TAYSHAS 2019 #7

Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All by Various Authors

It is no secret that I love all things Tudor. I was so excited to see this on the nominee list several months ago, and even moreso to see that it made the cut for the actual list. I would've read this anyway, but to read something I enjoy AND it be a TAYSHAS book was too good to be true.

This was well done. Each wife's story starts right before her death, and there's a 50-ish page story telling what happens up until that point. Between each wife's story there is an account from Henry VIII. Each person's story was written by a different young adult author, though I have only heard of one of them.

You can tell that this was well researched. Most of what was presented is the same is what I have read in nonfiction books about the wives of Henry VIII, but it was told in more palatable ways. Even after reading this, I maintain that Jane Seymour is my least favorite wife. I hate that it has been purported that she was Henry's favorite simply because she is the one who gave him a son who lived. I still believe Anne Boleyn was the woman he loved. He may have said she was a witch who enchanted him, but I think that is what he had to tell himself to live with what he had done to her. He moved Heaven and Earth for her in a way that he didn't for any of his other wives.

All in all, this was a good read.

TAYSHAS 2019 #6

Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson

I can't remember if I read Speak on my own or because it was a requirement for one of my library science classes, but I read it a few years ago. I liked it because it was real. So, when I saw the graphic novel made the TAYSHAS list I knew I would read it.

If I am being honest, I don't think this should have made the list simply because the original novel was on the list years ago. But, what do I know? This was a quick read because it was a graphic novel.

I am not the biggest fan of graphic novels. I understand that people love them, and I think they are great for struggling readers. Give me the words on the page and let my imagination paint the pictures rather than what the author wants me to see, even if those images in my head are not so nice.

All that said, this was pretty well done. Despite the subject matter, nothing was illustrated in such a way that you could see everything. It was tastefully done, and there was still room for the imagination to do what needed to be done.

I am not going to revisit the story itself, as I wrote a review/summary when I read the original novel. I think both the original and graphic novels have a place on library shelves and in classrooms, and I will be obtaining a copy of the graphic novel for mine.

TAYSHAS 2019 #5

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig

Ginny is thirteen, almost fourteen, at the start of the book. She is autistic, and lives with her "forever" parents. Ginny was taken away from her drug using and abusive mother when she was nine. She keeps asking if her baby doll was found and if it is ok. Turns out the baby doll is not a doll at all, but Ginny's baby sister that no one knew about.

Let me back up a little... Ginny has been in two previous "forever" homes, but she keeps running away to try to get back to her mother, Gloria, because she wants her baby doll. She is not allowed on the internet because everyone thinks she will try to contact Gloria (they're not wrong). One day at school, a friend of Ginny's helps her find Gloria on Facebook, and Gloria tries twice to see Ginny. She contacts Gloria one more time to tell her to come to her harvest concert at school, and instead Ginny's aunt comes and kidnaps her. Her aunt, Crystal, is the only one at this point, besides Gloria, who knows the truth about the baby doll. Ginny doesn't stay with Crystal long because there is an Amber Alert out for her, so Crystal takes Ginny back to school. Turns out, the person who helped find Ginny is her birth dad, Rick.

While Ginny was kidnapped, her forever mom gave birth to a baby girl. Forever Mom doesn't trust Ginny with the baby, and becomes increasingly hostile towards Ginny. Ginny still wants to be with Gloria, and does everything she can to be with her mother. By this time, they have figured out that the baby doll is Ginny's sister, Krystal. Ginny has been acting weird and stealing things, and her forever mom starts to think that she needs to be at a school for girls. Ginny doesn't want that and cements her plans with Gloria for Gloria to come get her.

Things don't go as planned, but they work out for the best in the end. My heart went out to Ginny because all she wanted was to take care of her baby doll, but didn't understand that her sister wasn't a baby anymore. That was really hard for Ginny to come to terms with.

What I liked about the book is that it gave some insight to how the minds of some people on the autism spectrum work. I realize that not all people with autism are the same, but sometimes it helps to further understanding for those of us not on the spectrum. On the whole, this was a good read.

TAYSHAS 2019 #4

Mercy Rule by Tom Leveen

This one is told from several viewpoints/perspectives. Each perspective is of a student at a high school, except for the football coach, who is, obviously, an adult. One young man, Danny, is a sophomore, bullied for being different, gets high and tries to get his parents to let him go back to his "real" high school. Cadence is a freshman with a sunny outlook who has befriended Danny, but doesn't want a romantic relationship with Danny, much to his dismay.

Then there is Vivi, a Latina junior who just moved here from a bad part of town. She is super smart and because of this has "earned" the ire of the girl who was planning to be valedictorian. Drea is a freshman and a cutter who is just trying to find her place in the world. Donte and Brady are football players, who, whether they realize it or not, bully other students who aren't athletes. Last there is the football coach who does what he can to help his players, even if he isn't helping his own children.

Theoretically, when you read their parts, any one of these characters could be the one who is responsible for the school shooting. I say theoretically because I knew who the shooter would be. That said, there were still some twists that I didn't expect.

This is a good read for everyone. I say that because it can help teachers and coaches to see what they need to be looking for to potentially prevent a shooting. It is good for students to read because it could help them see that their actions can go too far.

TAYSHAS 2019 #3

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

I have heard a lot of good things about this book, so when I saw it made the list, I knew it was one I would have to read. Good choice. It's told in verse, so it is a quick read, even though there are 306 pages. (Hello? I just started it this morning while my students took midterms!)

This is told by Will. His brother was shot and killed the night before, and according to "the rules," Will has to avenge his brother's death. He finds his brother's gun, and gets on the elevator to take care of business. Seven floors he has to go down. A minute's time, and this is what Will sees and hears. Each floor, someone he knows gets on the elevator with him. People who have died. Each one to help him see what he has to do.

With each person, Will seems to get a bit more confused as to what he has to do. Doubt has been introduced-- is it really the person he thinks killed his brother? What if he misses? He sees all these dead folks, is Will himself alive or dead?

So, take this journey and decide for yourself.

TAYSHAS 2019 #2

Losers Bracket by Chris Crutcher

It's that time of year again. The TAYSHAS list was released last week, so in my effort to read at least fifteen, I got started. If they hadn't changed the way they did the nomination list this year, I likely would've gotten started earlier, but they did so I didn't.

I opted to start with this one because I discovered I really like Chris Crutcher. Usually, it seems, he writes books that appeal more to teenaged boys, which is awesome, but this time, he wrote about a girl. Crutcher also tackles social issues, and at the crux of this book, there is a social issue. On top of all that, it was just a really good read, which is what I have come to expect from this author.

It is the summer before her senior year, and Annie is in a basketball tournament with her friends. She purposely loses, at first, because it means that she will have more opportunities to play. She loves basketball, so you may not be surprised that she wants to play as much as she can, but the real reason she starts in the losers bracket is because it gives her biological family more opportunities to see her play. She was placed in foster care at a young age, and doesn't get to see her "real" family terribly often because her foster father has more or less forbidden it.

Annie's family is a mess. Her biological family, as well as her foster family, but for different reasons. Her foster father is a narcissist, so everything has to be his way or the highway. He threatens to "give her back" of she doesn't follow his rules to not see her biological family. Her biological family is messed up because her parents and older sister are into drugs and other unsavory activities.

Annie's older sister, Sheila, has a son, Frankie, who goes missing at one of Annie's swim meets, and Annie feels like it is up to her to find Frankie and make sure he is ok. A large chunk of the book is devoted to this.

What is important about this book, I think, is that it gives a glimpse of the foster care system. Maybe the more people who read this, the better the system can become.

P&P With a Twist

Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz

It's no secret that I am a fan of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I will read anything I can that is even remotely related, so when I saw this at Target, I bought it. The downside to always reading these iterations of the same story, is you never know when one is going to be original. This one wasn't terribly original. The biggest difference is that Darcy is female and Elizabeth Bennett becomes Luke Bennett. Whoa.

This is also set in modern times, split between "Pemberley," Ohio and New York City.

Don't get me wrong, this was a cute story, but when all you're doing is telling Austen's story in the modern time, it doesn't really hold my interest. Add something different; it's ok as you aren't canon anyway. Perhaps it's time for people to stop ripping off the classics to make a buck?

Oh, and this is a Hallmark Channel movie, so you know the cheese factor is high.

Thought I Might Find a Familiar Location

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Reason I bought this #1: It takes place in Mississippi, where my mom's family is from. Parchman is specifically mentioned in the blurb on the back, and I have visited Parchman farm a time or two, as I have family who worked there (and lived on the grounds).

Reason I bought this #2: They had some books 2 for $30 at the Montreal airport, and I am a sucker for books.

The back of this book sounded good--part ghost story, part road novel--and it was good, it just took a little bit for me to get into. Still wasn't a book I couldn't put down, though.

This is told from three perspectives: Jojo, Leonie, and Richie. Jojo is a thirteen-year-old boy. He has a three-year-old sister named Kayla, and his parents are sucky. They live with his grandparents, Pop and Mam, near the coast in Mississippi. Jojo loves his grandparents and his baby sister, but not so much his parents. His mother has made it apparent that his white father who is in the penitentiary for drugs is more important than he and his sister ever will be.

Leonie is Jojo's mother, but she's one of those women who should never be a mother. She doesn't really care about her kids. It kills her that her daughter loves Jojo more than she loves Leonie, but that is the bed she has made for herself. She takes her children and her dope fiend friend, Misty, on a road trip to Parchman farm when her boyfriend is released from prison. She even lets her young son be handcuffed and have a gun pointed at his head when they are pulled over. What kind of crappy mother does that?

