I read this book in one day and it was a work day! Sepetys’ writing is as engrossing as ever. As usual, she spotlights a historical event that receiveI read this book in one day and it was a work day! Sepetys’ writing is as engrossing as ever. As usual, she spotlights a historical event that receives little attention in historical fiction or textbooks. The chapters are short, making you feel like you can read just one more over and over again until you’ve read them all. ...more
This was a fine little romance book but didn't at all live up to Jay Asher's other books for me.
Sierra's family owns a Christmas Tree Farm/Lot and evThis was a fine little romance book but didn't at all live up to Jay Asher's other books for me.
Sierra's family owns a Christmas Tree Farm/Lot and every year they travel from their hometown in Oregon to California to sell Christmas Trees for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sierra has friends at home and a best friend in California, too. There's a lot made in the early part of the story about how hard it is for Sierra and her Oregon friends to be apart for Christmas. I thought this was a bit of overblown drama -- I get that it's hard to be away from friends for a month, but the desire to spend Christmas together was a little weird to me. Sierra meets and falls for a guy (which you can see coming from a mile away) but something from his past has her questioning whether it's smart to move forward with him. With that said, she actually seems more troubled by the thought of a long-distance relationship than she does by the eventually-revealed past event. I wish she had needed *a little* more reassurance than her gut to trust that moving forward was a good move. That said, I do think there's also importance in the plot points about giving second chances and not believing every rumor on the mill.
In the end this was a sweet romance but didn't live up to my expectations.
Romy Grey is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks so when she's date raped by the sheriff's son--the golden boy in town--no one believes her. She Romy Grey is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks so when she's date raped by the sheriff's son--the golden boy in town--no one believes her. She loses her friends, she's a target for bullies, and the only refuge she has is her job at a diner in the neighboring town. Something happens at the end-of-year party at the lake though--Romy wakes up in a place she didn't expect. She doesn't remember anything and another girl has gone missing. Should she speak up? Should she share what she knows? Is it even worth it given what everyone thinks of her?
This book is intense. It's upsetting. It's affecting. I thought about it for days after I finished. ...more
This book is about Gabe, a male transgender hopeful DJ known outside as Elizabeth, but on the radio, he gets to be Gabe.
Gabe is afraid to live compleThis book is about Gabe, a male transgender hopeful DJ known outside as Elizabeth, but on the radio, he gets to be Gabe.
Gabe is afraid to live completely out because his family is far from accepting. He lives in a small town in Minnesota and is just trying to make it to high school graduation so he can move to the Twin Cities and get lost in the crowd. In the meantime though, he's running a late-night radio show called Beautiful Music for Ugly Children with the help of his neighbor and mentor, John.
This is a book with a transgender protagonist and as such, it deals with so many of the issues that transgender youth are facing: family acceptance, coming out, trying to maintain two identities, dealing with bullying and threats of violence, etc.
But it's more than that, too. To me, the most touching part of this book is the story of the inter-generational friendship between Gabe and John. This was the story that kept me truly invested in this lovely book....more
This book, published in 2007, is generally considered the first YA novel featuring a transgender protagonist. I've heard complaints from LGBTQ teens tThis book, published in 2007, is generally considered the first YA novel featuring a transgender protagonist. I've heard complaints from LGBTQ teens that it's too happy, but I think given it's time and place in the YA canon, it needed to be a positive portrayal. Grady goes through difficultly with acceptance at home and school, but he finds friends who accept him and eventually his family comes around. This is a nice 'it gets better' kind of book.
I was interested to see that Wittlinger is publishing and updated version with updated language (e.g. replacing 'transgendered' with 'transgender')....more
Full disclosure: I listened to the audio book and didn't love the reader and it's hard to separate that.
Grace is certain that her mother was killed 3Full disclosure: I listened to the audio book and didn't love the reader and it's hard to separate that.
Grace is certain that her mother was killed 3 years ago, but everyone keeps telling her it was an accident. An accident? She saw the scarred man. And now that she's come to live with her grandfather at the Embassy in Adria, she's seen him again. Grace and her group of international friends embark on a spy mission through secret tunnels and using "borrowed" security equipment--intent on proving the scarred man killed Grace's mom and stopping him from doing it again.
Early in the book Grace makes many illusions to how difficult the last 3 years have been--how little everyone has come to expect from her and how little they trust her. A partial reveal about halfway through makes more clear why everyone doubts Grace's word and the full reveal near the end is harrowing.
I didn't care for the ending of the book as it felt like so obviously leads into the next book in the series--just not my personal taste to end the story that way, but still liked the book.
Astrid is 12 and is--by force--coming to the realization that she and her best friend Nicole don't have as much in common as they once did. Astrid is Astrid is 12 and is--by force--coming to the realization that she and her best friend Nicole don't have as much in common as they once did. Astrid is eager to spend the summer at roller derby camp after her mom takes her and Nicole to see a bout. Even though Nicole is a better skater than Astrid, she'd rather go to dance camp with Astrid's arch-nemesis, Rachel.
What follows is a story of growth for Astrid. She comes to realize that hard work pays off and finds that to be a good friend, sometimes you have to think about what your friend wants and not always what you want.
This is a lovely book. I picked this up because I kept hearing that it's a good Telgemeier read-alike and we've been getting tons of questions about that! It fits the bill but is great in its own right as well. ...more
Vivian Apple has been left behind. Some of the believers are gone--not all of them--but some of them. Including Vivian's parents. Vivian herself couldVivian Apple has been left behind. Some of the believers are gone--not all of them--but some of them. Including Vivian's parents. Vivian herself couldn't be converted. She thought her parents and the rest of the believers were all crazy until she came home the morning after the end of the world and found holes in her parents' bedroom ceiling.
