Alex’s mother thinks she’s Amelia Earhart. It sounds farfetched, right? But she truly believes it. After Alex’s baby sister died, her mother was devastated but now she’s become completely deluded. She stays up all night plotting her flight path across the Pacific, maps spread over the kitchen table, while Alex tries to keep her friends from finding out what’s going on at home. Medicine and therapy don’t seem to be helping, so Alex is stuck trying to keep her mom home and safe, and caring for her younger siblings. Alex, in her junior year, is also struggling hugely with driver’s ed. For some reason she panics when she gets behind the wheel and after she accidentally drives into the football field during class, it seems like the whole school is making fun of her. Can she reach out to her friends, or her new boyfriend, for help? Will her mom get better? Read The Chance You Won’t Return to find out.

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson is a creepy, lovely book, the perfect story to read when you’re curled up under a blanket on the couch. In Maggie Larsen’s senior year of high school, she and her parents move to tiny Gill Creek, Wisconsin. Leaving her friends in Chicago is hard, but Maggie immediately grows close to Pauline and Liam, neighbors her age. Then teenage girls in their county start disappearing and turning up dead in rivers and lakes. Everyone is on edge, and the accusations and rumors start flying. Pauline’s mother sends her away to stay with family and while she’s gone, Maggie and Liam fall for each other. Then the killer is caught, and Pauline comes home. Suddenly Maggie and Liam are over – she thought Pauline and Liam were just friends but apparently she was wrong. She tries to deal, but she just can’t forgive them. So when Pauline comes to her door in a blizzard one night, screaming for help, Maggie pretends she doesn’t hear, and the consequences are fatal. Read The Vanishing Season to find out who dies, and how.

Let’s say you are on vacation with your family in the Florida Keys. It’s super early on the first day, no one else is awake, so you go out to the beach by yourself. You take a book, figuring you’ll read and enjoy the sunrise. But you find this great little beach and even though there’s a “No Swimming,” sign, it’s old and peeling and you figure it’s a gorgeous morning, why not just get your feet wet. Would you go in the water?

Well, Davey Tsering decides there’s no harm in wading just a little bit. But it turns out that beautiful water has a deadly riptide. Davey gets caught in it, and swept out into the ocean. He tries to make it back to shore, but can’t. Now he’s all alone, trying to stay afloat, the sun is beating down, and the sharks are coming… Davey is about to be Surrounded by Sharks.

Do you have a sibling? If you do, you know that sharing space and family time, just sharing in general, can be challenging. But what if you had to do that same kind of sharing for someone who wasn’t even your real brother? In Coe Booth’s book Kinda Like Brothers, Jarrett has just finished sixth grade. Now it’s the summer and all he wants to do is relax - hang out at the Center, make an awesome horror movie with his best friend, figure out how to talk to his crush, Caprice. But Jarrett had a tough time in school last year and now he’s stuck in summer school. On top of that, his mom, who takes in foster babies, tells him there is a new baby coming. And this baby isn’t coming alone - she has an older brother. Jarrett is going to have to share his room and his life with Kevon, a kid who is a year older, and who has an attitude problem. Will he survive the summer? Will he pass summer school? And will he ever say more than two words to Caprice? Read Kinda Like Brothers to find out.

Laureth has been blind since birth, so she has had sixteen years to teach herself how to survive in the sighted world. She’s so good at getting around that a lot of the time, no one even knows she’s blind. But now she’s facing the biggest test of her life. Laureth’s father, a famous writer, went on a business trip and seemingly disappeared. He hasn’t responded to her emails or calls. Her mother doesn’t seem to care, but Laureth is worried. So she decides to take her little brother Benjamin, who may only be seven, but who can be her eyes when necessary, and fly to New York to find her dad. She has a few clues, including an email from a stranger who says he’s found her father’s precious notebook, but otherwise, she’s on her own. She is determined to rescue her father and get herself and Benjamin to New York and back home to London safely. Will she succeed? Read She Is Not Invisible to find out.

