A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet

A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet came highly recommended by one of my favorite authors, Andrew Smith.  And what I have learned is if Andrew tells you that you should read something, you probably should.  This novel is no exception.  This is not a YA novel, but that should not stop young people from reading it.  A Children's Bible is a funny and thought provoking look at the difference between adulthood and adolescence and what that difference may mean for the future.  And maybe most importantly, it can be an eye opener about the legacy we are leaving for our children by the actions we are taking in the present day.

A Children's Bible is the story of a group of kids (mostly teens, but a couple younger) who are brought together by their parents.  Their parents have all rented a vacation house together, intent on a full summer of drugs, booze, sex, and general debauchery.  The kids are left to fend for themselves, but knowing their parents, this is how they want it.  When a powerful storm sweeps through the area, maybe signaling the end times, this group of young people is forced to venture in to this apocalyptic world on their own.  As chaos continues to unfold, the kids and parents must come together to confront the vices that have divided them.  This eventual cooperation may not be enough to overcome what the adults have already established.   And maybe, just maybe, the future is placed in to the hands of those who are best equipped to handle it.   

From Amazon:

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by Apple Books, Literary Hub, The Millions, and The Week

An indelible novel of teenage alienation and adult complacency in an unraveling world.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millet’s sublime new novel―her first since the National Book Award long-listed Sweet Lamb of Heaven―follows a group of twelve eerily mature children on a forced vacation with their families at a sprawling lakeside mansion.

Contemptuous of their parents, who pass their days in a stupor of liquor, drugs, and sex, the children feel neglected and suffocated at the same time. When a destructive storm descends on the summer estate, the group’s ringleaders―including Eve, who narrates the story―decide to run away, leading the younger ones on a dangerous foray into the apocalyptic chaos outside.

As the scenes of devastation begin to mimic events in the dog-eared picture Bible carried around by her beloved little brother, Eve devotes herself to keeping him safe from harm.

A Children’s Bible is a prophetic, heartbreaking story of generational divide―and a haunting vision of what awaits us on the far side of Revelation.

We Speak in Storms by Natalie Lund

We Speak in Storms by Natalie Lund is a beautifully crafted novel about merging our past with our present in order to create a future.  It is about self-acceptance.  It is about following our dreams.  It is about letting go and moving forward.   

We Speak in Storms is told through the perspective of three teens who suddenly find themselves thrown together in the aftermath of a tornado.  More than 50 years to the day that a tornado took the lives of many teens, another storm hits.  Joshua, Brenna, and Callie, three teens who have always found themselves on the outside looking in, suddenly find the spirits of the past are now a part of their lives in the present.  While finding peace in their past, these spirits will help to build a future of hope for the three teens who so desperately need their help.     

From Amazon:

A powerful and haunting debut novel about friendship, acceptance, and learning to let go as the balance between the living and the dead is upended, perfect for fans of We Were Liars.

It's been more than 50 years since a tornado tore through a drive-in movie theater in tiny Mercer, Illinois, leaving dozens of teens -- a whole generation of Mercerites -- dead in its wake. So when another tornado touches down in the exact same spot on the anniversary of this small-town tragedy, the town is shaken. For Brenna Ortiz, Joshua Calloway, and Callie Keller, the apprehension is more than just a feeling. Though they seem to share nothing more than a struggle to belong, the teens' paths continue to intersect, bringing them together when they least expect it, and perhaps, when they need it most. Both the living and the dead have secrets and unresolved problems, but they may be able to find peace and move forward--if only they work together.

A beautifully told, haunting yet hopeful novel about pushing past the pain, facing the world, and finding yourself.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

A couple of years ago, Elizabeth Acevedo won ALL the awards for her incredible novel The Poet X.  Clap When You Land is the third book we get from her, and it is another beautiful story.  It won't surprise me one bit to see this one take home a bunch of awards as well.  Like The Poet X this one is also told in verse.  Acevedo's words are beautiful and poignant as she tells the story of two sisters, worlds apart, who never knew the other existed until their father tragically passes away.  This is a story about grief and pain, but also one of forgiveness and understanding.  It is a novel about family and the sometimes unseen bonds that hold them together.

