Wrecked by Elle Casey

 

Summary:(from goodreads) An ill-fated Caribbean cruise and four teenagers: a nerd, a jock, a mouse, and a beauty queen…an island, a treehouse, some nefarious interlopers…life and death…fear and loathing…love and laughter. Follow Jonathan, Kevin, Candi and Sarah as they find their typical high school lives and their worlds totally WRECKED.
Review: This was just an ok book for me. The plot was pretty typical and I found myself a little bit bored at times. The characters also seemed pretty typical but they did change over the course of the book. My favorite characters were probably Jonathan and Sarah. They were both really interesting and Jonathan's facts were entertaining. I loved how much Sarah developed over the course of the book. She started out as a pretty typical character but I actually really liked where things ended for her.  Candi and Kevin were just a little bit annoying. Especially Kevin, he was probably the one who changed the least. I liked Candi but she wasted to much time worrying about getting in with the cool crowd that it got annoying after a while.  The things that happened on the island towards the end were a little bit ridiculous. I guess it sort of needed to happen but I felt like it could have been a little bit more developed.  I was interested to see that there is a sequel to this book and based on the way this book ended I will be interested to see where it leads.  Overall, this was a fun book and I will be reading the sequel eventually.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Summary:(from goodreads) Cath is a Simon Snow fan.Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone .For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind.
Review: I absolutely loved this book. The plot was simple I was hooked from the beginning. I could relate to so much of what Cath was thinking and feeling. This book was so real and relevant to so much of my life. The characters are a huge part of what make this book so special. Cath and Levi are some of the best characters I have read in such a long time. I loved them both so much. I didn't really like Wren or Reagan very much at first but as the story went on I liked them both a little bit more. I thought the book ended so perfectly as well, as much as I didn't want it to end at all. I love the snippets of Simon's story that we got to read. It added a lot to the story and helped me imagine the world that Cath was such a big part of. It's honestly really hard for me to put my thoughts about this book into words. I loved it. I am very excited about reading some of Rainbow's other books.

The Best Night of your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando

Summary: (from goodreads) An all-day scavenger hunt in the name of eternal small-town glory. With only a week until graduation, there's one last thing Mary and her friends must do together: participate in the Oyster Point High Official Unofficial Senior Week Scavenger Hunt. And Mary is determined to win.Mary lost her spot at Georgetown to self-professed "it" bully Jake Barbone, and she's not about to lose again. But everyone is racing for the finish line with complicated motives, and the team's all-night adventure becomes all-night drama as shifting alliances, flared tempers, and crushing crushes take over. As the items and points pile up, Mary and her team must reinvent their strategy--and themselves--in order to win.
Review: This was a really fun book. The premise seemed fun and exciting and the book lived up to that promise. It was well paced and at 240 pages is a pretty quick read. I had mixed feelings about the characters. At the beginning of the book I didn't really like Mary that much. She was whiny and kind of annoying at times. However, during the second half of the book she changed quite a bit and was a lot more mature about some of the things that were going on. My favorite character in the book was definitely Dez. He was the character I connected with the most. Some of the issues that he was dealing with are more difficult then the petty relationship games that everyone else seemed to be playing, which honestly started to get annoying after a while. Overall, though this was a fun bunch of characters that were fun to spend some time with. The ending was pretty predictable but I didn't really mind because it was such a fitting ending. Although, I did have some issues with the book it was a fun and crazy adventure that I enjoyed reading.

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King

Summary:(from goodreads) Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn't ask to be the target of Nader McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.
But Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the daily mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos--the prison his grandfather couldn't escape--where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It's dangerous and wild, and it's a place where his life just might be worth living. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside?
review:  This was one of those books that I picked up simply because everything I heard about was really good. However, after reading it I hate to say it didn't live up to the hype. I thought it was an OK book. The second half of the book was stronger. The first half lacked in plot a little bit and there was nothing special to make it stand out. I didn't really connect with the characters. I liked Lucky and was rooting for him to overcome his issues. I liked the message this book had about overcoming obstacles in our lives and felling trapped by our circumstances. The way the title played into it was really great as well. I appreciated the deeper meaning this story had and I thought that was the best thing about it. However, on a simpler level I just didn't connect with the characters and story. I will probably try more of this author's books in the future because this one did have promise and I know lots of people love them. I am curious to try more.

