What has happened to Ryn the Librarian?

Hey hey hey peeps! After 3 months I am writing a blog post. It has been a busy few months at work and at home. Now it is right smack in the middle of Summer Reading Program which has left me very stressed and running around like a crazy person.

In the meantime I have not had a chance to really read anything. Well that’s not entirely true. I am, as of right now, 24 weeks pregnant so mostly what I read has been in preparation for dealing with that!

Since April (my last post) I have read one YA book titled Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira. That is what I will discuss with you today, but forewarned my posts may still be more sporadic as a baby being on the way will keep me quite occupied.  Some baby books and adult books may peak in there as well.

Synopsis via GoodReads. It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

When I first saw this book reviewed in the School Library Journal I thought the premise was very interesting.  I was looking forward to a chance to reading it myself.

After finally getting to it I would give this book a 3.5/5. I have the same problem with it as I do with a lot of YA fiction these days in that I think teens would love it and so I purchase the book mainly for them, but for me it is too much.

There is soooo much drama in this book. There is death, suicide, homosexuality, drugs, alcohol, familial abuse, sibling abuse, rape, and divorced parents. The drama will keep teens engaged throughout the book, but my god it felt like too much for implausibility for my taste.

I did find the letters to the dead celebrities very interesting as each celebrity in a way mirrored Laurel and May’s lives. I thought it was a nice connection that helps Laurel handle her pain by writing to those who would understand it best. The letters were also a nice touch to Laurel’s character development. We get to see her unfold before our eyes and while some authors make this long and winded, Dellaira does a superb job of keeping the reader engaged during Laurel’s character reveal.

Again, not to my taste, but this book is definitely for your older teens as there are many times where the book can feel dark and heavy. A purchase for larger YA collections perhaps?

Audiobook Awesomeness AND Oregon: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Yeah I know. I skipped like 10-15 states in there and went from Michigan to Oregon, but seriously who’s counting or cares. I will get to those states no problem. In case you don’t know what I am referencing, I am talking about my reading challenge.

Via GoodReads. Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind? 

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make. 

(SPOILERS BE AHEAD MATEYS)This audiobook was really good, like The Fault in Our Stars good. I teared up at the end.

We are introduced to a teenager, Mia, who is in some sort of limbo after a horrific car crash that has killed both her parents and her younger brother Teddy. She is grappling with her choice to join them in “afterlife” or to stay and continue her own life.

The narrative is told throughout a 24-hour period of the car crash up to the point when Mia makes her decision while in limbo. Throughout we get the story of her family, her first love Adam, her best friend Kim, her struggles with the cello, and her love of classical music told in a flashback style. The stories of the past help us, the reader, understand why this choice is a tough one.

The narrator was, of course, amazing and I could feel tears welling up in her as they did with me, especially after learning Teddy had died and then again with Adam’s heartfelt speech at the very end.

Even occasionally throughout the story there was cello music in the background which was strange, but also rather nice.

I don’t know how to exactly classify this story. It’s not really a love story or a problem teen story. I guess the best description would be realistic fiction? This book is for your Fault in Our Stars fans most definitely. It should also be of note that there is a movie based on this book coming out sometime later this year so young adult librarians need to start stacking up their copies now. 

21 titles down, 29 more to go! Close to the halfway point.

Audiobook Awesomeness: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I am working on a few things right now. I had to finish The Selection quicker than anticipated and therefore I am still working the Memoirs of Lady Trent. I did finish this amazing audiobook just a few days ago and I wanted to write about it right away because, peeps, it is amazeballs!

Plot summary via GoodReads. I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team.

This story begins with a young lady whose code name is Verity. She has been captured in Nazi-occupied France in 1943 and this is her confession to the SS Gestapo. Halfway through the story our narrators switch from Verity’s confession to her best friend Maddie who tries to rescue her from the German compound.

It is during Maddie’s story that we learn more about Verity and that she is not a reliable narrator to us, the audience. I didn’t even think about it until now that we were looking at her confession that her German captors would be reading so of course she left stuff out.

I am absolutely in love with this story!  I was hooked the entire time. I do not always enjoy historical fiction, but this was so beautifully written that even I liked it and learned something from it. As much as history is involved in the story, it is really a story about two best friends.  Their relationship makes us all think about our best friends and how we would do anything for them even if we don’t see them all the time.

