Almost Home by Joan Bauer Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Sugar Mae Cole and her mother Reba are evicted from their home when they fail to make payments on their mortgage. Sugar’s father, Mr. Leeland, convinced Reba to loan him money, and has yet to pay it back. Sugar is a smart girl – much wiser than her twelve years – and she makes preliminary arrangements for them to stay at a … Read more
Wildcard sequel to Warcross by Marie Lu Mystery Romance Science Fiction Suspense Thriller * * * Stars (Pretty good) When Emika Chen learns that Hideo has created an algorithm that allows him to control the minds of anyone who uses his NeuroLink, she breaks off their relationship and turns to Zero, the mysterious entity who attempted to sabotage the Warcross Championships. He knew what Hideo was going to do, and now he has another plan … Read more
Fake Blood by Whitney Gardner Funny Graphic Novel Realistic Fiction Romance * * * * Stars (Great!) Now that AJ and his friends are in 6th grade, he’s hoping that something will change. Hunter and Ivy, who did fun things over the summer, have both grown several inches, but AJ, who stayed home and read all summer, is still short and boring. He does catch a break, however, when his new teacher pairs him with … Read more
I’m From Nowhere by Suzanne Myers Mystery Realistic Fiction Romance * * * * Stars (Great!) Wren’s journalist mother gets a once in a life opportunity to report on a story in Greenland for 6 months, but as a result, Wren has to go to Hardwick Hall – a boarding school on the east coast (very far away from her home in Ventura, CA) where her mom was once a student. Wren takes the opportunity … Read more
Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry Realistic Fiction Romance * * * * Stars (Great!) Michael’s family has had to move 4 times so far to accommodate his father’s job, and they’re all pretty sick of the upheavals. Michael’s now attending a fancy private Catholic school called St. Clare’s (although, he’s an atheist), and looking for at least one other fellow outcast to befriend. He finds several and ends up joining their support group – Heretics … Read more
The Unidentified by Rae Mariz Science Fiction Suspense Thriller * * * Stars (Pretty good) Katey (kidzero) goes to one of the Game schools (hers is for 13-17 year olds) – created, funded, and managed by corporate interests that closely monitor the consumer behaviors of their students and test out new products on them while gamifying their education. By now, most of the students only care about popularity, number of friends/people subscribed to their streams, … Read more
Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas Realistic Fiction * * * * Stars (Great!) Steve York is in danger of failing life, but he doesn’t care. He’s worked hard to escape his past – to forget and distance himself from what happened in Texas. His high school guidance counselor, DeMouy, however, reminds him that he once was a good student, and that there’s still time to turn things around. In order to do that Steve … Read more
Ghost Track #1 by Jason Reynolds Realistic Fiction Sports * * * * Stars (Great!) Castle Cranshaw (aka Ghost) ends up on the Defenders track team after schooling one of its sprinters – even in rolled up jeans and old high tops, Ghost is faster. Although Ghost isn’t really interested in running, Coach convinces him that it’ll help his basketball game. While that isn’t necessarily true, Ghost discovers that he loves running and he likes … Read more
Slated Slated trilogy #1 by Teri Terry Dystopian Mystery Romance Science Fiction Suspense/Thriller * * * * Stars (Great!) Kyla is one of the Slated – her memories have been erased to give her a clean slate and she’s just been given clearance to go home with a new family. As part of her contract, she must wear a monitoring bracelet (a Levo) that measures her mood – if she drops below a certain level, … Read more
Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf Fairytale Fantasy Horror Romance Supernatural Suspense/Thriller * * * * Stars (Great!) When Zera’s family was murdered by bandits, she alone was saved – by a witch (Nightsinger) – who turned her “Heartless” by removing her physical heart and placing it in an ensorcelled jar. Heartless have some wonderful abilities due to their ties to their witches (they can’t die, and their wounds heal almost instantly), but they … Read more