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The Secret to Belonging / Megan E. Freeman / Book Review

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THE SECRET TO BELONGING You have always been invisible in your own family. Quieter, milder, and more level-headed than your drug addict brother. Your parents have never had to worry about you, so they haven't. They haven't worried about your struggles. Your hopes and dreams. Your plans for the future. Anything for your brother, and you are nothing but an afterthought (if even that). When your parents spend the college fund your grandfather left you on more drug rehab and legal bills for your brother, you decide you have to get out, whatever way possible. And if that means a scholarship for exchange students to a remote part of Norway, so be it. Even life in a frozen land above the Artic Circle, where you don't speak the language or know the customs, will be better than this. Anything will be better than being nothing. THOUGHTS This book is hard. It hurts. It...
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The Season of Light and Darkness / Jillian Cantor / Book Review

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THE SEASON OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS Ten years. That's how long Ellie was meant to be asleep. Ellie and her brother and her mother and her father. Kept in a cryogenic stasis to escape the tyrannical anti-science regime that has taken over the United States and threatened the lives of every scientific-minded individual in the U.S. People like doctors, nurses, researchers. People like Ellie's grandmother, who invented a vaccine for the common cold. People like Ellie's father, who has a lab at the nearby university. Ten years was supposed to be enough time for the country to sort itself out, but here Ellie is, awake. Awake, early and alone. Only three years have passed since she froze, and while the government "saved" her from her cryogenic slumber, her family wasn't so lucky. Which means she's all alone facing ReAdmittance into proper society... THOUGHTS ...
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Alex, By Proxy / Karen Myna Cantor / Book Review

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ALEX, BY PROXY Sixteen-year-old Alex is used to being stared at. That's what being chronically ill as long as you can remember will get you. Seizures, hallucinations, lots of missed school, tons of neighborly sympathy: that's always been Alex's life. And Alex's life has always been a lie. One that his mother perpetuated. Alex is a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, made systematically ill by his mother all his childhood. And a recent hospitalization and coma brought the truth to life. With his mother behind bars, Alex is preparing his testimony now as he's awaiting the trial. And it's hard. Really hard, putting into words what was done to him. So when some classmates decide to start a true crime podcast about their own local true crime story (AKA Alex's own life history), he decides he has to help. No more excuses, and no more hiding: the truth has to come out. THOUGHTS ...
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Heartbreak and Other Organ Failures / Taylor Hobbs / Book Review

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HEARTBREAK AND OTHER ORGAN FAILURES Kaley's world is kinda, sorta right on the verge of falling apart. Her boyfriend's just moved to college, and even a month in, long-distance is proving... challenging. Her mother's a stress case, juggling being a single mom while caring for Kaley's older sister Zoey, whom Kaley loves more than anyone in the world and who was born with severe developmental disabilities. Her father's not answering anybody's calls, and Zoey herself is... medically fragile. Like, she needs a new kidney now , and because of her disabilities, she's on the bottom of the transplant list. Kaley needs Zoey to be well not just because she adores Zoey. Kaley needs Zoey to be well so she can head off to an out-of-state college without any guilt. If Zoey were better (or, you know, not in the hospital every other day for dialysis), leaving to pursue her own life would be easier for Kaley. And she could fix things wi...
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We Were Never Here / Sophia Hannan / Book Review

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WE WERE NEVER HERE George and Jules. Jules and George. That's what they are, what it feels like they have always been: the secretly-dating cohosts of a popular YouTube ghost hunting show that's only a cover for precious art theft. The money they've got coming in from the show (and, more importantly, the heists they've run) will pay for their fancy boarding school this fall. It will pay for their college education. It will set them up for life. But all that was before . Before July. Before there was a knife in Jules's chest and blood splatter on Georgia's shoes. Before they called in a major favor... Before the funeral. Now it's October, and Georgia is drowning. She hasn't been to class in weeks. She hasn't talked to her old crew, who helped research and film the YouTube show. She has hardly left her room at the fancy boarding school where she and Jules were supposed to be together. But when a call comes through ...
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What Lies Beneath Flowers / Natasha Díaz / Book Review

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WHAT LIES BENEATH THE FLOWERS Pippa really needs to catch a break. Working long hours at her aunt's store isn't cutting it, especially with the bills piling up as they are. She's got big dreams, after all. Yes, she needs something else , and Estella Aubergine might just be the ticket... Not that It-girl Estella Aubergine would ever cross paths with Pippa. They run in different social circles. Very different social circles. Except that Pippa does know Estella. In fact, she was maybe the last person to see Estella before she went missing. And the security cameras didn't even know Pippa was there, skulking in the garden, searching for something botanical to add to her latest masterpiece. When Estella's reclusive mother announces the reward, well, Pippa's got to go for it, right? She's practically got insider information. But trying to convince her best friend Bidi to drop her summer plans to get involved in a world o...
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When Dealing With Dragons / Dana Swift / Book Review

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WHEN DEALING WITH DRAGONS Farren Walsh used to be the top of her class. Whip-smart, highly competitive: she could keep up with the best silver-crafters out there, even as lowly copper-crafter she herself. But that was before. Before she learned to keep her head down. Before she learned to keep her mouth shut. Before Nity... One thing that hasn't changed: Farren wants to follow in her father's footsteps. As a world-class dragon veterinarian, he's one of a kind. Most skilled metal-crafters are more interested in racing dragons or, worse, harvesting their metallic scales to sell to the highest bidder. Few are interested in the well-being of these majestic beasts. And though she might have fallen off the academic radar, Farren's still leading her class in at least one subject: dragon medicine. This summer is all about rounding out her application for collegiate scholarships. Her father might be well-respected, but dragon medicine...
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