The story was of course amazing, but the audiobook was beyond the best I have ever heard. The narrators felt extremely real and even left me in tears at one point (which I can’t reveal as it is a spoiler).

Not only is this book great for reluctant readers, but any high school World History teacher or literature teacher should consider this as a supplement to any lessons on World War II. The descriptions of British Air Force procedures and technology at the time extended this book to not just entertainment, but educational as well.

Again, a great example of how audiobooks can help reluctant readers become expert readers.

Where Did March Go?

So April is coming up in a week or so and I can’t believe I haven’t written anything let alone finish any book I have started this month. Since I should post something, let me do my classic “here is what is currently on my plate” list!

Audiobooks

Currently listening to Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. I am currently on disc 5 out of 9 so I should be finishing up soon. This audiobook, so far, is amazing and could become my favorite audiobook of all time. Wuthering Heights and The Book Thief were fanstastic, but Elizabeth Wein’s WWII drama is blowing me away. The narrator does perfect accents, inflections, and I am totally engrossed during my commute. I can’t wait to see how it ends!

On waitlist for Allegiant by Veronica Roth.  I am number 5 on the waitlist and there is only one copy. I see this taking a while.

Finished And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Housseini. I won’t spend time writing an individual post for this one. This was for my adult book club meeting later this month. I liked the book in general, but the audiobook was difficult to follow sometimes. All the narrators had a strong Arabic accent which works for the setting of the novel, but not for the listener.  All in all, I should have just grabbed the novel. The pieces of the story throughout the book were nicely woven together and I enjoyed many of the characters. Not a YA book.

Books

 

Currently reading A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan. I saw this novel posted on a friend’s GoodReads review. She seemed to like it and after I read the plot summary I figure I might like it too.  I am not too far into it, but I am looking forward to finishing it. Lady Trent is not your typical medieval lady. Though she is pressured by her family to behave appropriately, she is more fascinated at following and researching dragons more so than anything else. I am enjoying reading about this medieval nerd and her obsession to be treated like one of the boys. This is not a YA book.

About to start reading The Selection by Kiera Cass. This is a book that I have been semi-excited to read. About once a month I write a book review for the local newspaper and in general I have gotten some positive responses. I generally review YA books. I am excited for this one because there has been so much controversy over it. People either really liked it or people really hated it so I want to read it and make the decision for myself. The tag that many reviewers on GoodReads use to describe The Selection is Hunger Games meets The Bachelor. Sounds cheesy enough for me!

On waitlist for Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. Since I fell in love with her YA novels, I figure her adult novel will be amazing…right? Please be right!?

And the ones I just gave up on

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini. This is the selection for Massachusetts in my challenge and after reading the first 50 pages, I could not get into it. So I had to let it go.

Taste Test by Kelly Fiore. Again I got 50 pages into it and it wasn’t what I was hoping for so I had to let it go back as well.

Personal note about reading. Here is the thing folks. You may notice that I tend to not finish a lot of books I check out or list here. You may think that I have a problem and could be labeled a chronic non-finisher. I firmly believe that if you are reading a book and you have gotten to a point around the 30-70 page mark where you just can’t take it anymore, then you need to let that book go. Pushing yourself to read something that you are not enjoying takes the joy out of reading.

This philosophy is also applied to when I do reader’s advisory at the library. I tell every kid to get as many books as they can and that if they do not like a book after the first two chapters it is ok to return the book unfinished. It is tough to force a kid to read something they are not enjoying and the fear is that it may turn them off from reading anything. I know some titles are required and I am not talking about those. I am referring to when children need to read something at home for 30 minutes every night. This is usually (not always) the only time they can read for fun. So my advice to parents - let them read what they want. Do not force them to read classics if that is not what they are interested in or they may just not want to ever read.

This is why we librarians exist. If your child does not like the classics and you have no idea what to suggest to them that will be good for them, but also something they will enjoy, talk to your local children’s librarian ASAP. It’s why we are here.

That’s all for now. Later peeps!

Audiobook Awesomeness: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Though I read and devoured Divergent back in May of last year, I have waited (OK procrastination was involved) to read this sequel for a while. BUT then I thought this would be a great opportunity for an audiobook. So I got on the waitlist back in December and am now just getting the chance to listen to it. Check out my thoughts after the summary.

Book Summary via GoodReads. One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. 