Richie is the spirit of a friend of Pop's from his days when he was incarcerated at Parchman. Not everyone can see Richie, but Jojo and probably Kayla can. Richie needs Pop to tell his Parchman story to the end so that his spirit can move on.

It's not terribly hard to follow, and, obviously, there's more going on, but once you get into this, you do want to see how things turn out.

Injustice Still Lives...Unfortunately

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

Books like this are hard for me to talk about. Why? Because I am a middle class, white woman, and this book is about a young, black man who comes from poverty. There's no way I can relate to his struggles, and if I express any empathy at all, there are those who will say it's because of "white guilt." I would like to say that they are wrong, but I don't know that they are. Why shouldn't I feel "white guilt"? I know where I come from, and it's not pretty. I have family who are most definitely racists. My own grandfather used to tell people that he was the Grand Dragon of the KKK in Mississippi, as though that is something to be proud of. It's not. My parents tried really hard to raise my brothers and me to not be racists. I'd like to believe that they did a good job.

I loved this book. It made me think. It makes me want to try even harder to make this world a better place.

Justyce is a senior in high school. He's on an academic scholarship at a fancy prep school. At the beginning of the book, he is arrested for being black. Honestly, that's what it boils down to. He was trying to keep his (ex)girlfriend from driving drunk, and when the police rolled up, they thought he was trying to rob her (or worse). They only thought these things because he was black, and they wouldn't listen to anything he had to say.

Later, we see Justyce's schoolmates are racists, although they don't see it themselves. They seem to think that just because they are friends with black men, that means they aren't racist. They don't hear the things that come out of their mouths, and when they are called on it, they don't understand how it's considered racist. These comments lead to Justyce and his best friend, Manny, going for a drive one day instead of going hiking with friends. On this drive, they are listening to music, and the driver in the car next to them says it is too loud. This driver ends up shooting Justyce and Manny. Manny dies, and Justyce is critically injured. Oh, and the shooter is an off-duty cop.

Unlike most of the similar cases in the news at the time this story takes place, the cop in this instance is indicted, so Justyce has to go to trial. He has to relive that horrible day, all while doubt is being cast simply because he is black.

This book is powerful. It's relevant. It needs to be read--by everyone.

And Then There Were...A Few

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

I picked this up at the airport in Montreal on my way to Paris last week. I had no idea that Lapena had another book coming out, so I knew I had to pick this one up. Some would say these aren't the best-written thrillers out there, and maybe they are right, but I enjoy them.

The premise is fairly simple: several people go to a hotel for a weekend away. People start dying, and the guests at the hotel aren't sure if the killer is one of them or someone on the outside.

In many ways, this is like Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. The reader gets to be in the mind of each of the killers, and, honestly, you don't know who did it until the end. In that way, it's well done. Most of the time when I read thrillers or mysteries, and figure out the guilty party before I hit the halfway point. With this one, I had no clue who it could be.

This would've been a faster read for me under normal circumstances, but lately, I just haven't felt like reading.

Murders at Sea

Escaping From Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco

Took longer for me to get into than it should have, but I think that was me and not the book in this case. I just haven't felt like reading much lately. Once I had some time to just sit and read, like on my flight to Paris, I was engrossed.

Picking up right after the second book in the series, this one sees Audrey Rose and Thomas onboard a ship bound for America. Also on board is a traveling circus, of which Harry Houdini is a part. Everyone is enthralled with the circus at the start, but then a young lady is killed right next to Audrey Rose. Her death was spectacular, but not in a good way, and seemed to reflect a tarot card. Every night of the cruise, someone is killed, and it is up to Audrey Rose to figure out who the killer is.

To top things off, Liza, Audrey Rose's cousin, has gone missing. She later turns up on the ship, under the thrall of Houdini. And the circus master wants Audrey Rose to himself, which makes her question what, or rather who, she wants.

In order to solve the crime, Audrey Rose has to learn from the circus master, Mephistopheles, how to do tricks so that she can infiltrate the performers to find clues. It's not until the killer takes Thomas that she finally figures out who the murderer is.

As with the predecessors in this series, there are a lot of twists and turns. My only complaint is that Houdini plays such a small part in a book that bears his name.

More Poetry

yesterday, i was the moon by Noor Unnahar

Honestly, I bought this book of poetry because of the poet's first name. I have a brilliant former student who is also a gifted writer and poet, and these poems, to a certain degree, reminded me of her.

As it turns out, I am a big fan of this non-traditional poetry. The kind that ignores capitalization and punctuation rules, that has an easy to understand surface meaning, so even if you suck at deeper meanings of poems, you can get something from them. Every book of poetry that I have read in the past year, save one, fit this criteria.

One of my Favorite Topics

Witches! The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer

This is a National Geographic book, so it is well done. It's not terribly long, only 135 pages, but it doesn't bore like some books about the witch trials. I am pretty well versed on the topic, if I do say so myself, and even I learned a thing or two from this book. This is well researched, and accessible to darn near everyone.

This has pictures, well, drawings, really, that reflect some of the images in other books about Salem I have read. This one also gives a mini bio about the major players of the witch trials, as well as the outcome for the major players who survived. The accounts of the trials themselves are accurate but not so weighted down with language that you don't want to read this. I feel fairly confident that I will be adding this to my witchy collection.

Just Like the Movie

Mean Girls by Micol Ostow

When I say this is just like the movie, this is just like the movie. Verbatim.

That said, I loved it. It was fun to me to get to read a movie that I love so much. I enjoyed being able to see the thoughts of the characters behind what we see on the screen.

If nothing else, when I put this on the shelves in my classroom, I will be able to get someone to read who normally wouldn't.

Better Than the Second, But Not as Good as the First

Someday by David Levithan

I can't believe it took me three weeks to read a book that should've taken three days, tops. I just haven't really wanted to read. I think it has to do with all the stress of having to do more with less at work, including having more students than everyone on my team and more behavioral issues too. I am hoping this will change soon, so my desire to read will come back with it.

Anyway, this is the third installment of the series that started with Everyday a few years ago. This one is told by A, Rhiannon, Nathan, and X. Of course, A and Rhiannon were who narrated the first two books, but Nathan was one of the people that A inhabited, the one who thought he was possessed by the devil. X is someone new entirely, and he is someone like A, who inhabits different bodies. There are a few chapters narrated by others, but the book is primarily the four I mentioned.

This is a few months after the events in Everyday. A is in Colorado, doing his own thing. Rhiannon and Nathan are in Maryland, having become friends, and wishing they could contact A. Part of the reason they want to contact A is because they miss him, but the other part is because X has been contacting Nathan, trying to find A.

One thing I liked about this is that the reader gets to see that there are more people like A, even if they aren't as awesome as A. As much as I like this series though, I hope this is the last one. I'd rather see Levithan work on more books about Dash and Lily.

Afghani Life After the Taliban

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad

This is a work of nonfiction, written by a Norwegian author. They spent four months staying in Afghanistan with an Afghani family after the Taliban fell. What I got from this book is that even though they live in the 21st century, Afghan people are still living in the dark ages, essentially.

I guess being a woman in the western world, reading about what these women deal with--not being able to go in public, find jobs, find a husband, everything really--just pissed me off. It aggravated me that women were dependent on men for everything. The book starts out with a guy wanting a second wife because his first wife was too old.

Sultan, the head of the family in this book, is just an asshole. When the carpenter is caught stealing, Sultan does whatever necessary to make sure that the carpenter is punished. The thing is, the carpenter gave back what was stolen and endured beatings and humiliation, but Sultan made things worse than they had to be. He didn't even treat his children--his sons-- well.

All that said, this was a well-written book. If the subject matter hadn't been so bleak and disturbing, this would have been a more riveting read. This should not have taken the two weeks it took for me to read.

Monster Poetry

to make monsters out of girls by amanda lovelace

Once again, this poetess has written something that speaks to my soul. She writes from the heart about the hurts she has endured and how she has overcome them. I just love her work.

And one of the things I love most about her work is that you don't have to have experienced the same things she did to understand the hurt and pain that she writes about, nor have you had to experience the same good things she did to feel all the good she writes about. All you need is some empathy to understand her words.

A Thriller by an Author I Enjoy

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

I had been waiting for about a year for this to finally come out in paperback. I was so excited to read this, and the very first chapter assured me that I would enjoy this book a great deal. Sadly, not all the chapters were as exciting as the first one. This purports itself to be a mystery or thriller novel, but that is not the main point. the point, I am sorry to say, is more a love story than anything else. It's not bad, but it's not the reason I wanted to read this.

In Osborne, Nebraska, several of Makani's classmates are being murdered one at a time. Makani thinks it could somehow be linked to her past. By the way, her past is not as scandalous as the build-up would have you believe. Also, we find out who the murderer is about halfway through the book, which doesn't do much for the suspense factor.

I don't know, this just wasn't what I was hoping for, and I am finding it difficult to be excited about it.

A Sequel as Unremarkable as the First Book

That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton

I read this because someone told me this was better than The Outsiders. Someone who, like me, didn't understand what all the fuss about The Outsiders is all about. I wish I could agree that this was better, but it wasn't. It wasn't worse either, for what its worth.