10 things to do Before I Die by Daniel Ehrenhaft

Summary:(from back of book) Looking for a way to kill time in a New York City diner, sixteen year old Ted Burger and his friends write down ten things that Ted's got to accomplish before he. one faraway day,kicks the bucket. but when Ted discovers he actually is dying, the list turns into a beat the clock carpe diem mission. Now ted is about to embark on the wildest ride of his life... where the last thing he'll ever do is rest in peace.
Review: I have really mixed feelings about this book. When I started reading I expected the book to have a much more serious tone than it did. This book takes a much more lighthearted and fun approach to life and death. That wouldn't have really bothered me that much if it hadn't been for how ridiculous the characters reacted to the situation at hand. I honestly hope that no one would really behave that way in those circumstances. However, I think the book did have a good message about living life. I have to admit that as much as the characters annoyed me at times there was a lot of development that happened towards the end of the book. If you want a serious and emotional book about life and death than I suggest that you look elsewhere. But this is a good pick if you want a funny, quick and entertaining read about living life to the fullest that you might enjoy this one.

Are We There Yet? by David Levithan

Summary:(from amazon) Sixteen-year-old Elijah is completely mellow and his 23-year-old brother Danny is completely not, so it’s no wonder they can barely tolerate one another. So what better way to repair their broken relationship than to trick them into taking a trip to Italy together? Soon, though, their parents’ perfect solution has become Danny and Elijah’s nightmare as they’re forced to spend countless hours together. But then Elijah meets Julia, and soon the brothers aren’t together nearly as much. And then Julia meets Danny and soon all three of them are in a mixed-up, turned-around, never-what-you-expect world of brothers, Italy, and love.
Review: David Levithan has become one of those hit or miss authors for me. I thought this book was just OK. There was something about the way it was written that left it a little lacking. However, I did enjoy the traveling in the book. pretty much the entire book takes place in Italy which I liked reading about. Elijah and Danny both annoyed me throughout the book. I couldn't understand why they didn't like each other. I couldn't help but laugh at how wrong they were about each other. It seemed like their issues with each other could have been so much more developed which would have added a lot to this book. The plot line was pretty predictable and I wish there had been more to the story. Even the plot line involving Julia could have been so much more drawn out and dramatic. I just thought the whole thing was a bit rushed.  This book was an OK read. There were some things I liked and others I didn't. I will probably read more of Levithan's books in the future. I still have high hopes for his books.

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

Summary:(from goodreads) Anyone who’s had something truly crappy happen to them will tell you: It’s all about Before and After. What I’m talking about here is the ka-pow, shake-you-to-your-core-and-turn-your-bones-to-plastic kind of crappy.Sixteen-year-old Laurel’s world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel’s life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss—a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.  
Review:  I really liked this book. This is a character driven book and I really connected with Laurel. Even though I have never dealt with anything even close to what she is going through. I liked the buildup of her relationship with David. It was very slow and subtle which isn't something that is seen very often. This book is not really focused on the romance it's just there as a little side note. The way the characters develop is really great. Laurel changes a lot of the course of the book but at the same time she is still so much the same.  It's kind of hard to explain but I think the reason I fell in love with this book is because it felt so real. There was nothing overly dramatic or unrealistic. I am really excited to read this author's other books. My only complaint about it is that the immediate aftermath of the accident was not emotional enough. This isn't a huge deal because the whole book is emotions and dealing with how to move on, but I still noticed it. Really, I loved this book.

