Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.
        But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.

There is just something about Miranda Kenneally’s books that hooks me into reading them start to finish without wanting to stop…and Breathe, Annie, Breathe was no exception. This story again takes place in the world of Hundred Oaks as her previous four books do, but this one edges toward the older end of YA with an 18 year old main character heading off to college and a 20 year old romantic interest. Annie is a character I emphathized with as she is struggling with her feelings and guilt over the loss of her longtime boyfriend in an accident. She decides to train to run a marathon that he was going to do but never got the chance to, and during that time meets another guy. Her fear of losing someone close to her again makes her hesitate to get involved, even as she gets closer to him. This is a book about grief and finding the strength and peace to be able to let someone else in after losing the one she thought she’d be with forever. But it’s also a story of family and friendships and romance. It felt like an honest book, and it was enjoyable to read. I also appreciated how characters from Kenneally’s previous books make appearances in Breathe, Annie, Breathe allowing loyal readers to get an update of sorts on where they’ve ended up as well.

Title: BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE
Author: Tiffany Schmidt
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Release Date: February 18, 2014
Number of Pages: 288
Source of Book: eARC from publisher on NetGalley

Jonah and Brighton are about to have the most awkwardly awful night of their lives. For Jonah, every aspect of his new life reminds him of what he has had to give up. All he wants is to be left alone. Brighton is popular, pretty, and always there to help anyone . . . but has no idea of what she wants for herself. Her seemingly perfect life is marred only by Jonah, the one person who won’t give her the time of day, but also makes her feel, well, something. So when they are repeatedly thrown together over the course of one night, anything can—and does—happen. Told in alternating chapters, this poignant, beautiful novel’s energy and tension, amidst the humor and romance, builds to a new beginning of self-acceptance and hope.

Sometimes the best stories are the ones that take place over a course of hours instead of days. Those stories that highlight the moments in life, the nights when things change. Perspectives are shattered, feelings are awakened, hearts are broken and healed, and two people come to know each other in a way that would never have happened had circumstances not led to them being together and talking.

Both Jonah and Brighton are hurting. Their families don’t seem to realize that they’re part of what’s making each more wounded. They don’t really know each other, but they end up in the same place thrown together. Neither one thinks much of the other, although each is trying to figure the other out, and that helps them figure themselves out also. Through the course of this one night, that will happen. And in the end, neither will feel the same, act the same, or be the same as they were at the start. This is a story that has things happening, but also delves deeply into the internal examination of each character trying to figure out what they project to others and whether that’s truly who they are. Over the course of this one night, they both see each other more deeply and come to learn things about themselves that help them see themselves more clearly. I do love the ending, but I wouldn’t mind being able to follow Brighton and Jonah’s story a bit more beyond it.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. I appreciate it being told in dual points-of-view so that we know not only what Brighton is thinking/feeling, but we also get Jonah’s perspective on things. It makes for a richer and more fulfilling story. It also allows the reader to get to know each character more and really feel for them. I was pulling for each to come out okay in the end. This is the type of story that would work for those looking for a lighter romance book, but also those looking for a story with more depth of teens trying to figure themselves out in the context of other’s perspectives and families dealing with divorce of loss of a parent. I know that I will be passing it on to students very soon because it is the type of story I know they’ll like.

This review was also posted on the Nerdy Book Club blog. They’re always looking for readers to contribute. Are you a member? If you read, you are.

Title: WHEN YOU WERE HERE
Author: Daisy Whitney
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Number of Pages: 257
Source of Book: ARC from publisher at NCTE

When You Were Here, Lost in Translation meets Where She Went,
is about an American teenager who travels from California to Tokyo to
uncover the secrets surrounding the death of his mother, all while
trying to both hold onto and let go of the girl he’s been in love with
his whole life.

Danny’s mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before
his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see.

Now
Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his
heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn’t know how to figure
out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian
speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore.

When he gets a
letter from his mom’s property manager in Tokyo, where she had been
going for treatment, it shows a side of a side of his mother he never
knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to
connect with his mother’s memory and make sense of her final months,
which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the
cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an
almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not
have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother
going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.

First Thoughts: WHEN YOU WERE HERE is an achingly, heartbreakingly, healingly
incredible novel. It ripped me apart and stitched me back together one
small piece/scene/conversation at a time.

I adore Daisy Whitney, and I loved her debut, THE MOCKINGBIRDS, and it’s follow-up, THE RIVALS, so I was anxiously awaiting her next book. I knew this one would have a different tone than her others, and I was intrigued by her writing in a teen male’s voice. I’m so glad to be able to say that I loved this book. In fact, I’m not sure that’s even a strong enough emotion for what I feel about this story.

