8 Things I Learned from UNBECOMING by Jenny Downham

Daughter: Do you sometimes feel like your mom doesn’t understand you? Mother: Are you curious, worried, afraid (all of the above) of what goes through your daughter’s head? Do you wish she would open up more or at the very least update you on her life? Grandma: Have you ever tried telling your daughter or your granddaughter to just listen to one another? Solution: READ THIS BOOK When I was growing up, I was the master at begging, pleading, and bargaining my way […]

Continue Reading

10 Everything, Everything Quotes to Help You Say, “I Love You”

I highly suggest you join a book club if you aren’t in one already. Because what’s better than reading a book? Reading a book and discussing the heck out of it. Which leads me to EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING by Nicola Yoon. We read this book in one of the many book clubs I attempt to actively participate in (I won’t reveal the actual number, but let’s just say it’s more than two. #booksarelife The increase of my book club participation is […]

Continue Reading

How it Ends by Catherine Lo

A brutally honest YA novel depicting the messiness of friendship and family and how we tend to see only one perspective: our own. HOW IT ENDS is told in alternating points of view allowing the reader full access to every scene. Lo perfectly captures the emotions of each character, both major and minor, and flawlessly transports the reader into their world. Lo creates a heartbreaking story that ends on a hopeful note. Readers may even shed a few tears during some of the […]

Continue Reading

The Classy Crooks Club by Alison Cherry

The moral of this story is loyalty to friends trump social ethics. Kids are already highly impressionable and for a middle-grade book to impart this kind of message, well that doesn’t sit right with me. To make matters worse, the main character’s morals digress toward the end of the novel. For instance, in the middle of the book, AJ stands up to the ladies and her Grandma Jo letting them know that their actions are considered stealing. However, by the end of the […]

Continue Reading

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS is not your typical post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel. In fact, I tend to shy away from the sci-fi genre, but ever since I joined a book club (well, several actually), I’ve been pushed to read books outside my comfort zone. Surprisingly, this book had me hooked after the first sentence. Carey exquisitely shapes a crumbling world through the lens of a unique child, a child that the world despises. The story is written from a perspective […]

Continue Reading

Future Perfect by Jen Larsen

FUTURE PERFECT is a coming of age YA novel about a young girl struggling with happiness and her body. Like many people, the main character worries more about the happiness of others that she loses sight of her own. Larsen unravels the reality that many young men and women go through when struggling with weight, peeling away the superficial layers and revealing the raw vulnerability they so desperately try to hide. Larsen creates real characters with real emotions. The only character that […]

Continue Reading

Deep Water by Lu Hersey

DEEP WATER is a beautifully written mystery novel that draws inspiration from old wives tales and folklore. Set in a small seaside town, the story focuses on a girl searching for answers about her mom’s past and subsequently her own. Not to go on a tangent here, but don’t we tend to seek answers from the history written before us? Going back to the story, while it is more mystery driven, fret not as Lu sprinkles in a dash of forbidden […]

Continue Reading

Anne & Henry by Dawn Ius

A blend between the GOSSIP GIRL series and a YA version of FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, ANNE & HENRY is filled with lust, desire, and teenage hormones. This modern retelling of the tragic love story between Anne Boleyn and Henry Tudor while no doubt has several hot and heavy scenes that leave little to the imagination, the novel also leaves very little room for character development. Anne is not a sympathetic character. Her background story about her sister Mary is […]

Continue Reading

Court of Fives (Book #1) by Kate Elliot

COURT OF FIVES is an epic adventure similar to THE HUNGER GAMES series and SALVAGE. The novel is both plot and character driven involving complex themes of loyalty, family, and sacrifice. Elliot creates a rich, detailed world with just the right amount of tension that will leave the readers begging for the next installment. Dive into the book: Jessamy and her sisters find themselves caught in the middle of a world divided by the royal and privileged Patrons and by the lower […]

Continue Reading