The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen, 440 Pages

When I was younger, Sarah Dessen was always one of my favorite authors. I've strayed away from the romance genre as a whole but I decided to give Dessen's newest novel, The Rest of the Story, a shot and I'm so glad I did. This was such a sweet story of young love, heartbreak and how magical summer is when you're young. I really enjoyed this book and was so sad when it was over. I'll apparently always have a soft spot for anything written by Dessen and I look forward to reading more from her in the future. 

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, 336 pages

  I can’t say I’ve read any story quite like this one, and I loved it!

  Well, actually I listened to it on CD, narrated by a talented young reader whose voice, energy, and emotion fit perfectly with the story she was telling. Aside from the recording, the words themselves were a pleasure to hear, and I’m sure they would be a pleasure to read.

  This is a coming-of-age novel for the main character and for the Southern U.S. during the Civil Rights era. Lily Owens, a South Carolina white girl raised by her angry peach farmer father turns 14 in 1964. Rosaleen, the black housekeeper who raised her, determinedly sets out to register to vote in their small town. And the next thing you know, the two find themselves a few hours away, with a different family and circle of friends, on a beekeeping farm with a new cast of vivid characters in their lives. Lily’s own past is a mystery to her, a mystery that becomes clearer as she matures in the pages of this book through turmoil, adventure, celebration, injustice, daily life, love, and work.

  Enjoying a good story with likable characters was no surprise to me, but who knew I’d be just as interested to learn about bees? Since finishing the book, I’ve found myself thinking about becoming a beekeeper multiple times. I savor honey more as well. Mmm.

Wool by Hugh Howey, 509 pages

   I found Wool to be a quick and absorbing read. It is a post-apocalyptic, coming-of-age, science fiction novel. 

   Juliette, Lukas, and their entire society live underground after the earth’s surface has been made uninhabitable. Their system of living, the life each had experienced prior to the story at hand, and the situation they must try to survive kept my interest. You’ll find action, mystery, and suspense in this one, the first book of a trilogy with several additional volumes stemming from it. 

   I look forward to stepping back into the world created by Hugh Howey in books that follow someday, perhaps when I’m holed up inside to stay out of winter weather.

Get Happy by Mary Amato 226 pages A Young Adult Novel

Minerva is something of a free spirit.  She wears colorful, striped leggings, wants to play the ukulele, writes her own music and walks around singing.  She and her best friend, Fin, are quite willing to take on the world together.  However, Minerva's Mom just does not get it. She is super organized, buys Minerva old lady sweaters for her birthday, worries obsessively about her, and for 15 years has been telling her lies.  Everything starts to unravel on Minerva's 16th birthday when she receives a surprise birthday gift from her absentee father, who may not have been so absentee after all.   I like Minerva, Fin and their friend Hayes.  I like  Minerva's music.  I do not like her drama, her temper or her sneakiness, but hey, she is a teenager and her Mother is not that great of a role model.   This was an entertaining read and I see sequels in the future.

The Program by Suzanne Young 405 pages A YA novel (Gateway nominee 2015-2016)

First, a personal disclosure:  I am not a teenager.  It has been a looong time since I have been a teenager, or even had a teen child. Having said that, you can take my review of this book with a grain of salt.  I found this book dark and disturbing and will NEVER recommend it to a teen.  After I read it, I went back and read reviews to see what it was I missed, but I still do not see why everyone so loves this book...everyone but me!

Picture a future society where there is an epidemic of teen suicides.  So much so that "the Program" has been created.  Now if your teen so much as sheds a tear in public, you can have a handler haul them off to have all their unpleasant memories erased.  They will not remember how their brother died, instead, they will believe any lie you tell them.  They will not remember their boyfriend or their best friend if, by association, it will make them remember something sad.  The teens are constantly being watched and "The Program" has turned some of their friends into such zombies that suicide seems a viable alternative.  Antidepressants are bad, but drugs that erase your memories are good?  This book is the first in a series, but needless to say, I will not be reading any of the others.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson 384 pages 2015-2016 Gateway Nominee (YA novel)

 This one was a tough one for me to get through, but then I am not an adolescent male.  If you love dystopian/sci-fi, if you love video games, if you love good vs evil, you will love this book.  I would recommend it to every gamer you know.  

David lives in Newcago.  The "Epics" have taken over the world.  These are super human beings with super powers.  Steelheart runs Newcago and, as his name might suggest, he turns everything to steel.  Steelheart killed David's father 10 years ago, but each Epic has a weakness, and somehow David's father was able to wound Steelheart.  David has spent the last 10 years studying Epics, their powers, and their weaknesses.  Now, he is hooking up with the Reckoners, a group of rebels who specialize in killing Epics.  But while David has gained a wealth of knowledge over the years, he still has a lot to learn.  Not one of my favorite YA novels, but as I said, I am sure there is an audience for this read. 

eleanor & park by rainbow rowell (YA novel) 2015-2016 Gateway nominee

The jury is still out on this one.  I am not sure how I feel about it.  It definitely does not rank as one of my favorites.  I struggled to get through it and about gave up on it but it does have a good morale to the story.  Eleanor is a misfit.  She has bright red hair, freckles, and dresses like a hobo.  She cannot help it.  She has a dysfunctional family (and that is putting it kindly).  Her step-father is a creep, there is no door on the bathroom.  She shares a room with 3 other siblings, the list goes on and on.  She is bullied at school and made fun of because of her looks. Then she sits next to Park on the bus.  Slowly their friendship grows and becomes a romance.  Park is a bit of a misfit too, only because he is 1/2 Korean in a white-bread world.  But the bullies leave him alone.  He knows taekwondo and they are a bit in awe of him.   Anyway, this is a book of beauty is in the eye of the beholder and love conquers all.  Can't wait to discuss it with the teens to get their take on it!

