Love Blind

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for the arc of Love Blind by Christa Desir and Jolene Perry! A teenage boy, Kyle, as the main character in chapter one, then Hailey for chapter two. Alternating between Kyle and Hailey each chapter lets the reader live in both of their worlds better than first person point of view would have. Hailey has been diagnosed as legally blind (the ophthalmologist tells her she has “old-people eyes”),lives with her two adoptive moms and she has a list of fears to overcome. Hailey is the singer in the band, Blinders On, with her two friends. Kyle lives with his single mom and he’s dealing with being painfully shy and getting bullied at school. Kyle and Hailey meet and become reluctant friends and begin to work on Hailey’s fear list. In the meantime, Hailey talks Kyle into making his own list. Some use of the “F” word, but it fits in with the situations discussed in the book. Love Blind fits in the young adult genre because of its swearing and sex language. This book deals with some intense, tough issues: extreme bullying, losing virginity, hpv, dysfunctional families, blindness, being adopted, gay parents, sexuality and love with creative writing and care. One of my greatest fears is becoming blind and I admire anyone who has dealt with blindness. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and grew to care about them, with their dynamic personalities, humor and drama. The story is intense and deep with an inconclusive ending that leaves the mind to wonder about the characters’ futures.

Gemini

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the arc of Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee! This book tells the story of a very difficult situation that would be hard to imagine. Hailey and Clara are teenagers and conjoined twins trying to live as normal of a life as possible. Just thinking about all of the problems Hailey and Clara have to overcome daily, overwhelms me. As a parent, I relate to their mother who wants to protect them and help their lives be normal, but only so much can be fixed, taken care of or ignored. The family moved to a small community to protect Hailey and Clara from the press and strangers. It works to a point. The twins are growing up and are contemplating which colleges they wish to attend. They have individual interests and want to do different things in life. Each is interested in a different young man and that is an unimaginable problem too, feeling that the two of you could never be alone (you and your date) to talk, dance or anything. Then the prospect of marriage and children would feel impossible. Written from the girls points of view, Gemini will touch your heart!

The Secret Life of a Dream Girl

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the arc of The Secret Life of a Dream Girl by Tracy Deebs! First off, it is a must to read the synopsis to understand what’s going on in the book, because I didn’t do that first and was lost. After reading the blurb, the story made perfect sense. Keegan has a crush on Dahlia, but she doesn’t realize it. She thinks his crush is on another girl, who she begins calling “dream girl”, and vows to help Keegan woo and win his dream girl. Keegan and Dahlia help each other through personal and family struggles, growing closer to each other in the meantime. Cute and heartfelt, a nice romantic story.

Three Truths and a Lie

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Pulse for the arc of Three Truths and a Lie by Brent Hartinger! This suspenseful mystery thriller involves four friends who go away for the weekend. Rob, Liam, Galen and Mia all go to Mia’s family cabin in logging territory. They play the game Three Truths and a Lie and after that, strange things start to happen and they wonder if someone wants to cause them harm. The suspense builds and the mystery stays unsolved. The story winds itself around to the beginning of the weekend and all is explained. This book contains some explicit sex, just to be warned, but is psychologically twisted and maddeningly interesting and a wonderful mystery thriller read!

Saving Hamlet

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Book Group for the arc of Saving Hamlet by Molly Booth. Emma wants a new start for her sophomore year of high school and she starts with a completely different hair style and buying the shoes she has wanted for the past year. Emma loves theater and is the stage manager for her high school drama club production of Hamlet. A trap door is cut out of the stage floor, without permission. The hole gets temporarily covered with cardboard and tape. Emma accidentally falls through the hole when no one else is at the theater. She ends up in Shakespeare’s time, at the Globe theater, where Hamlet is being acted out at that very moment. She meets William Shakespeare and sees firsthand how he wants his plays to be. It is very interesting how different the acting and rehearsing processes are between past and present. Emma travels back and forth between the present time and learns a lot of helpful theater information and is able to help her friends with the modern day play. Saving Hamlet deals with friendship, working relationships, family and all of the issues that come along with it, and gender differences and difficulties, still keeping it a clean read.

I like this book and find it very interesting in many ways.  I might use it in the future, along with Shakespeare, to teach my Library Science students.

Museum of Heartbreak

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the arc of The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder! Penelope has been best friends with Eph and Audrey for several years. Now Eph and Audrey think it’s time they increase their social circle, much to Penelope’s dismay. They each grow and have different struggles and experiences of their own and try to remain friends through it all. The artwork is fun and adds life and charm to the Museum of Heartbreak idea. This high school story contains popularity problems, artistic talent and book lovers and is a touching, endearing story.

The Flip Side

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc of The Flip Side by Shawn Johnson! This clean read tells the story of Charlotte (Charlie). She’s an aspiring Olympic gold medal winning gymnast plus she attends public high school where she has to do her best to reform to the daily class schedule. Charlotte has to work around her school schedule instead of her schooling working around her gymnastics schedule. She has to deal with dating, schedule restraints and schedule juggling, an injury and good and bad publicity. The Flip Side is a cute, refreshing story!

Watching Edie

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the arc of Watching Edie by Camilla Way! The first chapter shows Edie as a middle aged woman who suddenly has an unexpected visitor that she doesn’t want to see, Heather. Then the story moves between past and present, showing the relationship of Edie and Heather from the time they were teenagers, when they first met, until the present time. I do not want to give anything away, but this book has been compared to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and that is a good comparison. Thrilling and suspenseful, as well as heartbreaking, Watching Edie is a read that will leave you with a sunken feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Wake the Hollow

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the arc of Wake the Hollow by Gaby Triana! I absolutely love this book from beginning to end. Micaela goes back to Sleepy Hollow after her mother has passed away. She left her mother to live with her more stable father several years earlier. Her friend Bram picks her up from the train station and she stays with him in his apartment. She has night terrors often and hears voices and she is unsure who she can trust. The tone of the story is a bit ominous, which makes it difficult to put down. I enjoy the lines from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving at the beginning of the chapters. The mystery of Washington Irving’s descendants grows and so does the danger to Micaela. The suspense lasts throughout the book and the supernatural touch brings the right amount of thrill to the story. Wonderful spookiness!

26 Kisses

Posted on by lynndellwatson

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Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the arc of 26 Kisses by Anna Michels! Vee, recently broken up from a two year relationship, is trying to enjoy the summer before senior year with her two best friends, Mel and Seth. Mel challenges Vee with the 26 kisses idea to help her recover from her breakup. Vee is supposed to kiss someone for each letter of the alphabet. It doesn’t always turn out to be a teenage boy or even a person, (puppy kisses). The challenge creates humorous, awkward and unusual experiences. This coming of age story is funny and lighthearted, but also serious enough to be true to life.