discovering who we are.  Discovering what are face looks like, even if that means we have to lean all of this through terrible tragedy. 

I can't recommend this book highly enough!!!


From Amazon:

On the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first twin tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows, covered in ash, and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California and unable to reach his father, a NYC detective likely on his way to the disaster, Kyle makes the split-second decision to bring the girl home. What follows is their story, told in alternating points of view, as Kyle tries to unravel the mystery of the girl so he can return her to her family. But what if the girl has forgotten everything, even her own name? And what if the more Kyle gets to know her, the less he wants her to go home? The Memory of Things tells a stunning story of friendship and first love and of carrying on with our day-to-day living in the midst of world-changing tragedy and unforgettable pain―it tells a story of hope.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

The Smaller Evil by Stephanie Kuehn

So I finished The Smaller Evil over the weekend and I'm just not sure what to think.  On one hand I enjoyed it because it was a book that keeps you thinking and keeps you guessing.  Something terrible has happened and Arman is trying to figure out what exactly it is.  Was he responsible?  Did he imagine the whole thing?  Is there a much bigger and more sinister plan going on? 

I like books that want you to try and figure out the puzzle, but there was something about this one that just didn't stick with me.  There were moments that I didn't want to put it down, but the overall experience just left me kind of indifferent. 

From Amazon:

Sometimes the greater good requires the smaller evil.

17-year-old Arman Dukoff can't remember life without anxiety and chronic illness when he arrives at an expensive self-help retreat in the remote hills of Big Sur. He’s taken a huge risk—and two-thousand dollars from his meth-head stepfather—for a chance to "evolve," as Beau, the retreat leader, says.

Beau is complicated. A father figure? A cult leader? A con man? Arman's not sure, but more than anyone he's ever met, Beau makes Arman feel something other than what he usually feels—worthless.

The retreat compound is secluded in coastal California mountains among towering redwoods, and when the iron gates close behind him, Arman believes for a moment that he can get better. But the program is a blur of jargon, bizarre rituals, and incomprehensible encounters with a beautiful girl. Arman is certain he's failing everything. But Beau disagrees; he thinks Arman has a bright future—though he never says at what.

And then, in an instant Arman can't believe or totally recall, Beau is gone. Suicide? Or murder? Arman was the only witness and now the compound is getting tense. And maybe dangerous.

As the mysteries and paradoxes multiply and the hints become accusations, Arman must rely on the person he's always trusted the least: himself.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

The Merciless II by Danielle Vega

So....it has taken me more than a month to finish reading this book.  I didn't read a whole lot in July, as you can tell.  Life (and Dexter) got in the way of reading.  But I finally finished The Merciless II.

This was very much a continuation of the first book.  It was a lot of fun and definitely will keep you on the edge of your seat at times.  Much like the first one, it has a definite creepy factor to it. If you like tales of evil, the devil, exorcism, or the like, you will enjoy this one.  But if you haven't read The Merciless, I would read it first before diving in to this one.   

From Amazon:

Danielle Vega—YA’s answer to Stephen King—once again brings major scares in the spine-tingling sequel to horror hit The Merciless, which MTV calls “Mean Girls meets The Exorcist.”

Sofia is still processing the horrific truth of what happened when she and three friends performed an exorcism that spiraled horribly out of control. Ever since that night, Sofia has been haunted by bloody and demonic visions. Her therapist says they’re all in her head, but to Sofia they feel chillingly real. She just wants to get out of town, start fresh someplace else . . . until her mother dies suddenly, and Sofia gets her wish.

Sofia is sent to St. Mary’s, a creepy Catholic boarding school in Mississippi. There, seemingly everyone is doing penance for something, most of all the mysterious Jude, for whom Sofia can’t help feeling an unshakeable attraction. But when Sofia and Jude confide in each other about their pasts, something flips in him. He becomes convinced that Sofia is possessed by the devil. . . . Is an exorcism the only way to save her eternal soul?

Readers won’t be able to look away from this terrifying read full of twists and turns that will leave them wondering, Is there evil in all of us?

