"That's Not What Happened" by Kody Keplinger

That's NOT What Happened by Kody Keplinger is a book about six survivors of a school shooting who try to piece together what actually happened.  In a small town at the local high school, a shooting took place.  Flash forward three years and this came out to tell the story of one girl who had words with the shooter.  But one girl knows the real story of how it went down and wants the truth to come out!

If you are looking for an action book, this is not it.  It is an interesting look of how a group of teens each have their own version of what happened.  For the most part, this book kept me engaged.  The down parts were few and far between.  The best part of this book were the letters on the strength of that, I give this book 5 stars!
(Gerard's review)

That's NOT what happened by Kody Keplinger is about six survivors who actually were with classmates when they got shot.  This book focuses on the aftermath and how these six dealt with their traumatic experience.  When a story develops that isn't true about how Lee's best friend was killed, Lee decides she has to set the record straight.  She gets all the survivors to write letters telling their stories of what happened to them.

I was somewhat confused, thinking this was about the Columbine shooting; however, it is a fiction story that appears to be loosely based on that which I found kind of distasteful.  It's well written and certainly interesting. 
(Karen's review, 3 stars)

Teaser from pg. 11:  And there is so much that you--and they--don't know.  So many stories that had gotten mixed up, confused, or misrepresented.

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"After Anna" by Lisa Scottoline

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline is about Maggie, a mother who loses custody of her baby girl because of her husband having her declared unfit due to her postpartum psychosis.  She remarries a widower who is a doctor named Noah and becomes a stepmom to his 9-yr-old son, Caleb.  They have a happy family until Maggie gets a call from her daughter asking her to come to the college to meet.  Maggie's sees a news article about her ex-husband dying in a plane crash and is ecstatic about finally seeing her 17-yr-old daughter after being separated for so long.  Will Anna finally become part of a happy family after feeling abandoned for so many years?  Will Noah be welcoming?  Is Anna a nice girl or a manipulative brat?  Did Noah get framed for murder or did he really kill his stepdaughter?

 I felt bad for Noah all through this book and was rooting for him and Maggie to be happy together once again.  This was a very entertaining read for me.  I liked the trial parts and was completely surprised by the unexpected twist.  Unfortunately, the twist was unbelievable and Maggie being the heroin really was far out.  I would have preferred the book be written in chronological order but it was cool how the story got told by much of the trial.  I liked it and was happy with the ending.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

 Teaser from page 2:  His life had exploded like a strip of firecrackers at a barbecue, igniting the patio furniture and spreading to the house until everything was blazing out of control, engulfed in a massive fireball.
His entire world destroyed.
It had all started with Anna.  

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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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"Night Blood" by Elly Blake

Night Blood is the third, and sad to say, the final book of the Frost Blood series by Elly Blake.   It was a fantastic series!  Ruby must bring the Frost Blood and the Fire Bloods together to hold back the beasts that will take over the world! 

I liked that this was action packed from start to finish.  Ruby was a great character and had good interaction with the other people in the book.  It has a very good ending too!  I LOVED this series!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 33:  The cold of Arcus's fingers on my wrist did more to penetrate the angry haze than that single pleading word.  I lowered my hands but kept them molten hot.

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"A Gathering of Secrets" by Linda Castillo

A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo is a murder mystery that is extremely sad.  Right from the Prologue, this book blew me away!  It is downright gruesome at times with some suspense.  The Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder gets herself into a couple dicey situations in this book.  When she discovers what a slime bag the 18-yr-old Amish boy really was, it becomes a struggle for her to hunt down his killer.

This book had some surprises but I came close to figuring out who the murderer was.  I thought the plot was interesting and kept my attention throughout the book.  I finished this one in just two days.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's review (3.5 stars):
In A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo, a teen-age boy is found burned to death in his own barn.  Foul play is suspected.  It is up to Kate to find out who did this and why.  This book is pretty much the same as her other books with it set in the Amish community, her in danger while trying to solve the case, and some of her personal life.  The names and incidents change, but pretty much follows the same pattern.  I thought it was okay.

Teaser from page 6:  Meet me in the barn at midnight.  I'll make it worth your while.

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