The Fantastic Flying Books of Mister Morris Lessmore

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mister Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

While this is a picture book, which is not normally what I choose to review, I can’t help but love this book and wanted to share it with other like-minded book lovers. My daughter and I have checked this out of the public library at least 5 times in the last year and I have the app on my iPad that animates the book for you. This habit has prompted my husband to ask me why I haven’t broken down and purchased the book yet. I have no real answer for him other than not thinking about it when doing book shopping.

I recently decided to read this to the Novels class I am teaching this year to prime them for what books offer us. The story takes the central character, Mr. Morris Lessmore, on a fantastic journey through the pages of books.

As we open this story, we are greeted with words that many bibliophiles live by and dream of people saying: “Morris Lessmore loved words. He loved stories. He loved books.” Morris Lessmore lived his life as a story. He would open his book every day and “write of his joys and sorrows, of all that he knew and everything that he hoped.”

However, as the book tells us, “every story has its upsets.” A terrible storm comes along and blows apart Lessmore’s world. It scatters the pages of his book to the four corners. Not knowing what to do, he wanders. While he wanders, he meets a flying book that leads him to a building where it appeared the books “nested.”  Lessmore lived and cared for the books – reading them, lending them, and mending them – for the remainder of his life. All along, he continued writing in his own book. At the end of his life, his book joined the masses books within the “nest.”

I love this book and the message it brings. It shows how alive stories can be and how magical their stories can make our lives. I am not sure what else needs to be said. It is a must read, no matter how old you are.

Every Day by David Levithan

Every Day

A wakes up every day in a new body, a new life. It has always been this way. There has never been any warning about who it will be or where, and it is never longer than one day. A has come to terms with this existence and has found a way to be at peace with the daily changes. Until he wakes up as Justin. Just as A always does, he tries to walk through Justin's life with the object of making as little impact as possible. But then he meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon. In an instant, everything changes. A falls head over heels and is now in the position of figuring out how to be with the same person every day.

I was very intrigued with the premise of this book when I saw it on a table of must reads at Barnes and Nobel. I was doubly excited when I saw that it was also one of the books on YALSA's 2013 Hub Reading Challenge. This was the last of the 25 books I finished to complete the challenge.

While it started well, it quickly frustrated me. The book set out to be a tragic love story...boy loves girl, but can't be with her. I kept rooting for A to find a way to be with Rhiannon long-term. The story did have nice character development, as we learned a little bit at a time about what makes both A and Rhiannon individuals. Along the way, however, I found myself wondering if there could ever be a happy ending. A seemed to have a problem with Rhiannon not taking the constant shifting of bodies well. Can you ever truly love someone who never looks the same two days in a row? How would you deal with not being able to even predict the gender of the person you liked from one day to the next?

It was hard to really feel for either character, even as I rooted for them to eventually find a way to be together. I felt that the story built up nicely, but I felt the story had a very anticlimactic ending. For a book I was so excited to read, I was really let down. It appeared to be leading up to a sequel, but I am not sure whether or not I want to read it.

Eve by Anna Carey

Eve by Anna Carey

In the not too distant future, a devastating virus has wiped out most of the world's population. Many who didn't die from the virus died from the subsequent "cure." Orphaned at a very young age, Eve has spent most of her life at an all-girl's school, learning everything she needs to know about this new world. The night before her graduation, Eve discovers what really happens to the graduates. Horrified, she flees, escaping into the unknown.

Eve stumbles her way through the world outside her sheltered school life. She has no idea how to survive the challenges in this barren, new world. Along the way, Eve stumbles into Caleb. Since she was a little girl, Eve has been segregated from men and taught to fear them. Caleb slowly succeeds in convincing Eve to trust him,  and he wins her heart, piece by piece. When soldiers begin to hunt them, Eve and Caleb must go on the run, searching for somewhere safe to stay.

Eve is yet another dystopian society book. While the idea is not new, I found the book oddly compelling. The world is a complex twist of wild children living like adults, struggling for survival. There are sympathetic adults (few and far between) manning a new version of the underground railroad and combating the horrifying ideas on how to repopulate the earth.

Caleb is a strong character, forced to grow up way to young working hard labor in a camp rebuilding the city for the adults in power. He has been living in the wild, struggling to survive. I felt his character was strong, but was often missing from the story. I admired his survival skills, but felt the love story could have been flushed out a little better if he was more present.