This, apparently, happens after the events of The Outsiders, but the only character from that book that makes an appearance at all is Ponyboy. Seems that every girl Bryon dates ends up with Ponyboy.  Bryon is an only child, but his best friend, Mark, lives with him and his mother. They get into trouble from time to time, but have each other's backs on everything, until Bryon betrays Mark.

Most of this was blah, blah, blah to me. Most likely won't be reading anymore by this author because her work just doesn't resonate with me. I understand that these books were groundbreaking at the time of their publication, but YA lit has come a long way and there are better things, in my opinion, to read. That said, if you're one of those people who think that The Outsiders is the be all end all of YA lit, then you should read this.

Before She Was What She Became

Becoming Bonnie by Jenni Walsh

This is a fictional work about Bonnie Parker, the Bonnie of Bonnie and Clyde. It picks up when she is about fifteen years old, still in high school, and still in love with a boy she's grown up with. This chronicles her life in how she became involved in illicit and illegal activities, which, in this case, was working at a speakeasy.

While working at the speakeasy, she volunteers herself to go on a bootlegging run with Clyde's brother, Buck. This is when she meets Clyde for the first time, but she is not that interested in him because she is engaged to Roy. Roy is everything she wants until he starts drinking and gambling. He ends up losing all their money and cheating on her.

Since I don't know too much about Bonnie's actual history, I can't say whether this book is out of the realm of possibility or not, but I did like it. Highly recommend this one.

A Modern Interpretation

The Picture of Dulce Garcia by Alana Albertson

This came in one of my Lit-Cubes, but I don't remember which one anymore. This is a modern retelling of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, which I have never read. I actually started this earlier in the summer, then got caught up in other things. No harm, no foul. This was a quick read.

Dulce is a sixteen-year-old actress in Marin, California. She plays a witch on a tv show. While shooting an episode, Dulce somehow manages to curse herself. She becomes flawlessly beautiful. At the same time, she meets Dorian Grey, who claims to be the real-life inspiration for Wilde's book. Dulce falls for him, but is also in love with her co-star, Sebastian.

This curse has changed aspects of Dulce's personality, and people are noticing. It all causes her to run off with Dorian. Then she discovers that he is sketchy as hell. She ultimately has to determine to live as she is now, or risk her life to break the curse.

I only finished this because I started it. And I paid for it. This was not the best thing I have read. In fact, it's kind of shallow. The characters are blah, and I feel so much more could have been done with it. Nevertheless, I will put it in my classroom, where someone will probably love it. 

Summer Book 25

Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

I barely made it, but I met my summer reading goal. I wasn't sure I was going to get to read this book this summer. I put it on hold a few weeks before school was out, and it finally became available the day I went in for in-service. It was definitely worth the wait.

This is Mary's story. She allegedly killed a three-month-old baby when she was nine years old. She served time for it and is now in a group home. She finds out that she's pregnant, and once the person running the group home finds out, it becomes clear that everyone is going to try to take Mary's baby. She contacts a lawyer, and they appeal her case. Through her story, the reader can see the holes, and how it is possible that Mary didn't commit the crime.

So many times while reading this, my heart breaks for this girl. She's sixteen, and her mom sold her down the river to save herself. She's treated abominably in this group home, both by the people running it and the other girls living there. At one point, one of the girls pushes her down the stairs. It's a miracle that she doesn't lose her baby or die herself.

This was a good read. If nothing else, it has opened my eyes to what some group homes are like. The past couple of years, I've had students from a local group home, and it is hard to imagine what these girls go through. Honestly, I pray that none of the girls I have in my classes have experienced the horrors I read about in this book.

Summer Book 24

Puddin' by Julie Murphy

When I heard this was coming out, I couldn't wait to read it. Then I forgot about it. So, a few weeks ago, when I was up insanely late and saw this on my public library's Overdrive page, I put it on hold. I've enjoyed a couple of this author's other books, one being Dumplin', which this is a "sequel" of.

Told in two perspectives, Millie and Callie. Millie is overweight. Her mother is also overweight, and seems to think dieting is a way of life, even though they don't work. She sends Millie to fat camp every summer, but Millie vows she won't go this year because she plans to go to UT journalism camp, if she can get in. In her spare time, Millie works at her uncle's gym.

Callie is on her high school drill team, which happens to be the only team at that high school worth a darn, but all the money goes to football. When Callie and her friends discover that one of their sponsors pulled their funding, they decide to vandalize the company. This goes too far, and Millie is who recognizes Callie in the surveillance video causing the damage.

Callie is kicked off the drill team, which just about kills her, and thinks it was one of her fellow dancers who turns her in. To make restitution to the gym, Callie works there for free. It is at the gym that Callie and Millie become friends. They are unlikely friends: the fat girl and the popular girl. This book is about their ups and downs.

This was a pretty good read, and a quick read. Highly recommended, particularly if you like this author's other works.

Summer Book 23

Out of Orange by Cleary Wolters

This is the story of Alex, supposedly, from the Netflix series, Orange is the New Black. Ms. Wolters wrote this in response to the show because Hollywood, surprise surprise, overexaggerated who she was in the show.

The book is quite good, but the majority of it focuses on what led Cleary to the federal institution. Only about a quarter of the book is about her time in jail. I was correct in my assessment of Cleary's character in Piper's book, by the way, but Piper showed up more in this book than Cleary did in hers, if that makes any kind of sense.

In reading both Piper and Cleary's books, I was hoping to find some of the things that make the show so enjoyable, but, as I said, the show is an overexaggerated depiction of what really happened. For crying out loud, Piper and Cleary weren't even in the same facility except when they went to Chicago to testify in the trial of one of their co-conspirators.

If you're looking to read a true story about how easy it is for someone who is seemingly normal/average to break the law, then this is for you. If you're a fan of the show, you'll like this, but for different reasons than the show.

Summer Book 22

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

I have seen several episodes of the NetFlix series of the same name when my husband watched the first six seasons, but he watched a lot when I was at work or asleep, so I missed a good deal of the show. Still, I planned to go back and watch from the beginning myself, but I haven't done so yet. So, one day last week when I was up absurdly late at night, I came across this while puttering around on my public library's Overdrive site. I thought it would give me more insight on the show before I started it. In this regard, I was wrong. Very little of what is in this book translates to the show. It seems the show is an over exaggeration of what Ms. Kerman relates in this book.

Piper Kerman made some mistakes in her early to mid-twenties. Mistakes that involved drug trafficking at the behest of the woman she was dating. After they broke up, Piper sought a "normal" life. This was going well for a while until she received notice that she was being indicted. She obtained counsel, plead guilty, and was sentenced to fifteen months in a federal penitentiary. This book is her recounting of this time in prison. Honestly, it is tame compared to what is shown on screen.

Having said that, I am about to start the memoir written by the woman who inspired the character of Alex on the show. The woman who claims to have had a relationship with Piper. The woman, unless it is the one who enticed her into this mess, is NEVER mentioned in this book. It will be interesting to read her take on this.

Summer Book 21

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffler and Annie Barrows

I have seen this on shelves at stores many times over, but my interest was never piqued. Then I saw a preview for a movie or series based on this book and I became a little bit interested. Not much later, a new friend on Facebook indicated that she had bought this book and was planning to read it before the movie came out. I figured, at the very least, I would have someone to discuss this with, so I ordered it myself.

If you've been following me for any length of time, you know I read fairly quickly and move onto the next one. This is not an especially long book, less than 300 pages, and it held my interest quite well, so why did it take me several days to read? The only answer I have is that I wanted to savor this one. Admittedly, a part of me wants to go back to the beginning and read it again. That almost never happens to me. Even better, I want to buy a copy and give it to my grandmother! I'm still trying to make up for the snafu that was my recommendation of The Lovely Bones a decade ago, and this just might be the one to do it.

I absolutely LOVED this book. LOVED IT!! There was just something about it that made me want more, and the ending absolutely left it open for more.

Maybe it was the way this was written that made me love it so. It's an epistolary novel--one that is told through letters-- and as such, the reader is on more intimate terms with the characters. At least that was the case for me. You're not necessarily told every little detail, and there are things that the reader has to figure out on their own in a way that a "regular" novel doesn't provide that makes the reader more invested. Whatever it was, this was probably my favorite book to read this summer, maybe even this year.

Ok, so the story itself...

Juliet is an authoress in London just after the end of World War II. She is on a book tour for something she wrote during the war. Her letters at the beginning are to her best friend, Sophie, her editor and best friend's brother, Sidney, and her friend, Susan. Then she receives a letter from a man named Dawsey from Guernsey, who ended up with a book that used to belong to her. This letter is the beginning of their friendship, and they start to correspond. Then so do Dawsey's friends on Guernsey. These letters give Juliet and idea for a new book, about the Occupation on Guernsey during the war. The residents of this Channel Island would very much like to meet Juliet, so she comes for an extended stay. Juliet becomes one of them, and a beautiful story continues to unfold.

Please, rush out and get this book! I promise you won't regret it.

Summer Book 20

A Prom to Remember by Sandy Hall

Because I loved her book A Little Something Different, I had to read this one. I had a hard time finding it in places other than Amazon too. Usually, Hall's books are fairly easy to find at Target, but I have been to no less than five of those and couldn't find it anywhere. No worries, as I sucked it up and got it at Barnes and Noble.

What I like about Hall's books is her use of multiple perspectives. In this case, there were seven, and none of them was a squirrel. Ha. As the title suggests, this is about a bunch of seniors getting ready for their prom. I also love that none of the characters we hear from are the popular kids. I think it would've been a whole different book if they had been. For example, we have a guy who likes to fly under the radar nominated for prom king, and he has to deal with all the anxiety that entails.

