The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass by Anna Priemaza

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Vera loves her family and her three siblings. All of a sudden she only has two siblings and her whole family feels like something is missing. This keeps happening with the people she knows and then doesn’t remember. The mystery is the best part of this book. People are being erased from memories and the only proof is a sad underlying feeling. Vera goes through many theories before the truth is found out. Then, all she has to do is put a stop to it and reverse everything. No problem! ;). Interesting and unique story about how important the people we care about are in our lives, 4 stars!

We Are All So Good At Smiling by Amber McBride

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Metaphorically beautiful verse!

Metaphorically beautiful verse!
Two depressed teens, Whimsy and Faerry, meet at a mental hospital and then become neighbors and attend high school together. They’re both suffering from depression and memory loss from when they were young children. They’re not sure what they’re not remembering but it’s bothering both of them to the point of despair. They become friends that want to help each other and understand each other’s problems. They need each other to process the trauma they’ve been through and to help the lost information resurface.

Likes/dislikes: The writing is metaphorical and beautiful. I was intrigued by the mystery surrounding the story. I like Whimsy and Faerry, the two main characters.
Language: G for no swears and no f-bombs.
Mature Content: PG for suicidal thoughts (nondescriptive) and clinical depression.
Violence: PG for talk of cutting, undescribed.
Ethnicity: The two main characters are black and they attend a predominantly white school.

What My Sister Knew by Nina Laurin

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Andrea gets in a wreck while driving home after work at 3:00 AM. She’s thinking that she saw someone standing in the road so she swerved and ran into a tree. Her adoptive mother picks her up from the hospital and takes her to their home. Detectives arrive and question her about her brother and show her pictures of mutilated victims from his murder spree. Andrea hasn’t spoken to her brother since he was incarcerated for starting the fire that killed their mother and stepfather fifteen years ago. Her adoptive family happens to be the family of the school bully that terrorized Andrea in middle school before the fatal fire. Andrea leaves and goes to her townhouse for privacy but she can’t help but think about something the detectives said. Her brother is on the loose and knows where she is. Another young woman is murdered and things become more complex. The story alternates between the present and the past, before the house fire and the book written about Eli. Andrea seems to be a bit of an unreliable narrator and it becomes a little difficult to follow the tidbits and figure out the truth of the past and present. The book kept me riveted and I wanted to know how it would end but the ending turned out to be ambivalent. Suspenseful thriller with an unreliable narrator, 4 stars!

Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

Posted on by lynndellwatson

A deadly virus with stomach flu like symptoms but deadlier, ravages the country. This virus makes some people have zombie like tendencies.
One person transforms into a tentacled monster.
Another is a courtesan who has to shoot one of her customers because he’s transformed into a monster in front of her. She becomes educated by eating the brains of doctors and scientists and watches over the monsters.
The last main character becomes a breeding ground for tentacled creatures that will soon occupy Earth.
Weird, creepy, scary, gross, vulgar and in-your-face horror!

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

Posted on by lynndellwatson

School mystery!

At Urban Promise Prep school, strict rules keep the students in line, even to the point of harassment. Donations are given to the boys’ school in large amounts but students are told no when they ask for help with extracurricular activity funding. On a day when Principal Moore sent three teens to detention, he ends up being fatally shot and those three young men are blamed. Trey, J.B., and Ramon have to work together to clear their names. They also need help from others to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Likes/dislikes: I liked the mystery and the story behind it. I enjoyed how the suspense built throughout the story. The alternating narrative made the book more interesting.
Mature content: PG-13 for implied sex
Language: R for 110 swears and 12 f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for fatal shooting with description of blood when finding the victim.
Ethnicity: mixed-white, Black, Mexican-American

The Island by Natasha Preston

Posted on by lynndellwatson

A deceptive invitation!

Teen influencers arrive on an island after being invited for a fun-filled weekend to post online reviews and build excitement for the upcoming opening. The island is an amusement park and resort all in one. The six influencers have a variety of online posts and followers. Before they can enjoy much of the island, the killing starts. One by one, people are being chased and killed. Those who remain must work together to outsmart the killer and survive until help arrives.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the premise of inviting influencers to review and build hype about a new place. The mystery was fun and suspenseful. I liked learning about each character’s background.
Language: R for 121 swears, no f-bombs.
Mature Content: none other than the violence.
Violence: R for bloody deaths.
Ethnicity: mixed

Some Kind of Hate by Sarah Darer Littman

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Insider’s view of hate crimes!

Declan hurts his shoulder by climbing where there’s a “no climbing” sign and it takes his future away. He needs surgery and physical therapy to heal and in the meantime he has an angry attitude. He pushes his friends away and joins a hate group that promotes propaganda and conspiracy theories about cultures that aren’t predominantly white, focusing especially on Jewish people. He’s happily blaming others for his problems and being fed propaganda by his “new friends” and he’s taking it too far by willingly participating in hate crimes. When Declan’s lifelong friend is threatened, he has to make the choice to harm or protect.

Likes/dislikes: Declan was whiny and ungrateful even though the accident was because he made the choice to do something negligent. I enjoyed the history class discussion about different cultures and evaluating online sources. The author approached hate groups from an insider’s perspective from both sides.
Mature content: G for nondescriptive kissing
Violence: PG for undescribed phone threats from a hate group, vandalism, bomb threat.
Language: PG for 6 swears and no f-bombs.
Ethnicity: mixed

A Heavy Dose of Allison Tandy by Jeff Bishop

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Quirks, romance, and high school antics alongside heartbreak and tragedy!

Cam is still devastated and heartbroken from Allison (Ally) breaking up with him months ago. Now he’s worried she won’t come out of the coma that was the result of a car accident she was in. He’s been injured during sports so he’s out of commission and is prescribed medication for the pain. He starts his pain meds and soon sees Ally. She talks to him. He thinks he must be hallucinating. The conversations began to occur frequently and Ally becomes more real and can physically move things. Cameron’s personality and sense of humor made me laugh. He’s endearing and learns a lot about himself through his hallucinatory conversations with Ally. I enjoyed reading this young adult realistic fiction story full of quirks, romance, and high school antics that also deals with more serious issues like heartbreak and tragedy, 5 stars!

The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Thoroughly entertaining!

Em wakes up on Valentine’s Day excited to celebrate with her boyfriend Josh. Her day goes horribly in so many ways that she’s relieved to have it end but she wakes up the next morning and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. This happens several times and she finally decides to not care about anything and has a great day doing whatever she feels like. She pulls her chemistry lab partner along for the day and they have such a great time that she doesn’t want this Valentine’s Day to end. When she wakes up the next morning expecting to have to relive another Valentine’s Day, she has a lot of repercussions to deal with! 5 stars for a thoroughly entertaining story!