Not really the most descriptive plot, but then again this sequel has A LOT of plot in it. It is nonstop action. Tris and Four go to pretty much every faction (sorry for my series lingo) and there is constantly a fight scene. I enjoyed this as a sequel as it picks up right where Divergent left off with Tris and company on their way to the Amity compound. Additionally, the ending has a slight plot twist/cliff hanger which just makes me want to get Allegiant right away.

The audiobook itself was solid. The narrator had a nice inflection in her voice for the characters and kept me hook throughout my long commute. There were occasions that I could not tell if Tris, the character, was speaking aloud or if it was Tris’ thoughts, though that may not have been the narrator’s fault.

Any YA librarian knows that they must have several copies of this series, especially with a movie coming out in late March.

Speaking of which, I have some beef with that movie poster. For example, why is that the only part of our kick ass heroine we see is Shailene Woodley’s butt? Really marketing team, what the hell does that say? That we should only care about how Tris looks? That we shouldn’t focus on Woodley’s awesome acting ability, but her body instead? Also, the actor who plays Four gets a full frontal pose and he isn't even the main character…wha? Rant over for now, but I can't guarantee I won't bring it back up. 

I can’t decide if I will see the movie or not, but as soon as I see a trailer for it and research which theaters will show it I will make a decision. In all honesty, I will probably not bother with the money to see it and instead listen to Allegiant when I get that audiobook.

Michigan: Wake by Lisa McMann

Finally, at long last, a post about my Reading Across United States of YA challenge. It has been months (September!) since I read a book in the realm of this challenge I designed more than a year ago. Here is my review and thoughts on Wake by Lisa McMann.

Book Summary via GoodReads. For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can’t control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant.

This is the first in a series (can’t quite decide if I will continue) where a teen has an ability to be sucked into dreams of those around her.  The paranormal mystery behind Janie’s strange ability is intriguing to the reader and definitely kept me interested throughout the book. There is also a little romance between Janie and Caleb that isn’t the focus, but still helps to keep a teen’s interest. Definitely helps broaden the audience, making this a general crowd pleaser.

This isn’t necessarily a standout work of art for me, but I think with its smaller size (225 pages) and action-packed plot, this book is perfect for a reluctant teen reader. Recommend this title to those who love Rosemary Clement-Moore’s The Splendour Falls (AKA the Alabama Read) as it has the paranormal mystery surrounding the main protagonist.

Keeping it short! That’s 20 down, 30 more to go!

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo

Since the Snowpocalypse has hit my city in North Carolina (took four hours to get home), I had some downtime today to read some books. This is the Newberry Award winner for 2014 and I was originally 4^th on the waitlist, but it went by so quickly that the book plopped into my hands and I had to read it as quickly as possible. There were more people waiting of course.

Holy unanticipated occurrences! A cynic meets an unlikely superhero in a genre-breaking new novel by master storyteller Kate DiCamillo. It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry—and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. From #1 New York Times best-selling author Kate DiCamillo comes a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format—a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black-and-white by up-and-coming artist K.G. Campbell.

First off, the images done by KG Campbell were so cute and perfect for the book. Flora and Ulysses were drawn perfect to what I thought they would be and Flora was so adorable. If I have a daughter, I would want her to be like Flora. Cynical, rational, loves comic books; she would fit perfectly with me and my husband.

Secondly, the story was incredibly sweet. Flora and Ulysses support one another and love each other like I figure a pet and an owner would if they could talk to one another.  I also like that Flora grows as a character to include more friends in her life. Kind of gives me hope for my literary fictional daughter to have a great life with more friends.

I will say that I was not a fan of the mother, but then again she is Ulysses’ arch-nemesis. It was hard to even tell the fact that she loved her daughter until the end. I’m with you Flora, go live with Dad. The side characters were pretty funny, but this book is really more about Flora becoming a believer and geting over being a cynic.

I highly recommend this book for reluctant readers of all ages. The graphics feel like a comic book, but Flora and Ulysses is not even close to a graphic novel so parents can rejoice when their kids want to read it.

Audiobook Awesomeness: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

It feels like an eternity since I last wrote a post about an audiobook doesn’t it? And yet, I have listened to so many things since Ender’s Game. Well at least attempted to listen to anyway. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson was way too long as it took over a month to get only halfway through it (sorry honey it ain’t happenin).  I did listen to Expats by Chris Pavone which was an intriguing spy novel, but not my absolute favorite. Then there was Beauty Queens by Libba Bray which was just so entertaining and Libba Bray even did the narration herself.  At some point I will get around to writing a post about that audiobook, but for now I would like to discuss A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

Summary via goodreads. It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract".