Unwholly by Neal Shusterman

This review may contain spoilers of previous books in the series.
Summary:(from goodreads) Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa—and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp—people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simultaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself. 
Review: This is the second book in the unwind series. I read the first book in this series years ago and so it was difficult for me to remember some of the details as i jumped back into this world. However, this didn't affect my enjoyment of the story all that much. This book deals with a lot of the problems surrounding unwinding and there is even a small amount of history about how this society came to be. I really liked all of the characters in  this book but my favorites were Lev and Cam. Both of them have some interesting things going on and I think they will both play a big part in the next book. The plot of this book was pretty well paced and I liked the alternating perspectives. I don't think the story would have been as good if we were limited to one character. I am excited for the next book even though there is a small part of me that this series is going to get a little bit repetitive. Lets' hope that things will stay new and exciting for the rest of the series.

Dying to Know you by Aidan Chambers

Summary:(from goodreads) Karl, aged seventeen, is hopelessly in love. But the object of his affections, Firella, demands proof, and poses him a series of questions regarding his attitude to the many sides of love. But Karl is dyslexic, and convinced that if Firella finds out, she will think he is stupid, and unworthy of her, and leave him.So Karl asks a local writer to help him construct his replies - and an unlikely, but extremely touching, friendship develops between the two men. They both come to learn a great deal about about life from a very different perspective, and when an act of violence shatters their calm, they find their respective appraisal of life shifting in profound ways.Review: I wasn't really sure what to think about this book when I picked it up. The premise is an interesting one, but I was worried that it was going to be lacking in action. It was a definitely a more character driven story. I was surprised to find that the story is narrated by the author that Karl visits who is never named. I thought this book was just OK. I liked the depth that developed over the course of the novel. However, I feel like there was never any character development. Things weren't really much different by the end and the original premise of the story is forgotten pretty early on. Another thing is I didn't really have a connection with any of the characters. I enjoyed them but didn't love them. I feel like I maybe would have enjoyed it more if it was told form Karl's perspective. It seems like it would have been more relatable that way.  Despite those things I did get drawn into the story and enjoyed it quite a bit while i was reading it. I enjoyed it but it wasn't one of my favorites.

Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

Summary:(from goodreads) Fifteen-year-old Blake has a girlfriend and a friend who’s a girl. One of them loves him; the other one needs him.
 When he snapped a picture of a street person for his photography homework, Blake never dreamed that the woman in the photo was his friend Marissa’s long-lost meth addicted mom. Blake’s participation in the ensuing drama opens up a world of trouble, both for him and for Marissa. He spends the next few months trying to reconcile the conflicting roles of Boyfriend and Friend. His experiences range from the comic (surviving his dad’s birth control talk) to the tragic (a harrowing after-hours visit to the morgue).In a tangle of life and death, love and loyalty, Blake will emerge with a more sharply defined snapshot of himself.
Review: This is a book I have been wanting to read for a really long time and I was happy to finally get my hands on a copy. There wasn't to much going on as far as plot, this book was all about the characters. The best thing about this book is Blake. He is such a realistic character and his struggles are something that I think a lot of teens can relate to. The photography element was interesting as well. Not only was it Blake's hobby but a lot of the time the photos he took added another dimension to the story. I don't know if that makes sense but it feels more thought out then just giving a random hobby to a character.  I liked Marissa a lot as well. There was quite a bit of dram going on in this book and it kept things from getting boring. My only problem with this book was the way thing ended, especially regarding Marissa. I wish their had been a little bit more closure. This book more than met my expectations that I had for it.