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Stick by Andrew Smith

Stick was another wonderful read by Andrew Smith.  Like everything else I have read by him, I loved it.  Smith provides the reader with another wonderful voice in that of Stark "Stick" McClellan.  He makes you want to root for and rescue Stick and his brother Bosten as they deal with the terrible situation they are stuck in with their abusive parents.  When Bosten finally runs away, we want nothing more than for Stick to find his brother and become whole again.  Smith again gives us a story that is both heartbreaking and hopeful all in one.  Only a couple more books to check off my Andrew Smith list and I will be all caught up.   

From Amazon:

Fourteen-year-old Stark McClellan (nicknamed Stick because he's tall and thin) is bullied for being "deformed" - he was born with only one ear. His older brother Bosten is always there to defend Stick. But the boys can't defend one another from their abusive parents.

When Stick realizes Bosten is gay, he knows that to survive his father's anger, Bosten must leave home. Stick has to find his brother, or he will never feel whole again. In his search, he will encounter good people, bad people, and people who are simply indifferent to kids from the wrong side of the tracks. But he never loses hope of finding love - and his brother.

From Andrew Smith, the Printz-Honor author of Grasshopper Jungle and Winger, this is a powerful young adult novel full of joy, heartbreak, and survival.

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

Monday, June 27, 2016

Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Saenz

This book, it tears me up.  It stuns me out.  It was incredible.  Last Night I Sang to the Monster is a story about addiction, and one teen's battle with his monster.  It is sad.  It is depressing.  It is hopeless.  And at the same time, it is wonderful.  It is uplifting.  It is hopeful.  I cannot sing the praises of this book any higher.  I loved it and it is a book that is going to stick with me for quite a while.  Thank you Adelyn Soellner for suggesting this book to me.

From Amazon:

Last Night I Sang to the Monster was chosen as one of the Top Ten YA Books of Fiction in 2010.

Zach is eighteen, bright, and articulate. He's also an alcoholic, in rehab instead of high school, but he doesn't remember how he got there. What's up with that?

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Blind by Rachel Dewoskin

This book was okay.  It wasn't my favorite book I have read this summer.  It was definitely an interesting read.  It is told from the perspective of a character who could once see, but due to a fireworks accident, is now bling.  Emma has to learn how to deal with her new disability and figure how not only how to live, but who she really is.  This novel was very character driven.  

From Amazon:

A powerful story about blindness from an award-winning author.

When Emma Sasha Silver loses her eyesight in a nightmare accident, she must relearn everything from walking across the street to recognizing her own sisters to imagining colors. One of seven children, Emma used to be the invisible kid, but now it seems everyone is watching her. And just as she’s about to start high school and try to recover her friendships and former life, one of her classmates is found dead in an apparent suicide. Fifteen and blind, Emma has to untangle what happened and why—in order to see for herself what makes life worth living.

Unflinching in its portrayal of Emma’s darkest days, yet full of hope and humor, Rachel DeWoskin’s brilliant Blind is one of those rare books that utterly absorbs the reader into the life and experience of another.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

The Merciless by Danielle Vega

"Diablo....Diablo"

I really enjoyed The Merciless.  It was a fun read.  If you are looking for something that is kind of creepy and very suspenseful, this one will do the trick.  I really enjoyed The Merciless.  It was a fun read. There is a sequel coming out in just over a week, and after this one, I will definitely be reading the second one.    


From Amazon:

"Page-to-page Stephen King-style terror..."—Booklist"The Merciless is chilling...think 'Mean Girls' meets 'The Exorcist.'"—MTV.com

Pretty Little Liars fans, get a sneak peek at your new favorite book The Mercilessa nail biting thriller.”Seventeen Magazine

Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream.

Sofia Flores knows she shouldn’t have gotten involved. When she befriended Riley, Grace, and Alexis on her first day at school, she admired them, with their perfect hair and their good-girl ways. They said they wanted to save Brooklyn. They wanted to help her. Sofia didn’t realize they believed Brooklyn was possessed.

Now, Riley and the girls are performing an exorcism on Brooklyn—but their idea of an exorcism is closer to torture than salvation. All Sofia wants is to get out of this house. But there is no way out. Sofia can’t go against the other girls...unless she wants to be next.

By the shockingly twisted end, readers will be faced with the most haunting question of all: Is there evil in all of us?

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

We are the Ants by Shaun Davi Hutchinson

"If the world were going to end, and you could stop it, would you?"

