Blog

Romance, YA Fiction

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Michelle
Grades 9-12
liars
This is a book about an upper class family named the Sinclairs who live on a private island. Well, at least they stay there during the summer. The book hooks you from the first sentence, and gets juicier by the page.
The liars are a group of kids—all the same age—who become best friends, and spend each summer together on Beechwood Island in Massachusetts. Their names are Johnny, Mirren, Gat, and Cady, the narrator.
Then Cady realizes she has romantic feelings for Gat, and the dynamic in the group of friends changes. They spend more and more time together and seem to be falling in love.
Things change forever for Cady when she has an accident and can’t spend summers on the island with her group of friends. She travels Europe and the rest of the world, but misses her friends terribly.
If you like books with a large family of characters interwoven to make a great story, read We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, but be careful because you never know which is the truth and which is a lie.
Fantasy, Mystery, YA Fiction

I Woke Up Dead at the Mall by Judy Sheehan

Michelle

Grades 9-12mall

Sixteen-year-old Sarah is dead. And she’s at the mall. The first person she meets is Bertha, who claims to be her Death Coach. She tells Sarah that she has been murdered; poisoned to be exact. Sarah is in a limbo of sorts, and Bertha tells her that her mission is not to get to heaven or hell, but to simply move on and finish her unfinished business. She is only sixteen, after all, and had her whole life ahead of her. Now she has no choice but to make the best of her situation. Readers are taken on a non-stop ride as Sarah becomes acquainted with the after-world and tries to figure out who murdered her, and why.

Animals, Memoirs

A Street Cat Named Bob & How He Saved My Life by James Bowen

Michelle
Ages 16+
 bob
James Bowen was just a busker, playing his guitar on the streets of London to make ends meet. Enter Bob, an injured street cat who James nursed back to health and sent him on  way, never to be seen again. Or so he thought. Bob quickly became James’s companion, who sat by his side, day by day, while James made his living. People stopped by to give James some spare change, but it was Bob who stole their hearts. Read this poignant memoir to learn about all of James and Bob’s adventures in A Street Cat Named Bob & How He Saved My Life.
Award/Honor Books, LGBTQ+, Tear Jerkers, YA Fiction

Love Is the Higher Law by David Levithan

Michelle

Grades 9-12david

Chances are, if you were born in 1994 or later, you remember the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. I know I do. I was 12 years old and in 7th grade- ugh, middle school. Possibly the worst time in my life. I mean, how many people have fond memories of middle school? Even so, I won’t ever forget that day. There was a message on the loudspeaker for teachers to check their emails. Then the entire 7th grade was ushered into the cafeteria and they explained to us what had happened. It was a blur after that. No one I knew worked in the city, but my classmates had parents and relatives that worked there.

David Levithan’s book, which was published in 2009, follows three teens, Claire, Jasper and Peter, as they experience the same thing I did back in 2001 on the nation’s second day of infamy. Claire and Peter are classmates; both high school juniors. Jasper is a college sophomore. Yet each teen is drawn to the other as a result of the catastrophic event. They become good friends as they lean on each other and try to wrap their heads around what happened on that fateful day.

Netgalley Reviews, YA Fiction

All the Feels by Danika Stone

Michelle

Grades 9-12book

Fanatics of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell will love this book! The main character, Liv, is in her freshman year of college and her grades are slipping because she is such a dedicated fangirl. Her favorite movies are the Starveil series. When her favorite character is killed off, she launches an online campaign to bring him back to life. Fanfiction in which Captain Spartan is still alive is great, but it’s just not the same thing. Join Liv and her friends in the quest to bring Spartan back to life!

Thanks to Netgalley.com for a review copy of this book.

Humor, Memoirs

Funny In Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas

Michelle

farsiAges 18+

From author Firoozeh Dumas comes a heartfelt, hilarious memoir of her life as an Iranian immigrant in America. The year is 1972, and seven-year-old Dumas has no knowledge of America other than what her father tells her from his graduate school years in the U.S. The book describes each of her quirky family members: her fashionable mother who never cared to master the English language, her uncle who curses the fast food industry of America, and  her father who became rich in Vegas only to lose his job afterward. Each story seems to be funnier than the last. I recommend this to anyone who loves learning about other cultures and appreciates a good laugh while doing so.

Adult Fiction, Romance, Series

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Michelle

Ages 18+rosie

Don Tillman is getting married…just as soon as he picks a bride. He is a genetics professor, who came up with The Wife Project, which is the 16-page survey required of every woman he goes on a date with. He is sure the results will yield him the perfect woman to marry. Then he meets Rosie Jarman. He is drawn to her because of her mission to find her biological father, but disqualifies her as wife material. The two become friends, and Tillman has to decide whether or not he will ditch The Wife Project and pursue Rosie after all.

Tear Jerkers, YA Fiction

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Michelle

Grades 9-12

belzhar
This has become one of my favorite books! Jam, Griffin, Marc, Casey and Sierra are five friends who meet in a boarding school called the Wooden Barn for “emotionally fragile, highly intelligent teenagers.” They each have a story to tell, and they express themselves in journals given to them by their Special Topics in English teacher known as Mrs. Q. The friends in this tight knit group lean on each other to come to terms with and learn to let go of their pasts.