Clap When You Land is the story of Camino and Yahaira, two sisters who don't even know the other exists.  But when their father dies in an airplane crash, they soon discover their common link.  As both mourn the passing of their father, and the things he left with them, they have to face the reality that he may not have been the man they always thought he was.  And when Yahaira comes to the Dominican Republic to bury her dad, she meets her sister for the first time.  While both often want to be angry with each other, they realize that they are not the real target of their own anger and grief.  They are able to see their father reflected in each other and find the bond that ties them together may be much stronger than they ever could have imagined.  Through her beautiful words, Elizabeth Acevedo is able to give the reader a story of two sisters who are able to build a bridge that spans so much more than the ocean that has always separated them.  

From Amazon:

In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.

Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…

In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.

Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.

And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other.

Wild Bird by Wendelin Van Draanen

Wild Bird is the second novel I have read from Wendelin Van Drannen (The Running Dream being the first) and both of them have left me in tears.  Happy tears, but tears none the less.  The novel is such an incredible story of self-discovery and even more importantly, self-acceptance.  It is a story about families and friendships and understanding what is real and what isn't.  And finally, Wild Bird is a story of hope for the future.

Wild Bird tells the story of Wren Clemmens, a 14 year old girl who has lost her way.  After moving to a new city, Wren finds it difficult to make new friends until she crosses paths with Meadow.  This new friend leads her down a path that includes drugs and shoplifting among other things.  Wren often lashes out at her family when all they want to do is help her.  Then one night she is yanked out of her bed by people she doesn't know.  She is quickly whisked away and put on a plane to Utah.  She discovers that she has been enrolled in a wilderness therapy camp where she must survive eight weeks in the desert.  And during this time she is forced to discover who she is and who she wants to be.  She has to figure out what family and friendship really mean.  Most importantly, she is faced with finding hope for a future she never really believed she could have.  

From Amazon:

From the award-winning author of The Running Dream and Flipped comes a remarkable portrait of a girl who has hit rock bottom but begins a climb back to herself at a wilderness survival camp.

3:47 a.m. That’s when they come for Wren Clemmens. She’s hustled out of her house and into a waiting car, then a plane, and then taken on a forced march into the desert. This is what happens to kids who’ve gone so far off the rails, their parents don’t know what to do with them anymore. This is wilderness therapy camp. Eight weeks of survivalist camping in the desert. Eight weeks to turn your life around. Yeah, right.

The Wren who arrives in the Utah desert is angry and bitter, and blaming everyone but herself. But angry can’t put up a tent. And bitter won’t start a fire. Wren’s going to have to admit she needs help if she’s going to survive.

The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson

They Lucky Ones is Liz Lawson's debut novel, and if this story is an indicator, we have a lot to look forward to in her writing.  The Lucky Ones is emotionally raw and gritty.  It is a beautiful story about guilt, grief, and finding yourself among the trauma you have endured.  But probably most importantly, this novel is about resilience, hope, and forgiveness.  Lawson captures the pain of survivor's guilt while at the same time moving toward a future of acceptance and fulfillment.  It is both a beautiful and painful debut that will surely stick with you long after you have finished the final words.

The Lucky Ones is told through dual points of view.  First comes May, a survivor of a school shooting which claimed the life of her twin brother.  May was the only one in the band room that day that came out alive.  And almost a year later, she still feels guilt over that day.  Guilt that she didn't do more to save her brother and the others.  Guilt that she had drifted apart from Jordan before he was gone.  And suddenly guilt that maybe it was all her fault. 

Zach gives us the other point of view.  Zach did not go to same high school as May and the other victims, but his mother is a lawyer who has taken on the task of defending the shooter.  Because of this, Zach has lost almost all that he has ever known.  His girlfriend has left him.  One of his closest friends has abandoned him.  Others at school treat him as an outcast because his mom has taken on the case.  All he has left is his best friend Conor, who has been by his side throughout.  Conor is all he has until he happens to cross paths with May.  They find an unlikely friendship in each other.  One that isn't always easy, but is most definitely worth it.  Now these two have the opportunity to show each other what self-forgiveness looks like while blazing a path towards a future that is full of hope.  

From Amazon:

For fans of Thirteen Reasons Why, This Is How It Ends, and All the Bright Places, comes a new novel about life after. How do you put yourself back together when it seems like you've lost it all?

May is a survivor. But she doesn't feel like one. She feels angry. And lost. And alone. Eleven months after the school shooting that killed her twin brother, May still doesn't know why she was the only one to walk out of the band room that day. No one gets what she went through--no one saw and heard what she did. No one can possibly understand how it feels to be her.