Meg's father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their  journey through space? 

As I pointed out in my last post, this was my husband’s favorite chapter book as a child. Moreover since listening to Cryptonomicon was a complete failure, I decided that A Wrinkle in Time would be a doable replacement.

This Newberry winner should have been a must–read on my list, but I kept putting it off and I just could not get into the book.  It’s not that I am not into science fiction because I am! I love shows like The X-Files, Fringe, Chuck.  I think my original problem was that this book felt like a children’s book which has lots of whimsy and unimaginative names like Beast, or Mrs. Who, or the Man with Red Eyes.  So as I am reading, I just felt it wasn’t descriptive enough to get into.

Then, I thought, what an opportunity to use an audiobook as a medium for reluctant reading. This was a great idea and now I can proudly say that I enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time.

I liked it as the science is not too heavy-handed nor is it too simple for adults and children alike. The story itself is action-packed, not too whimsical like I originally thought, and has an uplifting ending. Although I felt Meg was a little whiny in some cases, her frustration with the adults in the story is understandable and could even be relatable for some tweens.

I was so surprised that Madeleine L’Engle herself did the narration for the audiobook. I hope more authors do this as I find it interesting to see how they read their own work. It gives the audience, I think, an accurate insight into the author’s vision.

That’s all for now peeps! I am currently working on writing a few posts and reading some more books. Like always, I am backed up.

Currently on my shelf to read

I don’t know about some of you, but where I live in North Carolina there has been a ton of snow and ice. I have spent the past few nights curled up in bed or on my couch reading and though I am not close to finishing anything right now, I thought I would keep you all involved with everything I have checked out from the library.

Currently checked out on my library card are the following books/audiobooks:

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. I very briefly talked about this book in my previous post about YA romance novels. I originally thought this book (the first in a series) was similar to the movie Titanic, except that it takes place in a galaxy and uses a luxury cruise space ship. All the signs are there. There is Lilac LaRoux, the daughter of a very wealthy man, and Tarver Merendsen, from more humble beginnings, flirting on the cruise ship. They know that their flirtations are not allowed because of the simple fact that they are in different social classes. Then disaster strikes and they are the last survivors of the cruise ship Icarus and are now trying to survive on a strange planet where their escape pod landed. That’s very similar wouldn't you say? However the more I read, the more I see the TV show Lost appearing in the story. There is a strange planet that no one knows about that potentially caused the crash, there are haunted whispers throughout the forests and mountains, and there are strange animals that do not match the environment that our protagonists are in (think of the polar bears on Lost). I am only halfway through the book, but so far I am enjoying it.

A Wrinkle in Time (Audiobook) by Madeleine L’Engle. This book was my husband’s favorite as a child. I had attempted to read it as an adult a few years ago, but I could not get into it. I see why he liked it. There are physics, space, and high fantasy. I thought it was a little too much fantasy for me personally, BUT I saw that my library has the audiobook and I decided to give it a try. We meet the Murry family who are saddened by the disappearance of their father, a physicist. Meg, the oldest, is having problems dealing in school and is constantly getting into trouble. It’s when her younger brother, Charles Wallace, finds company in three “ladies” (Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which) that we learn more about Meg’s father. He is trapped on a planet somewhere in the universe that is being controlled by “the Black Thing” and only Meg and Charles Wallace can save him.  Along with their new companion, Calvin O’Keefe, they race against time to save Meg’s father and protect the universe from the evil that is quickly consuming all of the planets. I am about halfway through and so far I love this book!

Taste Test by Kelly Fiore. Confession...I really like the reality competition show Top Chef. My husband has been a fan of the show longer than me. In fact he introduced me to it so we have eaten at a few of the contestants’ restaurants across the country. I saw a review of Taste Test in a copy of the School Library Journal and I couldn’t wait for us to get it. I am not too far in it at all, but the main protagonist is from a small town in North Carolina where she works in a barbeque restaurant with her father. The show, called Taste Test, wants her for their next season. This reality show is where teens go to a culinary school and compete for a scholarship to a world-renowned culinary academy. Of course, there is drama, mystery, and a twinge of romance, but again I am only 5 pages into it.