This is the question that Henry Denton continues to ask in We are the Ants.  As he tries to figure out who he really is, he also starts to discover so much more about the other people in his life.  But is that life worth saving?  Henry has until January 29, 2016, to figure it all out.

This is a book that I stuck in my backpack a long time ago, with the intention to read it next.  I kept finding something else to read instead.  After finishing this, I'm mad that I waited so long.  I absolutely loved this book.  If you are looking for something funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and thought provoking (among many other things), give this one a try.  You won't regret it.    

From Amazon:

From the “author to watch” (Kirkus Reviews) of The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley comes a brand-new novel about a teenage boy who must decide whether or not the world is worth saving.

Henry Denton has spent years being periodically abducted by aliens. Then the aliens give him an ultimatum: The world will end in 144 days, and all Henry has to do to stop it is push a big red button.

Only he isn’t sure he wants to.

After all, life hasn’t been great for Henry. His mom is a struggling waitress held together by a thin layer of cigarette smoke. His brother is a jobless dropout who just knocked someone up. His grandmother is slowly losing herself to Alzheimer’s. And Henry is still dealing with the grief of his boyfriend’s suicide last year.

Wiping the slate clean sounds like a pretty good choice to him.

But Henry is a scientist first, and facing the question thoroughly and logically, he begins to look for pros and cons: in the bully who is his perpetual one-night stand, in the best friend who betrayed him, in the brilliant and mysterious boy who walked into the wrong class. Weighing the pain and the joy that surrounds him, Henry is left with the ultimate choice: push the button and save the planet and everyone on it…or let the world—and his pain—be destroyed forever.

Booked by Kwame Alexander

Wow!!!  This was such a beautiful read.  Kwame Alexander followed up The Crossover with Booked and it doesn't disappoint.  Just like its predecessor, this is all in verse.  The language is beautiful and just takes your breath away at times.  I HIGHLY recommend this read!

"Hey April,
I finished the book.
the beginning
was a little slow
but the ending was tight.
The poems
were cool.
The best ones were
like bombs,
and when all the right words
came together
it was like an explosion."



From Amazon:

Like lightning/you strike/fast and free/legs zoom/down field/eyes fixed/on the checkered ball/on the goal/ten yards to go/can’t nobody stop you/
can’t nobody cop you…

In this follow-up to the Newbery-winning novel THE CROSSOVER, soccer, family, love, and friendship, take center stage as twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Helping him along are his best friend and sometimes teammate Coby, and The Mac, a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read. 

This electric and heartfelt novel-in-verse by poet Kwame Alexander bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion of a World Cup match!

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

I really enjoyed this one.  The Darkest Corners was thrilling and tense from the very beginning.  You will venture through this journey with Tessa as she tries to unravel a mystery that is 10 years old on the surface, but goes much deeper than that.  We venture in to the dark underbelly of society as we try to figure out whether the Ohio River Monster is really in jail, or has been free all these years.  It was an excellent read!


From Amazon:

 "Gripping from start to finish . . . with twists that left me shocked."—Victoria Aveyard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen

For fans of Gillian Flynn and Pretty Little Liars, The Darkest Corners is a psychological thriller about the lies little girls tell, and the deadly truths those lies become.

    There are secrets around every corner in Fayette, Pennsylvania. Tessa left when she was nine and has been trying ever since not to think about what happened there that last summer.
    She and her childhood best friend Callie never talked about what they saw. Not before the trial. And certainly not after.
    But ever since she left, Tessa has had questions. Things have never quite added up. And now she has to go back to Fayette—to Wyatt Stokes, sitting on death row; to Lori Cawley, Callie’s dead cousin; and to the one other person who may be hiding the truth.
    Only the closer Tessa gets to what really happened, the closer she gets to a killer—and this time, it won’t be so easy to run away.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Survive the Night by Danielle Vega

L
I enjoy reading a bit or horror now and again, and Survive the Night helped to satisfy that need. It was a fun read. If you are a fan of horror, you will enjoy it. There aren't a lot of moments that will outright scare you and make you jump, but the novel's intensity will keep you on edge throughout the story. 

