family fiction

Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

emmy and oliver

I laughed, I cried, I swooned (a lot), and I totally ignored my students the morning after I started reading Emmy & Oliver because I couldn’t wait to finish reading.

The storyline was intriguing, but I think what I loved most about Emmy & Oliver was the incredible quality of the characters. Emmy and Oliver were great, in fact I’d go so far as to say that I think Emmy’s one of the best protagonists I’ve ever read, and their cast of supporting characters was awesome.

Emmy & Oliver would make a great choice for any summer reading situation, whether it be a day at the beach or a day spent curled up in bed. Go check it out Emmy & Oliver. And, on a side note, Robin Fenway’s other titles are different in style and genre but are also fun reads, if you find that you like this title and want more from the same author!

Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout

hello i love you

 

I loved this. And, since there’s so much going on in it that I can’t possibly explain any better than the official blurb does, read this:

Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.

She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can’t stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can’t deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.

Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she’ll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process.

So, I would imagine that I’m not the only one who didn’t know anything about K-Pop before reading this, but after some googling (oh my goodness, fandom insanity) I got a pretty good feel for the K-Pop culture. It made for a fun setting for Hello, I Love You because it’s not just set in Korea but also sort of within this subculture that I found fascinating. As a character, Grace is flawed and very human, and as a result of recent tragedies doesn’t start out this book as a very likable person. By the end, though, Grace’s transformation is realistic and hopeful. I loved Jason and Grace together and rooted for them the whole way through.

In a word, I thought is was wonderful. Check it out here on Amazon or get it from your favorite book store!

When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez

when reason breaks

Oh my goodness, what a debut! Suspenseful, relevant, and hopeful…There’s so much to love in When Reason Breaks. Plus, I loved the depiction of an authentic and caring teacher in this, because we do exist! Check out the official book blurb below, then find it here on Amazon.

13 Reasons Why meets the poetry of Emily Dickinson in this gripping debut novel perfect for fans of Sara Zarr or Jennifer Brown.

A Goth girl with an attitude problem, Elizabeth Davis must learn to control her anger before it destroys her. Emily Delgado appears to be a smart, sweet girl, with a normal life, but as depression clutches at her, she struggles to feel normal. Both girls are in Ms. Diaz’s English class, where they connect to the words of Emily Dickinson. Both are hovering on the edge of an emotional precipice. One of them will attempt suicide. And with Dickinson’s poetry as their guide, both girls must conquer their personal demons to ever be happy.

In an emotionally taut novel with a richly diverse cast of characters, readers will relish in the poetry of Emily Dickinson and be completely swept up in the turmoil of two girls grappling with demons beyond their control.

Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark

finding mr brightside

Finding Mr. Brightside is overall a sweet, intriguing story that will appeal to fans of John Green and Sarah Dessen and the like. Abram and Juliette tell their stories in alternating point of view, which I love, and we see them both begin a path to recovery after a shared tragedy. There were a few times where the narrative felt a little bogged down in negativity, but it recovered quickly each time and wrapped up nicely.

I’m Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil

im glad i did

I’m Glad I Did is a wonderfully written, intriguing example of everything that can be great about YA Historical Fiction. The characters are compelling and realistic, the major cultural issues of the time are front and center, and it’s educational and entertaining. Love, love, love this.

Check out the synopsis below, taken from Goodreads, and find I’m Glad I Did here on Amazon or at your favorite book store.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and songwriting legend Cynthia Weil’s extraordinary YA debut opens the secretive doors of the Brill Building-the hit factory that changed history. Part Mad Men, part Grace of my Heart, part murder mystery, I’m Glad I Did is a coming-of-age story at an unforgettable cultural tipping point: the summer of 1963.

JJ Greene, a gifted 16-year-old songwriter, defies her lawyer parents by secretly applying for a job in the famed Brill Building-the epicenter of songwriting for a new genre called rock-n-roll. But their warnings about the evils of the music industry prove far darker than she imagined when she finds herself at the heart of a cover-up that involves hidden identity, theft, and possibly murder.

How to Hook a Bookworm by Cassie Mae

bookworm

I’ve been a fan of Cassie’s since her very first release, but I think How to Hook a Bookworm has pretty solidly taken its place as my new favorite Cassie Mae book. The book is funny (I LOL’ed several times while reading it this morning – my kids thought I was crazy), it’s swoony (OMG with Jay and Adam), and it’s relevant (Brea is an impossible not to love, realistic, flawed teenager with problems that face many students today).

The whole “How To” series has been really great, and Bookworm is the perfect ending. While you could pick this up and read it as a standalone, you won’t get everything out of it that there is to get, so do yourself a favor and begin with How to Date a Nerd first. Or, be stubborn and start out with How to Hook a Bookworm. It’ll leave you wanting more and more of Cassie’s books!