Wake by Lisa McMann.  This is the Michigan selection for my reading challenge. I have not started it at all, but will hopefully get to it by the end of the weekend. The premise of this novel is that a teenage girl, Janie, constantly gets sucked into other people’s dreams. She keeps this power a secret as no one would believe her if she told them and would just think she is crazy. She then gets sucked into a crazy nightmare where she is not watching, but participating. Looks like this one will be a great teen horror book to read? I don’t know, but it looks scary.

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini. The Massachusetts selection from the reading challenge. This book seems to be a modern version of an ancient Greek myth (probably Helen of Troy). Helen (see!) is having strange dreams of a long journey as well as hallucinating three women who seem to be the Fates from Greek Mythology. She soon learns that these are not just dreams or legend, but in fact they are her ancestry. The question is should she fight against destiny?

Ones I am currently on the waitlist for

Insurgent (Audiobook) by Veronica Roth. I am so close to listening this one. There is a huge waitlist for everything in this series at my library. That being said, I am now #2 in line for audiobook! GAH!

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo. I got on the waitlist for this one as soon as the Newberry Award Winner and Honorable Mentions were announced.  I am #4 on the list.

Ryn the Librarian. Almost a whole year!

Hello my peeps! We are already hitting one year since I started this blog and what a year it has been! I know I have been tailing off the last few months; only writing once or twice a month. During winter I tend to get really lazy and tired, (Seasonal Affective Disorder most likely is the cause) which tends to put me behind on even simple things like exercise, errands, and reading.

The past year has been full of exciting moments. I started off writing this blog as an unemployed research analyst who wanted a full time library job working with children. In less than a month, I was hired at a public library working in the children’s department and it has been amazing. I get to do storytimes, Baby Fun Time (my favorite), and other programs such as Summer Reading and Teen Crafternoons. Though I am still trying to work my way into a professional library position (which requires an MLS) I have enjoyed my experience and will continue to work hard for my kids.

This year has proven how quickly things can and do change.

Now onto my topic for today’s post. Valentine’s Day is coming up so I thought I would do a reading list for Teens and Romance. I made a suggested reading list for this topic last year, but that was before I had the opportunity to be employed in a Children’s/Teen section. Now with more experience, I thought I could update it a little bit including books I have read or have seen on the many YA Literature blogs. I personally love Anna Reads and the staff at Teen Librarian Toolbox.

So without further ado, here are some suggested reads for this Valentine’s Day for the teens in your life, whether you are a parent or YA librarian. In no particular order…

Ones I’ve read and enjoyed/recommend

 

1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Twilight can be a sore subject among Teen Librarians. We love that it got teens to come in and borrow books (or in my case they occasionally steal them, but that is another story); however, the content and message is debatable among YA fans.  Either way, it is a popular romance series that can be recommended to older teens.
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Come on, you knew I was going to bring it up. Though this book makes you cry, it has one of my favorite romances in YA lit ever!
3. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.  Probably my second favorite romance in YA Lit ever. Eleanor and Park live in 1986 and deal with many obstacles that stand in between in their love including school politics, domestic abuse, social pressure, and social class. This book also made me cry at the end.
4. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. I enjoyed this book when I read it last year. Jase and Samantha live next door to each other and that is about all they have in common. Jase is one of seven children and lives in a noisy, messy home, while Samantha has one sister and they very much tend to keep to themselves. It’s when Jase starts hanging out with Samantha that they begin to find some common ground. I loved this read and it is perfect for older teens needing a nice love story.
5. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen.  Since I have yet to come close to North Carolina (my home state!) in my reading across the US challenge, I will discuss my favorite Sarah Dessen briefly here.  Remy knows how this works. You begin with dating and end with heartbreak and this is why you should never get attached to anyone. Then there is Dexter. She likes Dexter…a lot, which is scary for her. Can she get over her issues with love to see what’s standing right in front of her? I loved this book and love Sarah Dessen in general. Definitely recommend.
6. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I know I gave this one a hard time, but it is difficult for me to read/listen to books that are really lovey-dovey.  However, for teens this one is a hit and is highly recommended for fans of the Twilight series. Plus Maggie Stiefvater’s description and writing are solid. Shiver is the story of Sam and Grace who fall in love in the cold land of Minnesota. One issue, Sam is a werewolf, but not your mythical kind of werewolf.  He only turns when it’s cold out. Eventually a werewolf shift can be become permanent. Is there anything Grace and Sam can do before their time together runs out?
7. Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I have to put this on here as it is a good YA dystopian romance novel. I personally was not a fan. This series has been requested in our YA Book Club many times, so it is popular. You should buy it for your YA collection despite my personal feelings on it. In a time where love is considered a disease vaccinated by the US government, falling in love can be dangerous. Lena is awaiting her operation, but after meeting Alex she isn’t so sure that the vaccination can solve her love woes.

