We Are All So Good At Smiling by Amber McBride

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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.

The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

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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!

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

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Exciting new book from Marie Lu!

Present time in America, Winter is a famous performer who is being recruited by the Panacea Agency to help take down a dangerous criminal, Eli Morrison. Eli has invited Winter to perform at his daughter Penelope’s birthday celebration in London. This is why Panacea wants Winter’s help, because he can infiltrate Eli’s life with little suspicion.
Sydney Cosette works for Panacea and poses as Winter’s bodyguard. The two seem to come from very different backgrounds but they discover they have commonalities. Winter and Sydney get hit with a few surprises on their mission and they’ll have to rely on their wits and trust each other to make it through alive.

Likes/dislikes: Winter and Sydney are interesting characters with unspoken depth. I like the mystery, action and setting of the story. I love the ending.

Mature Content: PG-13 for bisexual relationships mentioned, off-page kissing; sex alluded to by stating, “ended up in bed together”; drinking, transporting drugs, kissing.

Language: R for 49 swears and no f-bombs.

Violence: PG for kidnapping, killing mentioned, death by choking on a chemical weapon, hand to hand combat, shot in the chest. Sydney’s mother Killed by father in domestic abuse rage.

Ethnicity: The ethnicity of the main character is Chinese American, other characters are Black, white, brown-skinned, mixed.

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

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Uncontrollable magic!

Clara is an Everwitch and belongs to a band of witches in Pennsylvania who keep nature from being destroyed by wildfires and erratic weather. Mr. Hart is her teacher and wants to help her master her abilities and conquer her fear of harming another after she hurt and killed her best friend Nikki and her parents. Clara changes her personality with the seasons and in summer she enjoys being in relationships but in autumn she loses all feelings for the other person. After Mr. Hart is killed by her magic, Clara wants to give up and resign herself to a life of solitude so she can’t harm anyone else. When Sang arrives to help train her, she starts to believe in herself and hopes she will be able to finally control her magic.

Likes/dislikes:
I love the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, sometimes they’re inspiring and sometimes they’re eye-opening. I like the internal struggles of the main character. I also like how the community eventually works together.
Mature content:
PG-13 for kissing and allusion to sex with no details. Bisexual main character.
Violence: PG for death from uncontrollable magic in a flash of light.
Language: R for 19 swears and one f-bomb.
Ethnicity: White, Asian.

Five Survive by Holly Jackson

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The intensity builds to the extreme!

Red is traveling in an RV to Florida with her friends to spend a week celebrating spring break together. They lose cell service and GPS capabilities then end up down a dead end road getting a flat tire. After replacing the flat tire with the spare, Red sees a red dot hovering around the RV and yells at the others to notice. They ignore her until they hear the gunshots that take out all four tires. The group runs into the RV for protection. The shooter leaves a walkie talkie for communication and tells them that one of them has a secret they need to share. The secret is going to be revealed, one way or another!

Likes/dislikes:
Oliver is annoying because he’s a know-it-all with a superiority complex. The mystery is interesting to try to unravel when a few characters allude to having secrets. The suspense builds intensely, which makes a riveting read.

Mature Content:
PG-13 for drinking

Language:
R for 20 swears and 105 f-bombs.

Violence:
PG-13 for Someone shoots at the RV and holds the travelers hostage inside. The sniper fatally shoots an elderly couple that stop to help. Bloody shootings. Attack with a knife.

Ethnicity:
Mixed, Korean, Mexican, white, African American

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

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A powerful, authentic read!

Starr lives in a rough part of town and after one of her best friends gets shot in a drive by shooting when they’re ten, Starr’s parents have her attend a private school that’s safer. Now Starr is sixteen and she witnesses her other childhood friend getting fatally shot by a police officer. Her friend did nothing to provoke the shooting. This is a powerful novel about much more than racism. It’s also about choices, bravery, integrity and helping others. This book has a lot of swearing which is authentic to the lifestyle of the character’s surroundings but the message of empowerment makes it a must read. 5 stars for a novel that will stick with me.

Likes/dislikes:
I liked how the author shows reality and brings her characters to life to make the readers care about them. I like that two different worlds are brought together by two teens living in both and experiencing the stark differences in each. Character development is abundant and bravery and integrity are a huge factor in the main character’s life and family. I love how the main character’s family is open to discussing everything instead of keeping secrets from each other.
Mature content: PG-13
Underage drinking, marijuana use
Page 81 foreplay (boyfriend touching of girlfriend’s pubic region)
Page 376 arousal (the boyfriend had a bulge in his pants when he kissed his girlfriend)
Violence: PG-13
Fatal Shooting at a party. Police brutality and fatal shooting of a teen male. Riots, gang beatings, starting fires.
Language: R for 100+ swears and 54 f-bombs

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-hate-u-give

Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things by Jacqueline Firkins

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Tugged at my heart!