Seth Baumgartner's Love Manifesto by Eric Luper

Summary:(from goodreads) Seth Baumgartner just had the worst day of his life.His girlfriend dumped him (at Applebee's), he spied his father on a date with a woman who is not his mother (also at Applebee's!), and he lost his fourth job of the year. It's like every relationship he cares about is imploding, and he can't figure out what's going on.To find answers, Seth decides to start an anonymous podcast called The Love Manifesto, exploring "what love is, why love is, and why we're stupid enough to keep going back for more." Things start looking up when Seth gets a job at a golf club with his hilarious and smut-minded best friend, Dimitri, and Dimitri's sister, Audrey. With their help, Seth tracks down his father's mystery date, hits the most infamous bogey in the history of golf, and discovers that sometimes love means eating the worst chicken-salad sandwich you can ever imagine. 
Review: This book was a lighthearted and fun book that takes a look at the meaning of love. Seth was an easy character to relate to.The way things ended up was a little bit surprising but it added a lot to the story. I thought the love manifesto wasn't a big enough part of the story. Although, we do get some brief segments from it, apart from that Seth doesn't really talk about it. Seth does learn a lot about love over the course of the book and I think that was my favorite part of it. The plot was pretty  character driven, which is to be expected. Seth was really the only character that I liked, everyone else was kind of annoying. overall, this was a fun and cute story.

Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

Summary:(from goodreads) Ari Mitchell feels invisible at her Brooklyn high school. Her hair is too flat, her style too preppy, and her personality too quiet. And outside school, Ari feels outshined by her beautiful, confident best friend, Summer. Their friendship is as complex and confusing as Ari’s relationship with her troubled older sister, Evelyn, a former teenage mom whose handsome firefighter husband fills Ari’s head with guilty fantasies.When an unexpected inheritance enables Ari to transfer to an elite Manhattan prep school, she makes a wealthy new friend, Leigh. Leigh introduces Ari to the glamorous side of New York—and to her gorgeous cousin, Blake. Ari doesn't think she stands a chance, but amazingly, Blake asks her out. As their romance heats up, they find themselves involved in an intense, consuming relationship. Ari's family worries that she is losing touch with the important things in life, like family, hard work, and planning for the future. When misfortune befalls Blake's family, he pulls away, and Ari's world drains of color. As she struggles to get over the breakup, Ari must finally ask herself: were their feelings true love . . . or something else?
Review: I didn't really know that much about this book when I started it. However, I was pleasantly surprised by it. It did take me a little while to really get into it but once I did I really liked it. This book takes place in the 80's which was awesome, even though I kept forgetting about it especially in the first half. My favorite part of this book was all the characters. Ari was a character that I think a lot of people can relate to as she falls in love for the first time and deals with insecurities. Leigh, Blake, Del, Evelyn and Patrick were all great as well. The only ones who annoyed me were Ari's parents, especially her mom. She was serious and cirtical all the time and this is something that is starting to annoy me more than absent parents.  This book deals with love and relationships, but not only romantically. Ari learns how to be a good friend, daughter and lover. I will definitely read more by this author.

The Queen of Everything by Deb Caletti

ummary:(from goodreads) People ask me all the time what having Vince MacKenzie for a father was like. What they mean is, was he always crazy? High school junior Jordan MacKenzie's life was pretty typical: fractured family, new boyfriend, dead-end job. She'd been living with her father (the predictable optometrist) since her mother (the hippie holdover) had been too embarrassing to be around. Jordan felt like she finally had as normal a life as she could. But then came Gayle D'Angelo.Jordan knew her father was dating Gayle, and that Gayle was married. Jordan knew it was wrong, and that her father was becoming someone she didn't recognize anymore, but what could she do about it? And how could she -- how could anyone -- have possibly guessed that this illicit love affair would implode in such a violent and disturbing way?
Review: I am a fan of Deb Caletti's books and this one was next in my quest to read all her books. I really liked it. This book had a lot of family drama that kept things moving along. Even though I had figured out the direction things were headed, it didn't affect how much I enjoyed it that much.  I think what was different about this book was that the drama is centered around the adults rather than the main character. Although, Jordan was affected by everything that happened she was not the main participator. Jordan was a really great main character. The book is written as is she is telling the story after everything has happened.You get to see her insights into how she would have done things differently. My favorite characters apart from Jordan were her grandparents. They added a lot of humor to the story. overall, I  liked this book. Fans of Caletti's other books should definitely read this one as well.