Ones I would like to read at some point

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. In this teen romance, Anna is less than enthusiastic to be sent off to boarding school in Paris (which automatically baffles me, but ok) until she meets a boy named Etienne St. Clair. This story follows their year in boarding school which may or may not end with their first French kiss. This comes highly recommended from many YA Lit Blogs and is incredibly popular on goodreads; it has a 4.2 out of 5 ranking.
2. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. Hadley is stuck at JFK Airport while awaiting on her flight to London for her father’s SECOND wedding. It is through fate that she meets Oliver who will be sitting in her same row on the flight over. After they land; however, they lose each other in the chaos of Heathrow without getting each other’s contact information. Can fate intervene once more? Sounds pretty cheesy, but could be a great read.Gotta put this one on my list.
3. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally. I think this one has some serious promise to it. Jordan Woods is the Captain AND Quarterback of her (that’s right HER) high school football team. She is used to being one of the guys and is working hard to get an athletic scholarship to a great university. Her hardwork would have paid off, if Ty hadn’t come into town. He is an amazing quarterback and, of course, ridiculously good looking. Can Jordan keep her head in the game when so much is on the line? Or does she let it go for a chance for love?
4. If I Stay by Gayle Forman. This is the Oregon selection and I have read nothing but good things about this book. This story takes place after Mia is in an accident and it follows the consequences of that accident. I think that means she is a ghost or spirit watching over her family and friends??? There isn’t a lot of plot summaries to the book on the internet apparently, but it’s supposed to be gut-wrenching.
5. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. After looking at a brief summary of this one, it reminds me a lot of A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies. There are angels and a battle of immortal versus the fallen angels. Could be a great paranormal romance read?
6. These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner. Titanic, but in space. DONE!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I decided to give Rowell’s newest book its own well-deserved post. First, the plot summary:

Plot summary via 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?

Rainbow Rowell hits another homerun with her newest YA novel. I could not put this book down, which was pretty perfect since I received it over the holidays. It’s not that the book is action-packed, just that its characters are incredibly engaging and loveable so I became very invested.

I can completely relate to Cath as a fellow introvert just trying to make it in the new, unchartered world of college. She is a huge fan of Simon Snow (it’s pretty much Harry Potter) and can’t stop talking about it which in turn affects how she lives her life. She writes fan-fiction and is actually a prominent author on the Simon Snow forums. If you take Cath and replace Simon Snow with The X-Files or Star Wars or Harry Potter, you get me.

I could even at times relate to Cath’s twin sister, Wren; someone who is more than ready to move on with life and experience new things. It was refreshing to see Wren develop towards the end and try to have a happy medium of experiencing new things, but not be embarrassed by the things you loved as a teen. Trust me; in high school I was too embarrassed to admit that I loved The X-Files or Star Wars.

In addition, Rowell provides a wonderful romance story and, as always, an interesting portrayal of family dynamics. Unlike Eleanor and Park, Cath and Wren’s home life did not devastate me as much, but was still just as powerful.  I am beginning to enjoy books where the siblings and the family have positive relations or have a happy understanding towards the end (see Going Vintage).  Also, the ending to Fangirl did not make me weep like Eleanor and Park.

This does not mean that I think books shouldn’t feature homes with broken families for readers to enjoy. I loved Eleanor and Park and feel it portrays a population of youth that we don’t normally see in YA Literature. I try to stress that relatable characters are important when reading YA fiction. It’s unfortunate that many of our teens come from violent homes and though books can be used as an escape, we should offer material to our teens that can also help them cope – materials that express that they are not alone by having characters that are in similar situations. This can provide an outlook of hope rather than just escape.

Sorry my peeps. I didn’t mean to go on a little tangent there, but it needed to be said.  Apparently, a few Parent groups and organizations around the country want the book Eleanor and Park banned from schools and I just wanted to put my two cents in as to why Eleanor and Park is important for teens.

Back to Fangirl, you should get it for your YA collection as Rowell has put together a fantastic read with a great protagonist and a beautifully written plot. After two such wonderful masterpieces I may need to read her adult novel Attachments.