17yo Amir is accused of murder and his 16yo brother Marcel is determined to prove Amir’s innocence. One of their classmates was murdered in her home and Amir has been placed under house arrest under suspicious circumstances. Living in New Orleans, Amir and Marcel both attend a private school because their family wants the best for them. Being Black, they’re a minority in their mostly white, rich high school. When the girl is murdered, the white community immediately blames Amir but when horrible secrets are revealed, the tables turn.
Likes/dislikes: The bad grammar representing the local community in the book is annoying but necessary to setting the story. I like the strong loyalty between the brothers, Marcel and Amir. The mystery was enjoyable to read. Mature Content: PG-13 for drugs, underage drinking, talk of hooking up. Language: R for 154 swears and 64 f-words. Violence: PG-13 for bloody death and violence. Ethnicity: White and Black community.
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.
16yo Deka is worried that her blood is impure in a society that shuns those that are different. The village holds a ritual to know if a person is impure or not and it’s time for Deka’s participation. She lives alone with her weakened father who had an illness a few months ago; the illness that killed her mother at the same time. When her true nature shows itself while she’s protecting her village, everyone turns on her thinking she’s a demon. An emperor’s helper saves her and takes her to the capital to receive training to fight off death shrieks who wreak havoc on villages. Deka will discover more than her fate and the truth of who she is.
Likes/dislikes: I love the cover of this book. Deka’s strength is inspiring. Deka and Keita have a cute romance. Mature Content: PG-13 for implied sexual assault. Language: PG-13 for 23 swears, no f-words. Violence: R for bloody deaths. Ethnicity: Deka has dark skin and her father is pale with blonde hair. The Emperor has bluish black skin. People with dark brown skin, golden skin, pink skin, and every shade from deep brown to eggshell are mentioned.
17yo Andre returns to his home in Portland, Oregon feeling angry, confused and disgruntled after serving two months in a juvenile detention center for something he didn’t do. He also has to adjust to pandemic life because everything seems to have changed. Andre was framed for robberies when someone placed a backpack of stolen items in his locker and that’s the evidence that sent him away. He has an idea of who did it and he wants to know the truth. When his friend Eric goes missing, the danger builds and secrets are revealed as Andre tries to find his friend and get justice.
Likes/dislikes: The chapter titles are fun since they’re named after songs. The history of our country’s turmoil during the pandemic is represented well. I enjoyed the book and read it straight through. The story reminds me a bit of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, because of the harsh reality brought to life, but with less swearing. Language: R for 45 swears and 4 f-words. Mature Content: PG-13 for underage smoking and the mention of underage drinking. Violence: PG-13 for mention of attempted murder suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Ethnicity: Ethnicity is predominantly white with the Black main characters of Andre, Sierra and Eric. Luis is Mexican American.
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.
Ellerie lives on a farm in a small remote village with her family. Her father keeps bees and her mother takes great care of everyone. Ellerie’s twin, Sam, has been distant so she’s helping their father more often. Merry and Sadie are the younger siblings and now their mother is pregnant again. The crew that left for a supply run never made it far. They were killed and no one knows what happened. The village believes that huge wolves with silver eyes are to blame. Ellerie meets a young man that she describes as having a vulpine face, supposedly he’s a trapper, wandering by the creek edge as she’s washing laundry. He says his name is Price but she doesn’t think he’s telling the truth. She decides to call him Whitaker Price. Sam is accused of getting Rebecca pregnant and Sam insists she’s sleeping around with others. Rebecca’s father is accused of starting a fire in Ellerie’s family’s fields and might hang for it. Weird things keep happening to the villagers; small acts of violence that they’re blaming each other for. One night, Ellerie wakes to the farm ablaze. Their mother is caught in the fire and has to be taken to town for medical treatment. The unusual young trapper that Ellerie has gotten to know, takes Mama and Papa into town and returns to let the rest of the family know they made it safely. Whitaker, the mysterious trapper, suspiciously won’t answer any personal questions that Ellerie asks him. Ellerie finds this strange but enjoys his company and wants to spend more time with him. Mind tricks seem to be working on the citizens. The villagers spiral out of control and Ellerie does everything in her power to save her beloved town. Unique spin on the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, 5 stars!
Likes/dislikes: An absolutely perfect book! Beautiful writing, vivid imagery, strong characters and amazing world building. Great character development. Mature content: PG-13 for drinking, kissing, premarital sex mentioned but not described. Language: PG-13 for 22 swears, no f-bombs. Violence: PG-13 for bloody deaths by monsters, shootings between villagers, fighting.
The Smell of Other People’s Houses is a historical fiction story set when Alaska was just barely made into a state of America. Young acquaintances tell their points of view of their lives and their perspective of each other’s. Ruth ends up pregnant with Ray’s baby, Alyce spends her time on the family fishing boat with her father and uncle, Dora lives with Dumpling and Bunny after their father protects Dora from her abusive father and Hank and his brothers stowaway on a ferry. Selma doesn’t know her birth parents but lives with her loving adoptive parents. All of their lives intertwine in different and unique ways. This book is a fairly quick read that pulls at the heartstrings and builds empathy, 5 stars!
Pony tells the story of a young boy who takes refuge in a tree during a violent storm and when the tree is struck by lightning, receives a burn on his back in the shape of that same tree. The burn heals into a very unique scar. His father revives the boy by using a fireplace bellows. This man is interested in photography but turned to boot making to support his family but the lightning incident stokes his love of art and photos. The young boy, Silas, was born the same day his mother died. So, Silas and his father are without her. Pa is kindhearted and loving and cares deeply about Silas. One night, three riders with pistols drawn, arrive at their home demanding that Pa and Silas go with them. They won’t say why other than their boss wants Pa to work for a week and then he’ll let him return to his home. The riders brought an extra horse and a white-faced pony with them so Pa and Silas could ride along. Pa makes Silas stay behind. The pony shows up soon after the riders leave with Pa. Silas is worried that Pa has been hurt so he rides Pony (Silas’ name for the small horse) and goes after Pa’s trail. He finds so much more than he expected and meets several different allies along the way. Pony is a western adventure full of action and mystery, told with a continuous sense of awe; I loved reading it, 5 stars!
Dedicated to Ed and Lorraine Warren, which opens up a feeling of foreboding. Vera’s parents are known far and wide as demon hunters and the other students and the entire community treat Vera like she’s a freak. One day at school, Vera notices the all-popular Max staring at her. She’s dumbfounded. Eventually, Max gets up enough nerve to catch Vera at her job working at a neighboring community’s hospital. He explains that he needs her parents’ help dealing with his mom, who is completely terrifying Max. He’s worried his mom will harm his little sister Chloe. Vera goes to Max’s house and immediately after calls her parents for help. They’re on a case in Barcelona and won’t be home for almost a week. It seems that Vera and Max might be on their own. This story became more interesting the longer I read and I didn’t want to put it down! The mystery and the paranormal build a wonderfully creepy young adult horror story, 5 stars!
Pip is determined to never investigate another mystery until her friend’s brother ends up missing. Connor and his mom, Joanne, convince Pip that they need her help to find Jamie and the more she investigates, the more questions pop up. It’s a tangled web of people, clues and history. Ravi is with her completely, once again and Pip realizes that she’s lying to her parents more and more so they don’t get upset about her over-involvement in the investigation. This is a twisty mystery that kept me guessing, 5 stars! I’m completely looking forward to the third book of this series!
The Thought Spot 