You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone

You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
First Published: January 2nd, 2018
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Recommended Age: 14+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Siblings, Contemporary Romance, High School, Disease, Music, First Love, Family Drama

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Eighteen-year-old twins Adina and Tovah have little in common besides their ambitious nature. Viola prodigy Adina yearns to become a soloist—and to convince her music teacher he wants her the way she wants him. Overachiever Tovah awaits her acceptance to Johns Hopkins, the first step on her path toward med school and a career as a surgeon. But one thing could wreck their carefully planned futures: a genetic test for Huntington’s, a rare degenerative disease that slowly steals control of the body and mind. It’s turned their Israeli mother into a near stranger and fractured the sisters’ own bond in ways they’ll never admit. While Tovah finds comfort in their Jewish religion, Adina rebels against its rules. When the results come in, one twin tests negative for Huntington’s. The other tests positive. These opposite outcomes push them farther apart as they wrestle with guilt, betrayal, and the unexpected thrill of first love. How can they repair their relationship, and is it even worth saving?

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
First Published: March 18th, 2018
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genres & Themes: Picture Books, LGBT, Marriage, Love, Voting, Community

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Meet Marlon Bundo, a lonely bunny who lives with his Grampa, Mike Pence – the Vice President of the United States. But on this Very Special Day, Marlon’s life is about to change forever… With its message of tolerance and advocacy, this charming children’s book explores issues of same sex marriage and democracy. Sweet, funny, and beautifully illustrated, this book is dedicated to every bunny who has ever felt different.

Let’s Talk About Love – Claire Kann

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
First Published: January 23rd, 2018
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Recommended Age: 14+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, College, Asexuality, Romance, Friendship, Family

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Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting–working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she’s asexual). Alice is done with dating–no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done. But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!) When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood.

Piecing Me Together – Renée Watson

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
First Published: February 14th, 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Art, High School, Race, Friendship, Coming of Age

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Jade believes she must get out of her neighborhood if she’s ever going to succeed. Her mother says she has to take every opportunity. She has. She accepted a scholarship to a mostly-white private school and even Saturday morning test prep opportunities. But some opportunities feel more demeaning than helpful. Like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for “at-risk” girls. Except really, it’s for black girls. From “bad” neighborhoods. But Jade doesn’t need support. And just because her mentor is black doesn’t mean she understands Jade. And maybe there are some things Jade could show these successful women about the real world and finding ways to make a real difference.

Room – Emma Donoghue

Room by Emma Donoghue

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
First Published: September 2010
Publisher: Little, Brown
Recommended Age: 14+
Pacing: EXTREMELY Slow
Genres & Themes: Adult, Mother & Child Relationship, Kidnapping, Survival, Struggle

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To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world… Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience – and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible. To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it’s where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work. Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

Binti (Binti #1) – Nnedi Okorafor

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
First Published: September 22nd, 2015
Publisher: Tor.com
Recommended Age: 14+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: New Adult (?), Science Fiction, Short Story, Alien Race, Culture, War-Setting

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Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti’s stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach. If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself – but first she has to make it there, alive.

A List of Cages – Robin Roe

A List of Cages by Robin Roe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
First Published: January 10th, 2017
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Abuse, Contemporary, Friendship, High School, Family

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When Adam Blake lands the best elective ever in his senior year, serving as an aide to the school psychologist, he thinks he’s got it made. Sure, it means a lot of sitting around, which isn’t easy for a guy with ADHD, but he can’t complain, since he gets to spend the period texting all his friends. Then the doctor asks him to track down the troubled freshman who keeps dodging her, and Adam discovers that the boy is Julian—the foster brother he hasn’t seen in five years. Adam is ecstatic to be reunited. At first, Julian seems like the boy he once knew. He’s still kindhearted. He still writes stories and loves picture books meant for little kids. But as they spend more time together, Adam realizes that Julian is keeping secrets, like where he hides during the middle of the day, and what’s really going on inside his house. Adam is determined to help him, but his involvement could cost both boys their lives…

QUIZ: Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy, #1)

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
First Published: September 11th, 2012
Publisher: Random House BFYR
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Soulmates, Love-triangle, Friendship, Mystery, Gothic, Family

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Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met… a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head. But all that changes when the Lynburns return. The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

Children of Blood and Bone

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
First Published: March 6th, 2018
Publisher: Henry Holt BFYR
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Action, Magic, Romance

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Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now, Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for the enemy.

Love, Life, and the List – Kasie West

Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
First Published: December 2017
Publisher: Harper Teen
Recommended Age: 11+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Light, Contemporary Romance, Art

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Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings Abby isn’t going to take any chances. Which is where the list comes in. Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being. But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems… and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.