Your life is pretty good. You have a big, loud, loving family. You have friends. You do well in school. Then one day, in an instant, everything changes. Now close your eyes. Keep them closed. This is your new reality.

Emma Sasha Silver is blinded in a freak accident. She wakes up in total darkness, in terror. Not only is she in pain and shock, but now she has to learn to live again. She has to get off the couch, she has to walk, eat, relearn how to do basic things like get dressed, take a shower, hold her baby brother and sister. She is angry and afraid. But Emma Sasha Silver, with the help of her family, her best friend Logan, and her best puppy friend Spark, learns to face the fear.

When a classmate dies in suspicious circumstances, Emma isn’t willing to let it go. She wants to know why Claire died, and what it means for herself and the rest of her classmates who are still living.

Amy has cerebral palsy – she can’t speak without a computer, or walk unassisted. Matthew thinks his issues are less obvious, but the whole school knows he has OCD. Matthew reluctantly signs up to be one of Amy’s peer helpers in their senior year after she asks him to. He’s the only person who’s ever challenged the cheerful persona Amy presents to the world, and she is intrigued. Over their senior year, Matthew and Amy become real friends, telling each other things they’ve never shared with anyone. And then they develop feelings for each other. But Amy’s mother disapproves—strongly—plus Amy is going off to college, and Matthew is staying home to work at the local movie theater. Beginning with a disastrous prom night, the two experience misunderstandings, emails left unsent, and things left unsaid. Can they find the words to say what really matters?

In Like No Other, Una LaMarche brings Romeo and Juliet into the 21st century and gives it a Brooklyn twist. Devorah, a good girl from a strict Hasidic family, has never questioned who she is or her role in the world. And then there is Jaxon, a good boy who listens to his parents, loves his four little sisters, does well in school, and just wants to figure out how to be more than friends with a girl. When Devorah and Jaxon get stuck in a broken elevator together during a hurricane, a spark is lit between them. But what does it mean? How can they navigate this strange, crazy, new world of love? Will their families keep them apart? Are some differences too big to be overcome? Read Like No Other to find out.

Beloved author Shannon Hale steps into new territory with her latest book, Dangerous. Maisie Danger Brown doesn’t normally live up to her middle name. She studies hard in school since she wants to be an astronaut someday and generally lives a quiet life. So when she gets the chance to attend space camp, Maisie is ready. At first, camp is exciting, challenging. Maisie and her team of four other students win the camp’s competition and get a cool prize – they get to look inside a real space elevator. But then things get weird. The space elevator actually goes into space, which of course, is awesome. And then things get weirder – the adult chaperones show Maisie and her teammates what appears to be alien technology and when they touch the tokens, they experience excruciating pain, and then they each have a token bonded to their chest. What does it mean? And how exactly are aliens involved? Maisie is about to find out if she can live up to her middle name as she is asked to save the world in Dangerous.

Something terrible happened last summer, but you don’t remember it. You are a Sinclair, daughter of a distinguished family. You have spent every summer of your life on your family’s private island off the coast of Massachusetts. Words like traumatic brain injury and amnesia should not be linked to your name. You should not be having migraines and making scenes. But you are. As much as you don’t want to be a disgrace to your family, you are suffering. Thankfully you have your cousins, the other Liars, to help you figure it out. You, Gat, Mirren, and Johnny, have been inseparable every summer since you were eight. You’ve been in trouble, you’ve been in love, you’ve hated each other, you’ve been wrong, you’ve been sorry. But now what? Your brain is broken, and you just don’t know why. You’re desperate for the others to help you. If you keep asking, keep trying, they can help you figure it out, right? What is the truth? Is it too shocking to believe? Is someone lying and if so, who? This is We Were Liars by e. Lockhart.

