Ghosting

It's the last weekend before school starts.  A group of five kids, just about to start their senior year, go out to celebrate their final Saturday night of freedom.  Maxie has just moved back, after being gone five years.  Emma and her neanderthal boyfriend, Brendan, Chloe, Anil, and the loner Felix are headed out together, even though none of them are really good friends.  The night is kicked off with alcohol and drugs, but ends in a truly terrifying way.  The tragedy catastrophically changes each one of them.
Ghosting is told from each character's point of view, with Emma's little sister, Faith, also having her own chapters.  I'm not a fan of novels written in verse, but I picked this one up randomly, and wanted to find out what happened.  It's a VERY quick read, written as if you are in the mind of each character.  It gives all different perspectives of what happened that night, and the ever-lasting effects.  I liked this book OK, and would recommend it to a student looking for a quick read.

Strands of Bronze and Gold

Welcome to Wyndriven Abbey.  Mississippi, 1855.
Sophia Petheram has a wealthy godfather.  A godfather that has given her gifts of jewels, clothes, riding lessons, for her entire seventeen years.  And even though she has never met him, she is leaving her siblings in Boston to go live with him on his plantation in Mississippi.  Her mother died when she was an infant, and with the sudden death of her father, Sophie is going to live with M. de Cressac and his wife.  Only when Sophie gets there, she discovers his wife has been dead eighteen months.  It's too late for her to return to her family, she would be a burden to them, so she stays.  In the beginning, Sophia is charmed by M. de Cressac.  He has traveled all over the world, and gives her costumes and dresses to wear from different cultures.  He makes sure all of her needs are tended to.  Sophia even begins to fall in love with him, imagining what it would be life to be his wife.  Gradually his dark side begins to show.  He owns slaves, which Sophia is strictly against.  He has been married four times, but refuses to discuss his former wives.  He doesn't allow her to go into town, or attend church, and Sophia becomes very lonely.  She intends to leave at Christmas, when her family comes to visit, but de Cressac keeps his lock firmly on her.  As Sophia begins to discover the truth of Wyndriven Abbey, she realizes her godfather is much more dangerous than she thought possible.
This novel is a twist on the fairy tale of BlueBeard.  I had not read the story, and Googled it, so what happened in the novel wasn't a huge surprise.  There is a ghost element, so this would be a great book to give to students who like historical fiction and ghost stories.  I read this based off of a strong recommendation of a book club member, and when she discussed it at the meeting, many students were also interested in reading it.

Dustlands Trilogy

Saba and Lugh are twins, born at the midwinter's moon, to parent's who live a solitary life on Silver Lake.  The world has been ravaged by dust storms, and the only other person they see is their neighbor, Procter.  Saba and Lugh's mother died in childbirth, leaving a distraught father who reads the future in the stars.  It's up to Lugh and Saba to take care of their little sister, Emmi, and take care of their homestead.  After a violent dust storm, that leaves the earth covered in red dirt, 5 riders appear.  They kill Lugh and Saba's father, and take Lugh off with them.  Saba is determined to find him.  She leaves Emmi and heads toward the nearest town.  However, she is captured and forced to become a cage fighter, where she discovers the "red hot."  The anger inside her that pushes her beyond her limits.  Saba must do whatever it takes to get away, and be reunited with Lugh.

The first thing you need to know about this book is- the grammar is crazy.  Saba has lived an uneducated life, with only her father and twin brother.  And the author writes like Saba talks.  Which is like a hillbilly.  BUT, Saba is a great female protagonist.  She is strong and caring, and loyal.  She also makes very, very stupid mistakes.  As the trilogy continues, Saba joins the revolution trying to overthrow the controlling dictator.  A great apocalyptic thriller, fast-paced with lots of action.  I read these three in quick succession.  Highly recommended for those who loved The Hunger Games and Divergent.

