Book Title:
The Scorch Trials
Book Author:
James Dashner
Book Series:
The Maze Runner, #2
Publishing Date:
October 12th, 2010
Publisher:
Delacorte Press
Date Read:
July 27th, 2016
Source:
I received a copy from the publisher

Synopsis

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.

Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn't done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.

There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.

The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch--the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.

There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers' destruction--and they're determined to survive.

My Review

I don’t know how I feel about this book.  I’m completely torn between liking it and being so bored I kind of just wanted to skip to the last few chapters just so I could stop falling asleep and dropping … Continue reading

3 stars
4 Comments
Book Title:
Cherry
Book Author:
Lindsey Rosin
Publishing Date:
August 16th, 2016
Publisher:
Simon Pulse
Date Read:
August 19th, 2016
Source:
ARC from publisher - Thank you!

Synopsis

In this honest, frank, and funny debut novel, four best friends make a pact during their senior year of high school to lose their virginities—and end up finding friendship, love, and self-discovery along the way.

To be honest, the sex pact wasn’t always part of the plan.

Layla started it. She announced it super casually to the rest of the girls between bites of frozen yogurt, as if it was just simply another addition to her massive, ever-evolving To Do List. She is determined to have sex for the first time before the end of high school. Initially, the rest of the crew is scandalized, but, once they all admit to wanting to lose their v-cards too, they embark on a quest to do the deed together... separately.

Layla’s got it in the bag. Her serious boyfriend, Logan, has been asking for months.

Alex has already done it. Or so she says.

Emma doesn’t know what the fuss is all about, but sure, she’ll give it a shot.

And Zoe, well, Zoe can’t even say the o word without bursting into giggles.

Will everything go according to plan? Probably not. But at least the girls have each other every hilarious, heart-warming, cringe-inducing step of the way.

From debut author Lindsey Rosin, Cherry is a coming-of-age, laugh-out-loud tale of first times, last chances, and the enduring friendships that make it all worthwhile.

My Review

“One serving of frozen yogurt later, sex was no longer simply a daydream or a wet dream or a piece of juicy gossip that happened to somebody else.” If the idea of reading a YA contemporary based around sex makes … Continue reading

4 stars
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Book Title:
Beneath Wandering Stars
Book Author:
Ashlee Cowles
Publishing Date:
August 1st, 2016
Publisher:
Merit Press
Date Read:
August 12th, 2016
Source:
I received a copy from the publisher

Synopsis

After her soldier brother is horribly wounded in Afghanistan, Gabriela must honor the vow she made: If anything ever happened to him, she would walk the Camino de Santiago through Spain, making a pilgrimage in his name. The worst part is that the promise stipulates that she must travel with her brother's best friend--a boy she has despised all her life. Her brother is in a coma, and Gabi feels that she has no time to waste, but she is unsure. Will she hesitate too long, or risk her own happiness to keep a promise? An up-close look at the lives of the children of military families, "Beneath Wandering Stars" takes readers on a journey of love, danger, laughter, and friendship, against all odds

My Review

Gabriela, or Gabi, as everyone calls her, has spent her life growing up on army bases with her parents and her brother.  Her father is a member of the military, and the family has moved around quite often.  They are … Continue reading

3.5 stars
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Book Title:
Loving Mr. Daniels
Book Author:
Brittainy Cherry
Publishing Date:
September 16th, 2014
Publisher:
CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Date Read:
August 17th, 2016
Source:
Purchased

Synopsis

To Whom it May Concern, It was easy to call us forbidden and harder to call us soulmates. Yet I believed we were both. Forbidden soulmates. When I arrived to Edgewood, Wisconsin I didn’t plan to find him. I didn't plan to stumble into Joe's bar and have Daniel's music stir up my emotions. I had no clue that his voice would make my hurts forget their own sorrow. I had no idea that my happiness would remember its own bliss. When I started senior year at my new school, I wasn’t prepared to call him Mr. Daniels, but sometimes life happens at the wrong time for all the right reasons. Our love story wasn’t only about the physical connection. It was about family. It was about loss. It was about being alive. It was silly. It was painful. It was mourning. It was laughter. It was ours. And for those reasons alone, I would never apologize for loving Mr. Daniels. -Ashlyn Jennings

My Review

This book came highly recommended to me by a fellow blogger friend, who talked me into buying it despite the fact that it isn’t a young adult novel.  You’ve probably seen (if you follow my blog or have looked around … Continue reading

2 stars
8 Comments
Book Tour

There Once Were Stars Melanie McFarlane Published by: Month9Books Publication date: April 26th 2016 Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult Peace. Love. Order. Dome. That’s the motto that the Order has given the residents of Dome 1618 to live by. Natalia Greyes … Continue reading

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Book Title:
Alight
Book Author:
Scott Aigler
Book Series:
Generations Trilogy, #2
Publishing Date:
April 5th, 2016
Publisher:
Del Ray
Date Read:
March 9th, 2016
Source:
eARC from publisher via NetGalley

Synopsis

In Alive, Scott Sigler introduced readers to an unforgettable young heroine and a mysterious new world reminiscent of those of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising. Now he expands his singular vision in the next thrilling novel of this powerful sci-fi adventure series.