While I liked Eve's character as she worked to overcome all she had been taught and come to grips with her new life, I felt that she was very needy and flawed. I was annoyed by how she continuously put herself first, causing a lot of harm to those around her. I found that her character had growth as she learned to deal with her new life, but it wasn't until the end that I felt she had finally figured out how to care for others. I am interested to see where the second book takes her character.

Overall, I liked the book, but would have liked to see a bit more character development and Eve figuring out how to not be selfish a little faster.

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Splintered by A.G.Howard

I learned about this month somewhere around the middle of last year and was very disappointed to find out that it didn't come out until January. That being said, it took me until February to finally purchase the book and until May to finally read it. But, once I started it, it took me a mere two days to finish it (and only that because I fell asleep while reading). 

Alyssa Gardner has been hiding a secret for years. Desperate to avoid landing in a mental hospital like her mother, she hides the fact that she can hear bugs and plants talk. The women in her family have been afflicted with this curse all the way back to Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

However, as her mother's mental health begins a rapid downward spiral, Alyssa learns that there is far more to her family's history than Carroll's story lets on. Not only is Wonderland a real place visited by the first Alice, it is a dark and twisted world filled with mortal danger and disturbing mystical creatures. Alyssa must enter Wonderland and fix the problems Alice left behind in order to save her family before it's too late. Along the way, Alyssa must also choose between Jeb, her best friend and secret crush, and Morpheus, her gorgeous and suspicious guide through Wonderland. 

This story was a captivating mix of intrigue and romance. Howard twisted the elements of Carroll's original story, making for a much darker version of Wonderland. At the same time, I ended up enthralled by the complicated relationship between Jeb and Alyssa. The two ended up saving one another, creating an entrancing romance neither saw coming. 

In the end, I also couldn't hate the darker character of Morpheus. Although he always has his own motives for what he does, I believe he cares for Alyssa in his own twisted way. His character is responsible for much of the growth we see in Alyssa throughout the story.  I thoroughly recommend this book for lovers of fantasy. romance, and twists on old classics.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

I recently finished this book as part of YALSA's 2013 Hub Reading Challenge and found it utterly page-turning. 

The story centers around Jasper "Jazz" Dent, a charming and likable teenager with a spine-tingling past. Just four short years ago, Jazz's father, Billy Dent, was identified as the most notorious and terrifying serial killer in the world and sent to prison to serve multiple consecutive life sentences. His murders number in the triple digits. Jazz went to live with his senile grandmother and has been trying to keep his insane life together and deal with memories of the life with his father that plague his waking and sleeping hours. It seems Billy took "Bring Your Child to Work Day" to a new level while raising his son as an heir apparent.

While Jazz fights his inner demons and struggles against becoming his father, a gruesome murder appears in his hometown of Lobo's Nod. While the town's sheriff doesn't believe Jazz was involved, he feels a relentless drive to convince the local police that he is not the same man his father is and that the murder is the work of a new serial killer. 

The whole book is a relentless drive of intrigue as Jazz works to figure out who the killer is before more bodies pile up. I found myself eager to follow the clues along with Jazz and was constantly on the edge of my seat trying to figure out where the clues would lead. The best part was that I had a little trouble guessing who it was going to be. I loved not being able to figure out the ending at the beginning of the story.

Growing up with his father, Jazz is able to see the murders the way a killer would. It was fascinating and a bit disturbing what memories Jazz dredges up in an attempt to glean some inside knowledge of the killer. The scenes from his father's crimes, as well as the new murder scenes were a bit graphic for my taste. I also found them a bit specific for a young adult book, but I know they will captivate young readers. This movie was thoroughly suspenseful and well-written. The sequel, Game, is already out. I am both terrified and excited to read it.  

Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller

Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller

I found the 2013 Hub Reading Challenge a couple of weeks ago and finally took the plunge today! The reading challenge entreats you to read at least 25 of the books on their reading list. I completed my first book today reading Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller by Joseph Lambert. This book tells of the story of Annie Sullivan teaching Helen Keller to communicate through graphic novel form.

The story oscillates between the trials Annie has with Helen and Helen's family and the trials Annie has as a young and partially blind girl growing up. The story does not tell all of Annie and Helen's life, leaving the reader open for more research, which I like. However, I felt the telling of the story was slightly disjointed as it continued to flip back and forth. I liked learning about Annie's life, but I found the way the story was told confusing. 

