"CatWoman--Soul Stealer" by Sarah J. Maas

Catwoman Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas does what she does best--writing about a young female who kicks butt that you better not mess with!  Her name in this is Selina.  I would describe this book as an adult comic book because it has Catwoman and Batman as the main characters!  I enjoyed Selina very much and lots of action kept me turning pages!  This is a standalone with a really good ending.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 6:

That's what the match emcee was declaring down the hall.  Selina could just make out the croon of words:  The undefeated champion, the fiercest of Leopards . . .

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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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"Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann is a non-fiction book about the Osage Indian  murders during the 1920s.  The Osage Indians were among the richest people when oil was discovered on their land!  All of a sudden, they were being killed off and they wanted answers soon!

This book was interesting for sure.  It details how the authorities went looking for answers.  The pacing and telling of this story were very well done!  You can tell a ton of research went into this book.  It is worth reading!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 15:  Then he screamed, ""Oh Papa!"  By the time his father reached him, the boy had crawled onto a rock.  He gestured toward the mossy edge of the creek and said, "A dead person."

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"Under the Harrow" by Flynn Berry

In Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry, Nora is on a train to visit her sister, but when she gets there, she finds an unspeakable horror!  Her sister has been brutally killed.  Nora will not and cannot return to her normal life until she discovers who killed her sister and why.

I thought this book was okay.  Nora was a good character, but the other people in the book were not developed very well.  The ending was a surprise though.  It's not a "must read" in my opinion, but an okay book.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)  

Teaser from pg. 8:  I am hyperventilating, though everything around me is calm and still.  It is urgent that I do something, but I don't know what.

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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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"The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls" by Claire Legrand is creepy and far out

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand is a very creepy children’s book mystery. Victoria, a 12-yr-old girl who is very smart and conceited investigates why kids are turning up missing, including her one and only friend, Lawrence. Victoria likes everything to make sense and to be in order so I doubt if she would actually like this book. It makes no sense! It has a house that appears to be alive, lots of bugs that are everywhere, and a mean lady who lived long ago that runs the children’s home.

This book started out slow and progressed to stupid and unbelievable, but kids might find it a fun read. One thing I really did like about this book is the cover and the pictures of the tiny bugs on pages throughout the book and on the inside covers.
(Karen's review, 2 stars)

Teaser from pg. 31: Unacceptable. That wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t. She would find a way to win.


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"Now I Rise" by Kiersten White

Now I Rise by Kiersten White is the follow-up to And I Darken.  Lada failed to secure the throne of Wallachia and now she will not stop until she gets it and woe to anyone who gets in her way.  She wants her brother, Radu, to help her, but he rejects that to hook up with Mehmed, the Sultan, to serve him instead.

This book is told by Lada and Radu.  Lada is still her "bad ass" self going after people!  Radu becomes a spy for the Sultan and his part is very exciting also.  I enjoyed this book as much as the first one and look forward to reading book 3, the last in this series.  This book was action packed!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from pg. 43:  Lada smiled.  She knew that should not please her, but it did.  The prince thought her a big enough threat to warrant an assassin.

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"Baby Teeth" by Zoje Stage (We Both Liked This One)

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage is the story of a dysfunctional family, Crone's disease, and a little girl who wants her mother gone.  Hannah feels as though her mother, Suzette, doesn't really love her and is constantly trying to come between her and her father!  Suzette, on the other hand, feels as though Hannah is coming between her and her husband.  The little bratty girl behaves nicely towards her father, so he doesn't see her evil side and thinks teachers exaggerate when reporting behavior problems with his precious little Hannah.

Some chapters are written from Hannah's perspective while others are from the mother's perspective which makes for a very interesting read!  Hannah is manipulative, sneaky, smart, devious, mean, and mentally ill.  She can talk, but refuses to do so except for when it serves her purpose of scaring her mother by things she says.  Hannah is determined not to go to school because she can cause more problems for her mother at home.  She has figured out that if she acts up and is bad enough, the school will kick her out and she wins! 

This book kept my interest all the way through because I had to see if the mother was actually going to get killed and what was going to happen to Hannah.  I didn't like Hannah because she was so mean to her mother for no reason.  If you like stories about dysfunctional families, this is a wild one for you!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 5++ stars:
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage is told by Suzette, a stay-at-home mom and Hanna, her 7-yr.-old daughter!  They do not get along at all; in fact, Hanna has not spoken to her mom her whole life!  She acts better toward her dad, so much so that Alex does not believe his wife when she tells him how Hanna acts toward her.  Can this become a happy family?

I thought this book was very good!  I enjoyed Suzette and Hanna very much!  I liked how the author kept adding new things one after another and hope there is a second book--job well done!


Teaser from page 7:  Suzette felt her face reddening, as if her hands had moved to her throat, squeezing the life from her.  "I--we--don't know what to do.  We can't go on like this."

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"The Last Time I Lied" by Riley Sager--We Both Liked This Mystery

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager is a mystery about missing girls that takes place at Camp Nightingale.  It is an all-girls camp for mostly rich girls.  This story centers around Emma who at 28 is still trying to find out what happened to her three cabin mates, Vivian, Natalie and Allison. Emma is an artist but can't get the girls out of her head and they are all she paints, hiding them in pictures of forests.  Sometimes she even still sees Vivian and keeps telling herself she isn't crazy.  The camp closed down for years after the girls went missing and were never found, but is re-opening 15 years later and Emma has accepted the opportunity to go back as an art instructor to teach girls to paint.  The only reason she accepts is to snoop around to see if she can find clues to what happened when she was a camper there.  There is a lot of suspicion and people still think she must have had something to do with it.