Edie has been in foster care for three years since her mom passed away. Her mother’s sister, Norah, brings her to their home as her new guardian to improve her. Norah and her daughters, Maria and Julia, make it their mission to improve Edie through makeovers, new clothes and unsolicited advice. Edie doesn’t feel like she belongs or is even wanted other than as a project for them. Her long ago friend, crush and first kiss, Sebastian, lives next door but he has a girlfriend, Claire. Claire’s brother Henry is a player and he’s showing interest in Edie. Edie doesn’t trust him until he shows her that he’s actually a nice, sweet guy that truly cares for her. The relationship they build helps ease crush pains. She learns a lot about herself through her relationship with Henry and grows as a person. This book is more than I expected and it tugged at my heart. 5 stars!

The Girl in the Castle by Emily Raymond & James Patterson

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The mystery kept me hooked!

Hannah is brought to the psychiatric hospital after being found screaming and half-dressed on the streets. She says she’s trying to save her family and friends by robbing the castle because the village people are starving. Then the timeline jumps back to the 1300’s, where Hannah is with those starving villagers, family and friends. The story continues to alternate between the present and the 1300’s while Hannah is in the psychiatric ward (present) and with her family in the village (1300’s). An intern, Jordan, finds Hannah fascinating and wants to help her heal after hearing her story and background. While Hannah is in the past, she’s captured along with her friends. Her friends are either hanged, stabbed or badly beaten but Hannah is spared by the Baron who is curious about her. While in the present, Hannah attends group meetings, therapy, meets new roommates, loses a fellow ward resident to suicide and builds a relationship with Jordan. While in the past, she is pampered in the castle, brings food to the villagers and has a relationship with the Baron. Jordan investigates as much as possible to discover Hannah’s past to see if trauma is at the root of her story. The mystery kept me hooked, 4 stars!

Mature content: PG-13 for vaguely detailed sex, mention of drugs, suicide and attempted suicide, self harm with razor blades
Violence: PG-13 for suicide, suggestion of rape, bleeding cuts, cut herself repeatedly with a spoon sharpened against a table leg, stealing and hanging
Language: R for 76 swears, 19 f-bombs
Ethnicities:
1300’s timeline- predominately white, present timeline-mixed ethnicity
Likes/dislikes: I liked the mystery surrounding the main character, Hannah. Was she experiencing time travel, hallucinations or trauma induced schizophrenia? I appreciate the author’s note at the end sharing experiences working at a psychiatric hospital and acknowledging that those experiences helped shape this book.

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

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Sweet adult romance with a touch of ghostly attention!

Florence Day is a ghostwriter using the pseudonym Ann Nichols. Everyone, except for a select few, thinks Florence is Ann’s assistant since Ann is always “away”. Ann Nichols did her own writing, becoming well-known, until five years ago when Florence took over for her. Florence meets the new publisher, thinking it’ll be another female like the last publisher. She’s surprised when it’s a man instead, a very handsome man named Ben Andor. He’s friendly until Florence tells him Ann doesn’t want to write romance anymore but he insists that she fulfill her contract and complete the manuscript by the next day. Florence’s roommate Rose takes her out for a fun night so she can relax. Florence ends up kissing the new publisher and having a great time until she answers her ringing phone and is told that her father had a heart attack and didn’t make it. She heads home for the reading of the will and funeral. While she’s home with her family, Rose tells her that Ben was hit by incoming traffic and soon Ben appears to Florence as a ghost. Florence and her father have always been able to see and speak with ghosts. Usually the ghosts need help in some way so they can move on. Florence tries to help Ben but neither is sure of what help he needs. They get to know each other and become friends and a bit more. When Ben disappears, Florence grieves his passing and misses him desperately. She finishes her manuscript and tries to move on with her life. This is a sweet adult romance with a touch of ghostly attention. 5 stars!

Beautiful adult romance but suitable for mature young adult readers

Some minimal swearing and a few f-bombs

Mature content, vaguely detailed sex

The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L. Walther

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A cute romance!

Meredith heads to Martha’s Vineyard for a family wedding. She’s with her mother and father and they’re all missing Claire, Meredith’s deceased sister. Meredith’s boyfriend Ben was planning on being her plus one until he broke up with her. Then she refused to let him be there with her. On the ferry ride to the vineyard, Mer accidentally kicks a guy in the face when she’s climbing down. Later, she’s going to talk to her grandparents at the farm on the vineyard when she sees that same guy already talking to them, his name is Wit. He’s the stepbrother of the groom. The wedding couple want to remember and honor Claire so they’ve planned a game of Assassin and everyone will fight to win with water guns. Mer and Wit decide to help each other with info as needed during the game. As Mer learns to deal with her grief, she’s able to repair relationships and build new ones.
4 stars for a cute romance growing in spite of overwhelming grief.

Ethnicity: predominantly white
Mature content: PG-13 – sex but the word isn’t mentioned and no details. “Our bodies tangled together”; underage drinking
Violence: drunk driver hitting sister in car
Language Content: R due to 7 f-bombs