"the night Olivia fell" by Christina McDonald

the night olivia fell by Christina McDonald is about a mom's worst nightmare--A call in the middle of the night saying her pregnant daughter was found lying under a bridge--brain dead!  Was she pushed or did she jump on her own?  Who is the father?

I thought this book was really good!  It is told by Olivia, the daughter and Abi, the mom, who wants to find out what happened, and why.  Try to get your own answers.  I am guessing you will be wrong like I was!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)  

Karen's review:
the night olivia fell by Christina McDonald is about a teen girl, Olivia, who met an early death before her mother even knew she was pregnant. This novel is told from alternating perspectives of the mother, Abi, and the daughter, Olivia The mother hid a secret from Olivia for years and when Olivia discovered what it was, she was on a personal secret mission. Although the police said her death was accidental, the mother went on a personal mission of her own to find out details and exactly what happened. Olivia was declared brain dead but was kept on life support in the hopes of saving her baby. Was it an accident or did someone push her off that bridge? Will the baby survive? Who is the father?

I thought the story was pretty good but I did not really care much for Olivia because of the way she treated her mother and her boyfriend, Tyler. This was written in a way that I found sort of annoying, the book jumping back and forth from the present to the past. I was a bit surprised at the ending of who her death actually happened. I liked the mother, Abi, and give her credit for pursuing the truth about her daughter’s death. (4 stars)


Teaser from page 46:  I remember looking at Olivia in the fading evening light and feeling like I didn't know her anymore.  I knew then that something had been shaken loose, something I had no power to put back together. . . .

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"What You Hide" by Natalie D. Richards

In What You Hide by Natalie D. Richards, Spencer is the son of a wealthy family.  He is nearing the end of high school and his family has plans for him.  He want to do his own thing.  Mallory lives with her mom and step dad.  She fears for the safety of her mom and herself with a baby is on the way.  Mallory takes off and finds shelter in a library where Spencer does community service.

I thought this book was pretty good.  It kept my interest and the pacing was good so I never got bored.  I enjoyed both Mallory and Spencer and think it was worth the read.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 3:  I start my ascent, slow and steady.  The world slips quietly away.

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"The Girl with the Broken Heart" by Lurlene McDaniel

In The Girl with the Broken Heart by Lurlene McDaniel, Kenzie's second year of college comes to a close.  Instead of going home, she heads off to work at a horse farm to take care of three horses!  She has her reasons.  Austin, who has secrets comes into the picture to help Kenzie with the horses.

I enjoyed this book!  Kenzie and Austin were really good characters.  The book had good pacing so I really could not figure out the whole story.  I had this book at 5 stars, but the ending par pushed it up to a 5++ stars, my highest rank!  I recommend this one to anyone who likes Hallmark movies--good read.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review:
The Girl with the Broken Heart is a teen romance between Kenzie, a college girl with a heart issue and Austin, the guy who was her helper in caring for rescue horses during one summer. Austin finds himself falling in love with her even though he tries not to. He has secrets he does not want to share.

This book is okay. Kenzie and Austin’s feelings are developed slowly which makes their relationship very believable. I liked that there are no sex scenes in this book. Although there are sad events, the writing did not touch my emotions. I thought this was pretty ho-hum but enjoyed the horse part of the story. (3 stars)


Teaser from page 18:  She closed her eyes, took deep breaths.  "I . . . I know.  I didn't mean to yell at you.  I guess I was expecting someone--"

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"Sadie" by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers is teen fiction.  A radio personality gets a call to help find a missing girl--Sadie Hunter.  At first, he blows it off, but when he finds out Sadie is on the hunt for the man that killed her sister, he decides to go look for her!  This book is told by Sadie and West McCray, the radio personality.  It is pretty good and held my interest because of the really good parts by Sadie.  I think the ending could have been told better than it was though.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 19:  It makes me sick to think about her throwing her life in the garbage like that because that's what it amounts to.  Every little bit that made her, everything, was all in the trash and when I found it, I just started to cry because she'd . . . it wasn't worth anything to her anymore.    