I also had trouble reading the narration as Annie explains Helen's progress in letter form to her previous teacher. It is in cursive and is written pretty small. It may be my bad eyesight, but I found it hard to read. 

All in all, a decent book. Check it out!

Such a Rush

Such a Rush

Such a Rush tells the story of Leah Jones. a girl who has moved many times as her mom follows this month's latest flavor to new towns. In Heaven Beach, South Carolina, Leah is the adult of the family; negotiating rent with the landlord, making sure bills get paid reasonably on time, and getting a job at the nearby airstrip. At only fourteen, Leah quickly falls in love with the planes, flying, and all that comes with it. Secretly saving every extra penny she can, she begs Mr. Hall, who runs a banner-flying business at the airstrip, to give her a lesson. Forging her mother's signature seems like a small price to pay to touch the sky. Mr. Hall soon offers her cheap flying lessons and Leah is hooked.

Four years later, as a high school senior, Leah is a first-rate young pilot, earning a job offer to fly for Mr. Hall. However, his unexpected death leaves Leah in a bind. The business is left to his two teenage sons: perfect Alec and bad boy Grayson. While Leah has harbored a secret crush on Grayson since she first met him, she is not sure that getting involved with a short-lived business (as she is sure it will be with teenagers running it) is a good plan. However, Grayson soon blackmails her into helping for reasons of his own, entangling Leah in family drama she cannot hope to understand.

Having never been in Leah's situation, I still found her easy to relate to within the prose. I cheered her on as she strove to reach her dream. I cried in frustration with her as she met road block after road block. And I wanted to hit Grayson every time she did when he was too boneheaded to know what was staring him in the face.

That being said, it was not a perfect book. Naive as my notions are, I often felt a little uncomfortable at what were serious adult moments left in the hands of teenagers. I could understand, on the one hand, that all three of them were forced to grow up at young ages and were forced to make adult decisions. I thought, however, that we should strive to keep teenagers teenagers. The relationship between the two protagonists seemed way too intense and physical for my tastes.

Nevertheless, I would recommend this book. The fast pace and snappy dialogue kept me turning the pages.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder is often sought out in the New Beijing marketplace as one of the best mechanics around. One day, she is approached by the handsome Prince Kai to fix a malfunctioning android he can’t get anyone else to fix. Flabbergasted by the Prince’s attention, Cinder listens to the problems all the while trying to hide the fact that she is cyborg.

In New Beijing, androids are the norm and technology encompasses every home. But cyborgs, part human and part machine, are considered second class and unworthy of most people's time. Cinder has always been less than a servant in the house of her "stepmother" and "stepsister." The only one that treats her with any kindness is her stepsister, Pearl, who's sickness Cinder is blamed for. 

As Cinder battles her family's disdain and her growing attraction to Prince Kai, Cinder faces an even bigger foe in the Lunars, a sinister people descended from a moon colonization. The Lunars wait, watching Earth, waiting for a moment to attack. These people also possess strange powers, enabling them to make others see what they want them to see and do things they don't want to do. Cinder is quickly drawn into a battle she knows little about. In order to help those she cares for, she must uncover dark secrets about her past. 

For years, I have been obsessed with the Cinderella story. My obsession has spanned Disney movies and  books and even centering my own wedding around a Cinderella theme. So when I heard of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, I was excited about a new spin on an old favorite. Granted, by her own admission, Meyer took massive liberties with the Cinderella story, but I found it increasingly enjoyable to hunt down the elements of the original story within the new.

This story has more in common with the original fairy tale than I expected. It tells of an orphaned girl living with a cruel stepmother and at least one stepsister, forced her to work as little better than a slave. Meyer also weaves an enchanting tale of a growing attracting between Cinder and handsome Prince Kai. Throughout the story, I marveled at how Cinder grew from a timid girl resigned to her own fate (less than others, looked down upon by many) to a self-assured girl willing the sacrifice herself for the better of others. Don't get me wrong, throughout the story, you see a girl willing to throw jibes and sarcastic comments about in an effort to assert even a little freedom. However, it is not until the end that we see Cinder willing to throw off the shackles that have held her prisoner for so long. 

The ending of this book frustrated me if for no other reason than I desperately want to know what happens next. Meyer left the first installment on somewhat of a cliff-hanger, opening several different possible story lines. I was excited to find out that the second book in the Lunar Chronicles, Scarlet, came out just last week. I will be reading it soon.