Vivian joins up with her best friend Harp and a mysterious boy with mysterious motives named Peter. They head off on a cross-country journey for answers about what happened to their parents. When they finally find out, it may be more than they wanted to know.
This is a kind of Leftovers for the YA population. I listened to the audio version and liked the reader. There's some light romance here and good friendship stuff. I'll probably pick up the sequel....more
Madeline is newly 18, but hasn't been outside of her house in 17.5 years. She has what is casually known as "bubble baby syndrome." She's happy thoughMadeline is newly 18, but hasn't been outside of her house in 17.5 years. She has what is casually known as "bubble baby syndrome." She's happy though--she and her mom, a doctor (her doctor) have fallen into an easy rhythm of movie nights and adapted 2-person board games. She has a lovely and loving nurse named Carla, a room full of books, and is able to take classes online. She's managed to find a way to consider the outside world nothing more than an impossibility. Until Olly.
Olly is new boy next door. And Madeline is intrigued.
A friendship builds through windows and online, but when they manage to find a way to meet, Madeline's life--and her outlook for her life--change dramatically.
This is a great romance--the relationship between Madeline and Olly unfolds beautifully. But in addition to the romance here, there's also a lot of food for thought about seemingly impossible choices, about your responsibilities to other people in your life, and about love and loyalty.
I suspect this book would be a big hit with most John Green fans.
I listened to the audio version of this book, which I enjoyed very much, but later I found out that the print version is littered with adorable illustrations, so I'm a bit sad I missed out on that in my reading....more
Sepetys once again tackles a World War II topic that has been largely ignored in both true and fictional accounts of the war. The historical event at Sepetys once again tackles a World War II topic that has been largely ignored in both true and fictional accounts of the war. The historical event at the center of this novel is the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustaf--the single deadliest maritime tragedy in history (some 9,400 souls lost). And yet somehow The Titanic is the ship that is a household name. The Wilhelm Gustaf was filled to more than 4 times its capacity with refugees trying to escape--caught by geography between German and Russian troops.
Sepetys humanizes the sinking of the ship and the days leading up to it through the alternating points of view of four characters: Joana, a Lithuanian nurse racked with guilt, Florian, a secretive young Prussian desperate to hide his identity and intentions, Amelia, a pregnant Polish girl in danger of having her ethnicity discovered at any moment, and Alfred, a Nazi soldier loyal to the cause in thought by lazy and self-serving in deed.
The characters are perfectly developed and brought to life. The chapters are exceptionally short--usually only 2-3 pages, making the book nearly impossible to put down. I was drawn in almost immediately and desperate to discover the fates of the characters as they made their way toward certain tragedy.
Joan is 14 -- the motherless daughter of a farmer who has insisted that she be pulled out of school to do the woman's work, despite the fact that JoanJoan is 14 -- the motherless daughter of a farmer who has insisted that she be pulled out of school to do the woman's work, despite the fact that Joan's mother was desperate for her to have an education and a better life. Joan tries to work hard. She tries to reason with her father. Nothing works. She's entirely unhappy and sees her future as nothing but a collection of unhappy days laid out before her.
When Joan discovers a gift her mother left for her, she finds a way to leave, running away and changing her name to Janet, she ends up working as a hired girl in the home of wealthy Jewish family in Baltimore.
What follows is a collection of Janet's stories as she finds her way in the world. She struggles to make sense of religion, class differences, and hopes to find a way to the life her mother wanted for her.
The Hired Girl is full of fabulous historical detail and is a great coming-of-age novel based on the diaries of the author's grandmother....more
If Sam wrote a couple of anonymous comments on Morgan's page, is he part of the reason she killed herself? If he talkedBully? Friend? Can you be both?
If Sam wrote a couple of anonymous comments on Morgan's page, is he part of the reason she killed herself? If he talked to her in secret, but refused to acknowledge her at school, is it his fault she jumped from the water tower? And if is his fault, or it isn't....how does he move past it? How does he grieve for his sort-of-friend, for his loss, when he isn't even really sure
This story is so realistically complicated. Through a journal he is encouraged to keep by a school counselor, Sam tells the story of how Morgan was relentlessly bullied on social media and ruthlessly ignored at school. He tells of how he started talking to her in secret--how they even kind of became friends. And then how they became most definitely not friends. Sam is working through a lot of guilt, but he's also grieving and Preller navigates his complicated feelings with ease and nuance.
The chapters are short, which makes it impossible to put down. Every time I came to the end of a chapter I saw the next was only a page or two and thought, "just one more!"
Uniquely, The Fall is a diary/journal format novel from the perspective of a male character. This almost never happens....more
As with the previous books, Meyer does a fantastic job of seamlessly weaving in the new 'main' character. Although we saw Winter briefly in the previoAs with the previous books, Meyer does a fantastic job of seamlessly weaving in the new 'main' character. Although we saw Winter briefly in the previous title, she's much more prominent here, but without the others becoming back-burner characters. I think that has been one of my favorite things about this series.
This particular title finds all of our fairy tale women finally together--Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter spend much of this book planning, inspiring, and inciting revolution against the rule of the evil Queen Levana.
I found this to have a great mix of action/adventure and touching quiet moments. This was such a satisfying series conclusion!...more