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"Home After Dark" by David Small is a Graphic Novel

Home After Dark by David Small is my first graphic novel. After Russell’s mom runs off with another man, Russell and his dad decide to move to California for a fresh start! Things go well when Russell even makes some new friends. But things go south after a while and bad turns to worse! What can a young boy do? This book goes really fast since it is a whole lot of drawings to tell the story. The story line was good and kept me engaged throughout, but I missed reading words. (Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"DRY" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

DRY by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman is teen fiction about a drought, or Tap-Out in southern California and the story of how teens Kelton, Jacqui, Alyssa and her younger brother Garrett evacuated on their own in search of a place with water. They pick up another teen, Henry, on the way who decided he couldn’t stay where he was. The group dynamics was both interesting and fascinating. Kelton and Alyssa were neighbors. Kelton’s dad was one who was a firm believer in being prepared to protect his family. Kelton was a bit weird and had a crush on Alyssa. Jacqui was a tough chick who helped save Kelton’s life and he offered to help her by giving her some antibiotics for her cut. Henry was an opportunist.  Alyssa and Garret even have a pet dog which I liked.

This book shows how quickly people can lose their humanity when they get desperate. This is a modern-day horror book. I enjoyed this book because of the adventure the teens went through to just survive and also the interaction and vying for leadership among them. I liked how the story is told from the different perspectives of the main five characters. It was easy to follow because the name of the person telling each part was at the beginning of the section. This made me realize how valuable water is and how much we take it for granted.
 (Karen’s review, 5 stars)

Here's my husband's thoughts, very different from mine:
Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman is about a group of teens who are dealing with a tap out, which means there is no water to be had!  This book fell flat for me.  There were some exciting parts that made me think, "Okay, here we go," but no!  The story line was okay.  I had no trouble with that, but I only enjoyed a few of the characters and others I found annoying.  I give this book 3.5 because I just really never got into it at all.

Teaser from page 12: As I look around the stacks of drinks, I find a single case of water that someone abandoned there maybe yesterday, when it wasn’t such a precious commodity. I reach for it, only to find it pulled away at the last second by a thin woman with a beak of a nose.

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"Wildcard" by Marie Lu

Wildcard by Marie Lu is the follow up to Warcross.  Emike was able to escape from being killed in the Warcross games.  Now that she knows what hideo is up to, can she put a stop to it?  I enjoyed this book.  Emike is a wonderful character and there was plenty of action to be had.  The middle sort of dragged but the last part of the book more than made up for it!  It's not as good as Warcross, but readable to be sure.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 18:  He pauses to look back at us.  "Okay with what?  That we're all sitting here, talking about the technicalities of how Emi should throw herself into a situation that might kill her?"

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"People Kill People" by Ellen Hopkins

People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins is told by six different people who are all dealing with various issues. They are linked together and are interesting to say the least!  The best part of this book to me was not knowing from page to page what was going to happen next!  The story lines were all good as well as the writing.  The ending came as a complete shock to me!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page pg. 55:  The passing thought sparks a white-hot ignition of rage.  Your mom says some people were "born angry," and you agree because you happen to be one of them.

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"Bright We Burn" by Kiersten White (Book 3 of And I Darken series)

Bright We Burn by Kiersten White is the third and final book of the And I Darken series.  The author saved the best for last!  This book is fantastic!  This is full of action.  Lada is so Good!  Nobody had better get in her way!  She is so "bad ass."--LOVED IT!  In this book, Lada controls her land, but she wants ore and wants it known that she is in charge!  However, not everyone goes along with that and the fighting begins!  This whole series is really good!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 219:  "How could a woman do this?"  Ali Bey's voice was filled with equal parts wonder and disgust.

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"I Am Still Alive" by Kate Alice Marshall

In I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall, life is not going too well for Jess.  Her mom is dead.  Now she is in a remote wilderness with her dad, who was not around for much of her life until now!  She is not in good shape either.  Can things get any worse for Jess?  I thought this book was pretty good.  It goes back and forth in time for a bit.  Jess was a great character.  I had some trouble with the ending so that brought my rating down to a four.  It was a good read except for the ending.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 16:

I'm going to die, I force myself to think, and then I say it out loud, shout it, because I need to believe it down in my gut or I'm never going to be able to move.
"I AM GOING TO DIE," I scream across the lake.

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"Legendary" by Stephanie Garber (Book 2 in Caraval series)

Legendary by Stephanie Garber is the follow up to Caraval.   This time the story is told by Tella.  The first book was told by Scarlett.  Tella has a very good reason to win the game that goes along with Caraval, but it will not be easy!

WOW!!  This book was so good!  It was great to be back in Caraval.  Tella tells the story very well and all the other characters are really good too.  I loved the action in this book.  What was real and what was just part of the game kept me guessing.  I hope there is a third book!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)


Teaser from page 6:  "I wish I'd never found these cards," she whispered, "but I will tell you about them if you swear to never though this deck, or another deck like this, again."