The only thing that I found lacking in this story was little plot twists that did not follow the story. I understand that some tragedy was necessary to force Cinder forward in character development; however, small bits of information seemed unnecessary. At one point, Cinder saves the life of a small boy with no real reason as to what this might mean in the long run. A cruel woman's continual resurgence also makes little sense to the advancement of the story line. These little annoyances were not enough to prevent me from giving five stars to this remarkable book. This short novel is one I will be recommending to several of my students.  

Back after a long intermission

Well, it occurs to me that despite my initial goal of posting a book review a day, the beginning of the school year got in the way and it has been almost two whole months since I posted a review. I am determined to be good at this (or at least consistent). The school year has gotten off to a hectic start (for those of you in normal states, we start at the beginning of August, when it is still triple digits outside). I just completed our first book fair of the year (success!!) and found a ton of books I want to read and am excited to introduce to our students.Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at things), this leaves me with a bunch of new books to add to my "To Be Read" list. I have finally come to terms that I will never get to the end of the list of books I want to read and I believe this is an AWESOME feeling.

But, I digress. On to today's book review.

Roar by Emma Clayton

In a world rapidly filling with dystopian-society books, following close on the heels of the success of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games (although this is not a new concept, by any means), The Roar, by Emma Clayton, once again captures the imagination of those constantly wondering "What if?"

Mika, our main character, lives in a futuristic Earth behind a solid concrete wall, topped with barbed wire, and guarded night and day by Ghengis Borgs. This wall, Mika was taught, was built to keep the animals out. The animals carry a plague that devastated the human population, turning them into savage beasts who would kill without warning. The wall was meant to keep everyone safe. Or, at least, this is what Mika has always been told.

A devastated human population has been pushed behind this wall, crammed into the Northern Hemisphere. To accommodate so many in so little space, an upper level of London is built, where the people of wealth can live in relative peace and happiness.

But Mika lives Below, where water is everywhere, mold is rampant, and sickness is never far away. But Mika's biggest problem is his sister. His fraternal twin, Ellie, went missing about a year before. Shortly after, the police informed Mika and his parents that she was dead, drowned in the water. However, Mika has never believed this story. He still feels that she is alive. Because of this conviction, Mika is an outcast - among his peers and among his family. He knows that something just isn't right. When the government suddenly launches a program to get the entire generation of children fit and healthy, Mika is suspicious. When they announce that the children will be competing in a dangerous game that could bring them riches and fame beyond their wildest dreams, he sees an opportunity. Although he still does not trust the government's plan, he is convinced that this game is a way to finally get the answers he has been seeking. But what does this game really hold in store for Mika and his friends?

This book started very slowly for me. For the first 30-45 pages or so, I struggled to get into the story. There was a lot of back story and very little action. It wasn't long, however, before I was swept into the story, anxious to find out the outcome of the game and curious as to how Ellie and Mika would finally be reunited.

The characters in this book were very well developed. While I could see the petulance common in a boy of Mika's age ringing true through his thoughts and actions, I also felt the underlying desperation of a boy about to break. I constantly rooted for him to win. A couple of the characters were a little over the top, though. Mika's arch-nemesis, almost as good at the game as Mika himself, had an intense anger issue that didn't seem to fit the story. It seemed unnecessary to be taken quite to the extremes it was, but perhaps this will hold meaning in the second book.

I also found myself drawn into the plot. While you could guess that Mika would go far within the game, the twists and turns the children are put through was a surprise at every turn. I was on the edge of my seat, excited to see the real reasoning behind the training the children were given. I was also very intrigued by the wall. Much was hinted at as to why the wall was significant and the secret held on the other side, but it was very hard to guess at what was being hidden. Clayton did not reveal until the end of the story what was truly on the other side and, I must say, I did not see it coming.

All in all, despite it's slow start, I highly recommend this book for those who liked The Hunger Games. Well-written and exciting, this receives four out of five stars.

Between the Lines

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha van Leer

Deliliah is quite unusual for a 15-year-old girl. Not only does she prefer the company of a book to the company of her peers, she has been astonishingly captivated - obsessed even - with fairy tale she found hidden in her school library. A type of book normally reserved for audiences much younger than her, but Delilah finds herself drawn to the book's main character, Prince Oliver. One day, as Deliliah rereads the book for the umpteenth time, Oliver really speaks to her. He tells her that the story does not simply end when she closes the book. Oliver feels trapped in his predetermined life and feels that his life is destined for more. Together, they plot to get Oliver out of the book, romance blossoming as they gather on their journey. Between the two of them, they question life, destiny, and how to write your own story.