As someone who wasn't exactly popular and whose prom experience didn't live up to the hype/expectations, I could relate to most of these characters. High school is rough if you're not in the upper echelon, and this book is for those kids.

Summer Book 19

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Summer Book 18

Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson

I received this book as an advanced reader copy from First to Read in exchange for my honest review, so here we go.

I was first introduced to Ms. Woodson's work when I read Brown Girl Dreaming for one of my classes when I was pursuing my library science degree, so when the opportunity came to read an advance copy of her newest book, I jumped at the chance. This is written for middle grades, which is a younger audience than the young adult books I usually read, but a good book is a good book, no matter what age it is written for.

This book is told by Haley, whose father is in prison for killing her mother in a car accident. She is in a class at school with five other children, and it is a "special" class, but it is unclear why they are in this "special" class. On Fridays, from 2pm until the end of the school day, these six children got to the ARTT room. There they talk about anything and everything. They learn about Esteban's father who was picked up by immigration, about Amari not being able to play with his toy guns anymore because of an incident where a young, black boy was killed, about Tiago and the prejudices his family feels because they speak Spanish all the time, about Ashton who doesn't feel like he feels in because he's white, about Haley's situation with her parents. We never really learn about Holly in the room, and I am not sure why that is (and frankly, it's one of the reasons I could never give this five stars on Amazon). These adolescent kids learn about the world and themselves in that room on Fridays.

There are some problems with the book though. As I mentioned, we never really hear about Holly except that she is perceived as rich by her peers. That seems unfair, when all the other kids share. There's also the jump in time from midwinter to Easter. Like, most of the book takes place in a succession of Fridays, but then jumps several months. That doesn't work for me. The ending also seems rushed and doesn't really fit.

Like I said, I knew going in that this would be a good book, and it was, but there were some flaws that I just couldn't overlook.

Summer Book 17

Somebody's Daughter by David Bell

I think it's been three years since I first discovered David Bell's work, and I have since read everything he's written. He's one of the few authors that I anxiously wait for new titles from. This one came out last week, and I couldn't wait to get started. As excited as I was for this, it was a little bit of a slow start, but that didn't last too long. Once I got started, I didn't want to stop, as usual.

Michael is married to Angela, but ten years ago, he was married to Erica. Michael and Angela are trying to have a baby, but they're having trouble. In fact, the night that Erica shows up on their front porch, is the peak time for Michael and Angela to try to conceive a baby. But, Erica shows up. Her daughter has been missing since that morning, and she needs Michael to help her find the girl.

And, oh yeah, Michael is the girl's father, or so Erica claims. Michael has a soft spot for children, and has since his baby sister died in an accident when they were children. Michael was supposed to be looking after his sisters, and wasn't paying attention, so he feels responsible for her death. Erica knows this, and uses it to get Michael's help.

Thus begins a crazy night of trying to find a kidnapped child.

This book, like all of Bell's books, is full of twists and turns and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. Details are revealed, and you don't really know how they fit in, but keep you wanting more. Right up to the end, you don't know what's going to happen. READ THIS!!

Summer Book 16

The Universe is Expanding and So Am I by Carolyn Mackler

After finishing The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things I knew I had to read this one. Much like Summer Book 15, I sincerely hope that Ms. Mackler will continue writing about Virginia because I want to see more of her. She's only sixteen, and there are still adventures to be had.

This one picks up roughly four months after the predecessor. It's near the end of Virginia's sophomore year of high school. Her sister will be coming home from her stint in the Peace Corps, and her brother is about to go to Paris. Until he is arrested for the date rape nine months previously. This throws a wrench in everything, particularly Virginia's new relationship with a boy. Who happens to be the brother of Byron's victim.

Virginia and Sebastian decide it is best to continue to see each other and keep what happened between their siblings out of their relationship. This works pretty well. Until it doesn't

I liked this book, but there were some things that irritated me and they irritated me in the first book also. First, Virginia's parents. They harp on Virginia's weight because she's not super thin like everyone else in her family, as if this makes her less than. Then, anytime she tries to assert herself, she's somehow wrong, but not for any real reason. And how they make Byron's problems her problems. I just wish they could see and love Virginia for who she is.

Then there's Byron. He's an asshole. He thinks that because he's some golden child things can't touch him. Like when he squirts the windshield wiper fluid on Virginia in the car, that it's no big deal. Who does this crap? People who turn out to date rape girls, that's who.

Again, I loved both of these books and hope there are more.

Summer Book 15

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Just got this yesterday. I somehow managed to get it in paperback, even though it hasn't been released in this format here yet. Go me. I was a little concerned that this wouldn't be as good as Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda because I didn't really like Leah in that book, but I loved this.

So, Leah is bisexual, but only her mother knows. Leah's never gone out with anyone and never kissed anyone, but she has had crushes on people before. In fact, she has a big ol' crush on Abby, but figures nothing will come of that because Abby is straight and dating her friend, Nick. They're all getting ready to graduate and are receiving their college acceptances. Leah and Abby will both end up at the same college, but Nick is going to a school in Boston, which could be a problem since Abby doesn't want to have a long-distance relationship. Abby breaks up with Nick right before spring break, which is also right before prom. Abby is fine about it, but Nick isn't.

During spring break, Abby and Leah go to an orientation at their college, and Abby kisses Leah. It's Leah's first kiss. Leah doesn't know what to make of this, but figures Abby is just experimenting and therefore playing with Leah's emotions. It turns out that was not Abby's intent. She's just trying to find herself and understand things.

And oh yeah, there's a guy who is smitten with Leah, but because she is hung up on Abby, she is kinda stringing him along. Normally, this would anger me, but it was just so sweet to see how things between Leah and Abby developed that I could overlook it.

I realize that I have not done this awesome book justice. I'm sorry about that. I genuinely hope that Albertalli will allow us to follow Simon and Bram and Leah and Abby through college because I know I am not satisfied yet. Surely I am not the only one.

Summer Book 14

The Third Twin by CJ Omololu

I hate when you come across a book, read the blurb and it sounds amazing, but it turns out being boring for 2/3 of the book. That was the case with this one.

The premise was good. Lexi and Ava are twins, and seniors in high school. Ever since they were little and got in trouble, they would blame Alicia--who didn't actually exist. Now that they are older, they use Alicia to go out on dates with guys they'd never be caught dead with otherwise. The book even starts out with Lexi as Alicia, going out with some guy that Ava decided wasn't good enough for her when she was Alicia. The guy wouldn't take no for an answer, so Lexi scratched his face with her keys, and a few days later, they find out he'd been murdered.

In the intervening day, Lexi (as herself) runs into another guy who dated Ava (as Alicia), and ends up going out with him later. Ava, meanwhile is dating another guy, and he ends up dead. Since Lexi knows she didn't do it, she is convinced Ava is killing these guys and framing Lexi. So Lexi goes to warn Eli, which doesn't work out so well, since he ends up dead. The law is looking for Lexi, and she has to do whatever is necessary to clear her name, even though the evidence is piling up against her.

When the book finally gets good, the last hundred pages or so, so much is revealed and things start to make sense, even if parts are a little predictable. And of course, in my effort to not ruin the ending for you, I can't tell you about the good parts.

I didn't love this book, but I can't say I hated it. The last third of the book made it worthwhile, but I guess I was just expecting more. Oh well, they can't all be amazing all the way through.

Summer Book 13

Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye by Lois Lowry

I have been to four or five Target stores lately, and this book has been on the shelf of EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. Because of this, I thought Ms. Lowry had a NEW book out. I read the blurb on the back, and it sounded good, so I bought it. It wasn't until I started the book that I found out that it was published in 1978. Forty freaking years ago, but being presented as something new. Ok, I can give this a shot; there are some things that transcend time, and I thought this might be one of those things. Having finished the book, I am on the fence on that assessment.

This book is about a young woman who is adopted and has decided that she would like very much to find her birth family. This is admirable, and something I would encourage, I think. That said, finding one's biological family in 1978 is very different than it is in 2018. Nowadays, if you have a name, you can plug it into Ancestry.com and get information. If not, you can request their DNA kit or one from 23and Me, swab your cheek, send it in and wait for results (Disclaimer: I am not 100% sure that's how it works, as my only frame of reference is TLC's Who Do You Think You Are?).  In 1978, you had to hope that someone somewhere knew something.

And that's how it was for Natalie, the main character of this book. She has to put in the work. Luckily for her, she has the name of the lawyer who handled the adoption, as well as the name of the doctor who delivered her. She knows the town where she was born. Still, it's not a lot to go on. Natalie chases every lead she can until she comes up with the answers she is looking for.

Which leads me to why I am on the fence as to relevance. I plan to put this book in my classroom library. Will students be interested because the technology that they know of isn't there? Will they like it anyway and view it as a process, almost like a detective finding clues and seeing where they led? I enjoyed the book for the clue aspect, but then, I am in my forties so I will see things differently than they will. Time will tell, I suppose.

Summer Book 12

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

Every time I go to look at books at Target lately, this one is staring back at me from the shelves. I finally bought it two days ago. I should also point out that the one I bought is the updated version. In an author's note at the beginning, Mackler mentions that in order to keep the story relevant, she went back through and added things like smartphones and Netflix, and I can appreciate this because it helps today's young adults relate to the book.