I thought I knew where this book was headed. I thought I knew what Danny’s trajectory would be. He’s just shredded when we meet him in the beginning. He’s grieving. His father’s been gone a long time. His mother is just recently gone. He’s lost the girl he loves. High school is over. He’s aimless and doesn’t know which direction to turn. So he heads to Tokyo, his home away from his California home with his family. He needs to discover why his mom didn’t make it to his graduation, why the cancer took her too early. He needs to find a way to feel again, something, anything. He needs to find a way to discover if he can ever not be hurting. He finds Kana, a new friend, and rekindles his love of a city he belongs in. Then, nineteen chapters in, a jaw-droppingly unexpected event is revealed that changed my entire perception of the direction this book was headed. Danny’s journey becomes about much more, and it’s a true discovery of self and life and love and healing and being at peace with death. And I was enamored with every word of it.

There’s something about Daisy Whitney’s writing style that I feel so comfortable immersing myself in. She’s a fantastic contemporary voice with deep emotion and flawed characters and hope. She deftly created a balance between what is happening in the moment, and flashing back to the events in the past that led to Danny and Holland being at this point. My emotions were in turmoil throughout reading Danny’s story. I was so caught up in his emotions, I mostly just wanted to give him a big hug throughout, and by the end, I just wanted to hug the book to me and not let it go. WHEN YOU WERE HERE is one of those books that is going to stay with me. I was feeling so many emotions by the end (and, yes, needed kleenex handy); it touched on nerves deep within my soul, and the journey I took with Danny made a lasting impact on me.

Final Thought: Some books are hard to let go of and forget – this one will be with me for a long time because of its sincerity and how it hits just the right notes.

Note for teachers/librarians/parents: Please read this book; however, there are mature scenes so it’s probably better for a high school audience. If you work with 8th graders, read it first to determine appropriateness before handing to any students.

Title: THE PROGRAM
Author: Suzanne Young
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: April 30, 2013
Number of Pages: 416
Source of Book: ARC from Publisher

In Sloane’s world, true feelings are forbidden, teen suicide is an epidemic, and the only solution is The Program.

Sloane
knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an
international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the
only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one
child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also
knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank
slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under
constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave
face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person
Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both
safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough
to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other,
it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker.
Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

Title: DUALED
Author: Elsie Chapman
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: Febrary 26, 2013
Number of Pages: 304
Source of Book: ARC from publisher at NCTE

You or your Alt? Only one will survive.

The
city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high.
Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and
citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their
twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job,
marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a
fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will
have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep
shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer
certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a
future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running
not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the
power to destroy her.

Elsie Chapman’s suspenseful YA debut weaves
unexpected romance into a novel full of fast-paced action and
thought-provoking philosophy. When the story ends, discussions will
begin about this future society where every adult is a murderer and
every child knows there is another out there who just might be better.

First Thought: So much suspense! Could not stop reading until I found out how it would end.

DUALED was an intense, kill or be killed, fight to the finish. I had to keep turning pages to know what was going to happen with West and which Alt would survive the final confrontation. The basis of this world where each is born with an Alt and gets “activated” sometime between 10 and 20, and then has only 30 days to hunt down and kill the Alt, or be killed, or both be destroyed after the time ends lends itself to a ticking clock of suspense in the background driving the momentum of the whole story.

In a world full of killers and surrounded by guns, are you the hunted or the hunter, or both at the same time? Which one will be smarter, stronger, or just luckier in the end? When 50% of the population must be killed off, can you ever feel safe with your family and friends, or know that they’ll stay around? All of these drive the plot of this story in this dystopic future, which I want to know even more about.

We’re given glimpses into the world, and how it came to be, and what might be outside, and what led to them being there, and who might be against the way they live…which makes me so glad there is a sequel coming in 2014 so we can find out what happens next. Although I figured I knew how the story would have to end, that didn’t stop my heart from pounding, my gasping out loud, or my yelling at the characters to stay safe and smart and not give up. I enjoyed spending this time with West and Chord, and although it was frightening at times, it was a well-developed world that was created down to the tiniest details of how things operate for idles vs. actives vs. completes.


Final Thoughts: So glad there’s going to be a sequel to this “HUNGER GAMES to the nth degree meets…something” world of this story.

Title: TOUCHING THE SURFACE
Author: Kimberly Sabatini
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Number of Pages: 352
Source of Book: Bought the hardcover

I’m a little torn with TOUCHING THE SURFACE. I read it because Kimberly Sabatini’s agent is Michelle Wolfson, and I love other books by her authors: Kiersten White, Daisy Whitney, Kasie West, and so Michelle recommended this debut. I loved parts of this story, but other parts drove me kind of nuts because they seemed to be tropes I’m sick of with love triangles, but it ended up being so much more than that in the end. It’s a fantasy afterlife story, told like a contemporary. Basically, I wasn’t so sure at the start, but I pushed myself to keep reading, and then once it got to a certain point with a specific event that changed my (and the main character’s) view of things, I bought into the story much more and it became very hard for me to put down at the end because I needed to know how things would end up.

Kimberly Sabatini has created a unique premise of the afterlife with reincarnation and a soul being more than just one body and one life. It deals with themes of grief and guilt and forgiveness and love in ways that connect the reader to the characters and events that are happening. The realizations the characters came to in the end, and the views they had about the afterlife and its purpose, were thoughtful and thought-provoking.