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown 272 pages (YA novel) 2015-2016 Gateway Nominee

This book should be required reading for every High School freshman.  Ashleigh is your typical high school girl.  She runs track, tries to keep out of trouble, has a close knit group of friends, and a boyfriend. It is August and boyfriend Kaleb is getting ready to head off to college.  Ashleigh is at a friend's pool party.  She is exhausted from running, has not eaten much and has had a couple of drinks when someone talks her into sexting Kaleb a nude picture of herself so he will not forget her when he goes off to college.  NOT a wise decision!!  Sure enough, a few months later they have a nasty break-up and the picture that was intended for his eyes only goes viral.  Ashleigh is suddenly the town slut.  Her father, who is the school superintendent, could lose his job, Kaleb may have to register as a sex offender for distributing porn and Ashleigh is sentenced to 60 hours of community service. Not to mention the loss of pride, reputation and trust.  While doing her community service, she makes friends with a "loner" Mack, the one person in town who when he received the text of her picture, did not look.  Mack offers a fresh chance at friendship.  Just what Ashleigh needs to weather this storm.  I especially liked the Author's comments at the end of the book.  She reflects on the fact that for people "of a certain age", this was something we never had to deal with.  It wasn't even possible.  There are a lot more chances for teens to make tragic, senseless decisions that can follow them the rest of their lives. 

The Raft by S. A Bodeen (A YA novel) A Truman Award Nominee 2014-2015

15-year-old Robie is not your typical teen.  She lives on Midway Atoll in the Hawaiian Islands with her parents and other Marine biologist researchers.  She is the only kid.  There are no malls, no movie theaters and phone reception is sketchy.  Occasionally she gets to visit her Aunt in Honolulu.  It is on a trip back from such a visit on a supply plane to the island that disaster strikes.  The plane loses power and goes down in the Pacific.  Robie, the only survivor,  is set adrift on a raft in shark invested waters. She drifts for days with no food and no fresh water, except when it rains.  She finally lands on an uninhabited island.  This is a story of survival and the difficult decisions Robie has to make in order to survive.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Supetys 346 pages

This is a YA novel and a 2015-2016 Gateway nominee.  I would recommend it to older teens.  Set in 1950, this is the story of Josie, daughter of a prostitute, named for a famous prostitute.  She has grown up in New Orleans under the watchful and protective eye of Willie, the madam.  Josie is a smart girl, street smart and intellectual.  Her one goal in life is to get out of New Orleans and into Smith College in Massachusetts.  However, we all know how sometimes life does not go as planned.  Josie's mother takes up with a gangster and when they skip out on a debt owed the mob, the mob comes after Josie.  Will she abandon all her principles to pay the debt?  Will she have to abandon her dream of Smith College?  Oh, you do not really expect me to answer those questions for you, do you?  

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes (A YA novel) 328 pages

Anika considers herself a half-breed.  She live in Lincoln NE with her mother and her step-father she refers to as the Ogre.  Her father is from Romania.  She is the third most popular girl in school, a fact she attributes to hanging out with mean-girl Becky.  Becky rules the roost and her favorite past-time is starting vicious rumors and destroying people's lives.  Anika is so terrified of becoming a victim, she follows along.  Then, former nerd, Logan, shows up for school cool.  He drives a moped, got a haircut, and sports a leather jacket.  He starts giving Anika a ride home from school, but their budding relationship comes to a halt when Anika sees a dark side of Logan she cannot erase from her mind.  

This book is all about making choices and I rather enjoyed it, except for the unnecessary profanity, right up to the end, which was really lame. Too bad the author could not have thought of a better way to wrap things up.  Can't wait to see what the teens think of this book.

Kiss, Kill, Vanish, A YA novel by Jessica Martinez 422 pages

Seventeen year old Valentina Cruz lives a live of luxury in Miami-- private school, credit cards with no limits, yachts, and works of art.  Then one night, after sharing a kiss with her hot boyfriend, her world shatters.  She runs away to Montreal and anonymity.  She is willing to accept her temporary life of poverty while Emelio saves for their future.  But things are not always as they seem.  When she is forced to see the truth about her life with a new clarity, she realizes her whole life is based on untruths, ugly lies.  And only she has the power to change it.  

Oh Yeah, Audrey! A YA novel by Tucker Shaw 243 pages

I am not sure how many teens will connect with this book...maybe those into vintage?

Gemma lives in Philadelphia and has just lost her mother.  She starts a Tumblr page she calls "Oh Yeah, Audrey!" a tribute to Audrey Hepburn and "Breakfast at Tiffany's".  In June, Gemma and 3 of her followers agree to spend 2 days in New York city, visiting iconic "Breakfast at Tiffany's" sites.  But things do not turn out as planned when Gemma is distracted by a glamours wealthy boy. Eventually Gemma realizes Holly Golightly's life may not have been a glamorous as Gemma imagined.

Isla and the Happily Ever After a YA novel by Stephanie Perkins 339 pages

This book is the 3rd in a series  but reads well as a stand alone.

Isla and Josh both live in New York but study at the School of America in Paris, a very elite high school. Romantic Isla has always had a crush on graphic artist Josh but until their Senior year he has been otherwise occupied.  Then after a chance encounter over the summer, they begin a hot romance.  However, Isla's insecurities and Josh's family obligations pull them apart. But, as you may be able to tell from the title, there is a happy ending.  A coming of age love story.