McGarry ROCKS!

So much divides us. When something brings together two people from such different worlds, its hard to remember all that keeps us apart. In Katie McGarry's romance short, a girl from the wrong side of town meets a boy of privilege who is struggling to find his place in the world. 

Stella has purple hair and is generally ignored by her classmates, when they aren't humiliating her and calling her Trash Can Girl. Jonah is a kid born into every privilege, but he would give it all away to change the events of that fateful car accident. He is called a hero, but the death of the man he couldn't save haunts him. Both are drawn to the cemetery for different reasons, but neither expected to find solace in another person while they were there... especially another person who is from a totally different world. 

OK. Let's be honest. I would read a grocery list if Katie McGarry wrote it. I just love her no-nonsense, incredibly candid, real romances. They are amazing. And this e-short is no difference. Yes, the "wrong side of the tracks" love story screams "Pretty in Pink", but Katie McGarry can make everything fresh and new. There was a deep sorrow in Jonah that made you want to protect him, and Stella's history was hard to read about because it was so sad and yet so real. My only complaint is that there wasn't more! I wanted a full book about these two!

Dirty Little Flop

Music is infectious. Music seeps into your soul. And if you are meant to make music, there is nothing that can keep you from making that music, even a pair of unsupportive parents who threaten to take away your college tuition. In Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols, Bailey was born a fiddler and will always be a fiddler. No matter who tries to tell her she can't be.

Bailey and her sister Julie were a team. They worked the bluegrass circuit as a duo and always played to each other's strengths and patched the holes of each other's weaknesses. When a record deal was offered, though, it wasn't for the duo. It was for 16 year old Julie, and 18 year old Bailey was informed that not only would she not get a deal, but the recording company was worried about bad press if people found out Julie's fame came from the destruction of a sister duo, so Bailey was sent to live with her grandfather and ordered to stay away from the music scene. Easier said than done in Nashville. Luckily her grandfather, a maker of string instruments, understands Bailey's need to play and gets her a gig playing back-up fiddle for the traveling bands int he mall. Not glamorous, unless you consider being dressed up as a middle-aged Elvis' back-up singer glamorous, but at least she can play. And she is good at it!

When Bailey is assigned to Johnny Cash (impersonator) and his son, she doesn't expect to find a boy who not only gets her, but also understands her passion for the rockabilly music they all crave. Sam commandeers his father's song and Bailey gets a little taste of his brilliance, both with guitar and his singing. When he convinces her to come play with her band, she is terrified her parents will find out or someone will connect her to Julie if she performs, but Sam is a persuasive guy. When she gets on stage with Charlotte, Ace, and Sam, she knows this band is where she belongs. Unfortunately, Julie's career is more important to her than her own music, and she won't jeopardize Julie. But Sam has other ideas. Not one to take no for an answer, he isn't afraid to lie, cheat, and manipulate to get what he wants, especially if it means he can achieve the success he so desperately craves.

I need to preface this review by saying I have always loved Jennifer Echols' books. They are edgy, no BS, and they appeal to mature YA audiences (or New Adult, if you buy into that subgenre). But this book made me cringe. I loved Bailey, but my hatred for Sam spoiled the entire book for me. Bailey was a sweet girl who got shafted all around: by her parents, by the recording industry, and by Sam... all the time. Everyone used her or discarded her to fit their own needs and no one cared about who Bailey was and what she wanted. And quite frankly, it made me angry to the point of violence against these fictional characters. I don't know why I didn't put the book down, but I can only imagine it was because I figured it had to eventually improve, but I was wrong. Instead, by the end of the book, I was so disgusted by Sam and Bailey's parents that I actually wished I had never read this book. What a poor example for young adult women to be exposed to.

**Spoilers**
First, Bailey was "in trouble" for the car accident she got into with her boyfriend. This was supposed to be the huge thing that led them to tuck her away, BUT they had already told her about the recording deal, taken away her future, cut her off from her sister, and discarded her BEFORE the accident. Then the accident itself wasn't even that awful, at least on her part. She went to a party where she didn't drink or do drugs, got in a car with her boyfriend who she didn't know had done coke, then he crashed into a pond, and finally he tried to manipulate her into taking the fall. Gratefully, Bailey told him to go scratch and told the truth about the wreck, but besides having poor taste in boys, I don't understand how any of this was Her fault, besides the fact that it made her parents have to remember that they had a second daughter- a fact they were happy to forget. 