From Amazon:

Stephen King meets Pretty Little Liars in this pulse-pounding novel from the author of The Merciless

Just back from rehab, Casey regrets letting her friends Shana, Julie, and Aya talk her into coming to Survive the Night, an all-night, underground rave in a New York City subway tunnel. Surrounded by frightening drugs and menacing strangers, Casey doesn’t think Survive the Night could get any worse...

...until she comes across Julie’s mutilated body in a dank, black subway tunnel, red-eyed rats nibbling at her fingers. Casey thought she was just off with some guy—no one could hear her getting torn apart over the sound of pulsing music. And by the time they get back to the party, everyone is gone.

Desperate for help, Casey and her friends find themselves running through the putrid subway tunnels, searching for a way out. But every manhole is sealed shut, and every noise echoes eerily in the dark, reminding them they’re not alone.

They’re being hunted.

Trapped underground with someone—or something—out to get them, Casey can’t help but listen to Aya’s terrified refrain: “We’re all gonna die down here.”

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Passenger by Andrew Smith

The name of this novel, Passenger, says it all.  Buckle up, because you are in for a ride.  Jack and Conner are back in this follow up to The Marbury Lens.  They will take you further in to Marbury and many places that may or may not be Marbury.  Just like the characters in this book, you will continuously be questioning what is real and what isn't.  This was a great sequel to the first.


From Amazon:

Best friends Jack and Conner can't stay away from Marbury. It's partly because of their obsession with this alternate world and the unresolved war that still wages there. But it's also because forces in Marbury―including the darkest of the dark, who were not revealed in The Marbury Lens―are beckoning the boys back in order to save their friends . . . and themselves.

The boys try to destroy the lens that transports them to Marbury. But that dark world is not so easily reckoned with. Reality and fantasy, good and evil―Andrew Smith's masterpiece closes the loop that began with The Marbury Lens. But is it really closed? Can it ever be?

Friday, May 20, 2016

The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith

"I was thinking, what if the world was like that?  What if we only saw one surface of it, the outside, but there was all kinds of other stuff going on, too?  All the time.  Underneath.  But we just don't see it, even if we're part of it?  Even if we're in it?  And what if you had a chance to see a different layer, like flipping a channel or something?  Would you want to look?  Even if what you saw looked like hell?  Or worse?" 


I think this passage from The Marbury Lens sums it all up pretty perfectly.  It was a wild journey from beginning to end.  It was a story that not only makes the main character question what is real, but will make the reader do the same as well. 

This was the first novel of Andrew Smith's that I have read that was written before Winger.  Much like everything else I have read by him, this one is going to stick with me for a while.  It was haunting and beautiful all at once.

From Amazon:

Sixteen-year-old Jack gets drunk and is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is kidnapped. He escapes, narrowly. The only person he tells is his best friend, Conner. When they arrive in London as planned for summer break, a stranger hands Jack a pair of glasses. Through the lenses, he sees another world called Marbury.

There is war in Marbury. It is a desolate and murderous place where Jack is responsible for the survival of two younger boys.

Conner is there, too. But he's trying to kill them.

Meanwhile, Jack is falling in love with an English girl, and afraid he's losing his mind.


Conner tells Jack it's going to be okay.

But it's not.

Andrew Smith has written his most beautiful and personal novel yet, as he explores the nightmarish outer limits of what trauma can do to our bodies and our minds.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

     "A few seconds later, he shot up from under the water in a big, loud splash.  "Did that just happen?" he yelled, wiping water out of his eyes."

     "That just happened," Clark said." 

This is exactly how I feel after finishing this book.  That just happened.  I love the writing of John Corey Whaley, and this novel shows exactly why.  Highly Illogical Behavior is as beautiful as his first two novels were.  His characters become so real that every happiness, every hurt, and every ounce of hope they feel, the reader feels along with them.  My only complaint is that it was over too soon and who knows how long I am going to have to wait to read something from John Corey Whaley again. 


Here is the book trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rgqZescdT8

From Amazon:

Teen and adult fans of All The Bright Places, Me and Earl and the Dying Girland Everything, Everything will adore this quirky story of coming-of-age, coming out, friendship, love...and agoraphobia.
Sixteen-year-old Solomon is agoraphobic. He hasn’t left the house in three years, which is fine by him.

Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college (she’s being realistic). But how can she prove she deserves a spot there?

