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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:...