Then her parents. Ugh. They had no problem discarding one daughter for the fame of the other, and Julie's career was what THEY wanted, not Julie. She missed having a real life, but they didn't care. They just threw it in her face that they had made huge sacrifices to get her this far. Even when she refused to go on stage until Bailey came, they blamed Bailey for filling her head with nonsense. Great parents. Really, model parents right here. If Echols' purpose was to make every young adult thankful for the loving, yet inevitably flawed, parents they had, then she succeeded. Otherwise, she just made me appalled by such selfish, self-centered, manipulative parents who should never have been allowed to have children. 

And finally, there is Sam. The worst of the worst. Sam is only concerned with his own career, and he is willing to do anything to get it. Including seducing young women to join his band to get them gigs. In fact, even though Charlotte, his bandmate, blows up his spot and tells Bailey that every sweet nothing he whispered to her, he also whispered to Charlotte (verbatim), Sam still manages to paint Charlotte as crazy and jealous... and Bailey BELIEVES him! Ugh! Then, Bailey agrees to play with them as long as there are no videos or other evidence that could be posted somewhere and jeopardize Julie's career. Does Sam care? NOPE! Send it in anyway and then cannot fathom why she would be upset by all this! In fact, he makes her feel like SHE is being selfish. Yep. Real winner there! Then, he makes fun of songwriters, something Bailey is not only good at, but she sees as her only outlet since there is no one in her life she can talk to. What a winner that guy Sam is! And as if that isn't enough... he actually convinces her to go groveling back to her parents SO THEY CAN GET HIM A RECORD DEAL. Before he realized just how serious Julie's career was, he was all, "Oh your parents are horrid! Never speak to them again!" Then he sees Julie's billboard and is like, "What is wrong with you? Your parents can make us famous! Can't you suck up your pride for once to help us?! C'mon! They aren't all that bad! See?! Having connections makes them infallible! Never mind your horrible childhood. I want a record deal!" And you know what she does? First she calls him on this BS... then she sleeps with him. Fabulous. Calling all Young Adult ladies! You worried you might be too strong, too determined, too powerful, and too proud? Don't worry, I've got the book for you! And this one will be sure to make you into the quivering, manipulated, spineless woman we want our next generation to become!! 
**End Spoilers**

I hated Sam with a vehemence that doesn't even rival my hatred for Lord Voldemort, because at least the Big LV admitted he was evil, relished in it, even. Sam was billed as an awesome musician who came to sweep her off her feet, and instead he just continued to abuse her like her parents did. I am sorry, but there is no young adult woman I would ever give this book to. It demeans everything we try to teach the amazing young women in our lives: to believe in themselves, to stand up for themselves, and to see through people who would rather use them than love them. This book is truthfully one of the worst examples of young adulthood that I have ever read. Please don't give this to your young ladies. Don't do that to our next generation. Instead give them a book like Graceling or Throne of Glass or Defiance with some real, butt-kickin', take no prisoners kind of ladies. Trust me. We don't want to encourage our young women to become the Baileys of the world. Sorry, Ms. Echols. You might have ruined me forever from your books with this one. 

Zombies and Alice Have Gone Missing!

When you hear Alice in Zombieland, one would assume there was going to be either some Wonderland riffs, some brain eating zombies, or, better yet, an amalgamation of both! But with Gena Showalter's first book in the White Rabbit Chronicles, you shouldn't make any assumptions.

Alice and her sister are used to their father's crazy paranoia, but it doesn't mean they like it. Never allowed out at night, forced to live like shut-ins except for school, all of it makes for a very difficult childhood, especially when you know he is just plain crazy. But when a car accident kills Alice's father, mother, and sister, she is the only one alive in the car and the only witness to the creatures that crept through the darkness to rip them apart and eat them.

Shipped off to her grandparents' house, Alice encounters a very secretive group of kids. She is intrigued by them even though there is every reason to stay away from them. But when she is attacked, it becomes clear there is something dark and disturbing out there, and that group of kids are somehow connected. The answers are heavily protected, but Alice is determined to find out what the things are that killed her family, especially since now they seem to be after her. 