Burn for Burn

Lillia, Mary, and Kat are not friends.   That is what makes their secret revenge pact so perfect.  Circumstances bring them together, and they decide to work together to get even with those who have wronged them.    
Lillia is the perfect daughter.  She is pretty, popular, and beginning her senior year at Jar Island High School.  However, something happened to her over the summer.  Something that has changed her,  and made her fiercely protective of her younger sister.  She will do anything to make sure her sister is not hurt in the same way she was, even if that means getting even with one of her closest friends.
Kat is from the wrong side of the tracks.  Her mother died when she was younger, and her father has not recovered.  Kat is free to roam the island as she pleases, but she is lonely.  She is determined to get back at her former best friend, who has been spreading viscous rumors about her.
Mary is returning to the island after being gone a few years.  She left after something terrible happened to her, and she wants to see the culprit pay.
As the girls begin their revenge, the pranks turn cruel, but it is too hard form them to stop.  They won't stop until they feel they have gotten justice.
This is truly Mean Girls 2.0.  The events leading up to the girls getting revenge are cruel, and they stunts they pull get out of hand fast.  I love Jenny Han, and this book was really, really good.  It ends with a giant cliffhanger, and there are 2 more books to finish the story of these unlikely friends.  I am really interested to see where this story goes.

Paper Valentine

Need a spooky read for Halloween?  Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff is a great ghost story that will get you in the creepy mood!

Hannah sees ghosts.  Not just any ghost, but the ghost of her best friend who died 6 months earlier.  Only in ghost form, Lillian is cruel, full of hate and jealousy.  Hannah's town of Ludlow is trying to deal with the hottest summer on record, when young girls begin to be murdered.  The serial killer leaves paper hearts, candy, and cheap toys arranged around the body.  Hannah's mother, worried about her since Lillian's death, keeps Hannah on a short leash.  Having her walk her little sister to band camp, go straight to work at her cousin's photo store, and come home.  At the photo shop, Hannah sees the pictures of the crime scenes, and then begins seeing the ghosts of the murdered girls.  As Hannah tries to piece together the murders, she begins a relationship with Finny Boone, the town delinquent.  He keeps popping up when Hannah needs someone, but could he have anything to do with the murders?  Hannah must figure it out before she ends up like the others.
This was my choice for my Book Club's Halloween pick.  Ghost stores were always my favorite when I was younger.  I grew up with Fear Street as a staple in my library, but don't read a lot of them now.  "Where are the scary stories?" is a question I get asked the most, and this will be one I direct students to.  The writing is beautiful, full of similes, and metaphors.  The character of Hannah is very quirky, but she really comes to stand up for herself in a way students will relate to.  I thought this was a great book, and I am going to look into others from this author.

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

The Infinite Sea is the follow-up book to The 5th Wave.

The 5th Wave was my favorite book of 2013.  I think because it caught me by surprise.  It was nothing like I thought it would be, and I couldn't wait to read the second book in the series.  The Infinite Sea picks up right where The 5th Wave left off.  Cassie Sullivan is trying to survive the alien apocalypse.  The aliens have been attacking in waves.  She has figured out what the 5th wave is, and is trying desperately to stop it and save Earth from the alien invasion.  I don't want to give away too much of the book, but The Infinite Sea is extremely action packed.  Lots of alien fighting.  It also explores a minor character from The  5th Wave, telling the story mostly from her point of view.  This is one of my go-to recommendations for students.  The writing is excellent and fast paced.  I can't wait for the next book.

The book is being adapted into a movie, due out in 2016.
IMDB Link

To All the Boy's I've Loved Before

Lara Jean has been in love 5 times.  She's never had a boyfriend, but that hasn't stopped her from loving these boys from afar.  When she realizes her crushes must come to an end, she writes them letters describing why she no longer loves them.  She puts them in a hat box in her closet with no intention of ever sending them.  This helps her get over these boys, and she moves on.  Until her letters get mailed.  She doesn't know how it happened, but the first boy she ever kissed tells her he is none of the things she described in the letter.  Lara Jean is traumatized.  Mainly because she wrote one letter to her sister's ex-boyfriend.  The boy next door, Josh.  As Lara Jean works to save face around everyone, she digs herself into an even deeper hole.  As she figures out how to climb out of it, she learns a lot about herself, and really grows up.
I really liked this book.  I thought the character of Lara Jean was very sweet and innocent.  Her mother died when she was younger, and her older sister Margot has taken care of Lara Jean and her younger sister Kitty.  Margot moves to Scotland for college and Lara Jean has to shoulder most of the responsibility.  I thought the crush on Margot's ex-boyfriend was a little creepy, but it works itself out, and is explained in a way that is understandable.  I would highly recommend this book as a light-hearted, very G- rated book.  I wouldn't even really describe it as a romance, it's mainly a coming of age, trying to figure out you place in the world type book.