Between the Lines is a detour from Jodi Picolt's usual serious realistic fiction. Led by her daughter's idea of a story that doesn't end when you close the book and crafted together, the story takes on fantastical elements as the characters attempt to deal with their own drawbacks. This story builds up two characters who are trying to deal with elements of their lives they wish to escape from. They see each other as the safe harbor in the storm of unhappiness and the glimmer of hope toward their own happiness.

Delilah is quite effectively written as a teenage pariah at her school whose dad left when she was young to develop a new family halfway across the world. Her mother works hard to keep a roof over her head. You can feel Delilah's loneliness as she searches for someone to share her dreams and thoughts with. Delilah's time at school does appear a little over the top sometimes, though. It seems like nothing can go right for her, emphasized by only one person at school willing to befriend her.

Oliver, on the other hand, at times seems petulant, although I rooted for him anyway. He hates having his life preordained. He wants to do more than play the same story over and over again, bringing up the question of free will.

The entire book moved a little slowly for me. I got to the point, after yet another failed attempt to get Oliver out of his story, where I just wanted to say "Get on with it already!" I found that I wanted to find out how they were going to get Oliver out, but felt for sure that it was a doomed endeavor. Then in the end, it seemed to just wrap up. I enjoyed the characters up until that point, but felt the ending was contrived and unsatisfying, It was as if someone just said, "I think it's about time to end the story. You have 10 pages to do it." It seemed a very quick, unsatisfactory ending.

Cute story overall, just wish it had ended better. Three out of five stars.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Crazy Summer Reads

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close centers around nine-year-old Oskar Schell's attempt to deal with the grief surrounding his father's death in the World Trade Center the morning of September 11. Oskar always bonded with his father over puzzles. So when he finds a mysterious key in his father's closet, he believes it is just a sign that there is one more puzzle his father left him to solve. His journey takes him all over New York City and introduces him to people all over who are surviving day-to-day life just like him. 

When I started this book, I struggled to make sense of it. With very little build up, we are introduced to Oskar as he rides in a limo to his father's funeral. Oskar was difficult to follow at first. His ramblings are disjointed and jumbled, often being tied down by his fears. His thoughts are also muddled by the facts he hunts and devours like it is his lifeline. These facts are often uncomfortable for him, but they occupy his mind, something he finds himself needing constantly. After a while, this way of storytelling becomes second nature though. 

This book also leads us through the life and thoughts of Oskar's grandmother and grandfather, and how loss has touched their lives. Their lives have been a constant in and out of misunderstanding, miscommunication, and tragedy that only continues after the death of Oskar's father.  I found the stories poignant and touching, although it was occasionally a bit frustrating. The different methods of storytelling between the three narrators was compelling and added a complex level to the story. I found that the story created many mini-mysteries as it went on that were solved in unexpected ways as the book begins to wind down. 

Across the Universe

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

When she is seventeen, Amy volunteers to be cryogenically frozen, along with her parents. Their frozen bodies are placed upon the ship Godspeed with the expectation that they would awaken 300 years later to inhabit and colonize a new planet after Earth downward trajectory seems unchangeable. What Amy could not foresee was awakening 50 years early on the ship inhabited by those who seem to live by a strange code all their own.

However, her awakening quickly turns into a sinister plot as she realizes that it was not a simple mistake or computer malfunction - it was attempted-murder. And Amy is not the only one at risk. As she works closely with Elder, the ship's next leader, Amy races against the clock to figure out who is trying to kill all of the frozens on ship before it claims her family. As she struggles to understand the new world she is thrust into, she finds one more thing she wasn't expecting - a new love.

As this book unfolds in dual narration, I found myself more and more immersed in the characters and the plot. I found it a very compelling and page-turning read. The characters are very different; however, everyone on board Godspeed seems obsessed with how to make themselves as similar as possible. You constantly get the feeling that something isn't right with the ship and its inhabitants, but Revis keeps you guessing until the very end.

The characters are excitingly real, enhancing the premise that although things may look the same on the surface, there is always something different deep down in all of us.  The interactions between Elder and the others on board add a complexity to the story line that kept me riveted. Amy brings much needed diversity to the ship, which challenges the inhabitants in many ways. Elder cannot seem to reconcile the developing feelings he has for Amy while trying to come to terms with the trials that her differences cause between him and Eldest, and the changes she brings out in others. The one character veiled in mystery just spotlights this seemingly unimportant character.

The only problem I have with Across the Universe is that Revis introduces certain plot elements that do not seem to matter in the grand scheme of the story. For example, early on, she introduces that Amy's cryogenically frozen status is not normal, but this premise is abandoned as meaningless as soon as she is awakened. It begs the question as to why it is introduced at all, other than to continue Amy's part in the dual narration.

Overall, I give the book four out of five stars.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

When Thomas awakens in an elevator, he doesn't remember anything other than his name. He cannot remember where he is or how he got there. His memory is a complete blank, but he is not the only one. When the elevator opens, he is welcomed into the Glade by a bevy of kids his own age. Thomas walks into a wide glen, full of vegetation - and completely surrounded by stone walls. Outside these stone walls is the Maze.

Just like Thomas, his new friends have no memory of how they got to the Glade or who they were before they arrive. Life in the Glade centers around what they can know - every morning, the gates open and every night they close tight. Every 30 days, the elevator opened with a new boy. Everything had happened the same way for as long as anyone could remember.

The next day, something extraordinary occurs. The elevator opens once again - this time bringing the first ever girl to the Glade. What's more is that she brought them a message - that she was the last thing to ever come out of the elevator. After her arrival, things in the Glade become very stressful as things change rapidly and dangerous situations become entirely too life-or-death. What about Thomas and the girl have changed everything in the Glade?

The Maze Runner is a thrilling tale of a dystopian society, where nothing is quite what it seemed. There was a bit too much exposition in this tale, however, for me. There was a lot of build up to the ultimate conclusion, which often times, I wished would move along just a bit quicker. This book was chock full of action, driving the plot to an unexpected ending. Dashner does an excellent job keeping you guessing as the Thomas and his friends attempt to find their way out of the Maze.

There is not a lot of character development, either. We learn bits and pieces about the main characters and their relationships, both past and present, to each other, but nothing is ever flushed out. While this is certainly understandable given the lack of memory in the characters, I found I wanted more. I felt that the characters were a little two-dimensional. I am hoping that they become a little more flushed out in book two. 

Ok, it took me a few days, but here is the sequel to my last review.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

It has been three years since Mia's tragic accident and three years since she walked out of Adam's life. Both have been rising stars in their own right. Mia went off to Julliard and soared. Adam's band took off and made him a sought-after rock star. One night, while Adam wanders alone in New York City, a chance meeting brings the two together again. As Mia and Adam explore her new home, they examine their shared past and shared pain. Could they have room in their hearts once again for each other?

This book was more captivating than If I Stay. I found it very captivating how their lives intertwined as we found out how the accident changed both of them, and how Mia's desertion affected the trajectory of their lives. Forman wove a page-turning tale of tragedy and love and how our lives turn out in ways we could never imagine. Throughout the book, Adam struggles with his own personal demons, many of which center around Mia. Many of the interactions we think will bring the couple some long-sought-after closure, but you are left on the edge of your seat wondering if it might just bring new beginnings instead. I highly recommend reading both books!

There is quite a possibility that there will be two posts today (depends on how I am feeling). This first book is one of a pair, both I finished recently. I kind of feel like I should review both at the same time.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Seventeen-year-old Mia has it all - a fun-loving set of parents (both of whom love music), an adorable little brother, and a punk-rock boyfriend on his way up. She also has a promising career playing the cello and is anxiously awaiting the news as to whether or not she made it into Julliard. In one split turn of a wheel on a snowy Oregon road, Mia's life is shattered. In a flash, Mia finds herself watching her broken body being hauled from the car wreck her family experienced. While she doesn't remember the accident, she finds herself weighing the benefits of staying in her present life or moving on.

If I Stay is a beautifully woven tale, piecing together Mia's memories of how her life got to it's current point and her loved one's reactions to the accident. While the book does not always move quickly, it is a poignant discussion on what makes life worth living. I also find it interesting how the author commented on the question of what happens after death. Choice plays a large role in this book, however, Forman also weaves in the reality that we don't always get to choose. I highly recommend this book as a thought-provoker.

Book number two!! Ok, I finished this one a while ago, but seeing as how I did not finish a new book today, it will have to do.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

In nineteen minutes, the world can change. In nineteen minutes, the lives of the residents of the small New Hampshire town were irrevocably changed. In the quiet town of Sterling, the high school is torn apart when a student comes one day and pulls a gun on the students. Josie Cormier, teenage daughter of a local judge, is one of the key witnesses, but doesn't seem to remember a thing. In shifting perspective, the story details how a community deals, and heals, after this bullied teen takes drastic action.