Solomon is the answer.

Determined to “fix” Sol, Lisa thrusts herself into his life, introducing him to her charming boyfriend Clark and confiding her fears in him. Soon, all three teens are far closer than they thought they’d be, and when their facades fall down, their friendships threaten to collapse, as well. 

A hilarious and heartwarming coming-of-age perfect for readers of Matthew Quick and Rainbow Rowell, Highly Illogical Behavior showcases the different ways in which we hide ourselves from the world—and the ways in which love, tragedy, and the need for connection may be the only things to bring us back into the light.

Friday, May 6, 2016

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

What a great read!  While this is a book that has basketball in it, it is so much more than a basketball book.  This is a book about family, and growing up, and loss, and so much more.  Kwame Alexander tells his story in such an incredible voice, through the power of poetry.  It won't take you long to read it, but you will enjoy the ride for a long time to come.

From Amazon:

"With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I’m delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood from Kwame Alexander.

   Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart-stopping climax proves a game-changer for the entire family.


Wednesday, April 27, 2016

With Malice by Eileen Cook

With Malice was definitely a fun read.  If you like a good mystery, check it out.  It is the story of an 18 year old girl who awakes one day to find herself in the hospital.  She has no idea of how she got there and no memory of the last few weeks, not even of the trip she took to Italy.  But something terrible happened while she was there, and she, and everyone else, are trying to figure out if it was just an accident, or did Jill commit murder.

As the reader, you will begin to put the pieces together, just as Jill is trying to do as well.  If you read Girl on the Train or We Were Liars, you will enjoy With Malice.

This has a release date of June 7, so if you want to read it, come find me.  

From Amazon:

For fans of We Were Liars and The Girl on the Train comes a chilling, addictive psychological thriller about a teenage girl who cannot remember the last six weeks of her life.

Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron's senior trip to Italy was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime. And then the accident happened. Waking up in a hospital room, her leg in a cast, stitches in her face, and a big blank canvas where the last 6 weeks should be, Jill comes to discover she was involved in a fatal accident in her travels abroad. She was jetted home by her affluent father in order to receive quality care. Care that includes a lawyer. And a press team. Because maybe the accident...wasn't an accident. Wondering not just what happened but what she did, Jill tries to piece together the events of the past six weeks before she loses her thin hold on her once-perfect life.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Thanks for the Trouble by Tommy Wallach

What a great read!  There were many times that I just had to stop and really appreciate what I was reading.  This was beautifully written and a book I think I will remember for a long time. 

It is the story of Zelda and Parker, two teens who improbably meet up in a hotel restaurant, and change each others lives forever, in the span of just a few days.  Parker is a kid who hasn't spoken a word in 5 years, since his dad died in a car accident.  Zelda is a silver-haired teenage girl who claims to have been born in 1770.  As they get to know each other, they realize they are the best thing that has ever happened in their respective lives. 

From Amazon:

Tommy Wallach, the New York Times bestselling author of the “stunning debut” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) We All Looked Up, delivers a brilliant new novel about a young man who overcomes a crippling loss and finds the courage to live after meeting an enigmatic girl.

“Was this story written about me?”
I shrugged.
“Yes or no?”
I shrugged again, finally earning a little scowl, which somehow made the girl even more pretty.
“It’s very rude not to answer simple questions,” she said.
I gestured for my journal, but she still wouldn’t give it to me. So I took out my pen and wrote on my palm.
I can’t, I wrote. Then, in tiny letters below it: Now don’t you feel like a jerk?

Parker Santé hasn’t spoken a word in five years. While his classmates plan for bright futures, he skips school to hang out in hotels, killing time by watching the guests. But when he meets a silver-haired girl named Zelda Toth, a girl who claims to be quite a bit older than she looks, he’ll discover there just might be a few things left worth living for.

From the celebrated author of We All Looked Up comes a unique story of first and last loves.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

It's been a while, but I finally finished Challenger Deep.  This is a story about a boy's fight against mental illness, as often told through the story of him being on a ship heading for the Marianas Trench, the deepest point on earth.  As his illness continues to unfold, we start seeing the characters from the ship for the people they are in his real life.  The pieces slowly start coming together for the reader, but more importantly the pieces come together for Caden.  This is a powerful book that gives us and in depth and real life look at the struggle to live with a mental illness.  Not always an easy read, but definitely a worth while one. 