Did you ever watch a movie after seeing the trailer for months that portrayed a hilarious comedy only to find out the movie was completely depressing? Do you remember that feeling of being cheated? Well, welcome to my experience with Alice in Zombieland. I would have been fine with no actual references to Alice in Wonderland if there were real zombies, but instead, the "zombies" are absolutely nothing like zombies. No resemblance save for death. Instead, they are more like malevolent spirits which feed and infect your soul with their malevolence, turning you into your own dead malevolent spirit. In fact, they are afraid of light, only come out at night, must be battled while the hunter is in spirit form, and are killed by a super-strong light a hunter emits from their hand over the "zombie's" heart. Sound like any zombie you have heard about? I didn't think so. So why would you even call them zombies and get my hopes up?!

I have no idea, but sadly, that ruined this book for me. It could have been halfway decent if I wasn't expecting something completely different. Instead I was terribly disappointed and struggled to finish the book. So, I am torn about reading the second in the series because it had potential, but I was so annoyed by the whole zombie debacle. I did, however, LOVE the grandparents who took Alice in. They were so wonderful and endearing, and I wished I knew them in real life (especially when they tried to use "hip" language to let her know they were "cool"!). So I will see if I can bring myself to read the next book in the series. Maybe if I forget my disappointment in a little while, I will realize the parts I actually liked were redeeming... but until that happens, I am swirling in my own bitter disappointment over here!

Crash Into Me

In a family feud, no one really knows who is right and who is wrong. In fact, the younger generations may not even really know what started the feud. In Lisa McMann's new novel Crash, a family feud becomes much more serious when one party can see into the future... and it isn't something she wants to see happen.

Jules and her brother and sister don't live an easy life, but they have learned to live day to day. Their parents run an Italian restaurant and pizzeria, but the whole family works there. Day after day, the kids report to work just to keep things going. They don't complain, but mostly because they don't want to see their father lose it again. Jules' dad is unpredictable, except when it comes to the family that owns the rival restaurant. And with them, Jules' dad is always on edge, predictably so. But even worse is their dad's hoarding. Their whole house is so piled with junk, and their mother is so overworked just trying to keep up on the days when their father doesn't leave his bed, that they never bring anyone home. 

When Jules sees an accident at the rival pizzeria, she is most disturbed by the fact that she sees Sawyer, her star-crossed crush, in a body bag. She tries to warn him, but their families can't even see one another without bitter hatred spilling out like waves in the ocean. She and Sawyer certainly don't hate one another, in fact, their childhood friendship still lingers over them, but they know their families would forbid their ever set eyes upon one another. This vision complicates things for Jules. She tries to fly under her father's radar, but she simply cannot let this boy die. Her vision is hard to decipher, but as the pieces of the puzzle begin to come together, she will stop at nothing to stop the accident form happening. Even if it means breaking all the rules.

I like Lisa McMann. She writes interesting, yet simple stories that always keep me coming back for more. They are short and easy to read, and you can't get enough of them. The start of the Visions series is no different. I really liked Jules and there is so much more to her dysfunctional family that unraveling the mystery is half the interest. The whole description of her father and the tension of the family was so real and written so well, I almost felt like I knew them. 

This is a great story for those readers who might struggle or be behind their peers, but crave mature books. McMann gives you realistic scenarios, especially in terms of interpersonal relationships, but she does so with simple language that is best for students who may not be the strongest readers. It is great for anyone with a variety of reading levels in their classroom. And since this is another McMann series, there will be more to come! I am really looking forward to seeing where this series goes, especially after such a heart-stopping ending!

Lovely, Dark, Deep

With a title so haunting, a cover so beautiful, and a description so vague, Lovely, Dark, and Deep by Amy McNamara was a mystery from the start. You might not know what you are getting yourself into as you start this book, but the outcome is nevertheless powerful.

Wren Wells survived the car accident, but not in one piece. Since the death of her boyfriend, Patrick, she hasn't been able to carry on with her life. The only reason she even started speaking again was to get the therapists off her back and get her mother to let her go live with father, the artist who is so wrapped up in his own creations he barely notices he has a daughter. And for Wren, being able to fold into herself and avoid all interactions is exactly what she needs. Until she meets Cal.