Hayley Kincain is determined not to be just another zombie in her high school class. The way she goes about it, however, does not endear her toward most of her teachers. But frankly, Hayley doesn’t care. She knows there are bigger things in life to worry about than a few angry teachers. Hayley has been caring for her father for way longer than she’d like to think about. He’s a good dad, but sometimes his brain gets stuck in the past, in the trauma of his days fighting in Iraq. They’ve just moved back to the town in which Hayley was born, hoping for a fresh start. But the stress of holding both their lives together is wearing on Hayley. What if she wants to have something closer to a normal life? What if she might even be falling for a boy? That would mean being vulnerable, and no matter what she might lose, Hayley’s just not sure if that’s possible. Read about Hayley’s powerful journey in The Impossible Knife of Memory.

In Jenny Hubbard’s book And We Stay, Emily Beam is living in the aftermath of a tragedy. Her boyfriend Paul has just walked into their high school library with a gun and killed himself in front of her. Emily’s parents immediately send her, in a state of shock, away to the Amherst School for Girls. The environment is completely different from her old school and as Emily struggles to fit in with the other girls, she must also deal with her intense guilt and sorrow over Paul’s death. Writing poems like this one is how Emily copes: “Never Land.” “She rocks herself to sleep, / rocks herself awake, rocks / until she is one with a sky / deep as midnight. / The ground is not hers-- / never was—and the only / light, the only light there is, / hums a high song / from the backside of stars. / Here in the dark, yes, here / is the cradle.” And We Stay is the thoughtful and moving story of one girl’s journey through grief.

Travis Coates was dead, and now he’s alive again. At 16, he was dying of cancer, and at the end, he and his parents agreed to an experimental procedure where his head would be cryogenically frozen so that it could be transplanted onto someone else’s body. Travis figured the chances were slim, and the technology was so far in the future that if it ever actually happened, everyone he knew would be dead. But it’s only five years later and shockingly, Travis is back. He’s still 16, but everyone he knows is 5 years older. Not only does he have to adjust to a whole new body, but he has to come to terms with the fact that his friends and girlfriend have moved on—to college, to full-time jobs, to other relationships. And he has to go back to high school, alone. Can he figure out how to live in this new body? Can he make new friends when everyone sees him as a freak? Noggin is another funny, thought-provoking, well-written book by John Corey Whaley.

Austin lives in a small town in Iowa. He just wants to be able to skateboard, not get beat up, figure out which of his best friends he wants to kiss (Shannon or Robby), think about sex, and survive high school. Then one day Austin and Robby get beat up in an alley. And it turns out that Robby’s blood spilling in that particular alley brings to life an army of enormous, genetically modified praying mantises. Crazy? Yes. But somehow this story works. You will root for Austin, Robby, and Shannon like they’re your best friends, even as they’re watching their neighbors get eaten in one gulp, their cars and houses get smashed, even as they’re trying to prevent the total  destruction of the whole world. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith – crazy, awesome, a book you won’t want to stop reading.

Harry Jones’ whole life changed when he was eight, the day a group of neighborhood bullies tied him to a tree during a thunderstorm. The tree was struck by lightning and Harry was burned, leaving him with terrible facial scars. Harry basically floated through life after that, until he met Johnny McKenna. Johnny became Harry’s best friend and on the day Johnny decided they should start a band, Harry’s life changed yet again. Two other friends were recruited, instruments were obtained, and The Scar Boys were born. Harry throws himself full force into the band like it might save him, erase his scars. The Scar Boys is a book for anyone who has ever felt completely alienated from the world, for anyone who has experienced the insane power of three guitars, a drum set, and a few microphones to change absolutely everything.

“I am here by choice. I am ready to accept the consequence of my actions. As I look back, I can see plainly that every choice I ever made, every action, big or small, was like a single brick in the road leading me here. I will accept responsibility.”