Here is the book trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u6uk18bKtpw

From Amazon:

A captivating novel about mental illness that lingers long beyond the last page, Challenger Deep is a heartfelt tour de force by New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman.

Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.

Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.

Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence to document the journey with images.

Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.

Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.

Caden Bosch is torn.

Challenger Deep is a deeply powerful and personal novel from one of today's most admired writers for teens. Laurie Halse Anderson, award-winning author of Speak, calls Challenger Deep "a brilliant journey across the dark sea of the mind; frightening, sensitive, and powerful. Simply extraordinary."



Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

My beautiful wife was gracious enough to be a guest writer on the blog after she finished reading Dumplin' by Julie Murphy.  Here are her thoughts on this novel I have heard so many good things about:

Being a teenager is hard all on its own.  But if you are overweight and the daughter of a former beauty queen/present beauty pageant director, forget about it!  In Dumplin' we see Willowdean come to realize that the person you are on the inside is what makes us lovable.  Along with a motley crew of misfits, Willowdean shows us some relationships cannot be outgrown and no matter how big or small or pretty or not, we all deserve the chance to compete.  If you know what it feels like to not be good enough, this is the book for you.  


From Amazon:

For fans of John Green and Rainbow Rowell comes this powerful novel with the most fearless heroine—self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson—from Julie Murphy, the acclaimed author of Side Effects May Vary. With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

Dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom, Willowdean has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American-beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked . . .  until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back.

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all.

Monday, February 8, 2016

Need by Joelle Charbonneau

This one was fun, but in a creepy, scary, could this really happen type of way.  It deals with a new social network called NEED, that is only for students of the local high school.  It offers complete anonymity and highly discourages any discussion of the site.  In return, the users can request anything they need.  All they have to do is perform whatever task NEED ask of them, and they will receive what they ask for.  Simple enough right?  The tasks start off innocent enough: invite 7 new people to the site.  Soon, these tasks become more sinister and with that, the bodies start piling up.  I enjoyed it, but to be honest, it kind of scared me by the possible reality of it all. 

Here is the book trailer: Need



From Amazon:


“No one gets something for nothing. We all should know better.”

Teenagers at Wisconsin’s Nottawa High School are drawn deeper into a social networking site that promises to grant their every need . . . regardless of the consequences. Soon the site turns sinister, with simple pranks escalating to malicious crimes. The body count rises. In this chilling YA thriller, the author of the best-selling Testing trilogy examines not only the dark side of social media, but the dark side of human nature.

Monday, February 1, 2016

This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijamp

To say this book was intense would be an understatement.  From the get go, you are thrust into this school as tragedy is unfolding.  It was difficult to read at times, as there is much bloodshed.  Each of the four narrators has some connection to the shooter and you are able to get a unique perspective from all of them.  It is tragic, but it is also a story of family and heroism.  As long as these types of things are happening in our world, we need books like these that help us to explain the senselessness and the emotion of these terrible events.

From Amazon:

Everyone has a reason to fear the boy with the gun.

10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama's high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won't open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told from four perspectives over the span of 54 harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student's calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

Winter '15 Kids Indie Next List
Goodreads YA Best Books of the Month
Buzzfeed 5 YA Books You Should Be Reading This January
Bustle.com 18 of 2016's Most-Anticipated YA Novels
BookRiot 15 Books out in 2016 You Should Mark Down Now

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Bone Gap is definitely weird, but it is also beautiful.  The Printz Award is given to the best young adult novel, in terms of writing, and after reading this, it is apparent why it won the award for 2015.  Laura Ruby does a wonderful job of telling this strange tale.  This story often moves from reality to a world that is definitely not reality, but it does so seamlessly.  For me, it had that moment that makes you gasp out loud (or in my case say some unmentionable words), and those are the moments that I love when I am reading.  If you don't mind a little weirdness, this book is worth a read.  I highly recommend it!

From Amazon:


Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps.

So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. But Finn knows what really happened to Roza. He knows she was kidnapped by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember.

As we follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap, acclaimed author Laura Ruby weaves a tale of the ways in which the face the world sees is never the sum of who we are.