806 by Cynthia Weil

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Humorous storyline!
Thanks to NetGalley and Tanglewood Press for the opportunity to read and review 806 by Cynthia Weil! The main character, KT, discovers that her unknown father is a sperm donor and she begins the search for possible siblings and for sperm donor 806. She finds out that two of her male school mates are her siblings and they meet 806. After being happily introduced and visiting each other for a while, 806 realizes that he can’t be their father because of his blood type. Back to square one. KT turns the sperm donor card over and thinks the number could actually be 908 instead. After hunting and a few misadventures, the three siblings find their actual donor father and they discover that it was worth the wait. 3 stars for this unique storyline full of humor!

Scream Site by Justina Ireland

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Edge of your seat horror-mystery!

Thanks to Capstone Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Scream Site by Justina Ireland!

The synopsis creeped me out and I started the book with jittery anticipation. Sabrina loves journalism and, as the story opens, she’s trying to figure out the best article to submit for a summer internship with the Daily Sun newspaper. Her friend, Evelyn, tells her about rumors surrounding the website called Scream Site, that’s holding a competition for scariest video. The rumors involve missing young women and the possibility of murder or torture of these women. The more Sabrina investigates, the more danger she’s in and the more she’s threatened. No one seems to believe her concerns, not ever her detective uncle, so Sabrina takes the investigation into her own hands regardless of personal safety. Along with the mystery, online safety is focused on with helpful reminders for all of us. This edge of your seat horror-mystery kept me riveted and I read it straight through in a few hours, 4 stars.

Letting Go of Gravity by Meg Leder

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Touching realistic fiction!
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for the opportunity to read and review Letting Go of Gravity by Meg Leder! Parker and Charlie are twins. One of them is giving the Valedictorian speech at high school graduation and the other watches from the audience, not graduating because of being held back a year in school, due to a second bout with leukemia. Parker has her future set out for her and Charlie is tired of dealing with leukemia. At the same time, Charlie seems much more confident about what he’s feeling and what he wants compared to Parker, who has uncertainties about everything. Parker crosses paths with Finn, a friend from elementary school that she lost track of. Charlie acts like he has a death wish and it’s upsetting his family and friends so much that his parents send him to a cancer therapy support group. Parker thinks that Charlie hates her and she seems to keep making the same mistakes, over and over, that make him angry. Through the turmoil of figuring out their lives and futures, Parker and Charlie surprise each other with how similar they are but different at the same time. A touching realistic fiction story with Ruby and Finn, dynamic side characters that bring an extra level of maturity to the plot and story line. 5 stars!

The Year of Living Awkwardly by Emma Chastain

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Charming and funny!
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for the opportunity to read and review The Year of Living Awkwardly: Sophomore Year by Emma Chastain!
Chloe shares her daily experiences through diary entries. She lives with her single father after her mother left them. Chloe’s mother went to Mexico with her much younger boyfriend. Needless to say, Chloe is angry at her mother. Chloe and her co-worker Grady have an entertaining relationship. Once school starts, so does the worrying and the drama of high school life. Friendships, dating, the musical and family spin Chloe out of control and she learns about herself in the process. Charming and funny, this realistic fiction is a blast to read with dynamic characters, drama and humor, 5 stars

 

Price of Duty by Todd Strasser

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Heartbreaking, tear-jerking, gut-wrenching reality!
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review Price of Duty by Todd Strasser. As the story opens, we’re thrown right into a Humvee being hit by an IED! The main character, Jake, narrates in first person point of view, alternating between the present and his active duty as a U.S. soldier. His life has completely changed since he enlisted in the military and he’s holding onto anger from seeing his comrades harmed and killed, feeling deceived by the recruiter, struggling with his own injuries and having to face being reactivated. He’s hiding his anger from everyone and he’s afraid he’ll let it slip and his family and hometown will think less of him. Price of Duty shows us what war is really about in heartbreaking, tear jerking, gut wrenching reality, 5 stars for a book that I’m definitely buying for the library collection!