Who Done it?- Multiple authors

Summary:(from goodreads) A star-studded anthology with a devilish hook, whose proceeds benefit 826nyc: the fabulous literacy non-profit founded by Dave Eggers.Can you imagine the most cantankerous book editor alive? Part Voldemort, part Cruella de Vil (if she were a dude), and worse in appearance and odor than a gluttonous farm pig? A man who makes no secret of his love of cheese or his disdain of unworthy authors? That man is Herman Mildew.The anthology opens with an invitation to a party, care of this insufferable monster, where more than 80 of the most talented, bestselling and recognizable names in YA and children’s fiction learn that they are suspects in his murder. All must provide alibis in brief first-person entries. The problem is that all of them are liars, all of them are fabulists, and all have something to hide.

Review: I generally find it somewhat hard to review anthologies but I think in this case there is enough to warrant a discussion. I had high hopes for this book. The premise was really intriguing and the proceeds went to a good cause. I have to say that it didn't live up to my expectations. I just feel like it could have been done so much better. I wish the stories had been more interconnected. Although there was some overlap in the stories, it started to get repetitive after a while. If it had been done more in the style of a murder mystery dinner it could have been a lot more mysterious. My other problem with it was the ending. Again, thing just could have ended so much better.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy it at all. I thought it was pretty entertaining and a lot of the stories were funny. This anthology was a fun read and I did enjoy it but if you are expecting a dark murder mystery you are going to be disappointed.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kristen Cronn-Mills

Summary:(from goodreads) This is Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, on community radio 90.3, KZUK. I'm Gabe. Welcome to my show."My birth name is Elizabeth, but I'm a guy. Gabe. My parents think I've gone crazy and the rest of the world is happy to agree with them, but I know I'm right. I've been a boy my whole life.When you think about it, I'm like a record. Elizabeth is my A side, the song everybody knows, and Gabe is my B side--not heard as often, but just as good.It's time to let my B side play. 

Review: I"m honestly sure how I feel about his book. I really liked the story line. Honestly the title is what caught my attention, when I read the summary I decided to give this one a try. I thought the story was good but there wasn't a whole lot as far as plot. This book definitely focuses more on the characters than an action packed plot but it still had a nice balance. My main problem with the book was that I felt like it should have been longer. It seemed to end a little bit suddenly. I wanted more from these characters. Gabe is a really awesome character. He has passion and drive and despite dealing with a difficult issue he is able to overcome the obstacles. John and Paige were also great secondary characters. Especially John, I can't even really explain the relationship that he and Gabe have but I loved it. This book handles the issues well. Gabe has such an honest voice and that is what really open peoples eyes to these issues and what can be done to prevent the type of bullying that happens here. Overall, i enjoyed this book quite a lot and will be interested to read other works by this author.

Rapture by Lauren Kate

This review may contain spoilers of previous books in the series.
Summary:(from goodreads) The sky is dark with wings . . . .
Like sand in an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past they must find the place where the angels fell to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this—live only to lose Luce again and again.Yet together they will face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies . . . and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen.
For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her—and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now will be the only one that truly matters.In the fight for Luce, who will win? Review: This is the fourth and final book in the Fallen series. I thought the book went really slow and was bored during some parts. It just seemed like a lot of it was unnecessary. The entire portion of the book where they are trying to track down the relics just started to seem annoying and repetitive after a while. Things got more interesting towards the end and I have mixed feelings about the way things ended. I think it was a fitting ending for the series but a part of me just feels like it was just a little bit anti climatic after everything they went through. I liked the characters more in this book then I did in the last one. Luce and Daniel both turned out to be stronger characters than I anticipated, they are willing to do anything it takes to be together. I also like Cam a lot more in this book. He was a character I never really knew what to think of but he was awesome in this book. Overall, I just thought this book was OK but people who are fans of this series should definitely read this one.

