"The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead is based on a real story.  This book takes place in the early 60s.  Elwood is a young boy who makes a mistake and is sentenced to a reform school called "Nickel."  There he meets a young boy named Turner.  Nickel is a rough school, but especially for young black boys.

This is a short book so a quick read.  I liked the contrast in thinking between Turner and Elwood and how they handled their time in Nickel, a school with very corrupt officials. 
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 17:  He'd been so proud of his ability, dumb and simple as it was.  He never settled on one conclusion until he got to Nickel, which made the truth of the contests unavoidable.

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"Three Days Missing" by Kimberly Belle

In Three Days Missing by Kimberly Belle, Kat is divorced and has few, if any, real friends.  Her life revolves around her son, Ethan.  He leaves to go on  field trip and his teacher will look after him.  Kat hopes he has a good time and makes some friends.  When the police show up on her door step in the middle of the night, she knows that is not good!  Ethan is missing!

The story line is okay in this book and the characters were brought out pretty well.  I would have loved a little more action so this is a solid 4 stars for me.
(Gerard's review)

Teaser from page 27:  Maybe it's the lack of sleep or the shock or the terror, but my brain can't process his question.  "What?"

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"The Gifted School" by Bruce Holsinger

The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger centers on four moms who live in the same community.  They all have children about the same age.  A new school is going to open and only the best and brightest will be able to get in!  The moms want what is best for their children.  How far are they willing to go to make sure their kids get in?  What about the dads?  Finally, do the kids even want to go to this school?

I enjoyed this book very much.  The author did a great job of bringing the mom characters out.  The kids were good too, and out of the dads, I enjoyed Beck best.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 31:  Everyone was rooting for her, or so Azra claimed.  Rose wasn't so sure.  Samantha in particular seemed to take a guilty pleasure in watching for latent signs of Tessa's next catastrophe.

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"The Accomplice (Theodore Boone series)" by John Grisham for teens

The Accomplice by John Grisham is a contemporary teen fiction story of Tony, a 16-yr.-old and his brother, Woody, a 13-yr.-old who are charged with being accomplices to armed robbery! Both are actually innocent, which the reader knows from the start. They made a poor decision one night and were arrested and put in jail. This story gives some insight into the youth court system and also shows how things are not always fair. Theodore Boone, who aspires to be a judge or lawyer one day, helps his friend, Woody, and is instrumental in helping raise bail for him.

This is geared to teens and may help them see the importance of school and making good decisions. I enjoyed it because Theo Boone is a good kid and a main character. It’s a quick, easy read.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 25: From the back seat, Woody heard the words he would never forget. A cop said loudly, “Stop right there, kid.”


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"The Rising" by Heather Graham and Jon Land - Science Fiction

The rising by Heather Graham and Jon Land has two main characters:  Alex, a star high school quarterback who looks forward to being a QB in college and the pros; and Samantha who has big future plans, but for now is a tutor to Alex.  She would love to have a future with Alex.  Alex gets hurt in a game and is rushed to the hospital.  The test results are like nothing the doctors have ever seen and a secret that has been hidden for many years will come out!

This thriller is pretty good.  I loved Alex and Samantha and the story line was good too!  This is well worth reading.
(Gerard's review, 4.5 stars)

Karen's review:
Well, I disagree with my husband's review on this and his rating.   The Rising by Heather Graham and Jon Land is the first in a science fiction series about Alex who is human, but al from some other planet far, far away which he remembers nothing about since he came to earth when just a baby. He was the star of his high school football team, but when he got clobbered in the head breaking up a tackle, his life changed! He and is tutor, Samantha, find themselves on the run.

 I did not care of this book and was very happy when I finally reached the end. No way will I continue with this series. Absolutely nothing made any sense to me. I just thought the story line was very dumb and the characters were just okay, not very well developed. The only reason I continued reading to the end was because I thought things might make sense if I read it all, but I was wrong. I didn’t enjoy this at all and certainly would not recommend it to anyone! (2 stars)

Teaser from page 37:  Then Alex realized it wasn't just that he couldn't get up, he couldn't even move.  Started to suck in a deep breath when he realized he couldn't breathe, either.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!