Ahhh, SO many YA books this month...
People Like Us
I don't like adult thrillers, but there is something about a YA thriller that has been really appealing to me lately. This book is a great YA thriller/mystery.
Kay is a main character at a boarding school; she's popular, athletic, etc. But a classmate dies on campus and somehow leaves Kay a timed website instructing Kay to discover other's secrets and reveal them in order to protect their own.
I couldn't stop reading this book! I don't know if it's award worthy, but it's definitely an interesting read.
Ban This Book
This book is middle grade, so give it to your elementary school and middle school students!
Ban This Book is about a 4th grade girl, Amy Anne, who LOVES to read From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler--but suddenly the book is missing from her school library! A school board member has challenged it as well as a slew of other loved books.
Amy Anne decides to fight back by opening a banned books library in her school locker. Of course, she gets caught, and the normally shy 9 year old learns to stand up for what she believes.
Glass Houses
Ah, a reread. I just love comfortable rereads.
Louise Penny's new novel came out at the end of November, so I wanted to read her last novel again to be ready for Kingdom of the Blind. You don't have to read Louise Penny in order at the beginning, but you do need to later on in the series. I don't want to say anything about this book and ruin it, but SO GOOD.
The Last Wish of Sasha Cade
A student lent this book to me. Sasha Cade is a high school senior when she passes away from cancer. She leaves a series of surprise adventures for her best friend, Raquel.
Again, I don't want to give away the plot, so I won't ruin any of the surprises! But this book was good--realistic fiction, a tear jerker, lots of character development.
The Girl Who Chased the Moon
Thanks to the kindle gods, this book appeared on my kindle app. I've seen this author talked about in other places, but this book and the next were my first of hers to read.
In this book, Emily Benedict, a 16 year old, is now parentless, so she moves back to her mother's small southern hometown to live with her quirky grandfather. She immediately strikes up a friendship with a forbidden boy.
Allen writes southern magical realism, and this book was just delightful!
In this book, Emily Benedict, a 16 year old, is now parentless, so she moves back to her mother's small southern hometown to live with her quirky grandfather. She immediately strikes up a friendship with a forbidden boy.
Allen writes southern magical realism, and this book was just delightful!
Garden Spells
I actually ended up reading two books by this author. This one is also set in a small southern town. Amazon just informed me that this book is Allen's debut novel, and it is a wonderful one!
The Waverly family is just...weird. They are strange, and their whole small town knows it. When the younger Waverly sister comes back into town with her young daughter, some of their secrets come out into the open. Again, another wonderful read! I will add more of her books to my list for this upcoming year.
The Waverly family is just...weird. They are strange, and their whole small town knows it. When the younger Waverly sister comes back into town with her young daughter, some of their secrets come out into the open. Again, another wonderful read! I will add more of her books to my list for this upcoming year.
Neverworld Wake
Oh, this book was my FAVORITE this month! It's up there in the favorite list for the year.
Marisha Pessl wrote Special Topics in Calamity Physics, which is another book I just loved. This book, and her other one, both reminded me of a YA, less dark Donna Tart.
In this book, Beatrice is a year out of her private boarding high school and a year separated from her boyfriend's mysterious death. She meets up for a night out with her four best friends from high school in hopes of finding answers. But after a car accident, the five college freshmen are trapped in a "Neverworld Wake," from which only one person can awake.
This book was intense and a little dark, but also not too fast paced. Seriously, I just LOVED it.
Marisha Pessl wrote Special Topics in Calamity Physics, which is another book I just loved. This book, and her other one, both reminded me of a YA, less dark Donna Tart.
In this book, Beatrice is a year out of her private boarding high school and a year separated from her boyfriend's mysterious death. She meets up for a night out with her four best friends from high school in hopes of finding answers. But after a car accident, the five college freshmen are trapped in a "Neverworld Wake," from which only one person can awake.
This book was intense and a little dark, but also not too fast paced. Seriously, I just LOVED it.
Lies You Never Told Me
Ah, another YA thriller/mystery. This book was amazing. Not only was it super engaging, it also addressed some big issues in a very authentic way.
The book tells the story of two different teens, one who begins a relationship with her teacher and one who is trying to get out of a manipulative relationship. I loved the way the stories intertwined!
The book tells the story of two different teens, one who begins a relationship with her teacher and one who is trying to get out of a manipulative relationship. I loved the way the stories intertwined!
The Astonishing Color of After
This was maybe my second favorite book of this month, and it's another YA.
Leigh Chen Sanders has never known her Taiwanese grandparents. But after her mother's suicide, she becomes convinced that her grandparents will be the key to understanding the why's. She travels there and learns about her mother's past.
This book was beautifully written, woven with culture and color. It's definitely a read!
Leigh Chen Sanders has never known her Taiwanese grandparents. But after her mother's suicide, she becomes convinced that her grandparents will be the key to understanding the why's. She travels there and learns about her mother's past.
This book was beautifully written, woven with culture and color. It's definitely a read!
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