The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Berube

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Frightening and riveting!
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read and review The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Berube!
Marianne is staying with her Aunt Jen until her mother straightens some things out. Marianne’s parents are split up, but her parents leave her in the dark. Marianne breaks and throws chalk during her math class when the teacher asks her to solve an equation at the board but she has no recollection of that. Her parents keep reassuring her that their separation is not her fault. This makes me wonder about the situation they were in and what is going on with Marianne. While living at Aunt Jen’s, Marianne makes a new friend, a helpful friend in Rhiannon, who prefers to be called Ron. Together they try to get to the bottom of Marianne’s struggles. During an experiment with Marianne, something frightens Ron terribly and she runs away and leaves Marianne on the beach where Marianne had an episode and Ron recorded the audio part of it. Frightening and riveting! I didn’t want to put the book down. This creepy, supernatural read gave me chills and food for thought- we all have to fight our own personal demons. 5 stars!

Echoes by Alice Reeds

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Twists and a cliffhanger ending = riveting mystery!
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled for the opportunity to read and review Echoes by Alice Reeds.
The book opens on a flight that goes terribly wrong, landing two known survivors on an island. The story then alternates from the island setting to previous events before the crash. Fiona is on a scholarship while attending a private school, she excels in kickboxing and has dyed blue hair. Miles is a rich kid, attends the same school as Fiona and has a wonderful academic record. The two of them have been invited to Berlin for an internship at Briola Pharmaceutical. When they arrive at the supposed address of the Briola Pharmaceutical Factory, all they find is a rundown warehouse. They also discover, through researching, that there’s no record of who reserved their hotel room or the Briola company website and the company itself doesn’t exist, even though it was all online twenty-four hours ago. Now Miles and Fiona are on their own. I assumed that the island segments happened after the Berlin parts of the story, but that’s supposedly not the case. While on the island, Fiona and Miles find evidence of the two of them being in Berlin, but neither one of them has any memories of it. All they know, in both settings, is that someone means to cause them harm and completely isolate the two of them from everyone and everything else. The danger grows and the mystery continues to the very end of the book, where another twist appears, which isn’t the end of Miles’ and Fiona’s ordeal. The mystery kept me riveted, 5 stars!

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

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Anticipating the next book already!
Legendary by Stephanie Garber shows us that Tella and Scarlett are once again playing a Caraval game. Tella thinks their mother is alive and wants information to find her, while Scarlett just wants some fun and excitement. Tella’s discovery of who her pen pal friend is floors her and she’s reeling from the revelation and its complications. Once again, the game may or may not be real, in all or parts, and the characters may or may not be trustworthy. Tella is shown an unkind memory of her mother and feels as though her mother didn’t love her at all. Her push and pull relationship with Dante is another matter she’s unsure of, but that’s just the way Caraval is. As the story concludes, it’s clear that a third book is in Caraval’s future. The enticing ending of Legendary makes me vested in this series. 4 stars!

Chemistry Lessons by Meredith Goldstein

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Chemistry Lessons by Meredith Goldstein tells the story of friends Maya, Kyle and Yael. Maya suffers from a breakup, so she dives into the research that her deceased mother left for Maya in her will. The research is to create a prescription that boosts physical chemistry for couples. Ann, her mother’s intern, helps Maya with pheromone experiments. The research causes extreme confusion in Maya’s relationships and hurt feelings. Maya discovers a lot about herself along the way and she grows to understand her acquaintances better and sees her parents in a new light. Food for thought, this realistic fiction story with a touch of science earns 4 stars!

 

And I Darken by Kiersten White

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Tumultuous historical fiction!
And I Darken by Kiersten White, book one of the Conqueror’s Saga tells the story of Lada (a female version of Vlad the Impaler) and her brother Radu, as well as Mehmed, who will become a great Conqueror. Lada was born with an intense and strong personality; this is the only way to catch the attention of her father. The only time she’s kind or shows weakness is in helping her younger brother. Their father wakes them before dawn and takes them to a different ruler’s home for protection, but he ends up leaving his children to receive an education. This education consists of cruelty along with their lessons. As Lada and her brother Radu grow, they each find their particular talents and tend to go their separate ways. Lada is outspoken, boisterous and skillful in fighting and Radu is quiet and personable and enjoys religion. I learned more about Islam because of this book and my appreciation of Islamic beliefs grew. The author used the historical information that she could find on two great leaders- Vlad the Impaler and Mehmed the Conqueror- to create this interesting series of intrigue, action and danger. I love when authors explain their process of creating their books and share the research they discovered. Kiersten White lists historical books of information on her subjects and also tells readers why she chose to make Vlad the Impaler a female character- Lada. Lada adds depth, drama, love, loyalty and intensity to the story. And I Darken is the beginning of the turmoil of The Conqueror’s Saga, 4 stars!