TAYSHAS #17

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Again, I judged a book by its cover. This time, it was a good one.

In truth, few book have ever made me cry. This one was made me cry a little. I think it was because, toward the end, the things Taylor, the protagonist, experienced with her dad reminded me so much of the last hours I spent with my grandpa.

This was a book about a girl whose father is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only given a few months to live on her 17th birthday.  Summer is coming, and her father wants to spend his last months with his family at their lake house in the Poconos. Taylor doesn't want to go because the last time her family visited their lake house, five years earlier, Taylor made some mistakes. She doesn't want to face her past. 

Unfortunately, she has no choice but to face her past; her past is constantly thrown in her face. She has to repair relationships with an ex boyfriend and ex best friend, all the while dealing with the impending death of her father.

Sweet story, but sad. Sad for obvious reasons.

I hve decided that I will quit reading books on the TAYSHAS list once I reach twenty.  There are so many other books I want to read, and I have been invited to join a book club that a friend of mine has started. Reading the TAYSHAS books has been fun, and I'll do it again next year. Not to mention that I've earned (or will have earned) 6 rubber ducks, and a cool shirt. Plus, I've gotten to know the school librarians better. :)

TAYSHAS #16

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

This one was only ok, and I think it's because it was so formulaic. Girl abandoned as a child. Girl meets boy, and they become inseparable. Boy doesn't realize Girl likes him. Girl has special powers and is expected to save the world, meaning she has to leave Boy behind. Turns out, instead of saving the world, Girl's powers will ultimately destroy it. Girl runs off; Boy finds her.

Obviously, the end can go one of two ways: she saves the world or destroys it.

In other news, I received Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn from a student. I have never read it, and am looking forward to doing so. Books are the best gifts!

TAYSHAS #15

Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught

Reads a bit like William Faulkner's The Sound and Fury and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night.

The book is told from the point of view of Jason aka Freak. Jason has schizophrenia. His best friends are Derrick aka Drip and Sunshine. They refer to themselves as the Alphabets. They call themselves that because they are all special ed whose disorders are all acronyms. There are other alphabets too, but they are the kids whose letters refer to behavioral disorders, and therefore do not fit in with Jason and his friends. Or rather, the other way around.

After getting off the bus one afternoon, Sunshine goes missing. They don't know if she was kidnapped, or if she ran away. The previous Saturday, Sunshine tells Jason something that she tells him he must forget. He does forget, but he tries desperately to remember because it could be the key to finding Sunshine. Then there's the part about Jason himself being a person of interest.

Good book.