My Review
I had a bit of a hard time with this book. It isn’t that I didn’t like it, because I did. But when it comes down to it, I think the problem I had with this book was that nothing … Continue reading
Tag Archives: young adult
Synopsis
From the author of The Good Sister comes a gripping novel about two sisters who learn that there are things in life—love, loss, and self-discovery—that you simply can't prepare for.He prepared their family for every natural disaster known to man—except for the one that struck.
When Nicole Reed’s father forces her family to move to a remote area of the Sierra Foothills, one without any modern conveniences, it's too much too handle for her mother, who abandons them in the middle of the night. Heading out to track her down, Nicole’s father leaves her in charge of taking care of the house and her younger sister, Izzy. For a while, Nicole is doing just fine running things on her own. But then the food begins to run out, the pipes crack, and forest fires start slowly inching their way closer every day. Wolf, a handsome boy from the neighboring community, offers to help her when she needs it most, but when she starts to develop feelings for him, feelings she knows she will never be allowed to act on once her father returns, she must make a decision. With her family falling apart, will she choose to continue preparing for tomorrow’s disasters, or will she take a chance and really start living for today?
Instructions for the End of the World is a gripping, young adult novel that explores family, friendship, and love in the midst of the most difficult and dangerous circumstances.
Synopsis
Going Bovine meets Trainspotting in this gritty portrait of at-risk teens gaming the prescription drug trial system.Meet Audie: Professional lab rat. Guinea pig. Serial human test subject. For Audie and her friends, “volunteering” for pharmaceutical drug trials means a quick fix and easy cash. Sure, there’s the occasional nasty side effect, but Audie’s got things under control. If Monday’s pill causes a rash, Tuesday’s ointment usually clears it right up. Wednesday’s injection soothes the sting from Tuesday’s “cure,” and Thursday’s procedure makes her forget all about Wednesday’s headache. By the time Friday rolls around, there’s plenty of cash in hand and perhaps even a slot in a government-funded psilocybin study, because WEEKEND!
But the best fix of all is her boyfriend, Dylan, whose terminal illness just makes them even more compatible. He’s turning eighteen soon, so Audie is saving up to make it an unforgettable birthday. That means more drug trials than ever before, but Dylan is worth it. No pain, no gain, Audie tells herself as the pills wear away at her body and mind. No pain, no gain, she repeats as her grip on reality starts to slide…
Raw and irreverent, Placebo Junkies will captivate readers until the very end, when author J. C. Carleson leans in for a final twist of the knife.
My Review
How do I even write this review? Where do I start? This entire book was just…in a world of its own, and the huge twist just threw me for a loop on the confusing-and-way-out-there coaster. Not saying that’s a bad … Continue reading
Synopsis
Silas Hart has seriously shaken up Westlin Beck's small-town life. Brand new to town, Silas is different than the guys in Green Lake. He's curious, poetic, philosophical, maddening-- and really, really cute. But Silas has a sister-- and she has a secret. And West has a boyfriend. And life in Green Lake is about to change forever.Truest is a stunning, addictive debut. Romantic, fun, tender, and satisfying, it asks as many questions as it answers.
My Review
Let me start off by telling you that this book isn’t your typical “girl meets boy over summer vacation, girl falls in love with boy, problems arise, problems resolve, everyone lives happily every after” young adult novel. This book is … Continue reading
Synopsis
Miriam Feldman was attracted to the artists, the musicians, the boys who wore broken-down cardigans. Boys like Elliot.Their relationship was intense, passionate, all consuming. When they were together, Miriam knew who she was, in the way you can only know when you're deeply in love.
Now that it's over, Miriam has to pick up the pieces.
Even when Elliot starts seeing someone else. Even when she impulsively knocks over a priceless work of art. Even when she's blackmailed by the mystery girl who saw her do it.
Without a map, Miriam has to find her way. If only she knew how.
My Review
This book has a lyrical, almost poetry-like writing style that makes it different from a lot of other books. A lot of other reviews I have read mentioned that the writing style is either one of the best parts of … Continue reading
Synopsis
Just like any average seventeen year old, Twig loves her family. She has a caring mother and a controlling father. Her brothers are sisters are committed to her family’s prosperity…All one hundred and eighty three of them.
Twig lives in the Family, a collective society located in the rainforest of Costa Rica. The Family members coexist with the values of complete openness and honesty, and a shared fear of contagious infection in the outside world.
So when Adam, their Father, prophet, and savior, announces that Twig will be his new bride, she is overjoyed and honored. But when an injury forces her to leave the grounds, Twig finds that the world outside is not necessarily as toxic as she was made to believe. When she meets Leo, an American boy with a killer smile, she begins to question everything about her life within the Family, and the cult to which she belongs.
But when it comes to your Family, you don’t always get a choice.