This is about Virginia, a teenager who lives in Manhattan. She has an older sister and an older brother, who everyone thinks is some kind of god. She doesn't look like the rest of her family, mostly because they are all stick thin and she is not. This is starting to bother her, and Virginia is making an effort to change things, but that is thrown out of whack when her brother is kicked out of college for a semester for date raping a girl.

There's also the fact that Virginia's mother seems to treat her as less than because of her weight. It is refreshing when Virginia finally does something about that. She doesn't have that many friends, so to have her family at odds with her doesn't help things.

I liked this one so much I ordered the sequel, and I am hoping it makes it here sooner rather than later. I was enthralled with this one, and finished it in less than one day.

Summer Book 11

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

I am fairly certain that this was on the TAYSHAS list sometime in the past couple of years, and I didn't read it because I was put off by the title. I thought it was going to be about snakes, which is not outside the realm of possibility for TAYSHAS. I mean, there was that grasshopper book that made it a couple of years ago. Perhaps if I had noticed that it was by the same author that wrote The Goodbye Days, I would've given it a chance, but I didn't notice that. So what made me read it now, on my Kindle, while I have 20+ books stacked on my coffee table? I was at a training this week where the presenter was Amy Rassmussen, one of the authors of the Three Teachers Talk blog that I follow. I was to only one in the room who'd read The Goodbye Days, so she asked if I read this. It came highly recommended, so I downloaded it after I finished the book I was working on earlier this week. Having finished, I am glad I took the time to read this.

Dill is a bit of a pariah in his town. His grandfather was the original Serpent King because he used to kill every snake he came across, and wear their skins and heads. His father was a pastor who used snakes and poison in his ministry, but who is currently serving time in prison for having child porn on his computer. Many people, including Dill's mother, feel that his dad is in prison because of him. Because his father is in prison, there are a lot of debts, and Dill is expected to work to help pay them off, which means no college for him. Dill has two very good friends, Lydia and Travis.

Travis went to the same church as Dill, after his father went to prison, and that is how they became friends. Travis' dad is a certifiable asshole. Travis had an older brother, but he was a Marine who died in Afghanistan, which only made things harder for Travis. Travis was into fantasy novels, and worked at the lumberyard. He didn't plan to leave their small town either.

Lydia's circumstances were a bit different. Her parents were a bit more well off, so she could actually leave their small town in Tennessee. She had a blog, and knew important people in the industry wanted to work in. She is leaving and going to NYU after she graduates.

This is told by all three of the teens, and you feel what each of these characters feel. They are very real, and deal with real issues. I know I have glossed over a lot, but I am afraid I will give away important plot points, and you know I don't want to do that. This one is so worth your time. At times it will make you laugh, at others, it will break your heart.

Summer Book 10

To My Sister by Marci

This may be cheating a little because it is so short, but it is almost 100 pages and has a spine, so I feel like it qualifies as a book. 

My sister gave this to me in July 2014, when she was pregnant with my niece and nephew. For some reason, this wasn't on my bookshelf, and I came across it with another book in a bin of school supplies. I have been thinking about my sister a lot lately, for a variety of reasons, so I felt like now was a good time to read this. Almost everything in this explains how I feel about my relationship with my sister.

I say almost everything because we didn't grow up together, or rather, she grew up with an older sister, but I didn't grow up with a younger sister. In fact, it's a little complicated. 

In December 1995, my dad married my sister's mom, thus technically making her my stepsister. I was nineteen, and she was five. Because my dad and I had a rocky relationship, she and I weren't close. That didn't start to happen until about a decade later. I regret that we weren't closer sooner, but we are much closer now, so it makes things better.

Then, in December 2013, my dad and her mom divorced, thus meaning we technically weren't related anymore. The thing is, when someone has been your sister for eighteen years, something as silly as a divorce doesn't break the sisterly bond. I've seen her graduate high school, college, get married, and have babies. She's an amazing aunt to my children, and she was a huge comfort the weekend I left my oldest child in Montana--2,000 miles away from home.

Like I said, most of the sisterly sentiments contained in this book speak to the nature of our relationship. If you have a sister, I highly recommend this for you.

Summer Book 9

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

I want to be upfront and say I most likely won't do this book the justice it deserves. This is one of those that touched me, and I have noticed I don't always express what I need to say as well as I should/could.

The main character, Samantha, or Sam as she prefers to be called, suffers from OCD. It causes her to have insomnia and sometimes have disturbing thoughts. She's obsessed with the number three. She has a group of friends that she's known since kindergarten, the Eights, but lately she's been questioning whether they are really her friends.

On the first day of school, she meets Caroline. Caroline convinces her to meet her in the auditorium on Thursday and gets her to join (or try to) the Poet's Corner. There's a bit of resistance at first because AJ, who is basically their bouncer, doesn't want to let her in. The reason for this is because when Sam was younger, she teased/bullied AJ about his stuttering. So, Sam has to prove that she belongs. She must do something right because they allow her to join them.

Every Wednesday, Sam sees her psychiatrist, Sue. Sue has been working with Sam for five years, and has told Sam she needs to branch out from the Eights, but Sam has been hesitant to do so. Now that she has Caroline and the people in Poet's Corner, she is starting to see that there is life beyond the Eights. Also, Sam begins to get romantically involved with AJ.

Between her new friends, a boyfriend, and her poetry, Sam is starting to feel "normal." Not long after sharing this with Sue, something happens to rock Sam's world, and everything comes crashing down.
Will Sam ever recover from this event?

In all honesty, I really enjoyed this. I hated for it to end. Even with the plot twist that I kinda saw coming, I didn't want to put this one down. I look forward to seeing what else this author has out in the world because something tells me it will be worth my time.

Summer Book 8

A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena

I have wanted to read this since it came out last summer but decided to wait until it came out in paperback. I enjoyed Lapena's book The Couple Next Door last summer, so I figured this would be a good read. It was. It was suspenseful and secrets were revealed frequently enough that I didn't want to put it down.

This starts out with Karen flying down the road, running red lights, swerving out of the way of other cars and hitting a light pole. She's injured enough that she is taken to the hospital. She has a concussion and amnesia and cannot account for why she was where she was.

Her husband, Tom, comes home to a house with the door unlocked, dinner started, his wife's phone and purse, but not his wife. He starts calling her friends to see if they can shed some light onto where Karen might be. When he comes up empty-handed, he calls the police. They show up moments later, and he thinks that is super fast for a missing person, but it turns out they are informing him of her accident.

What happens next is a story of intrigue, deceit, murder, and crazy people who can't get over past affairs. Like I said, there are twists and secrets at every turn. I highly recommend this one, and it is interesting enough that it won't take you long to read.

Summer Book 7

Sunfish by Shelby Eileen

Shorter than most of the books of poetry that I have been reading, but still worthwhile. One thing I really loved about this poetess is that she wrote about her dysfunctional relationships with her parents and also the relationships with her grandparents. I don't know about the rest of you, but the relationships with my parents haven't always been the best. Sometimes you just need to see that someone else feels this way too, and that was the case for me. And, being someone who is/was incredibly close to her paternal grandparents, it was nice to read poetry from someone expressing this same love to her grandparents.

This book of poems doesn't have the angst and pain that the other books of poetry I have read, and that is totally ok. This is a quick read, but so worth the time.

Summer Book 6

light filters in by Caroline Kaufman

This was an impulse buy today at Target, but it was well worth the money. Once again, it's a book of poetry. Once again, there are subjects I can relate to, so I liked this.

I have to wonder though: where was all this insightful poetry when I was younger? Perhaps if I'd been exposed to this during the years when we all start to hate poetry, I wouldn't hate it as much as I do. Ok, hate is probably too strong a word, since I enjoy this now.

Or maybe my age and experience are finally allowing me to enjoy poetry.

Summer Book 5

Sixteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton

As previously indicated, this book was included with another book by the same author in one volume. I have roughly sixty pages to go, but I felt it was pretty safe to go ahead and write my thought about it anyway. It's not like I am going to give away the ending. Plus, this author seems to have a formula for her books, so I feel like if you read one, you know how another is going to go.

Anna lives on Dune Island, just off the coast of Georgia. It's pretty much a summer town, and her family owns an ice cream shop. Anna is the oldest of four, though there's not a ton of interaction with her siblings in the book.

Will is from New York City and is visiting Dune Island with his mother and brother. His mother used to come to Dune Island growing up, and now that she is divorced from Will's father, she thought it would be a good idea to bring her sons.

Across the beach at the beginning of June, Anna looks across the beach and sees Will. He sees her too, and they meet a few days later. They hit it off and start dating. Then, on the fourth of July, Anna realizes her time with Will is short because he will be going back to New York City at the end of August, and she breaks it off with him.

Like I said, I have about sixty pages to go, but I suspect Anna will realize that she made a mistake and get back together with Will. If I am wrong, then I am wrong.

This has taken me longer than it probably should have since this is fluff, but it's not the kind of thing I usually enjoy. I didn't hate it, but it was far from a favorite, particularly since it had the same premise as the book I read just before it.

Summer Book 4

Fifteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton

This was an impulse buy last week, and I wasn't really sure what to expect. I mean, the blurb on the back was informational, but not too much. Also, I should mention that this tome is two books in one volume. And, in all honesty, I picked it up because I thought it might interest my daughter (and I was at least half right because she's already read the second book in here).