This book kept me guessing and I felt bad for Emma and the camp owner, Franny.  There are lots of questions that came up as I read this:  What happened to the three girls 15 years ago?  Is Emma hallucinating seeing Vivian all over or could Vivian still be alive?  Who is after Emma now?  What happened to her current cabin mates?  Is Theo telling the truth or not when he finds Emma in the woods with the girls?  This book jumped from present to past throughout, but it was written well so was easy to follow.  I liked it and was eager to finish to find out what actually happened.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)     

(Gerard's review, 5++ stars) 
In The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager, Emma is a first-time camper.  She gets put in a cabin with three older girls who are long-time friends.  They befriend her and things are going along good until tragedy happens!  Fifteen years later, Emma gets a chance to go back to this camp.  She reluctantly winds up going to find out answers to what really happened on that night years ago!

I thought this book was really good!  Emma is a really good character and the pacing of this book is so good, you do not know the outcome till just about the last page!  This was the author's second book so I order her first one to read as well.


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"The Sun Does Shine--How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row" by Anthony Ray Hinton

This book tells the true story of Ray Hinton, who found himself on death row for a crime he did not commit!  Most of this book is very depressing.  He even had evidence that he did not do it, but it was ignored.  No one paid any attention to that.  The last part of this book is uplifting!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Karen's review:
The Sun Does Shine—How I found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton is the sad true, but inspirational story of his life. He was wrongfully convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. This book shows his journey of appeals and his imprisonment. It made me more appreciative of my freedom and certainly made me more aware of the injustices that happen in our nation. It is an emotional read, making me feel both sadness and anger. I even cried at one point when he received news that his mother had died. He lost 30 years of his life because of prejudice and he’s not the only one! This is horrible! 

The afterward was especially sobering.  It listed the names of all those who are sitting on death row as of March 2017 by state so the reader can pray for them!  It said that "Statistically, one out of every ten sentenced to death is innocent. This was a shocking statistic to me and one that should put an end to the death penalty." 

This was hard to read because it is a true story of injustice but I’m glad I read it. It speaks to the issue of capital punishment and I think it’s good that people be made aware of how inhumane life on death row is. It was sort of funny how Ray kept his sanity and sense of humor while locked up wrongly all those years by using his imagination. I recommend adults and teens read this book.  (5 stars)


Teaser from first page of the forward:

He resisted mightily the notion that he was arrested, charged, and wrongly convicted because of his race, but he ultimately couldn’t accept any other explanation. He was a poor man in a criminal justice system that treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent.

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"Serafina and the Black Cloak" by Robert Beatty (#1 in series)

In Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty, Serafina and her pa live in the basement of the Biltmore Estate.  Her pa works for the owners and Serafina is told to stay hidden and never go in the nearby forest.  But when strange events begin to happen, Serafina takes it upon herself to find out why and who are causing these events!

I thought this children's book was pretty good!  There is good action throughout and I liked Serafina and Gidean, the dog.  I will read book 2 of this series soon.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from pg. 19:  Serafina suddenly realized that she'd made a dreadful mistake.  This was far more than she could handle.

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"Final Girls" by Riley Sager

There were three "final girls" in Final Girls by Riley Sager.  You will have to read the book to understand what the final girls means. Quincy has started a new life for herself.  She has moved on, but one of the final girls is found dead.  When the other final girl comes to be with Quincy, her life will never be the same again. 

This is the first book this author wrote.  I read the second one and liked that one better--The Last Time I Lied.  This one did hold my interest though.  I was not invested in all the characters like I was in the other book.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from pg. 33:  "Of course it does.  What happened to you was abnormal.  But one of the things I love about you is how you haven't let it define you."

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"If We Had Known" by Elise Juska

In If We Had Known by Elise Juska, Maggie has been an English composition teacher for a long time!  Her life now is anything but stable and the same goes for her daughter, Anna.  But Anna is going to college soon and Maggi has hopes that both of their lives will be more stable.  Then there is a shooting at a local mall--three people and the shooter are dead.  The shooter was a boy in one of Maggie's classes.  Turns out he wrote a paper that his classmates found troubling.  Could Maggie have done something to help this boy?  The internet is a buzz!  Can Maggie and Anna handle the heat that is coming their way?

I thought this book was really good!  The main characters were really good and I liked them both!
(Gerard's review, 5+) 

Teaser from pg. 208:  "I fail to see how, at any point, this essay wouldn't have raised alarm," Bill interrupted.  "A student wrote about weapons, Maggie, in elaborate detail, and you ignored it."

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"Hot Hand" by Mike Lupica's (Kid's Basketball)

Hot Hand by Mike Lupica is a very short story about brothers Billy and Ben whose parents are separated. Billy’s dad is his basketball coach and they butt heads in this book when his dad wants him to pass the ball and he wants to shoot it. Since his dad moved out, he feels like he is the man of the house and feels added pressure to look after his younger brother, Ben. This book was okay but liked others by this author much better. I think the best thing about this book is that it is short.
(Karen’s review, 3 stars)

Teaser from page 19:  "I guess I just need to know something," Billy said.  "Are you my coach today or my dad?"

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