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shephard

Summary:(from goodreads) In the darkest places, even love is deadly.
Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect. 
Review: I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I started this book but I ended up really enjoying it. The story has a lot of dark and creepy elements which is what really made this book stand out. The plot was well paced and there were so many surprising plot twists that had me on the edge of my seat. The way this book ended made me really excited to see how this story continues. I liked all the characters as well. Juliet made a really great narrator. Her conflicting emotions about what was going on added a different dimension to the story. Montgomery and Edward were both great characters as well, i was very surprised at how things were left with both of them at the end of this book. I can't wait to see where things lead. . M

Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard

Summary:(from goodreads) Learning to live is more than just choosing not to die, as sixteen-year-old Ryan discovers in the year following his suicide attempt. Despite his mother’s anxious hovering and the rumors at school, he’s trying to forget the darkness from which he has escaped. But it doesn’t help that he’s still hiding guilty secrets, or that he longs for a girl who may not return his feelings. Then he befriends Nicki, who is using psychics to seek contact with her dead father. This unlikely friendship thaws Ryan to the point where he can face the worst in himself. He and Nicki confide in one another the things they never thought they’d tell anyone—but their confessions are trickier than they seem, and the fallout tests the bounds of friendship and forgiveness. 
Review: After enjoying Hubbard's previous book The Secret Year I was excited to give this one a try. I was a little bit surprised by how subtle the issues that Ryan was dealing with really were. He wasn't a character who had a big neon sign labeling him as crazy, even if he felt that way sometimes. This book was a more of an honest look at a guy who made some bad choices and did stupid things but in the end is able to overcome it. At some points in the story, I almost forgot what his issues at all.  I think Ryan is a character that a lot of people can relate to because I think everyone has those moments where they feel overwhelmed by life. I think the slow plot development is part of what made this book stand out for me and I really liked it.

Butter by Erin Jade Lange

Summary:(from goodreads) A lonely obese boy everyone calls "Butter" is about to make history. He is going to eat himself to death-live on the Internet-and everyone is invited to watch. When he first makes the announcement online to his classmates, Butter expects pity, insults, and possibly sheer indifference. What he gets are morbid cheerleaders rallying around his deadly plan. Yet as their dark encouragement grows, it begins to feel a lot like popularity. And that feels good. But what happens when Butter reaches his suicide deadline? Can he live with the fallout if he doesn't go through with his plans? With a deft hand, E.J. Lange allows readers to identify with both the bullies and the bullied in this all-consuming look at one teen's battle with himself.
Review: I really liked this book. The premise is what originally caught my attention when I first heard about it and i knew I wanted to read this one. The author handled the subject matter really well. Although, the scenario is a little on the extreme end of the spectrum, it  still takes a  serious look at suicide and bullying and how these two pieces fit together. What really made this story for me is Butter. He has such and honest voice that it is hard not to root for him and hope he finds a way out of the situation he has found himself in. I honestly felt so bad for him during certain parts of the book. He is really in a bad place mentally and physically and I loved watching his journey to finding a little bit of self worth. Also, the story behind how he got the nickname butter was somewhat disturbing and I think that is what really set things in motion for him. I think everyone who wants and honest and heartbreaking look at the relationship between bully and victim should pick this one up.

Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Summary:(from goodreads) Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secretUntil now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself.
Review: The female character that everyone loves to hate is pretty common in young adult books. She is snarky, bitchy and loves to gossip without sparing anyone else's feelings. Chelsea Knot is that girl. At least she was at the beginning of the book. Once she comes to realize that she is hurting other people she has a change of heart. I really liked the level of character development in this book. Even though her vow of silence maybe wasn't the best way to handle the situation. She was able to reflect on her mistakes and learn how to move on. The friends that she makes during her journey of self discovery are really great. Sam and Asha were both well developed and fun characters. I also really liked Noah and Andy even though they were more minor characters. The only thing I didn't like was I felt like her vow of silence really served very little purpose in the grand scheme of things. Which I guess, it what she comes to realize but I still felt like it could have been a bigger deal in the end. Overall, I thought this was a really great read.