The Book of Jonas is a novel that recollects the painful war memory of Y-O-U-N-I-S, a child that was living in a conflict territory, and his constant struggles of everyday survival. As a teenager, Jonas or Younis will remember forever the war conflicts and the suffering of the people in his home country. In addition, the consequences of the post-traumatic stress disorder will make Jonas, go back to that painful stage of his life and challenge those actions in order to look into a hopeful future.

In the refugee country, the author Stephen Dau brings, also, into account the process of acculturation into the host culture. Jonas, as an immigrant refugee, needs to adapt and learn not only the language, but also new models of communication and cultural values. The host country represents to Younis the country of freedom that will help him move into a more prosperous future. The word “reconciliation” must bring together the unity in his life.

The book is divided in eight chapters and it will bring into the conversation current topics that are challenging the world.

 

Best known for the classic western, True Grit, Charles Portis is a true original. In this late novel he dives into the world of American expats in Mexico. We've got UFO enthusiasts, Mayan art dealers, disgraced scholars, violent hippies, and looting archaeologists all trying to turn a quick buck, keep their dilapidated trucks running in the jungle, and find a lost American runaway. It's a fun read that's given just the right touch.

I loved this book, but probably for all the wrong reasons because I want OASIS now. I'm totally fine living my entire life locked away connected to a virtual world...

Imagine a not so future world, where most people live their lives connected to a virtual universe called OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation). You wake up in the morning, put on your visor, gloves, bodysuit and log in. You spend your day inside OASIS where you can go to work, school, play games, socialize, order food, find love, be creative, start a business (many money opportunities there), and be anyone or anything you want. OASIS is utopia which allows humanity to retreat from the dismal world outside their windows which is suffering from famine, violence and an economic recession and the best thing? OASIS is free! (well, access is free, but you gotta pay for cool stuff, just like the real world)

The creator of OASIS, billionaire, James Halliday, a recluse, ubber nerd in the most supreme and admiring way recently died and left his millions to the first person to solve his puzzle/treasure hunt, which can only be solved inside the universe of OASIS. Everyone (I mean, everyone) joins in and starts looking and looking and looking. Five years later no one has found the first clue, that is until high school student Wade Watts.

We follow Wade as he partakes in the quest of winning the game hidden in clues from 1980's pop culture. Yes, the 80s. For those of us who remember the 80s this will be a fun ride for you. I think this is one of those love it or hate it books, but most likely you'll love it (probably not as much as me, but hey, I'm a weirdo).

"Jim always wanted everyone to share his obsessions, to love the same things he loved." - Ready Player One

You may have watched Sex and City, but this isn't just a play on the title. TV journalist Darcy Newmen is a mortal seeking a job with a Vampire operated TV network. There's only one itty-bitty problem - they don't do females in positions of power.

When Darcy comes up with a new hit show for the midnight dead zone -she has for fight for it like a lady- without showing she can out think a man.

Intimidating because of its topic and size, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is easy reading for some topics and brutal for others. Over 1,500 pages long with tiny type, William L. Shirer (1904-1993) had extensive knowledge of Hitler, Nazi Germany/Weltanschauung, Mein Kampf, Bavarian history, Nuremberg Trials, Nazi political and military leaders and much more. As an example, Shirer claims Hitler ran to escape from the Beer Hall Putsch – and names names. How did German democracy become a dictatorship? Why did the German Generals not believe in Hitler in the 1930’s, yet go along with him throughout the war? Why did efforts to overthrow Hitler fail? Why did Hitler not invade England? Why did he invade Russia and all of the other countries before it? The style of writing is a surprise – for a subject so intense, difficult and confusing he writes with clear prose. It’s not the easy, exciting read of Last Train From Berlin nor another chase from Dan Brown: you know the ending – but it’s still a challenge, mystery, enlightening – and heart-pumping. Note: pages 1249 thru 1292 are detailed Holocaust material that is shocking and morbid. A comprehensive, detailed history and analysis of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany.