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Brief synopsis: Two old ladies face a lonely Christmas in a California nursing home. One of them, Myrna, still believes in the goodness of people and the other does not. And so with a phone call to her own children,Myrna sets out to prove that there are still good people in the world. C ategory : Adult Fiction, Holiday.   Why I chose this book : My Mom read it to us every year at Christmastime and I have kept up that tradition.   My personal opinion: I have an emotional connection to this book because my family read it every year at Christmastime. I do like the story and the lesson that it teaches, however, the writing itself could have been better.   Warnings: None.   Movie rating equivalent: PG Protagonist description : Myrna is an old woman reflecting on her life, wondering if she taught her children anything. She is an elderly woman, but it is fun to see some of her younger years in the flashbacks she remembers throughout the story.   Point of view of story:

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Giving further voice to Four (Tobias Eaton), this collection of seven short stories provides the backstory of the "Divergent" trilogy... Fans of the novels are given access to the thoughts and emotions of one of their favorite characters, while also learning more details about secondary characters like Eric, Zeke, and Shauna. Listeners will better understand how Tobias was raised by a tyrannical father and an absent mother and how joining Dauntless was a life-changing decision that catapulted Tobias from a fearful and withdrawn boy to become Four, a strong and confident leader. Two years pass within this collection, from the first story of Four's initiation into Dauntless until he meets Tris in the final stories. - Amazon Review Category : YA   Why I chose this book: It's an extension of the Divergent Series   My personal opinion (the review): This set of stories really gives insight into Tobias and his background. We see int

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): What happens when happily ever after…isn’t? Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah. And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom. (Amazon) Category: YA Why I chose this book : Recommendation of a friend, I like the author, I like fairy tales   My personal opinion (the review): Overall I liked the storyline of this book. The ending was cheesy, as were some of the plot elements. Honestly, as an English major, my favorite part of it was th

This is the fifth book in the Artemis Fowl series Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Artemis continues his adventures, leaning farther and farther away from the villain role, and closer to the hero role. He's quite the teenager, with all the hormones of that age. He has discovered another group of the People (demons), and they need saving. Artemis Fowl to the rescue! Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book Next in the series My personal opinion (the review) Artemis is typically flawless. His plans execute perfectly, and when they don't, coincidence saves him. This time, he fails a bit. He loses some time, his body is a little less perfect, and not all of his plans go through perfectly. I like that- it makes him more real, as a character. Warnings : Language - none Violence - mild "Adult" situations - none Death - yes, but temporary Movie rating equivalent PG Protagonist description Artemis is a genius beyond description. He tends to be prideful a

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) It's the hard life for the inhabitants of the FAYZ. In case starvation, isolation, and a supernatural enemy weren't enough, now we have infestations. Yes, multiple. And like the plagues of Moses' time, they end up being devastating. Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) Not my favorite in the series. Some main characters are "growing up" and engaging in adult activities- with all the risk that goes along with sexual activity. And the constant peril that these kids face is getting to be a bit much. No respite ever. Frankly, it's not even very believable that anyone's left alive. It felt like only hundreds were around originally, but I'm sure hundreds have died by now- there must only be a couple dozen left, at most. At the same time, the story line is getting even more interesting. Bad guys are getting worse, good guys are battling indifference and burnout, chan

Brief synopsis: Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. Category : YA   Why I chose this book: I enjoy mythology and young adult literature   My personal opinion (the review): I enjoyed this book. It's a fun, n

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Life in the Fallout Alley Youth Zone continues. We've waded through the initial shock and then through hunger, now we're passing through tribulation- even more than before. Villains return, new ones are introduced, and even some of the heroes fall through. FAYZ inhabitants are facing the tough choice of sticking around through tribulation, or stepping out when they hit 15. But (of course there's a but), the decision isn't really that simple. Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) I enjoyed this installment in the series the most. There are multiple stories going on at once, double-crossings, human frailties, and some much-needed justice being dished out. I found myself saying "Finally!" several times in the story, as terrible situations were finally neutralized for good. Albert was very much the big name in the last book, but in this one, he fades into the backgroun

Brief synopsis The isolation continues of the Fallout Alley Youth Zone. And now they're running out of food. Sam is overwhelmed by demands on his attention. Little Pete is fighting an unseen monster. The leaders of the group are stretched in too many directions. And hunger is driving the group apart from within. Category YA fiction Why I chose this book Next in the series My personal opinion The author does an excellent job conveying the feeling of hunger, desperation, despair, hopelessness, and fatigue of the characters. I was a bit discouraged by the introduction of even more characters- the list was already long. But they were worth getting to know. Warnings Violence: frequent, not in great detail Language: none Adult situations: none, just feelings Death: frequent, some major characters Movie rating equivalent PG-13 Protagonist description Sam tires of being in charge, constantly having to solve everyone's problems. But he's still the hero. Point of vie

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Suddenly, all the adults in town disappear, and the kids are left behind to take care of themselves. Chaos is the norm at first, but order must be established. Heroes and bullies grapple for power. And then there's the element of mutation. Some kids develop special powers. Some animals gain deadly abilities. And the chaos doesn't end: as kids turn 15, they disappear too. Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book I saw the series on a shelf in my son's school classroom, and I'm a sucker for series My personal opinion (the review) I loved most of it. Special abilities, romantic interest, coming of age, gripping story line, sub plots, hard to put down. I love the hero-villain matches. Every "good" character has an equally matched "bad" character. But the violence was done on little kids. Starvation, murder, accidents- they all happened to kids under the age of 15. That sort of thing is hard to stomach. War

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Mia is surrounded by music, loved ones, and opportunities of a lifetime. And in one moment, all of that changes. She'll have to choose how she wants the rest of her life to proceed. Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book Recommended on the library website, based on my reading history My personal opinion (the review) The story is gripping. I had a hard time putting it down. Frankly, the language and the "teen love" situations contributed nothing to the story. They should have been left out. But back to the story- it was fine. The connection between the main characters was compelling, the relationship between Mia and her parents was positive, and Mia's future was bright. The tragedy was heart-wrenching, but not purposeless. Warnings : Language - Several instances of the F-word spread throughout. Others as well, but not as strong Violence - Car wreck Adult situations - A handful, but described pretty vaguely Death - Y

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Story follows the Lapp family, an Amish family in new England, their challenges, growth, and relationships developed with the new housekeeper and beekeeper who have become part of their household, especially the relationship of Julia with Rome (the beekeeper), a traveling unattached "drifter" that resides in stony ridge part of each spring/summer. Category Christian fiction Why I chose this book It showed up on the suggestions page of my library digital borrow/lend site, and it looked like a love story. Other cultures (like Amish) interest me. I knew it would be a safe read love story. My personal opinion (the review) I really enjoyed the love story. It was also interesting to read about an Amish family. It had a lot of spiritual references in the thoughts of the characters and I liked that.  Warnings (language, violence, "adult" situations, death, etc.) No "bad" stuff, but yes death. (I was grateful for the

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Emma has a few memories of her mother, but has been in the foster care system for most of her life. One day, her foster brother shows her an online video of a girl being suffocated ("a snuff film"). The girl looks EXACTLY like Emma, and that causes stress with her foster family. Emma feels driven to connect with her, but that might not actually be possible. This mystery just might also be a tragedy. Category YA Fiction. I have a feeling I just really enjoyed a "teen girl" book Why I chose this book Recommended from the library website, based on my reading history My personal opinion (the review) Excellent book, and I have high hopes for the series. Full of teenage angst and teen problems, but not mopey or emo or depraved. I enjoyed the mystery aspect and the lies-within-lies maze feeling of it. And I love the fact that nothing is resolved yet- I still don't know "who dunnit"! Warnings : Language - Very mi

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Story of a young boy, living alone with his mother (both struggling financially to keep the family business in shoe repair afloat). He is sent on a magical quest by a princess from a foreign country. Set in Florida. Category YA, fiction, fairy tale, fantasy, (clean) romance Why I chose this book The books (Beastly, Cloaked, etc.) by Alex Flinn were recommended by some friends that read clean books. My personal opinion (the review) Like most fairy tale books, I liked it. I decided to download the (free) ebook of Grimms fairy tales to read more about where some of the parts of this story were based. Like Beastly (the first book I read from this author), the story is told from the male's point of view. Warnings (language, violence, "adult" situations, death, etc.) maybe a little language - nothing that I can remember. Violence was minimal and not detailed, but there were a few struggles. Movie rating equivalent PG Protagon

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Billy Halleck has a good life- great income, large house in a nice neighborhood, happy teen daughter, loving wife. And he has grown "comfortable" around the waist (spare tire). His doctor warns of entering heart attack territory, but he's not putting any serious effort into taking care of himself. One ride home on one afternoon changes everything, and Billy ends up thinner- much thinner. Category Thriller Why I chose this book I'm a closet Stephen King fan. I like to feel the thrill of the thought, "Is this horrific thing actually possible?!?" I say "closet" fan, because I'm not supposed to like this kind book. He's a potty-mouth (uses foul language) and quite often some "adult" themes, and this book is no different. But sometimes some of King's novels end up relatively clean. My personal opinion (the review) I give it an F for my review, for language alone. I didn't even finish

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Julia is a bright independent young adult going to college. She has recently (before the start of the book) been diagnosed with a gluten intolerance (each chapter is named after some gluten-rich food product she misses!). Her family and friends rely on her to hear all their issues and expects her to keep these things to herself, while at the same time not listening to her problems, concerns, or life. Category YA, "chic lit" Why I chose this book I knew the author when we were teenagers; she advertised her book on social media where I'm connected to her. My personal opinion (the review) It was fun and funny. It wasn't deep, although there was character development. Julia's sisters give a lot of comedy to the story in their extreme opposite situations (one being married with children and being very opinionated and involved in public concerns; the other having been divorced several times within the few years following HS grad

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) The bride to be and some of the girls from the process academy (now ladies of the princess) live in the palace in the months preceding the wedding. The kingdom is in a period of turmoil as a potential revolution is building. With the upcoming wedding, Miri has things to do and choices to make that affect the outcome of the kingdom. Category fiction, a little fantasy, YA Why I chose this book I loved the previous book, the princess academy My personal opinion (the review) Again, I loved it.  It wasn't a story of frilly dresses and balls. It was a story of love and opinion and change, of defending what's true (and figuring out what that is). Miri's heart is torn between her choices, this time in both in love and politics, and she has to decide not only what she wants, but which is right. Ultimately, things worked out for the best. (I wouldn't recommend it if there wasn't a happy ending!) Warnings (language, violence, &

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Honor and her parents are residents on an island. The earth has been ravaged by sea levels reaching their maximum and the only habitable parts are islands. Nearly all islands are under the control of a Corporation and a leader named Earth Mother. The people are kept subdued by chemically treated food. Honor's parents are part of a resistance to the "government". Category Young Adult Fiction Why I chose this book Recommended from the library site, based on reading history My personal opinion (the review) This could have been so much better! It started great, middled great, was ending great, but suddenly it was like the author got tired of writing and just decided to crash land the thing. It ended in, like, 5 pages. Everything tied up and rosy. Maybe she just ran out of imagination. Who knows. Regardless, it's a decent book.  Warnings (language, violence, "adult" situations, death, etc.) Language - none Violen

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Darcy Patel has put college on hold to publish her teen novel, Afterworlds . With a contract in hand, she arrives in New York City with no apartment, no friends, and all the wrong clothes. But lucky for Darcy, she’s taken under the wings of other seasoned and fledgling writers who help her navigate the city and the world of writing and publishing. Over the course of a year, Darcy finishes her book, faces critique, and falls in love. Woven into Darcy’s personal story is her novel, Afterworlds , a suspenseful thriller about a teen who slips into the “Afterworld” to survive a terrorist attack. The Afterworld is a place between the living and the dead, and where many unsolved—and terrifying—stories need to be reconciled. Like Darcy, Lizzie too falls in love…until a new threat resurfaces, and her special gifts may not be enough to protect those she cares about most. (From Amazon) Target Audience Young Adult Why I chose this book Saw it in an e-mail of s

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Young girl along with all other girls in her age range (12 to 17) from a small rural land (mountain village that mines the fictional stone linder) are required to attend an academy to prepare them for the prince of the kingdom, who will be choosing a bride from their village. Category Fiction, YA Why I chose this book The author was recommended to me My personal opinion (the review) I loved it. The characters were real. The academy taught not only the expected poise and etiquette the title implies but also history and diplomacy and other real life subjects. The overall message of the book was one of growth and change and self reflection, learning to be better, not dreaming of a magical ending. (Although there is one small magical element to the story, among the miners.) It focused on education and family, which I really like. All of the character development was great, but the main character especially was something I'd not only be comfor

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) The Giver and Gathering Blue continue, involving the main characters from both. The village that accepted Jonas (previously the receiver, now the Leader), Christopher (the blind man), and Matty begins not to want to accept outsiders. Greed and selfishness enter the village, and they begin to build a wall to keep out newcomers. But some within are waiting for others to come (like Kira, Christopher's daughter)- will they make it in time? Category Young Adult Fiction? Why I chose this book Next in the series My personal opinion (the review) The Giver creeped me out, with the society's casual relationship with death (murder). And Gathering Blue left me frightened that those with a love of power would kill for it again- including Kira and Thomas. But Messenger resolved both of those nicely. Those two places were no longer so savage. Great book, great continuation to the story. Warnings Language: none Violence: mild Adult situations:

Brief synopsis  (no spoilers): In the rest of the series, a great deal of effort goes into describing the Flare and its effects on people. But the solar flares are only mentioned in passing. This book talks much more about those, giving the history of how they affected humanity. Category : Young Adult Fiction Why I chose this book : Next in the series (prequel) My personal opinion  (the review): I liked this book as much as I liked the first one in the series, The Maze Runner. Death was far more abundant in this book (which is saying something), but the majority of it comes about through natural causes- the millions that were killed by the solar flares and the aftereffects. So those deaths feel... easier to stomach, I guess. Definitely a great book, but I'm not planning on purchasing it. Borrowing from the library is good enough for me. Warnings : Language - almost none Violence - fairly common, not very graphic, some "intense" (scary) situations "