My Review
I haven’t read a lot of books dealing with cults…the one or two that I have read haven’t really been up my alley and I just couldn’t bring myself to enjoy them, no matter how I tried. While I was … Continue reading
Synopsis
Genetically flawed. Perfectly human.< When seventeen-year-old Lucas Marshall tests positive for the M0A1 gene—a genetic abnormality believed to predispose humans toward violence—he is shipped off to an impregnable government facility to undergo a battery of psychological tests aimed at making him crack. Now, having
But any hope Lucas has of returning to a normal life is shattered when the van transporting him to the reintegration facility is forced off the road by a group of radicals intent on accessing the facility and exposing it's dehumanizing practices. And Lucas is their ticket through the front door.
Spurred by rumors that the facility is secretly holding one of his old friends captive, Lucas and his bunk mate, Chris, agree to infiltrate the testing facility’s inner sanctum. But once inside, Lucas’s carefully laid plans begin to unravel, and he's forced to seek help from a group of kids he neither knows nor trusts. And when every genetic test claims your only allies are hardwired to become the next Charles Manson, it’s impossible to know who has your back.
My Review
If you like a quick science fiction book that is loaded up to the brim with action, then this is a great book to pick up. It’s incredibly fast-paced and has a story line that will practically blow you away. … Continue reading
Synopsis
"This is Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, on community radio 90.3, KZUK. I'm Gabe. Welcome to my show."My birth name is Elizabeth, but I'm a guy. Gabe. My parents think I've gone crazy and the rest of the world is happy to agree with them, but I know I'm right. I've been a boy my whole life.
When you think about it, I'm like a record. Elizabeth is my A side, the song everybody knows, and Gabe is my B side--not heard as often, but just as good.
It's time to let my B side play.
My Review
This is a positively beautiful book. Beautiful Music for Ugly Children tells the story of Gabe, who has been living as Elizabeth, but knows deep down that he is, in fact, Gabe. Only being “out” to his parents and best … Continue reading
Synopsis
From the moment Laura Rivers steps foot into Englewood High, she notices the stares—and they aren’t the typical once-overs every pretty new girl endures. The students seem confused and…spooked. Whispers echoing through the halls confirm that something is seriously off. “That new girl looks just like her,” they say.It turns out Laura has a doppelgänger, and it isn't just anyone—it's Sarah Castro-Tanner, the girl who killed herself by jumping into the Navasink River one year ago.
Laura is determined not to let the gossip ruin her chances of making a fresh start. Thanks to her charming personality and California tan, she catches the eye of Englewood’s undisputed golden boy, Charlie Sanders, and it’s only a matter of time before they make their relationship official.
But something is making Charlie and his friends paranoid—and Laura soon discovers it has to do with Sarah Castro-Tanner.
What really happened to Sarah? Why is Charlie unraveling? And how does Laura Rivers fit into it all?
After all, she’s the dead ringer for a dead girl.
My Review
Finding a fantastic thriller tends to be a challenge, since so many of them tend to fall short of their promise to, well, actually be thrilling. Dead Ringer by Jessie Rosen is a book that will captivate you, and completely … Continue reading
Synopsis
An emotional contemporary YA novel about love, loss, and having the courage to chase the life you truly want.Reeling from her mother's death, Georgia has a choice: become lost in her own pain, or enjoy life right now, while she still can. She decides to start really living for the first time and makes a list of fifteen ways to be brave - all the things she's wanted to do but never had the courage to try. As she begins doing the things she's always been afraid to do - including pursuing her secret crush, she discovers that life doesn't always go according to plan. Sometimes friendships fall apart and love breaks your heart. But once in a while, the right person shows up just when you need them most - and you learn that you're stronger and braver than you ever imagined.
My Review
How to be Brave was one of the books I had been looking forward to the most for the fall. It was one of those books that I knew I had to read, because it sounded like it was going … Continue reading
Synopsis
"Lily?"My stomach dropped as a tall, dark-haired man stepped into view. Had he been hiding between the trees?
"No. Sorry." Gulping, I took a step back. "I'm not Lily."
He shook his head, a satisfied grin on his face. "No. You are Lily."
"I'm Summer. You have the wrong person." You utter freak!
I could hear my pulse crashing in my ears. How stupid to give him my real name. He continued to stare at me, smiling. It made me feel sick.
"You are Lily," he repeated.
Before I could blink, he threw his arms forward and grabbed me. I tried to shout, but he clasped his hand over my mouth, muffling my screams. My heart raced. I'm going to die.
For months Summer is trapped in a cellar with the man who took her―and three other girls: Rose, Poppy, and Violet. His perfect, pure flowers. His family. But flowers can't survive long cut off from the sun, and time is running out...
My Review
I’ve heard about this book a long time ago, and it’s been on my list to read for just as long. I heard plenty of mixed reviews about it, which caused me to put off reading it longer than I … Continue reading