Cal is infectious. His kindness and caring is so sincere, Wren can't help but let him in (even if it is reluctantly at first). But Cal comes with his own demons. His recently diagnosed MS threatens his way of life and breaks the fragile soul who lost his mother to the very same disease. Apart, this pair is the most unsteady, tormented set of individuals. Together, they are lovely. They are dark. They are deep.

This is such a fluid and poetic novel. It is written beautifully, and that adds to the sincerity and gravity of the story being told. Both Cal and Wren are battling such dark demons that when they come together, you almost worry they are going to drag each other down. But they don't. They are each what the other needs: someone who listens but doesn't judge. Through their relationship, Wren is able to finally admit all the circumstances of the fateful car accident where Patrick died because focusing on Cal makes her own struggles seem less life-threatening. And Cal's illness is so painful to watch, especially after having lost his mother to the same illness. I loved the way these two were two halves who came together to make one whole individual, healing and ready to live lie again.

It was interesting how the supporting characters around them dealt with their struggles, especially Wren's parents and her friends from before the accident. It is interesting how they blame Wren and need her to push past the pain, but don't know how to help her do it. In fact, when she really sinks into a dark place, the only way they can think of helping is doing things that make it even worse for her at times. I imagined how real this was when people don't know how to help a person they love so dearly as that person slowly falls apart in front of their very eyes. This is a beautiful and haunting book, and if you want to talk to McNamara about it, she will be at Oblong next Sunday! I hope to get out there, and I am looking forward to finding the perfect student to pass this book onto. Its haunting beauty and poetic story are perfect for those deep, sensitive students!

Clarity in Black and White

In life, there are many circumstances and situations that can give us clarity, or make us see our lives in a way we have never seen ourselves before. Very often, those circumstances are traumatic and life-altering. In My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend, a young woman's life is changed forever with one bad decision... but it might not be as bad as she thinks it is.


Lexi is beautiful. She is known for her beauty. She is so beautiful a photographer stopped her on the street and wanted to sign her as a model (much to her father's horror). She lives her life conscious of her looks and how they affect everyone around her, including her boyfriend, Ryan, and her best friend, Taylor. But when she walks in on Taylor and Ryan hooking up at a party, she makes a decision she will regret for the rest of her life. She gets in the car with Taylor's brother, and they get into an accident.  They both survive, but not in one piece. Lexi's face is horribly disfigured, bones are crushed, and after many surgeries, she needs a skin graft to cover the hole in her cheek... with skin from her butt. As if being disfigured wasn't traumatizing enough, now Lexi is an actual "butt-face".


Lexi has lost her boyfriend, her best friend, and her entire world is spinning out of control. Her parents are worried about her, she locks herself in her room for weeks, and she even refuses to return to school. Taylor and Ryan keep trying to apologize, but nothing can erase that night from her mind, especially since every glance at a mirror brings it right back to her. While Lexi just wants everything to be over, she finds hope and healing in unexpected places. Her weird band-geek sister is more supportive than Lexi ever gave her credit for being. Her Mother-of-the-Year mom does everything she can to help her daughter, even if she doesn't always say the right thing. And a boy, the kind of boy Lexi never would have considered before the accident, is willing to help her find an outlet for her anger with some boxing gloves. Her life may have been turned upside down, but sometimes that is the best way to head in a totally different direction.


I loved this book. I think the story was really great and the moral was strong but not hokey, but my favorite part about this book was just how real and raw the characters were. I hate to even call them characters because they felt like real flesh and blood people. Lexi suffered a tragedy, yes, but she was also selfish, self-centered, and had a lot of trouble seeing past her own tragedy. Her sister was fabulous. Ruthie marched to the beat of her own drum, did what she wanted, and always scoffed at Lexi's need for popularity. But there was more to her. She loved her sister despite Lexi's selfishness, but she wasn't afraid to call her on her actions. And the way she supported Lexi was so sisterly, the good, the bad, and the ugly, it made me think of the relationship between my sister and I. This is a relationship you can only really understand if you have a sister yourself. And if you do, you will know Natasha Friend did a brilliant job of bringing that tumultuous, loving, devoted relationship to the pages of this book. Lexi's mom was complicated and loving, but oblivious at times, like any teenager would assume their mother to be. Even the friends and the cheating jerk-face of an ex-boyfriend had an unexpected depth. I just couldn't get over the characters in this book. 


