Another excellent supernatural mystery by Simone St. James!
April and Eddie drive to their honeymoon destination but are waylaid when they find a young woman walking down the road. They offer her a ride and then discover she’s been stabbed so they rush her to the hospital. Little do they know, they’re opening a door to the evil that’s the cause of the disappearances over the past 20 years.
Another great mystery read from Holly Jackson!
Rachel Price, mother of 18yo Bel, has been missing for over sixteen years. Bel’s father needs money to care for his elderly father, so he decides to participate in a documentary about the disappearance of his wife, Rachel Price. Bel doesn’t want to rehash everything over and over again but she wants to help her dad. She wonders if the documentary will help find her mom by rekindling the investigation. Also, Bel can’t shake the thought that her mom abandoned her all those years ago and that she just might be alive somewhere. The documentary is just the beginning of the chaos that’s to come.
Likes/dislikes: I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery! The character development was interesting and the author showed Bel’s coping mechanisms of cruelty and shoplifting small items as a way to deal with the abandonment she’s had in her lifetime. The documentary idea was great as it helped show the changes in the family and Bel’s perspective of the situation.
Mature content: PG for kissing.
Language: R for 53 swears and 121 f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for assault.
Ethnicity: predominantly white with mention of a brown skin background character.
A perfectly enjoyable read!
18yo Iris works at a newspaper to help support her mother after her brother Forest was sent to war. She dropped out of college to work and she’s hoping for a promotion to columnist. 19yo Roman, Iris’ competitor for the columnist promotion, is rich and discovers that he’s been betrothed to a daughter of his father’s business acquaintance completely against Roman’s will. Iris and Roman have an unusual connection that he soon discovers but Iris is oblivious to. The mythological war soon takes over their lives and they have to fight to stay alive and get closer to the battle than they ever expected.
Likes/dislikes: I adore the slow burn romance. The fact that this book has very few swears is refreshing. I love Roman and Iris and enjoyed getting to know them and I also enjoyed the mystery of the letters.
Mature content: PG for kissing and implied sex, on page.
Language: PG for 5 swears and no f-words.
Violence: PG-13 for grenade explosion in battle; bleeding from chemical weapons.
Ethnicity: Falls to white and the Bed and Breakfast owner has light brown skin.
Stand by the people that love you!
Yasir has moved to Oakwood Grove to live with his uncle. He had to leave Atlanta, where he lived with his Nana. He doesn’t know why he was forced to leave, other than his Nana telling him he was in danger. Now that Yasir is in Oakwood Grove, he’s dealing with new problems with bullies coming out of the woodwork. He feels changes in himself and he’s trying his best to get a grip on life and keep calm. When some of his past is revealed, Yasir starts to wrap his head around the importance of standing by the people he loves.
Likes/dislikes: The slang is difficult to get used to. The story didn’t pull my interest until the last third of the book. I was relieved when the characters stopped saying that everything will be revealed later and finally started explaining what was happening to the main characters.
Mature Content: PG-13 for underage drinking
Language: R for 92 swears and 5 f-words.
Ethnicity: The characters are predominantly Black. Taylor has tawny skin. Kendyl is Afro-Latina. Ms. Tyler has beige skin.
Pets, D&D, and real life!
17yo Wren is waiting for her friend Kamala to finish her shift at the coffee shop when Asher and Dale arrive to meet a girl that Dale assumes is catfishing Asher. Dale wants to document Asher’s disappointment when the girl doesn’t show up but Wren steps in and pretends she’s the girl that Asher is waiting for, in hopes of sparing him the humiliation. Wren and Asher hit it off and she actually starts to like him. He shows up later at the animal shelter where she works and the dog that hates everyone except Wren ends up liking Asher too. The charade keeps going until Wren is afraid to tell Asher the truth because she likes him and it’s mutual.
Likes/dislikes: An absolute delightfully fun read. I like how Wren had to deal with real life issues because of her mom abandoning them when she was ten and having to work with trust issues by learning to set up healthy, realistic boundaries. Bean is the funniest dog.
Language: G for no swears.
Mature Content: PG for kissing.
Violence: none
Ethnicity: Asher is white, Kamala is Indian, Wren is white.
A cathartic, healing story!
Living in Sydney, Australia, George, 19yo and white, has learned to be quiet about things that she’s dealing or struggling with. She puts herself last and everyone else first. Eventually she feels like she’s suffocating from everyone else’s problems and thoughts because they’re consuming her and not giving her a chance to take care of herself. She finally confides in her loved ones after things become too difficult and too much for George. As George adjusts to her new perspective, she’ll need her friends and family more than ever.
Likes/dislikes: This is a healing, cathartic story. The author does a wonderful job of explaining the balance between taking care of others and ourselves, if given ourselves a voice, and learning about the perspectives of others. I enjoyed the personalities of George, Calliope, Mel and Gramps.