Chelsea is fifteen years old, has two older sisters, and lives in LA. Every year, her family would travel to Michigan to spend the summer with her Granly, her mother's mother. Unfortunately, in January, Granly passed away, so Chelsea and her family travel to her home to decide what to do with it.

The thing about Chelsea is that she feels that she's nothing special, particularly next to her sisters. Oldest sister, Hannah, is super smart and headed to college to become a doctor. Middle sister, Abbie is a competitive swimmer. Both are beautiful, and all Chelsea can see is her unruly red hair and freckles. Additionally, both sisters are planning to rekindle "romances" with boys they knew from the previous summer, but Chelsea is still new to the relationship game.

That all changes when she meets Josh in the bookstore. He runs hot and cold where Chelsea is concerned, and she never really knows where she stands with him. He does, in his own way, help her to get a job at the restaurant next door to the bookstore so they can see each other more.

Since this is Chelsea's first relationship ever, it's really sweet to see it develop over the course of the book. These are the things we sometimes forget as we get older, so it was nice to be reminded of things we once felt ourselves.

Sweet book, and I look forward to the next one in this volume, even though, as it turns out, it's not about the same couple.

Summer Book 3

Sam and Ilsa's Last Hurrah by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

It's no secret that I fell in love with this duo's books last summer, and have made an effort to read all of their collaborations. So, when I found out this was being released, I put it on my to buy list. Like I've said about most of their other couples, this is no Dash and Lily, but it was a good read.

Sam and Ilsa are twins that live in Manhattan. They are not well off, but they do have access to their grandma's badass rent-controlled apartment. They have been known to throw dinner parties, and this book revolves around their last one. Last because their grandma sold the apartment and is moving to Paris, so this is the final opportunity.

Sam and Ilsa, though twins, are very different. Ilsa is outspoken and bitchy, where Sam is more level-headed. Sam plays piano and cooks like a chef, and Ilsa is a dancer. Sam is unequivocally their grandma's favorite, and this bothers Ilsa. She hates that he can do no wrong.

For this dinner party, Ilsa and Sam each give out three invitations, but they don't tell the other who they've invited. Sam invites his best friend (and Ilsa's ex-boyfriend), Parker, his own ex-boyfriend, Jason, and Johan, a guy from the subway he is attracted to. Ilsa invites KK, the bitchy girl who lives in the penthouse of the building, Liane, a girl from school who always brings exquisite chocolates, and Freddie (and by extension, Caspian), a boy she thought was hot when he was playing basketball.

The evening is spent with everyone exploiting each other's insecurities and inadequacies. Through this, and the alternating viewpoints, we see the people Sam and Ilsa are, and what their relationship is like.

This was a fun read, but I mostly felt sorry for Ilsa and Sam because they were twins but didn't have the typical twin relationship.

Summer Book 2

A Totally Awkward Love Story by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

I bought, or rather my husband bought this for me, for a couple of reasons. First, it has a cute cover. Second, the names of the main characters are Hannah and Sam. My daughter's name is Hannah, and her best friend, although female, is Sam. Obviously, I had to have it.

This has two authors, so all the Hannah sections were written by Lucy, and all the Sam sections were written by Tom (it says so on the inside of the back cover). This led me to wonder if all of the David Levithan and Rachel Cohn collaborations are done the same way, but that is a tangent to save for later.

Sam and Hannah live in London. They go to different schools, and both just finished their exams for their last year of school. Hannah's best friend, Stella, is throwing a party at her mansion like house, sans parents, to celebrate. Hannah laments that she is still a virgin, and has decided that tonight is the night. She's going to lose her virginity to some guy she's crushed on intermittently for years named Freddie. She meets Sam while psyching herself up in the bathroom, and they instantly click. Unfortunately, Freddie shows up, so Hannah goes in search of him. Things do not go well with Freddie since Stella has taken it upon herself to control the situation. Turns out, it's ok because Hannah really felt a connection with Sam. She doesn't know his name though, and he becomes known as Toilet Boy.

Sam, for his part, feels an instant connection to Hannah too but loses her to Freddie. He goes to hang out with his friends in the closet under the stairs in Stella's kitchen, where Stella throws herself at him. After a lengthy kiss, they exchange numbers. The next day, Stella asks Sam to meet her and a friend. He has no idea that the friend is Hannah. Thus begins a series of awkward moments that encompass a summer of Hannah and Sam finding and then losing one another.

This was a cute story, but the first two-thirds of the book dragged a bit more than I would have liked. The end more than made up for the dragging.

Summer Book 1

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

I don't remember when or why I got this for my Kindle, but I am so glad I did. This is not your typical scorned wife book. No, this one messes with your head for the first third and you don't know where the book is going to go next. In fact, I can't write about this one without ruining any aspect of the book.

What you really need to know is this: Richard discarded his wife, and is now marrying a replacement. He claims she drinks too much and she's crazy. And, oh yeah, she can't give him a baby. Is this the real story? You'll have to read this to find out.

Seriously, just when you think you know what's going on, the author's turn the story on its end, and they do it over and over all the way until the story finishes. It's a wild ride and I loved it.

Origins of Evil

The Merciless III: Origins of Evil by Danielle Vega

Ok, first I need to say that I didn't mean to title this post the same thing as part of the title, but honestly, nothing fits quite as well.

This is a prequel, so it should give an idea as to why the events in Merciless happen. This is about Brooklyn, who is the girl that the other girls try to perform an exorcism on. The ending felt rushed to me; like the author took too much time with other stuff and had to throw things together at the end. It was also grotesquely graphic, and I found myself cringing several times. I mean, a girl falls with a fork or spoon in her hand and the author describes the handle sticking out of the girl's eye. I have a thing about eyes, so that was particularly unsettling.

I am sure you're thinking, based on what I have said so far, that I disliked the book. That would be an inaccurate statement. I liked it, it was just too much for me in some instances. It is still worth the read, and I am looking forward to the fourth and final book in the series, which comes out in twelve days (though I will likely wait for it to come out in paperback before I make the purchase).

Anyway, Brooklyn, the girl who is so evil that her "friends" want to exorcise the demons out of her. Brooklyn has a good heart. The book starts with her in a school basement, having started a helpline to help people.  Just before she leaves, she receives a call from a female claiming that someone is hurting her. Curious, she calls 911 and reports it, but nothing is done. Turns out the call comes from a church, and Brooklyn decides to check it out on her own. She ends up meeting and kinda falling for the pastor's son. She also befriends the pastor's daughter, who has strange cuts and bruises on her back.

Now this is what I mean by the ending seeming rushed. The meeting and befriending of the pastor's children takes up half the book. At that point, we still don't see why Brooklyn is evil. That doesn't happen until the last forty pages or so, and it is not 100% believable. Read it yourself and make your own opinions.

P&P in the Simplest Form

Darcy Swipes Left by Jane Austen and Courtney Carbone

I love these little books of classic novels and plays told through text messaging!

This takes the classic Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice, and pares it down to something one could read in about an hour. While it doesn't provide the details of the source material, if someone was just trying to get the gist of the story, this would be a good way to go about it.

I did find it amusing to read prim and proper Mr. Darcy's texts, and Mrs. Bennett was not nearly as annoying as she is in the source material (or any movie version to date), which I know is hard to believe.

Guy Poetry

Dropkick Romance by Cyrus Parker

The poet of this book is married to another poet I enjoy, Amanda Lovelace. I came across this one on Twitter, when someone tweeted it next to Ms. Lovelace's work. Logically, at least to me, it made sense to give it a whirl. I'm glad I did.

While I wouldn't say I relate nearly so much to Mr. Parker's work as I do his wife's, I did enjoy reading his poems. The book is definitely divided into two parts; one where he was with the wrong woman who clearly cheated on him, and one where he was with the right one. The poems are emotionally deep, but not as gut-wrenching as others I've read lately. Still, this is one I recommend and will definitely purchase any future books he has published.

Reminiscent of a Favorite

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

This was one of the books we chose to put on the list in our Banned Books Unit at school. I had never read it, so I ordered it. Strangely, none of my students chose it. Because of this, I wasn't in too big a hurry to get to it. Then the pile of unread books on my coffee table started to get too big and this was on top, so...

The first half of this book reminded me so much of Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry, which is one of my very favorite books, and the one that made me want to be an English teacher. Maya/Marguerite reminded me so much of Cassie Logan that I couldn't help but love her. Despite the horrible things that happened to her in St. Louis, I was strangely drawn to Maya/Marguerite.

Then her grandmother, Momma, sent her to California to her parents, and reading became like pulling teeth. There were unnecessary stories, secondhand from Maya's stepfather that could have saved me several pages. Basically, California took the Maya I loved away. It ended up being a relief to finish, which is sad, considering the first 2/3.

I feel I should touch on the incident for which this book is most often challenged: the rape of Maya/Marguerite when she is eight by the man her mother was living with. Yes, it was a horrible situation. Yes, it should never have happened. Yes, it made me angry, but it was not graphic. It's a sad part of life for a lot of people, and by challenging/banning this book, we are taking a valuable learning opportunity away from students. Besides, students see and hear worse on network television these days, so why is it appropriate for them to see it on tv but not read about it in a book?

All in all, this was a decent book. Would I read it again, probably not, but I would not dissuade someone from reading it.

This is the Princess I Want to Be

the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda Lovelace

Between this poetess and Rupi Kaur, I am finding my love of poetry. Some would argue that this isn't poetry, but more along the lines of what an angsty teenaged girl would write. Whatever. I like it.