But the story itself was just as good. This transformation of Lexi was so complex and really explored the many stages of grief, because when you lose the very thing that defines you, like your appearance, there really is a grieving process. She was a tough, snarky, sassy young woman who wasn't afraid to "use her words" in a way that could make you cringe right along with her. And you travel that journey right along with her. I would love to give this book to any variety of students, although some of the language and intimate scenes might make it best for high school aged students. In particular, this is a great book for any young woman who has a hard time looking past appearances into the actual souls of the people around them. We all know teens can get wrapped up in their own lives and forget about the world at large, so sometimes you need a book like this one to open up a dialogue they might not have in any other situation. Sometimes you have to take a cold, hard look at what you hold dear, at the priorities you have set for yourself. Are you really the best person you can be?

It's Now or Never

I run hot and cold with Elizabeth Scott. The first book of hers I ever read was Stealing Heaven, which I LOVED! Then I bought just about everything she had ever written, because I loved that book so much. After that, though, I wasn't too impressed with her other books. Some were really dark, like Living Dead Girl, which was a hard book to get through because the content was so upsetting. Then there was The Unwritten Rule, which wasn't dark, but was just "meh". So I have struggled with buying her new books, but I decided to just go for it. While Between Here and Forever wasn't as good is Stealing Heaven (big shoes to fill), it was certainly one of her better books. It made me decide to give Elizabeth Scott another chance!

Abby has always been in her sister Tess's shadow, but since Tess's accident, Abby has been just as lost. Tess was always the together one, the gorgeous one, and the smart one. Abby was just, well, Abby. Now Abby and her parents spend every day in the hospital next to Tess's bed waiting for her to wake up. When a beautiful young man walks into the hospital room, Abby sees Tess's eye move a little. She is convinced this beautiful boy will bring Tess back and enlists his help to wake her up. While this boy, Eli, seems skeptical at first, he agrees to help.

Although it seems Eli isn't helping Tess, he certainly is helping Abby. For once, she isn't always thinking about Tess and is actually interested in someone (although she still swears he likes Tess more than her). While Abby is convinced Eli and Tess are made for each other, she soon learns there is more to Eli than she noticed earlier, and life isn't so easy for him, beautiful person or not. She also begins to learn the truth about who her sister was and what really happened at the end of her life. These revelations are important because they give Abby a chance to find her own life outside of Tess's shadow, as well as a chance at happiness.

This was a very interesting book because it explored how much a girl can know and not know about her own sister. Sometimes we keep our biggest secrets from those people we love the most. Here, we see a younger sister assuming her older sister's life is perfect and never realizing just how in pain she really is. The relationship between the two girls, told entirely in flashbacks since Tess is in a coma, is very realistic and sad. The good thing is you will be very excited for Abby as the book goes on and she matures. Eli and his grandfather are such lovable supporting characters, they will make you love the book even if you struggle to relate to Abby and Tess.

The language is mild in this book, but there are a few references to intimacy here and there. They aren't graphic or even talked about in any detail, just casual references used to flesh out the plot. The story would be appropriate for any girl, middle school through high school, who is interested in relationships and family. The secret Tess is hiding, her attraction and relationships with women, is developed in an interesting way, showing her inability to admit it to herself as well as her family. This might be a good place to have conversations about who we are and why we are proud of that in many different aspects of our lives. In all, this was a pretty good book, and I would pass it on to a student I thought it would appeal to.

Because She Stayed

In her first book, If I Stay, Gayle Forman told the story of Mia, a young woman left in a coma by the same car accident that killed her mother, father, and little brother. She tells the story as she watches over her unconscious body and the friends and family who plead with her to stay. We know she chose to stay, but I always wondered where she went. Now we know...

