Fifteen-year-old Aura Ambrose has been hiding a secret. Her mother, a talented artist and art teacher, is slowly being consumed by schizophrenia, and Aura has been her sole caretaker ever since Aura's dad left them. Convinced that "creative" equals crazy, Aura shuns her own artistic talent. But as her mother sinks deeper into the darkness of mental illness, the hunger for a creative outlet draws Aura toward the depths of her imagination. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, Aura discovers that art, love, and family are profoundly linked—and together may offer an escape from her fears.This book was so moving and the writing so eloquent--simply a gorgeous debut novel. Aura's emotions are raw and real as she explores the possible correlation between creativity and schizophrenia. Here's a girl who has had to grow up way before her time, and through no fault of her own.
Kit and Fancy Cordelle are sisters of the best kind: best friends, best confidantes, and best accomplices. The daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer, Kit and Fancy are used to feeling like outsiders, and that’s just the way they like it. But in Portero, where the weird and wild run rampant, the Cordelle sisters are hardly the oddest or most dangerous creatures around.I have to say that I was given plenty of advance warning about this novel. I heard that it was graphic, I heard that it was twisted, I heard that other readers couldn't finish it. After hearing all that, there was no question in my mind--I HAD to read this book! After all, my favorite non-YA genre has to be horror; I make it a point to buy, in hardcover, every new Stephen King book published, I took a class in college on the history of horror, reading everything from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to The Exorcist, Edgar Allen Poe to H.P. Lovecraft. So it's safe to say that I'm easily turned off by blood, guts, and dismemberment. Indeed, I thought I would be able to finish Slice of Cherry and add it to my list of favorite horror stories.
It’s no surprise when Kit and Fancy start to give in to their deepest desire—the desire to kill. What starts as a fascination with slicing open and stitching up quickly spirals into a gratifying murder spree. Of course, the sisters aren’t killing just anyone, only the people who truly deserve it. But the girls have learned from the mistakes of their father, and know that a shred of evidence could get them caught. So when Fancy stumbles upon a mysterious and invisible doorway to another world, she opens a door to endless possibilities….
Bean (née Pearl) and Henry, misfits and best friends, have the strangest mothers in town. Henry’s mom Sally never leaves the house. Bean’s mom Lexie, if she is home, is likely nursing a hangover or venting to her friend Claire about Bean’s beloved grandfather Gus, the third member of their sunny household.I loved Jumping Off Swings and know I'll enjoy this one, too--Jo Knowles has a gift for writing.
Gus’s death unleashes a host of family secrets that brings them all together. And they threaten to change everything—including Bean’s relationship with Henry, her first friend, and who also might turn out to be her first love.
Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?Wow. I, just, WOW. I did not anticipate how much this book would move me. From the very first chapter, where Jessica is slowly coming out of anesthesia after the operation to remove her foot, I was sucked into her life. Jessica and readers alike learn about the complications of the surgery, recovery, and process for creating a prosthetic limb. Van Draanen's writing is so realistic that I was cringing right along with Jessica the first time she tried to "hop" up the stairs in her house.
As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.
With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her.
Everyone loves KJ Miller, especially the geeks. She's pretty, smart, and super nice to everyone, which has made her the geek pied piper of Washington High. If only Cameron, the star of the basketball team, would follow her around and worship her the way her dorky entourage does.Cute story...it was actually kind of fun to see how KJ handled being mean to her geeks. I think we can all understand how KJ feels...she wants to attact the attention of the hotties, but the only guys that pay her any attention are the geeks. It's what's inside that counts though...oh, who am I kidding? These are high school kids, what's outside counts more. The whole thing with KJ's father felt a little cliched, though. Still, this is a cute story and it's fun to see what KJ learns about her geeks, the popular kids, and even herself. 3.5 out of 5 (She's So Dead To Us remains my favorite by Kieran!)
As the stage manager of the spring musical, Grease, KJ has to deal with a few geeks, but she also gets to hang out with Tama, queen of the popular crowd and star of the play. Tama has the solution to all of KJ's problems: get cruel. After all, the nice girl never gets the guy. Can KJ actually pull off a transformation into a mean girl?
Instead of celebrating Memorial Day weekend on the Jersey Shore, Jane is in the hospital surrounded by teddy bears, trying to piece together what happened last night. One minute she was at a party, wearing fairy wings and cuddling with her boyfriend. The next, she was lying near-dead in a rosebush after a hit-and-run.A great mystery here! I think it's really rare to find a decent murder (or attempted murder) mystery in YA, but Jaffe has done it. We, the readers, know that someone's out to get Jane, and Jane knows, too, but no one else does, and no one believes her. I spent the whole book (as I usually do with a mystery) trying to figure out whodunnit, and I was wrong on all counts. I was even suspecting Jane's sweet nurse (whose name escapes me at this moment--Lorraine?) at one point! (Was I right? I'm not telling!)