Once again, Ms. Lovelace has struck a chord with me and my life experiences. If nothing else, the reader should come away with the thought that no matter what life throws at you, you can survive. Better than that, you can survive but don't necessarily need someone else to help you survive.

I particularly like the poems about being a reader, since that is what I am. Anyway, it looks like Ms. Lovelace has another book coming out soon, so I know I will be picking it up.

The Importance of Being Impulsive

Paris for One and Other Stories by Jojo Moyes

I have become quite the fan of Ms. Moyes since reading Me Before You, even if most of the books I have read of hers are from that trilogy. At any rate, I saw this one at the store, read the back, and thought I would give it a shot. It was worth my time. Speaking of time, I had thirty hours in the car (though I drove 11 of them) that I could have read, but didn't. Instead, I ended up reading and finishing this on my puddle jumper flight from Kalispell, Montana to Denver, Colorado yesterday.

Like Moyes' other works that I have read, this focuses on a female protagonist. In this case, it is Nell from England who has impulsively (for her) booked a weekend excursion to Paris.  She's the type of person who researches everything and makes lists of pros and cons before she does anything.

She's on her way to Paris on the train, and finds out her boyfriend is not going to go with her. Her first instinct is to go back home, but there is no room on the next train. Then, when she gets to her well-researched hotel, she finds that her room is double booked. Despite everything going wrong, she decides to stay.

As it turns out, this is the best possible thing for Nell. She finds a part of herself that she never would have if she had never come to Paris or if she'd gone home. This was a sweet story, and took up slightly more than half the book. The rest is taken up by some short stories. These stories were cute, but not the reason to buy this book.

Taboo Topics

Period: Twelve Voices Tell the Bloody Truth by Various Authors

This popped up one day on my Facebook feed saying that some of the proceeds of the sale of this book would go to help girls and women around the world have the menstrual supplies they need. I am a sucker for things that I perceive to be a good cause, and this was a good cause as far as I was concerned, so I pre-ordered it. I wasn't sure what to expect when it came in, and fully intended to wait to read it, as I had already started another book, but something kept drawing me to this.

I read this for about an hour before I went to bed last night. In that time, I read four of the stories. One was about an intersex woman who so wanted to start her period, but never did. One story was about two friends discussing how women could be more open these days about their periods with their friends than in generations past. One story was about a woman who started her period the day she was running a marathon, and made the decision to free bleed. And the last one I read last night was about a woman who is paralyzed from the waist down, and discussed how she deals with that time of the month. I went to bed feeling emboldened.

This morning, I had hall duty while the juniors took state exams, so I read this. I read the last seven stories, which included period firsts, male periods, periods of black girls, periods when a person is homeless, really bad periods, politics and periods, and periods in pop culture. Again, I felt enlightened and empowered. In fact, I nominated this book for the TAYSHAS list, which is a young adult book list in Texas, because I was so taken with this book.

I highly recommend this book.

It Speaks To Me

The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

Thank goodness my daughter wanted both of Rupi Kaur's books of poetry a couple of months ago! If not for her really wanting to read them, I might never have read them. If I hadn't read them, I wouldn't be better off like I am for having read them.

Once again, I read a book of poetry that speaks to my soul! In some cases, it's like Ms. Kaur is telling my story. I also like that they don't fit the traditional parameters of poetry, like rhyme and meter. I like that they just are. Some hit a little deeper than others, but 99.9% of them are relatable. I also like that they aren't man-hating or Caucasian-hating poetry, like some I have read recently.

I don't know, but if all poetry were like this, I wouldn't hate it so much.

Karma's A Bitch

Bad Girls With Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

I became acquainted with this author's work a couple of years ago when her book, Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls was on the TAYSHAS list. Then my daughter saw this on the shelf at Target, and asked me to buy it. I thought it was a sequel, so I told her she had to read the other one first. Score one for mom! She read both books, and this one, as it turns out, is NOT a sequel.

It's Xavier's 17th birthday, and he's hanging out with his best friend, Sasha. Sasha is in love with him, but had never been able to bring herself to tell him, but tonight is the night she plans to tell him. After some drinking and dyeing of hair, they head out. Unfortunately, they run into Xavier's ex-girlfriend, Ivy. Ivy convinces Xavier to leave with him, and he, foolishly, does.

Ivy is not good for Xavier. She uses him, and only keeps him around so he won't go to someone else. She also suspects that Sasha has feelings for him, so she will keep him around just to torture Sasha. Sasha knows that the worst thing that can happen is for Xavier to go back to Ivy, so she finds a way to make Xavier see her for what she truly is. Sasha creates a fake profile for a guy their age, and strikes up a relationship with Ivy.

Then one day, Ivy wants to meet this unknown guy. When Sasha shows up, all hell breaks loose. Sasha leaves, and when she comes back, Ivy is dead. Did Sasha do it? Was it someone else? What will Sasha do with this news?

This book answers all of those questions and takes the reader for a wild ride. I like this one much better than the predecessor, and didn't want to put this one down.

BeWITCHing Poetry

the witch doesn't burn in this one by Amanda Lovelace

I don't what's come over me lately, but ever since I read milk and honey, I have started buying women's empowerment poetry. Admittedly, I was taken by the title of this one because EVERYONE knows how much I love all things related to witches. Little did I know when I picked it up just how taken I would be with the poetry.

Poetry is not typically my thing, but there have been some poetesses lately whose work has resonated with me. My life hasn't always been sunshine and roses, and it's always a comfort to find kindred spirits, even if only in the lines of a poem. That's what this book of poetry is to me: finding those kindred spirits so that I know I am not the only one who's been through these things/felt this way.

In its own way, that alone is empowering--knowing I'm not alone

#metoo

A Giant Puzzle

In The Lake Of The Woods by Tim O'Brien

I decided to read this because I offered it as an option for literature circles for my Pre-AP classes a couple of years ago. I liked The Things They Carried by the same author, and my students who read this raved about it, so I thought I'd give it a go. On the whole, I liked it.

John and Kathy Wade are vacationing in northern Minnesota, right after John lost an election for congress. Apparently, things came out about his involvement in the Vietnam War, and how he and his company killed a lot of innocent people. Kiss of death for any kind of political career.

One morning, John wakes up but Kathy is not there. He remembers weird things from the night before, but doesn't know if it is connected to Kathy's disappearance. Once it becomes evening again, he starts looking for her because he is worried.

The story is told in a bunch of different genres. There are chapters about John's time in Vietnam. There are chapters that are flashbacks to his early years with Kathy. There are chapters that are told from Kathy's point of view. There are chapters of evidence, and chapters that offer varying hypotheses as to what happened to Kathy. I enjoyed most of the chapters, but I could have done without the Vietnam ones. For some reason, they just didn't resonate with me, which is weird, given that the book I liked by this author is about the Vietnam War.

This was an interesting read, and I am glad I finally took the time to read it.

Not My Forte, But I Loved This

If I Weren't Me by hal evans

I had the pleasure of meeting hal last year when he and his wife came to my school to help the English I team introduce our classes to Shakespeare. He has an interesting way of looking at the Bard and uses a bit of theatrics, which was perfect for helping us get our students interested in Shakespeare. The four days on campus with him were awesome, and we, the teachers, learned a lot too.

So, when I found out hal had a book published, I knew I would have to have it.

It's no secret that I am not a fan of poetry in general. There are a few poems and poets that I like, but most of it does nothing for me. What I love about this book is that it is easy to understand, and is accessible to everyone. It is written along the lines of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky, so it would be easy to integrate into my lessons for my students. Also, at the end of the book, it lists the types of poems used, so if teachers needed examples, they're here.

I have already decided that this will be used in my classes next year.

Modern Day Green Gables

Ana of California by Andi Teran

This came in my most recent, and, as it turns out, penultimate Lit-Cube. The theme was a California adventure or something. Everything in the box was lame, except for the book, which is the first Lit-Cube book I've read in months. This was touted as a modern-day version of Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. I cannot attest to that, as I have not read it. Still, this was a good book.

Ana is fifteen, almost sixteen, and sitting in her caseworker's office because she is being removed from yet another foster home. She doesn't want to go to another group home, but since she isn't of age to be emancipated yet, they have to do something with her. Interestingly, an opportunity recently presented itself, and it seems like a good solution for Ana. She is to go work on a farm, as kind of an intern, and go to school until she turns sixteen and they can proceed with the emancipation process.

So, Ana is flown from LA to Hadley in northern California, to work for Abbie and Emmett Garber, a sibling duo, on their farm. Emmett is gruff and standoffish, where Abbie is warm and welcoming. Emmett makes it clear from the very beginning that he doesn't think Ana will be able to hack it, but he's willing to give her a shot.

Ana makes friends, well, three, but whatever. What she has at Garber Farms is unlike anything she's ever had in her life, and she makes a tremendous effort to keep from screwing up because she is afraid if she does, they'll send her away--just like everyone else. Ana doesn't reveal her story too much until close to the end, but, rest assured, it's heartbreaking.

I liked this, except for the end. It went from the last chapter to the epilogue, but the epilogue just felt rushed and tacked on. I think if more care had been taken to make the epilogue more cohesive, the book would've been just about perfect.

The Brain is an Interesting Thing

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

I bought this in the fall of 2016 with the intention of reading it while my Pre-AP students read this as a choice for their nonfiction "lit" circles. I started it, got thirty-something pages in, and just couldn't get into it. I dug it off the bookcase in our media room the other day, and haven't been able to put it down.