When Mia came back, one of the only reason she returned was for her boyfriend and best friend, Adam. Now, three years later, Adam has become an angry, unhappy man. His band is famous, he is dating a famous actress, and he has the world at his fingertips, but he can't have the one thing he really wants: Mia. After she woke up, Adam stayed with her on the long, painful road to recovery. Her determination to play the cello again was one of the driving forces that kept her going. When she left for Julliard the following fall, Adam headed to the LA with his band. Although they were a continent apart, Adam was determined to stay together. what he didn't understand at first was that Mia needed to move on, from both the accident and everything that reminded her of the accident, including Adam.

After three years apart, Adam is in New York with his band, ready to continue their European tour. On a whim, he decides to stay in New York one more night, and he finds himself drawn to the concert hall where Mia is playing. After her concert is finished, she sends someone to bring him backstage. It is that choice, that instant, that changes their lives forever. The survivor's guilt, the shame, the grief, the loss, all come flooding back to both of them as they spend an awkward night together. Mia convinces Adam to take a farewell tour of NYC with her that one last night before she leaves for Japan on her own tour. He agrees, but he seems to do so in the same punishment-seeking way he is about his entire life- believing he doesn't deserve anything better. Along the journey, Mia and Adam share their deepest pains and find in one another the people they once knew as well as the people they have become.

This is a beautiful story full of grief and heartache. Told from Adam's perspective, you can understand how he grieves as much as Mia, although his grief was never realized since they technically weren't his family (although in all aspects but biology they were indeed his family). The reader can also see the grief pattern Mia has experienced where she is simply tired of being treated like the victim. For three years she experienced everyone, from her grandparents to her professors, treating her like she was fragile and would break at any moment. She hated it. She was tired of everyone giving her a free pass because of her family. She just wanted to be seen for who she was: a girl, a cellist, a person who didn't lose everything and at the same time, a person who did lose everything. Together, Mia and Adam heal one another, and it is a story you need to experience to understand.

I not only suggest this story for anyone who read the first book, but I also recommend both books as a great story for struggling readers. The story starts with a traumatizing event and continues in a full story arc through the culmination of the sequel. It is a well-envisioned and beautiful story that will undoubtedly touch anyone who graces its pages. Gayle Forman is a great author, and I am grateful she decided to continue this story.

A Summer You Will Never Forget

Covers really can be deceiving. Titles are no better. When you look at this cover, what do you think is going to happen? Girl seeks boys, girl finds one boy, boy changes girl, life continues happily? Boy are you wrong. Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer has more going on than you might think given such a deceptive title...

Anna, Matt, and Frankie were best friends. Of course, Frankie (Francesca) was Matt's little sister and Anna was in love with Matt. But that all changed when Matt professed his love for Anna at her birthday party. He asked her to keep their love a secret until he and Frankie went away with their parents for the summer so he could explain the relationship properly. Unfortunately, they never got that far, as after a month of hiding their relationship, the day before Matt and Frankie were to leave for Zanzibar Bay, the three of them decided to go for ice cream. On the way home, a car accident leaves Anna and Frankie shattered emotionally and Matt gone forever.

Now it is a year later and Frankie's parents decide they have to go back to Zanzibar Bay. Still grieving for the loss of Matt, they pack up with Anna in tow and head for the beach. Before they leave, Frankie convinces Anna to make a pact to hook at least twenty boys in their three weeks at the beach. Since the loss of Matt, Frankie has changed to someone Anna barely recognizes. Although she can only think of Matt and the only secret she every kept from Frankie, she agrees to the pact just to make things better with Frankie, and relieve a little guilt.

Once on the beach, Anna meets one boy she can't stop thinking about. Frankie continues on her quest, but Anna is torn between really liking this local surfer boy and feeling like she has betrayed her first love, Matt. When Frankie reads Anna's journal and learns of her relationship with Matt, it seems like nothing will ever bring the friends back to the way they were before the accident.

This book blew me away. The grief Anna, Frankie, and Frankie's parents suffer is so real, almost palpable. When Frankie's mother admits to Anna she knows the relationship with Matt was more than friends, you can almost feel the ache in Anna's heart. When the family arrives at their beach house, the pain will course through your body. You can see them grieve. You can feel them hurt. Ockler has delivered a story that will make you suffer and survive right along with the characters. It also shows the difference in how people grieve, which is an important lesson for people to learn. Anna turns within herself and refuses to open up. Frankie opens up to everyone just to fill the void. Frankie's mother and father are barely speaking or holding themselves together. This vacation to Zanzibar Bay was a life journey the reader should feel both privileged and saddened to journey down.