Another town. Another school. Another Mclean. Ever since her parents' bitter divorce, Mclean and her father have been fleeing their unhappy past. And Mclean's become a pro at reinventing herself with each move. But in Lakeview, Mclean finds herself putting down roots and making friends—in part, thanks to Dave, the most real person Mclean's ever met. Dave just may be falling in love with her, but can he see the person she really is? Does Mclean herself know?Of course I'm waiting for the newest Sarah Dessen. I mean, it's SARAH. DESSEN. But! Just in case knowing a new Sarah Dessen is coming out isn't enough of a teaser, Sarah just posted an excerpt from the book on her blog! I just read it and it is fantastic! Now I REALLY can't wait for the book, but sadly, it doesn't come out until May 10th. The agony!
Grace was raised to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom. In search of a border she may never reach, she travels among malevolent soldiers on a decrepit train crawling through the desert. Accompanied by the mysterious Kerr, Grace struggles to be invisible, but the fear of discovery looms large as she recalls the history and events that delivered her uncertain fate. Told in spare, powerful prose by acclaimed author Elizabeth Scott, this tale of a dystopian near future will haunt readers long after they've reached the final page.OK, lesser of two evils, anyone? Can anyone fault Grace for desperately trying to escape both of these horrible worlds? All of Grace's fellow Angels are happy--ecstatic, even--to complete their mission (thereby killing themselves in the process). It's been drilled into them that Angels only exist to fulfill their mission, and for these girls that's enough. At a pivotal moment, however, Grace discovers what want feels like and nothing can stop her from trying to escape the only life she's ever known. Even the knowledge that she'll be making this journey with a stranger, Kerr, who has his own story to tell, isn't enough to stop her from finally living her own life.
The higher you aim, the farther you fall….This was such a fun, fun novel! I loved that the chapters were kept relatively short--the book almost read as a series of very short stories instead of a novel. Sales did a wonderful job of creating exquisite voices for her characters. Both Violet has a wicked sense of humor, as does her best friend, Kate, and for me the highlight of this story was reading how the two play off of each other. Together they are certainly a force to be reckoned with.
It’s Violet’s junior year at the Westfield School. She thought she’d be focusing on getting straight As, editing the lit mag, and figuring out how to talk to boys without choking on her own saliva. Instead, she’s just trying to hold it together in the face of cutthroat academics, her crush’s new girlfriend, and the sense that things are going irreversibly wrong with her best friend, Katie.
When Katie starts making choices that Violet can’t even begin to fathom, Violet has no idea how to set things right between them. Westfield girls are trained for success—but how can Violet keep her junior year from being one huge, epic failure?
Jane, Victoria, and Natalya. Together, they are the Darlings. Best friends forever. They have matching necklaces, their own table at Ga Ga Noodle, and even a shared motto: May you always do what you’re afraid of doing.I thought this was a very sweet book and a great start to a new series. For much of the novel I was thinking it was a very sweet, innocent story (and it many ways it remained so), but there were just a few scenes that had me remembering that these girls are high school freshmen, not middle school girls.
When the friends begin freshman year at three different high schools in distant corners of New York City, they promise to live by their motto and stay as close as ever. The Darlings know they can get through anything as long as they have each other. But doing scary new things is a lot easier with your friends beside you. And now that the girls aren’t spending all their time together, everything they took for granted about their friendship starts to feel less certain. They can’t help but wonder, will they really be the Darlings forever?
WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . . AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER? There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon. But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.I enjoyed this story, although it wasn't as Oh My God as I thought it would be. (I suspect I'll enjoy Echols' previous work, Going Too Far, more.) The story itself was fine and I thought the characters were realistic. Yes, unfortunately there are dads out there who refuse to buy their daughter a new car because they're afraid the daughter will get spoiled, while their 24-year-old girlfriend drives around in a spankin' new car. And makes his daughter pay him back for the towing fees after she crashes her car. And forbids her to speak about her mother's sudden absence. Yeah, Father of the Year right here, folks!
Vera and her brother, Will, live in the shadow of the Great Panic, in a country that has collapsed from environmental catastrophe. Water is hoarded by governments, rivers are dammed, and clouds are sucked from the sky. But then Vera befriends Kai, who seems to have limitless access to fresh water. When Kai suddenly disappears, Vera and Will set off on a dangerous journey in search of him-pursued by pirates, a paramilitary group, and greedy corporations. Timely and eerily familiar, acclaimed author Cameron Stracher makes a stunning YA debut that's impossible to forget.OK, if you know me at all by now, you'll know that I love dystopian fiction. Hunger Games, Maze Runner, XVI, Matched, Delirium...these are all fantastic reads. I can't really explain why I love the genre so much, but I do like dark reads, and I love exploring the alternate futures that authors create.
What if you knew exactly when you would die?
Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.