“If it’s war they want, they messed with the wrong girl.”

M. Savage—or Em, as she is called—has made a bewildering and ominous discovery. She and the other young people she was chosen to lead awoke in strange coffins with no memory of their names or their pasts. They faced an empty, unknown place of twisting tunnels and human bones. With only one another to depend on, they searched for answers and found the truth about their terrifying fate. Confronted by a monstrous enemy, they vowed never to surrender—and, by any means, to survive.

The planet Omeyocan may be the sanctuary Em and her comrades seek. But the planet for which they were created turns out not to be a pristine, virgin world. Vestiges of a lost civilization testify to a horrifying past that may yet repeat itself. And when a new enemy creeps from the jungle shadows, Em and her young refugees learn there’s nowhere left to run. They face a simple choice: fight or die.

In the midst of this desperate struggle, their unity is compromised from within—and a dangerous zealot devoted to a bloodthirsty god moves to usurp Em’s command, threatening to lead them all down a path to violent doom.

My Review

This book, like the first book in the series, is really difficult for me to review.  I guess that it doesn’t help that I read it months ago, and then kind of got distracted by tons of other things (like … Continue reading

3.5 stars
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Book Title:
Change Places with Me
Book Author:
Lois Metzger
Publishing Date:
June 14th, 2016
Publisher:
Balzer + Bray
Date Read:
June 16th, 2016
Source:
I received a copy from the publisher

Synopsis

Rose has changed. She still lives in the same neighborhood and goes to the same high school with the same group of kids, but when she woke up today, something was a little different. Her clothes and hair don’t suit her anymore. The dogs who live upstairs are no longer a terror. She wants to throw a party—this from a girl who hardly ever spoke to her classmates before. There’s no more sadness in her life; she’s bursting with happiness.

But something still feels wrong to Rose. Because until very recently, she was an entirely different person—a person who’s still there inside her, just beneath the thinnest layer of skin.

My Review

“‘It’s as if you’re not here.’ Rose felt her throat tighten.  ‘So where am I?’ ‘Somewhere else.’ Rose couldn’t believe it.  What was she talking about?” I feel like that quote right there could probably sum up this entire book.  … Continue reading

4 stars
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Book Title:
Losing Gabriel: A Love Story
Book Author:
Lurlene McDaniel
Publishing Date:
June 14th, 2016
Publisher:
Delacorte Press
Date Read:
June 24th, 2016
Source:
I received a copy from the publisher

Synopsis

This emotionally-charged novel about three high school seniors who in the midst of planning their futures after high school are instead faced with present circumstances that force them to grasp what it means to make choices, take responsibility, and truly become an adult.

Lani Kennedy has dreamed of becoming a nurse since her cousin Arie died of leukemia. Nothing will stop her from getting into the local nursing program.

Dawson Burke hasn’t dealt with his mom’s death, and he’s angry at his dad for moving them to Windemere right before senior year. He grudgingly accepts that he must wait till graduation before he leaves.

Sloan Quentin can belt out a song and knows that her band is her ticket to fame and fortune. When she discovers that her boyfriend—the band’s lead guitarist—is cheating on her, she finds comfort—and revenge—in someone else’s arms.

When the lives of Lani, Dawson, and Sloan become entangled in unexpected ways, reality hits harder than anyone could have imagined.

My Review

I have spent a really long time trying to figure out what to say about this book.  Well, to be completely fair, I kind of went into a  reading and blogging slump shortly after reading this, and I think for … Continue reading

1.5 stars
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Book Tour

The Bad Decisions Playlist Author: Michael Rubens Pub. Date: August 2, 2016 Publisher: Clarion Books Pages: 304 Formats: Hardcover, eBook Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads Synopsis: Austin, 16, a self-described screwup, finds out that his father isn’t dead. He’s alive, and moreover he’s Shane Tyler, a … Continue reading

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Book Tour

Wax Author: Gina Damico Pub. Date: August 2, 2016 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pages: 368 Formats: Hardcover, eBook Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads Synopsis: Paraffin, Vermont, is known the world over as home to the Grosholtz Candle Factory. But behind the sunny retail space bursting with … Continue reading

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