Monthly Archives: May 2018

Slated – Teri Terry

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Slated by Teri Terry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: 2013
Publisher: Speak
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Normal/Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Mystery, Dystopia, High School, Romance, Family

BLURB:

Kyla’s memory has been erased, her personality wiped blank, her memories lost forever. She’s been slated. The government claims that she was a terrorist and they are giving her a second chance—if she plays by their rules. But scenes from the past haunt her as she tries to adjust to a new life, family, and school, leaving her unsettled. Who is she really? And if only criminals are meant to be slated, why are so many other teens disappearing? As she and her friend Ben seek answers, Kyla is torn between the need to know more and her instinct for self-preservation. Continue reading →

Grump: The (Fairly) True Tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

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Grump: The (Fairly) True Tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by Liesl Shurtliff

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: May 29th, 2018
Publisher: Knopf
Recommended Age: 8+
Pacing: Normal/Fast
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Fairytale Retellings, Adventure, Magic, Friendship, Betrayal

BLURB:

Ever since he was a dwarfling, Borlen (nicknamed “Grump”) has dreamed of visiting The Surface, so when opportunity knocks, he leaves his cavern home behind. At first, life aboveground is a dream come true. Queen Elfrieda Veronika Ingrid Lenore (E.V.I.L.) is the best friend Grump always wanted, feeding him all the rubies he can eat and allowing him to rule at her side in exchange for magic and information. But as time goes on, Grump starts to suspect that Queen E.V.I.L. may not be as nice as she seems. . . . When the queen commands him to carry out a horrible task against her stepdaughter Snow White, Grump is in over his head. He’s bound by magic to help the queen, but also to protect Snow White. As if that wasn’t stressful enough, the queen keeps bugging him for updates through her magic mirror! He’ll have to dig deep to find a way out of this pickle, and that’s enough to make any dwarf Grumpy indeed. Continue reading →

The Kiss Quotient – Helen Hoang

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36199084The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: June 5th, 2018
Publisher: Berkley
Recommended Age: 16+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Autism, Relationships, Erotica

BLURB:

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases–a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old. It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice–with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can’t afford to turn down Stella’s offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan–from foreplay to more-than-missionary position… Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he’s making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic… Continue reading →

Tin Man – Sarah Winman

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Tin Man by Sarah Winman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: May 15th, 2018
Publisher: Viking
Recommended Age: 16+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Adult, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, LGBT, First Love, Grief, Friendship

BLURB:

This is almost a love story. But it’s not as simple as that. Ellis and Michael are twelve when they first become friends, and for a long time it is just the two of them, cycling the streets of Oxford, teaching themselves how to swim, discovering poetry, and dodging the fists of overbearing fathers. And then one day this closest of friendships grows into something more. But then we fast-forward a decade or so, to find that Ellis is married to Annie, and Michael is nowhere in sight. Which leads to the question, what happened in the years between? Continue reading →

Sharp Objects – Gillian Flynn

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Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: June 12th, 2018
Publisher: B\D\W\Y
Recommended Age: 16+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Adult, Mystery, Crime, Family, Small Towns, Creepy, Psychological

BLURB:

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming. Continue reading →

I Was Born For This – Alice Oseman

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34325090I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Published: May 3rd, 2018
Publisher: HarperCollins
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fandom, LGBT, Coming of Age, Contemporary, Music, Celebrity, Friendship, Diversity

BLURB:

For Angel Rahimi, life is only about one thing: The Ark – a pop-rock trio of teenage boys who are currently taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything – her friendships, her dreams, her place in the world. Jimmy Kaga-Ricci owes everything to The Ark too. He’s their frontman – and playing in a band is all he’s ever dreamed of doing. It’s just a shame that recently everything in his life seems to have turned into a bit of a nightmare. Because that’s the problem with dreaming – eventually, inevitably, real life arrives with a wake-up call. And when Angel and Jimmy are unexpectedly thrust together, they will discover just how strange and surprising facing up to reality can be. Continue reading →