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"See Jane Run" by Hannah Jayne

In See Jane Run by Hannah Jayne, Riley Spencer is a good high school student with over protective parents.  When she comes across a secret her parents have kept from her, she goes on a personal quest to find answers and the truth.  In the process, she puts herself in danger.

This book moved along quickly and I liked how she became friends with an unlikely guy.  I felt it was a bit simplistic as I figured out the truth very early on.  None of the characters were well developed and Riley sometimes got on my nerves because she acted so stupid.  It was not very realistic.  Still, it was an enjoyable read that is geared to teens.
(Karen's review, 3 stars)

Teaser from page 14:  "Are you going to ask your parents about your phantom sister?  Tread lightly; they might knock you off next."

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"Nyxia" by Scott Reintgen is First in this Sci-Fi Series

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen reminded me a lot of Ender's Game which I loved!  A group of teens are chosen by Babel Communications to train to travel to Eden, an inhabited planet, to mine an amazing new mineral called Nyxia.  If they are chosen, they will be paid lots more money in addition to what they got just for signing the contract.  Out of ten trying out from around the world, only the top eight will be able to actually go on the mission.  All have hard luck stories and are from poor families so the money is a great incentive.  Emmett, the narrator of the story and one of the recruits, is from Detroit and really wants to go bad to help his parents.  Can he make it without sacrificing his morals?

This book had my interest right from page one and kept it all the way through.  I loved the adventure, the competition, getting to know all the contestants and the drama of the dynamics among the characters.  Emmett is a good guy but wasn't the best at challenges.  I liked the twists throughout the book and the surprises Babel created.  The only thing I didn't care for was when the one character who I liked very much got killed.  I thought the challenges were fun and interesting!  If you like competition, lots of interaction among competitors and science fiction, I would highly recommend this book!  I can't wait to read book 2 in this series!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)


Teaser from page 51:  "I know you'd be a good person to team up with, Kaya, but why would you want to team up with me?  I'm in ninth place."
 
Gerard's review:
Nyxia by Scott Reintgen is told by Emmett.  He is one of ten young people picked for a very special assignment!  He has a chance to go on a hidden planet.  Besides that, a huge money payout will be rewarded also!  But only eight will get to go.  Let the games begin!

This book is sort of a mix of Hunger Games and Divergent minus all the killing.  I thought it was interesting how the ten players interacted with each other.  Emmett is a good guy and I was rooting for him.  Could have used more action in my opinion; however, it picked up in that at the end.  I enjoyed it enough to read book 2 in this series.
(4 stars)



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Fury Born--The Empirium Trilogy-Book 1 by Claire Legrand

Fury Born by Clair Legrand is the first in The Empirium trilogy.  This novel is told by Rielle and Eliana--two kick-butt women that you do not want to mess with at all!  Rielle exposes her powers that she should not have to save her boyfriend, the crown prince.  Now she must go through trials or die doing them.  Eliana is a bounty hunter who will do anything to keep her family safe.  But when her mom is taken, she must join forces with a rebel captain to save her! 

This book is action packed from start to finish which I like.  I enjoyed both women very much. If you like Sarah J. Maas books, I think you would also like this.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 14:  A force slamming into him, snatching him forward by his bones.  
The baby being ripped from his arms, no matter how hard he tried to hold on to her.

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"Point Guard" by Mike Lupica

Point Guard by Mike Lupica is about a middle school boys’ basketball team that Cassie tries out for and gets accepted.  She is good friends with Gus, Jack, and Teddy who often hang out and play pickup games together.  Gus is the only one who seems to view having a girl on their team as a problem, even if she is as good as the guys.  The book follows the team’s season and Gus learns how to play with people he doesn’t like and also admits he was wrong about Cassie. 

There is a lot of friendship issues in this book that I doubt boys would care about much.  I think girl basketball players would enjoy this book more than boys.  I thought it was okay but liked others by this author much better.  

(Karen's review, 3 stars)

Teaser from pg. 27:  Gus still wasn't sure if he could explain, even to himself, why he thought Cassie didn't belong, why he didn't want a girl on the team, even if she was his good friend.  He just told himself to focus on being happy that Teddy was in the gym, even as unhappy as he was that Cassie was with him.

