I want to read that...

Year of Mistaken Discoveries by Eileen Cook

From Goodreads: Friendship is a bond stronger than secrets in this novel from the author of The Almost Truth and Unraveling Isobel.

As first graders, Avery and Nora bonded over a special trait they shared; they were both adopted.

Years later, Avery is smart, popular, and on the cheerleading squad, while Nora spends her time on the fringes of school society, wearing black, reading esoteric poetry, and listening to obscure music. They never interact...until the night Nora approaches Avery at a party, saying it's urgent. She tells Avery that she thought she found her birth mom; but it turned out to be a cruel lie. Avery feels for Nora, but returns to her friends at the party.

Then Avery learns that Nora overdosed on pills. Left to cope with Nora’s loss and questioning her own actions, Avery decides to honor her friend by launching a search for her own birth mother. Aided by Brody, a friend of Nora's who is also looking for a way to respect Nora's legacy, Avery embarks on an emotional quest. But what she's really seeking might go far deeper than just genetics.

I love Eileen Cook's books! I have enjoyed them all so can't wait to get my hands on this one. It's published March 2014 by Simon Pulse.

I want to read that...

Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

From Goodreads: Isobel’s life is falling apart. Her mom just married some guy she met on the internet only three months before, and is moving them to his sprawling, gothic mansion off the coast of nowhere. Goodbye, best friend. Goodbye, social life. Hello, icky new stepfather, crunchy granola town, and unbelievably good-looking, officially off-limits stepbrother.

But on her first night in her new home, Isobel starts to fear that it isn’t only her life that’s unraveling—her sanity might be giving way too. Because either Isobel is losing her mind, just like her artist father did before her, or she’s seeing ghosts.

Either way, Isobel’s fast on her way to being the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons.

I LOVED What Would Emma Do? and I can't wait to read more of her books. This one sound fab! And I really like the cover:)  A bit of a wait though since it's not published until Jan 2012 *cries*

What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook

From Goodreads: While juggling friendship issues (her best friend isn't speaking to her), a love triangle-turned-square (okay, maybe she shouldn't have kissed her best friend's boyfriend...but it was totally an accident!...sort of), and escalating mayhem in her small religious town (uh-oh...what would Jesus do?), Emma realizes she has to stop trying to please everyone around her and figure out what she wants for herself. It's time to start asking, "What would Emma do?"

I loved this! Emma is such a great character and she completely pulled me into her story. She has the kind of 'attitude' I love - lots of sass and she certainly says what she thinks.

This is definitely a character driven novel. It's mostly about Emma and her desire to leave the small town in which she lives. When she witnesses the truth behind an event she has to decide whether to tell what she knows when doing so will cost her what she thinks she wants the most. We get to see the town unravel around Emma as she questions what she should do. I found it all very interesting. It was scary to see a town so wrapped up in what they thought was 'right' and the lengths they were willing to go to protect that.

Seeing all of this through Emma's eyes also made it great fun. There is a locker scene that had me laughing out loud! I just adored her character and her voice. She comes across as witty, intelligent and willful but still vulnerable enough to keep her relateable. I also liked the other characters - Joann, Colin and Todd. Especially Todd. Colin did start to annoy me slightly but I still liked him.

I didn't have a clue what was going to happen in this - many things happened that took me by surprise - and the things I thought would happen didn't. My only quibble is that the ending left me wanting more - it was as if we just had access to the characters for a little while - I wanted to know what happened next! I do hope a sequel is being considered.

I can't wait to read more of Eileen Cook's work and I highly recommend this one.