Language: R for 212 swears and 44 f-words.
Mature Content: PG for kissing, mention of alcoholic parent.
Violence: PG-13 for angry, yelling alcoholic parent which is emotional abuse.
Ethnicity: George is white and Calliope is black.
Ominous!
Claire has been sent on an enrichment retreat by her parents. She meets Reyva and Mariana who have also been sent to “grow through experiences” at The Lake House summer camp. The three soon discover that nothing is what they expected. The danger builds along with the creepy foreboding. The teens learn that they have to run and hide to save themselves because no one is coming to help.
Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the whole mystery of the story. I like how ominous the reveal was. The three main characters grew on me.
Mature content: PG for brief kiss, survival struggles such as hunger and dehydration.
Violence: PG-13 for finding a body killed by shooting, being shot at, being held at knife point, suicidal death by gunshot with no details.
Language: PG-13 for 14 swears, no f-words.
Mystery wrapped in prejudice!
Avery goes to her mother’s hometown in Bardell County, Georgia, to take care of Mama Letty, who’s dying from cancer, after being away for twelve years due to the contentious relationship between her mom and Grandmother, Mama Letty. Racism and the Ku Klux Klan destroyed Mama Letty when they killed her husband when Zora, Avery’s mother, was just a baby. Afterwards, Letty drank and checked out and was cruel to Zora and now they continue to be angry with each other. Avery and her father are caught in the crossfire. Scandals and secrets are revealed while Avery tries to break down the hurt between her mother and grandmother before time runs out. Mystery wrapped up in prejudice.
Likes/dislikes: I like the mysteries surrounding the different families in the story and they pulled me into the book. Avery and her father made me chuckle. I like how the author represents all types of people and also the prejudice that still lingers in our society.
Mature content: PG-13 for making out vague descriptions, underage drinking, brief kissing, weed smoking , nondescript kiss.
Language: R for 157 swears and 25 f-bombs.
Violence: PG for murder with no details.
Ethnicity: The characters are predominantly Black and White. Korean American is represented.
Reread:
Twisted justice!
Brynn and Mia, now both 18, lost their friend Summer five years prior to a brutal death. Everyone in Twin Lakes, Vermont believes the two are guilty of murdering Summer. They have been stigmatized and their lives have been threatened and ruined because of this. Brynn and Mia form an alliance to find the truth about Summer’s death after not speaking to each other for the last five years. They both have their own personal struggles to cope with as they try to decipher Summer’s behavior, surroundings and mental state when she was alive to find her killer and bring justice to the community.
Likes/dislikes: The story and the mystery surrounding the characters drew me in and I didn’t want to put the book down. I enjoyed how the characters brought a fantasy world into their own story by giving a book life. It saddens me to think of the harsh life and loneliness Summer had at only thirteen years old. She had to grow out of childhood too quickly but this background explains her actions and personality.
Mature content: PG-13 for mention of oral sex, not detailed; kissing with no details; mention of a doodle of a teacher with a hard on. Underage drinking and smoking pot, mention of kissing, no description. Brief kisses with some details.
Language: R for 87 swears and 10 f-bombs.
Violence: PG-13 for fatal stabbing and self harm by scraping arm with scissors.
Ethnicity: The characters are predominantly white.
An absolute must-read!
An absolute must-read!
Sal 17, lives in Juniper, California with his sick mother and alcoholic father. Sal attends school while trying to help keep the family hotel afloat. Sal and Noor, 18, were best friends until they had a fight months ago and haven’t spoken since. Sal’s mom collapses and needs to be taken to the hospital while Noor happens to be visiting her. Sal’s mother passes away and her last words to Noor were to forgive. Sal and Noor try to mend their friendship but they’re both keeping secrets and trying to persevere through their own harsh situations. When life implodes, they both have to make some tough choices.
Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed learning about Pakistani culture and its languages. The author gives a comprehensive, concise content warning at the beginning of the book and lists resources at the end for help with domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, immigration and refugee rights, children’s defense fund, and women of color. I appreciate how the author portrayed harsh realities to readers in a way that is educational and with empathy but not graphic. This book is a must read.
Language: R for 147 swears and 3 f-bombs.
Mature Content: PG for brief undescribed kiss, drug dealer selling pills, mention of marijuana (weed), deeper kiss.
Violence: PG-13 for child abuse (a push against the wall), bloody face from abuse, kicking ribs, mentions of repressed sexual assault, continued abuse.
Ethnicity: Sal and Noor and their family members are Pakistani living in a predominantly white community. There is a Pakistani religious leader and his wife is Black. The Judge is Mexican American and the story contains mixed ethnicity police officers.
The Thought Spot 