 

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"Summer Ball" by Mike Lupica

Summer Ball by Mike Lupica is a story about Danny, a short 13-yr-old who loves playing basketball.  His dad used to play but had an accident so had to stop.  When his dad wants to send Danny to the Right Way Basketball camp for three weeks, he really does not want to go.  He knows kids will make fun of him and he'll have to prove he can play with guys who are bigger all over again.  He is disappointed when he finds out he is not bunking with his buddies and then gets stuck with an old grouchy coach who he doesn't like.  Danny decides to stick it out and makes some new friends.  He gets his chance to prove he can play.

I enjoyed this book once Danny got to basketball camp.  It has a lot of basketball games, tips for practicing and strategies.  It also has a bit of bullying and follows Danny through his ups and downs.  I think anyone who enjoys basketball would like this book, especially short kids who play basketball!
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 48:  "I never have to play basketball," Danny said.  "I always want to play."  Then he made a sudden cut to the basket.

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"Genesis" by Brendan Reichs

Genesis by Brendan Reichs is the second book in the Nemesis series.  As in the first book, the story is told by Noah and Min.  They are trying to find out what comes next in "The Program" and what the guardian has in store for them.  I thought this book was just as good, if not better, than the first.  There is good action and a good twist near the end.  Too bad I have to wait until spring of 2019 for book 3!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 3:  I'd been murdered over and over back in the real world, never knowing why, wracked by the pain and humiliation of thinking I was crazy.  But I'd had it all wrong.

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"Not If I Save You First" by Ally Carter

In Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter, Maddie and Logan are young teen friends.  Logan is the President's son.  Maddie is the daughter of the man who helps keep the President safe.  They get caught up in an incident at the White House that will make this an adventure for both of them.

This is pretty good stuff.  There is good action and I liked Maddie and Logan; plus it has a good ending!
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 19:  For a second, the world stood still, and then he pulled the trigger just as Maddie's father jumped between the man and Logan.
   And fired.

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"Grist Mill Road" by Christopher J. Yates

It is hard to write a review of Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates without giving something away, but I will try. Patrick, Matthew and Hannah were involved in an incident when they were in their teens.  Now, years later, their paths cross again.  Will there be a resolution to that incident?  Although this book goes back and forth in time, I did not have a problem with it.  I thought the three main characters were well developed.  Some parts of the book dragged along, but there is more good than bad.  The ending was just okay but still worth the read.

Teaser from page 15:  Mornings after, she remembers only the screaming, not the words.  But even so he can't lie to her.
(Gerard's review, 3.5 stars)

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"Everlost" by Neal Shusterman (Book 1 of the Skinjacker Trilogy)

Everlost by Neal Shusterman is the entertaining first book of the Skinjacker trilogy. Nick and Allie both die in a head on collision and wind up in Everlost, a limbo between the real world and the final afterlife destination where they become ghosts called “afterlights.” They first wake up 9 months after the crash and see a kid who doesn’t know his name and is also an afterlife living in a forest. Nick and Allie name him Lief. Allie is determined to get back home and soon take the lead. Nick is just baffled and follows Allie. Lief feels protective of them and so follows after them even though he is content to stay living in the forest. He tried talking them into staying with him, but they didn’t want to. Everlost is a weird place—Afterlights who live there do not need to sleep, can’t feel pain, and are invisible to those in the real world. There are “dead spots” that are safe for them to sit or stand still on but if they get off, the must keep moving or they will sink into the ground towards the center of the earth! There is much to learn about Everlost!

Teaser from page 18:  Nick kept rubbing his face.  "This chocolate--I can't get it off my face.  It's kind of tattooed there."  "It is," Lief said.  "It's how you died."

This got my attention right from the start and kept my interest with lots of surprises along the way. The world building is very well done. This was a very unique read for me, haven’t read anything like this before so I enjoyed it very much. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next! I liked the action, adventure, humor and learning about the world of Everlost. I liked how the relationship between Mary, the Queen of Snots, and Nick developed into something unexpected. This has lots of interesting characters: the McGill, the Haunted, the bullies, Vari, and Pinhead. There actually were four main characters in this book: Allie, Nick, Mary and The McGill. This is a good read for fantasy lovers!
(Karen’s review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 4 stars:
Nick and Allie are in a limbo land called Everlost in this Neal Shusterman YA fantasy.  Their souls are there but with bodies of a sort too.  Everlost is run by a woman named Mary who takes care of children who wind up at her home.  There is a monster called "the McGill" who you do not want to mess with!  Allie wants no part of this and comes up with a plan to get out, but can she?  

This book was pretty good.  It started off slow for me, but I enjoyed the last part of the book much better.  Book 2 should be good!


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