The story is a common one these days. Teen grows up bullied; the butt of people's jokes, shoved into lockers, humiliated in a multitude of ways that make you cringe when reading about them. The teen then, seeing no other way out, seeks revenge upon those who have wronged him. This brought back some painful memories for me, although what I experienced as a teen (and even young adult) was not even a fraction of a fraction of what this fictional boy goes through. Peter is forced to endure torture on a daily basis, starting on the first day of kindergarten. He is compared to his brother at home, and his parents are not supportive when told about the problems he is having. He is told constantly that he needs to grow a backbone and deal with it. However, when he finally does, the world turns on its axis.

Picoult does a marvelous job of carrying you with Peter in his trials. You cringe at what he goes through, and wonder as the other characters deal with their baggage and with the tragedy that occurs. The telling is poignant, if a bit drawn out at times. The twist at the end of the book is a bit predictable, but you wonder at it all the same. The difference in this story is that Picoult chooses to leave her gunman standing. Instead of a town dealing with a school shooting where the gunman takes his or her own life in the end, she lets him live. This brings us through the healing and grieving process of each character as we await on baited breath for Peter's trial. You find yourself wondering about whether or not Peter should be locked up in a mental facility or put away for life. I found myself hoping a little that the sentence was somewhat more lenient, although I could not picture what venue that would take.

The problems I had with this book was the constant shifting of perspective and time throughout the book. We are brought through several character's point-of-view throughout the story (I lost count on the exact number) without much indication of  who is in charge of the story or even that it changed. That part you do get used to after a while, but then you have to throw in the constantly changing point in time. The story is not told in a linear fashion, adding many a flashback to further understand how the characters interact and what brought them to this point in time. This book was good, but was very confusing to read straight through.

Welcome to my library

After 26 books so far this summer, I finally decided it was time to give myself a permanent presence in the blog world. I enjoy recommending and critiquing books that I have read, so I figured that this would be a great place to have my reviews of books I read in one central location. Like it or dislike it if you will, but here it goes.

I have read too many books this summer to do them all, so I figured I'd pick one a day and see how it goes. So, book one:

Fracture by Megan Miranda

Fracture centers around our protagonist, Delaney Maxwell. Eleven minutes after falling through the fractured ice of a lake near her house in Maine, Delaney is pulled from the frozen depths by her best friend, Decker Philips. Delaney's heart and brain had ceased to function: for all intents and purposes, she was dead. But, defying all logic and to the surprise of her loved ones and doctors, Delaney awakened seemingly fine. However, as Delaney tries to regain her hold on her op life, she begins to notice that all was not as before. She feels an inescapable pull toward the dying. Unaware if her brush with death has altered her brain or if something more sinister is afoot, Delaney struggles to understand this pull and what she is supposed to do with it.

Enter Troy Varga. Having emerged from a coma with similar feelings, Troy tries to help Delaney come to terms with what these urges are and why they are plaguing her. But, the closer the two become, Delaney begins to wonder about Troys motives. Does he really want to help her or does he have something darker up his sleeve?

In the beginning, this book moved a little slowly. You struggled to find the internal motivations of many of the characters as well as why they existed at all. Several characters seem to serve as cannon fodder and are there merely as a distraction for the characters. Early on, you can tell that Decker's feelings for Delaney are more complex than they appear on the surface, as are Delaney's for him, but, like many teenagers, you follow as they struggle to know what to do about it. You also struggle to understand exactly how and why Delaney's parents interact with her the way they do.

As the book continues and Troy is introduced, the plot thickens, as they say. Delaney begins to feel her heart pulled in two directions as her head struggles to accept the fact that she knows that people are going to die, and what she is supposed to do with that knowledge. Miranda manages to weave together complex characters, deepening our understanding of the complex webs we weave with the people in our lives and the impact we have on one another.

This book also deals with the controversial subject of euthanasia. At what point do we have the right, whether with the person's knowledge and permission or not, to determine how and when a person should die? Miranda touches on this subject with grace and refuses to judge too much one way or another. I believe this subject is done in a way that young adults can understand without being preachy.

All in all, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. I am anxious to see how Miranda writes the sequel; however, I was disappointed to find out that it will not grace the bookshelves until 2014.