The writing is fairly simple, but this story really deals with mature situations. There is a decent amount of sex as Frankie tries to find solace anywhere she can get it, but nothing is graphic. Instead, it is usually just implied. The grief and loss is handled beautifully, but is a very heavy subject that might be too much for a student who has suffered any great loss recently. The beauty of this story is it will hook a girl who doesn't usually read serious stories with its lure of fun and beaches, but it will deliver lessons they never saw coming. If you give this book a chance, I promise you will never be the same.

Which Day Would You Repeat Over and Over?

There is nothing better than an author with a powerful breakout novel, and that is just what Lauren Oliver delivers with Before I Fall. In the young adult scene, it is difficult to portray real adolescent situations without being too campy or cheesy. Oliver manages to blow the lid off popularity with this bittersweet novel.

The story starts with Samantha Kingston, number two in the most popular foursome at school. It is Cupid Day at school where the most important thing is to get as many roses as possible, proving to the rest of the school just how powerful and loved you really are. The day winds down with a party at Kent McFuller's house- a boy who isn't worth their time until he gives them a place to party. At the party, Juliet Sykes, who the girls refer to as Psycho Sykes, approaches Sam and her friends to tell them just what she thinks of them- that they are horrible people. After the party devolves and they humiliate Juliet, Sam and her friends get into the car to drive home. All of a sudden, a white streak flashes in front of their car, sending it careening into the woods. Sam knows she is dead.

But then she wakes up the next morning, but it isn't tomorrow- she is reliving the same day over and over again. Each morning, Sam wakes up after the same day knowing she has to change things. She tries not going to the party, stopping the horrible events that unfolded, even giving up and doing whatever she wants because she knows the day will just restart. Nothing can fix what happens to her, her friends, or Juliet. But each day she learns a little more about her life, how she treats others, and the things she used to think were important. She even starts to see Kent in a different light.

This was a gripping story that I simply could not put down. I loved how she lived and learned a little bit more from each and every day. I also loved how Sam began to realize just how fragile her entire existence was. Her friends weren't what they seemed, her popularity was more fear than friendships, and her family was basically foreign to her. It is very hard to examine the social hierarchy of high school without crossing a line and stereotyping. The layers of this story allow the social scene to be peeled back slowly so as to avoid any over-critical analysis.

This is an excellent book for high school aged girls. There is some drinking, talk about sex, although more implied than described, and the car crash and suicides that make the content a bit mature. I might give this to a mature middle school student, but I would be very selective as to the type of student I did give it to. The examination of popularity and social hierarchy are very important for girls especially to see a different view of. Give this book a chance and watch for the next Oliver book to grace the shelves!

You will Want to Stay with this book until the End.

If I Stay, by Gayle Forman has a beautiful cover and a beautifully haunting story to tell you. I read this book in one sitting this summer because it was so haunting, and was reminded of it when I saw a student reading it in study hall one night. In one of those moments we teachers of dyslexic children live for, I found myself talking with her about the book with a passion and an urgency that instantly transported me to the day I couldn't put this book down.

In the first few pages, the story begins with a horrific car accident. Mia wakes up on the side of the road in the middle of the carnage. She sees the bodies of her parents and then her own. Mia is still alive after the accident, but just barely. She is transported to the hospital where her body is fighting between life and death and her mind still isn't sure.

Mia's family, friends, and boyfriend come by one by one and share their love for her, but without her parents, is there anything to return for? Mia must make the ultimate choice that none of us can imagine making- whether it is worth fighting to stay alive or easier to just relax into a peaceful end.

This book is beautiful and terribly sad right from the beginning. Hearing the words her family says to Mia's stoic face reminds me of my own family- loving and devoted beyond the average definitions of such words. You can feel how much they love her and still understand how easy it would be for her to just let go and not face the pain of what has happened to her parents. If I Stay is a relatively short read, but one that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page.