Zach lost his old life when his mother decided to defend the shooter. His girlfriend dumped him, his friends bailed, and now he spends his time hanging out with his little sister...and the one faithful friend who stuck around. His best friend is needy and demanding, but he won't let Zach disappear into himself. Which is how Zach ends up at band practice that night. The same night May goes with her best friend to audition for a new band.

Which is how May meets Zach. And how Zach meets May. And how both might figure out that surviving could be an option after all.

We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez

First of all, you would think this quarantine would mean that I have tons of time to read and I would be plowing through the books.  Unfortunately that is not the case.  For whatever reason, I am finding it hard to take the time to read, and from things I have seen on Twitter, I'm not the only one.  With that being said, I just finished this fantastic novel last night.

To say that I am a huge fan of Jenny Torres Sanchez would be an understatement.  I adore everything I have read of hers.  Through her kindness in helping me with another project, she sent me an advanced copy of her newest novel We Are Not From Here, which will be released May 19.  And it is stunning!  This story is gritty and grimy, but also full of resilience and hope.  It is a story about dreams.  Dreams of escaping a life that is full of danger and desperation.  Dreams of having a life free of fear and worry.  It is a novel about family, both blood and those closest to us that we consider our family. 

We Are Not From Here is the story of Pulga, Chico, and Pequena, three teens from Guatemala desperately fleeing to the United States to escape the harsh realities of home.  The death and danger they see everyday in their home town has become too much.  They are determined to follow their dreams and seek out a better life.  With a plan to catch a ride on La Bestia, a series of trains that run through Mexico to the U.S., these three teens will risk it all to find safety.  This deadly journey will have them clinging to life and gives the reader some insight in to the dangers that so many put themselves in so they may escape the perils of their everyday life. 

Jenny Torres Sanchez has given us a beautiful and heart-wrenching tale that is so incredibly relevant to today.  As a big fan of hers, she definitely did not disappoint with her latest novel.    

From Amazon:

A poignant novel of desperation, escape, and survival across the U.S.-Mexico border, inspired by current events.

Pulga has his dreams.
Chico has his grief.
Pequeña has her pride.

And these three teens have one another. But none of them have illusions about the town they've grown up in and the dangers that surround them. Even with the love of family, threats lurk around every corner. And when those threats become all too real, the trio knows they have no choice but to run: from their country, from their families, from their beloved home.

Crossing from Guatemala through Mexico, they follow the route of La Bestia, the perilous train system that might deliver them to a better life--if they are lucky enough to survive the journey. With nothing but the bags on their backs and desperation drumming through their hearts, Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña know there is no turning back, despite the unknown that awaits them. And the darkness that seems to follow wherever they go.

In this striking portrait of lives torn apart, the plight of migrants at the U.S. southern border is brought to light through poignant, vivid storytelling. An epic journey of danger, resilience, heartache, and hope.

All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban

Diana Urban's debut novel, All Your Twisted Secrets, was a really fun and exciting thriller.  If you are a fan of mysteries, this one will be right up your alley.  You will spend pages trying to piece it together, and when you figure it all out, you will probably find yourself as shocked as I was.  If you have read Kara Thomas or Karen McManus and enjoyed their novels, you will be a fan of this one.  I highly recommend you dive in to the worlds of Amber, Sasha, and the rest of this crew.  

From Amazon:

"Talk about frightening page-turners! I kept reading chapter after chapter. I had to know what happens next! And trust me―the scares just keep on coming!" ―R.L. Stine, author of Goosebumps & Fear Street

This thrilling debut, reminiscent of new fan favorites like One of Us Is Lying and the beloved classics by Agatha Christie, will leave readers guessing until the explosive ending.

"Welcome to dinner, and again, congratulations on being selected. Now you must do the selecting."

What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? They were all invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it's a trap. Someone has locked them into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill ... or else everyone dies.

Amber Prescott is determined to get her classmates and herself out of the room alive, but that might be easier said than done. No one knows how they're all connected or who would want them dead. As they retrace the events over the past year that might have triggered their captor's ultimatum, it becomes clear that everyone is hiding something. And with the clock ticking down, confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic as they race to answer the biggest question: Who will they choose to die?