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

all the bright places

You guys.

All the Bright Places is the first MUST READ of 2015.

It’s the story or Violet and Finch, who meet each other on the ledge of their school’s bell tower. Finch is a quirky, oddball kind of a guy who’s not well-liked by Violet and her group of friends. He thinks about suicide and often gets right to the brink of an attempt just to see how it feels and if he’ll follow through. Violet is still recovering from a trauma that took her sister’s life the previous year, and sometimes thinks about escaping it all. And so, when they meet on the bell tower ledge, it’s sort of muddy who does the rescuing and who was close to taking their own life.

Now, I know that all sounds pretty serious and depressing, and it is. But I promise, this book is not really depressing. It’s really beautiful. After the bell tower incident, Violet and Finch are assigned to a partner project in which they have to explore local landmarks together and write about them. What results from their assignment is a series of adventures in which we see healing, and friendship, and love… It’s really, truly something special. It wrecked me and filled my heart all at the same time.

I have a feeling that Niven’s book will be talked about a lot throughout 2015 (and beyond). It’s being compared to The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor and Park, and I do see those comparisons, but All the Bright Places is really something new and different and lovely even without the comparisons. In fact, I think it’s even better than the comparisons.

You can find it here on Amazon or at your local book store. Make sure you tweet at Jennifer and welcome her to the world of YA, too – she’s super sweet!

Friday Favorite: I really thought I’d hate it, but…

It’s no secret among my students and anyone that has to listen to me talk about books that Lois Lowry’s The Giver is one of my absolute favorites. There’s just SO MUCH to love about it that I couldn’t process the changes I knew would be necessary for it to be translated from novel to film. As snippets of information rolled in about the movie, from Jeff Bridges being cast as the Giver (Perfect!) to Brenton Thwaites being cast as Jonas (What?! He’s cute and all, but in his mid-20’s and Jonas is supposed to be 12?) to Taylor Swift playing the role of Rosemary (Baffling.), my apprehension about the movie version grew. Even knowing that Lois Lowry herself was involved in the process couldn’t save it for me. And so, though I’m usually first in line at the midnight premier of a good book movie, I couldn’t even bring myself to go see The Giver in theaters.

I was wrong. I wish I’d gone.

There are changes… significant ones. And, if I’m being honest, they DO bother me a little. Overall, though, this movie does a wonderful job of taking The Giver and maintaining the integrity of its themes and the heroism of Jonas as a character. I thought I would hate it, but I don’t. In fact, I kind of love it.

Find the movie here on Amazon or wherever you get your movies from!

giver movie poster

For Real by Alison Cherry

For Real

 

I loved For Real, a new title from Alison Cherry in which we get to follow Claire and her older sister, Miranda, on a seriously fun summer adventure. When Miranda’s boyfriend is found out as a cheater right before they’re supposed to move in together, she moves home and struggles to move on… until Claire comes up with an idea for the perfect revenge. Miranda’s ex is going on an around-the-world race reality show, and without him knowing it, the two girls audition to be one of the last minute replacement teams. They go on the show with the intent to bring Miranda’s ex down, but the fun and bonding they get from the experience is worth far more than the revenge. I’m a fan of the positive sister relationship shown in this, and the strength of the two girls on their adventures.

Find For Real here on Amazon or at your favorite local bookseller.

On the Fence by Kasie West

on the fence

 

I really, really have come to love Kasie West’s contemporary romance titles. Earlier this year, I read The Distance Between Us and adored it. I can’t even count how many of my students have purchased it based on my recommendation, and I’m happy to see it being read in my classroom. This past weekend, I got my hands on her most recent title, On the Fence, and I was not disappointed.

In this one, Charlotte (who goes by Charlie) is a tomboy who has grown up in a family of all boys – her dad, her three brothers, and even the boy next door who’s been around for as long as she can remember. She plays sports, runs a lot, and acts like one of the guys. When she’s forced to get a job to pay for her speeding tickets, the job she gets is in a girly, frilly boutique where she has to trade in her t-shirts and sneakers for skinny jeans and silk blouses. As she struggles to reconcile her tomboy self with her girly self (which is not all as bad as she thought it would be), she comes to realize that her feelings for the boy next door, Braden, are anything but sisterly.

I so appreciate that West writes a fun, contemporary, relevant story while keeping language, sexual content, and drugs at bay. You don’t HAVE to include all of that to relate to teenagers, but they’re so prevalent in so much of YA that it’s like a breath of fresh air to not have to wade through the crud to find redeeming quality underneath. Kasie’s books are great, and I could not possibly recommend them more!

Find On the Fence here on Amazon or at your favorite bookstore.