This is a true story. Susannah Cahalan wrote for a newspaper in New York. One day, she starts to feel so unlike herself. She doesn't trust her boyfriend, feels paranoid, and just out of sorts. She thought she was bi-polar, so she is put on meds for it, but that, as it turns out, is not the problem.

Everything starts out with issues that could be psychological, but then she starts having seizures. If not for the seizures, she may never have gotten the proper care. She also becomes catatonic, and her speech slows way down. It takes nearly a month in the hospital to find out what is wrong with her: an autoimmune encephalitis.

This book is her looking back, and with the help of people who care for her, she is able to piece together that month she "lost."

It's weird how you can start a book and not be into it at all, so you put it aside. Then you decided to give it another try, and it clicks.

A Tale of Two Brothers

Are We There Yet? by David Levithan

Despite reading the blurb on the back of the book, I thought this involved a road trip. I was wrong on that account. It is a story about two brothers, Danny and Elijah, who are tricked into a trip to Italy by their parents. Apparently, Mom and Dad have noticed that their sons aren't as involved in each others' lives as they want them to be. There is an age gap of either seven or ten years (I don't remember) which would account for them not being that close, but I know as people grow older, that gap doesn't matter much.

At any rate, these two brothers are in Italy. They start out in Venice, and it is so obvious that they have next to nothing in common. They hardly talk, and Danny spends a good deal of time in the hotel sleeping. Separately, they both meet a girl named Julia. Elijah is smitten with her, and Danny turns down her advances.

By the time they head to Rome, the brothers travel separately. It takes running into an old friend from summer camp for Danny to realize he needs to repair his relationship with his brother. I wish there had been more of that in the book. It was an ok book, but I think it could have been better if we saw more than a day's worth of the brothers being brothers.

TAYSHAS 15

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

This book is reasonably short. According to my kindle, Hypatia2, it took a little over three hours to read. Not bad when the one before claimed to be five and a half. Despite its length, there is a lot of emotion packed in this book. It will likely give you the feels, and you may shed a tear or two at the end like I did.

Marin is a freshman in college in New York. It is the beginning of a month-long winter break, and she is not going home. She doesn't really have a home to go to. Her best friend from San Francisco is coming to visit for a few days, and Marin is nervous about this. She hasn't seen Mabel since Mabel left for college in Los Angeles, and things have happened. Things that Marin is not sure can be overcome.

Marin and Mabel were the best of friends, and the last few months they had together, they were more than that. Arguably, they were in love. Then Marin's grandfather, who she'd lived with since her own mother died when Marin was a toddler, passed away, and Marin was lost and confused. She shut out all who cared about her.

Mabel has come to New York to try to get Marin to come home to her family, if only for the holidays. Partially because of her grandfather's death and partially because of her feelings for Mabel, Marin doesn't feel she can.

This book takes place over the course of only three days, but there are flashbacks to the summer before. So much happens in this little bit of time, and my heart kept breaking over and over for Marin and her situation. This one was beautifully written, and I highly recommend it.

TAYSHAS 14

Life in a Fishbowl by Len Vlahos

This year's TAYSHAS list is something else. There just haven't been that many that I HAVE to read. Well, after the ones that I read before I knew they made the list anyway. It is always my goal to hit 15, and these last couple have been hard to choose. This one was surprisingly good, though different.

Jared Stone is in his mid-forties and has a brain tumor. This tumor is inoperable and will be the cause of his death in four months or less. He hasn't told his wife or his daughters yet, and he is trying to figure out how to take care of them, as the life insurance won't go very far. His first thought is to place his life on eBay for people to bid on. That garners some attention from the local media, and this is how Jared's family finds out the situation. Then the eBay auction gets canceled because it violates their rules.

One of the people who bid on Jared's life is a television producer, and he offers Jared five million dollars to film his last days. Jared jumps on it because, in his mind, his family needs the money. So, all of America and the world sees Jared's quality of life deteriorate on their television screens.

But, having your life filmed every second of every day can and will take a toll on a family. No one wants every little thing filmed, and they don't want their lives spliced together to fit the agenda of the television company. Reality tv is not real, and this book makes that all too apparent.

So much more than what I have documented here happens in this book. I suggest you read it to get the whole story. Somehow, I don't think you will regret it, particularly since one of the voices telling the story is the brain tumor.

St. Valentine's Massacre

You Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston

I have read all of this woman's books, and, as with a couple of the others, this one looks like it came straight from WattPad, complete with the lack of editing. It was a good read, so I can overlook that, and it wasn't as bad as others.

Lylah hates Valentine's Day. Why? Because two years ago her parents died on Valentine's Day. She was just left with her only sibling, her brother, Riley. He wants her to come home, but she decides against it.

Lylah's college starts celebrating Valentine's Day on February first, and she is just trying to cringe her way through it. There are a lot of pranks, which I never would have associated with this holiday, but apparently that is a thing on the other side of the pond. Anyway, Lylah and her housemates are headed for a night out when someone rings the doorbell. A creepy note is left for Sonny, one of the housemates, and he ends up dead with his heart cut out.

One by one, Lylah's housemates are receiving these letters and ending up dead with their hearts cut out, but who is doing this? Everyone seems to think it is this guy, Jake, who left school after Lylah rejected him, but no one has actually seen or heard from him. So, is it Jake? Or is someone else committing these horrible crimes? Will Lylah figure it out before she is killed herself? Gonna have to read this to find out.

Third Time Not Necessarily the Charm

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda

This is the third book I have read by this author, and though not horrible, it didn't have me on the edge of my seat like the ones I'd read before.

Leah Stevens is a teacher in a small Pennsylvania town. This is not her life's calling, but she's trying to make a new start since she screwed things up as a journalist in Boston. To make this fresh start, she moves into an old farmhouse with a longtime friend she's lost touch with, Emmy.

One morning, she finds out a woman who looks exactly like Leah herself does is attacked and nearly killed not far from her house. The thought is that it was the high school coach who had been harassing Leah who did it. Also, Emmy seems to be missing. So, not only is Leah caught up in the case with the coach, but she is also caught up with a missing person's case. Not a good place to be. To top it off, the police are starting to think that Leah made Emmy up to cover something up. It is now up to Leah to figure out what's going on and who Emmy really is.

In her effort to figure things out, we learn why Leah is no longer a journalist, we see her creepy student stalker, and her would be relationship with the police detective in charge of both cases. There's a lot going on, and I think that is why it takes the book more time than it should to get truly interesting. Again, not a bad book, just a bit slower than I would have liked.

Another Great Pair

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

At this point it should be obvious that I am a fan of the books these two write. While my favorite couple is still Dash and Lily, Naomi and Ely were ok.

Naomi and Ely live in Manhattan, on the same floor of a co-op. They have pretty much been raised together, like siblings who live across the hall from one another. Naomi is in love with Ely, which wouldn't be so bad except that he's gay. Regardless, she still thinks they are going to end up together. Because of a situation with their parents (Naomi's dad had an affair with one of Ely's moms), Naomi and Ely have created a No Kiss List to keep from hurting one another. Some people, like Naomi's boyfriend, Bruce the Second, are left off the list because it should be obvious that you wouldn't kiss your best friend's boyfriend. Obvious or not, Ely did just that, and it wrecked everything.

Naomi is destroyed. Not so much by the boyfriend, as she only seemed to have lukewarm feelings for him. No, what she gained from this is that Ely was never going to love her the way she loved him, and this is a bitter pill to swallow.

This book is told from multiple perspectives so that all facets of this relationship and its demise are covered. Like I said, not as cute as Dash and Lily, but not too bad.

First ARC of 2018

I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman

I am fortunate enough to periodically have the opportunity to try to score an advance reader's copy of upcoming books. I try my luck nearly every time I get an email about them, and am not successful a lot of the time. This is ok because there are a lot of books out there, and nine times out of ten, if I am not selected for the ARC, I will still end up reading the book. A few weeks ago, this Gayle Forman book popped up as one we could try our luck with. This time though, I had enough points to guarantee a copy for myself, and since I have liked every book of hers I have read, I knew I needed to get this one.

This is a story about three people who have, quite literally, lost their way. Up first is Freya. Freya is a singer on the verge of making it big. Unfortunately, some three weeks prior, she has lost the ability to sing. This is a bit of a problem as she was born singing. It was the one thing she had with her father who left her to go start a new life in his homeland of Ethiopia. It is what cost her any sort of relationship with her sister, which is how she finds herself falling off of a bridge in Central Park.

Then there is Harun, a young Muslim man who is living a lie to keep from disappointing his parents. Harun is gay and his boyfriend recently broke up with him because Harun won't come out to his family. On this particular day, he heads to Central Park in the hopes of running into his boyfriend and show him that he is willing to do what it takes to be with him when he sees a young woman falling off of a bridge.

Last there is Nathaniel. He is a young man from Washington state. His parents are divorced because his mother said she couldn't live with two children, the implication, and rightly so, that her husband was a child. Nathaniel has two different colored eyes as a result of an accident, and something has happened that has turned him into something feral (his words, not mine). Freya lands on Nathaniel when she falls off of the bridge.

This accident is what brings the three of them together, and together they begin to find their way.

Like Forman's other books, her characters are complex and she provides a backstory that helps the reader understand why they are the way they are. In this case, it helps to show how they lost their way, so that when they get back on track it all blends together.