One of the best parts of this book is the way in which it was written and the plot was paced to keep the reader in suspense along with the characters, but wanting to know what’s going to happen. This story is told as if in the present in the afterlife, but as it is the third time these characters are there, they don’t seem to remember what happened in their most recent life. They have to Delve to access the memories so they can remember and learn and grow. The Delving is in italics and serves sort of like a flashback and adding more information to the story. The way in which the Delves and present events are intertwined to reveal bits of information at a time and connect the characters more was done very well. The writing is also done in such a way as to make the setting always feel very real for the reader.

Throughout TOUCHING THE SURFACE, there is a lot we don’t know as the character doesn’t know it either. The reader goes along for the journey of discovery which gets very interesting. At the start, I felt it was a little bit confusing trying to keep track of how this world worked and who everyone was, but it got easier to follow. I didn’t completely connect with the main character, Elliott, from the start, but she grew on me. I just really didn’t like the instalove that seemed to happen early on in the book and the good guy vs bad guy love interest thing going on, but the way that all gets resolved and comes together in the end made it where I didn’t want to put the book down lest I miss something important to figuring it all out.

I did like where the story ended up; although, there is a wide open ending for sure, and the journey of discovery of self that was required to get there made it all the more interesting. At its heart, this is kind of a love story…all kinds of love. And kind of a story about expectations and doing what’s necessary for your own self to find your way and save your soul, both in life and in the afterlife.

Title: THE RAVEN BOYS
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Number of Pages: 416
Source of Book: ARC from ALA

“There are only two
reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said.
“Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every
year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the
soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this
year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His
name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at
Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away
from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But
Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it
all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much
more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven
Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege
around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and
Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but
says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been
warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this
would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the
strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races,
comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and
the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

I’m a huge Maggie Stiefvater fan. I’ve read all of her books and was eagerly anticipating THE RAVEN BOYS from the minute I heard about it. This was the first book I went to find at ALA and it was the first one I read on the plane when I flew home from the conference. I was not disappointed. I can say, without hesitation, that this is my favorite Maggie Stiefvater novel so far. She has once again outdone herself with an utterly original world, characters, and storyline that left me clamoring for more.

I’ve always appreciated Maggie Stiefvater’s lyrical writing style, and it continues in this book; however, it almost seemed a little more accessible in this book, but with the typical Maggie flourishes and beautiful descriptions. I get lost in the world of her writing. Maggie has again created a setting that comes alive in the magical town of Henrietta, Virginia. There are places in this town that have more to them than what appears at first glance, and exploring them is part of the fun of this story. Discovering the supernaturally magical elements of this story is even more fun. I appreciated how seamlessly these magical elements were woven into the thread of this narrative and town and characters, and that made them seem so normal and realistic that I never questioned any of the things that were happening to or around them. Everything is explained just as much as I need it to be for me to understand and go along with it as it was happening. Ultimately, there is a type of quest to this story that I believe is going to carry through the whole series. Although this book is clearly setting up the series in a strong way, it still felt like a complete story on its own and I never felt like it was just exposition for the whole series. I was left with questions, but even more so, I was left with wanting to spend more time with this characters and find out what will happen with them next.

Once again Maggie Stiefvater has written characters that I love spending time with and discovering more about. Blue is a strong female character who is confident in herself and doesn’t let what anyone thinks bother her. She is her own person and owns it. She also has some issues within her family she has to come to terms with as she learns more throughout this story. The Raven Boys from Aglionby Academy; Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah, are each endearing in their own way, and they’re all a little bit broken. I truly felt for the boys in this story. Their bond and way of looking out for and supporting each other was admirable, yet they didn’t always do what I hoped they would, but they did what seemed so right for their characters. Oh, how I adored these boys. I just really wanted to swoop in and fix everything for them. There is so much more depth to them than there at first seems, and it is revealed so slowly and masterfully as to make me feel for them even more. There is a bit of a romantic element to this story what with Blue not being able to kiss her true love or he will die, and some interest with a couple of the boys, but I think part of what I loved about this book is that it was about so much more than that. Because of everything else going on with the magical elements, and the boys’ backstories, and the mystery elements, it became about so much more. And all that more was really great.

THE RAVEN BOYS is a unique book, and it’s one that I dearly hope other readers will fall in love with as much as I did. There was just something about this one that struck a chord with me, and I hope it will for many more readers as well. I’ll leave you with one important warning if you are a person who typically peeks at the end of a book before you start-don’t do it in this one! The last line is brutal-both revealing a major secret/revelation, but also making me just want to keep reading-unfortunately, there’s not another book yet (although there will be four in the series). I will be eagerly anticipating book two in The Raven Cycle, as I hope you will too after reading THE RAVEN BOYS when it comes out in September.

Title: REVIVED
Author: Cat Patrick
Publisher: Little, Brown
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Number of Pages: 336
Source of Book: ARC from publisher

As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.

A
secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can
bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has
been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary
risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a
new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy
begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she
discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of
something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined.

I really enjoy Cat Patrick’s writing style. It’s an easy contemporary romance style with a unique twist (at least in the two books she’s written so far – FORGOTTEN and REVIVED. FORGOTTEN made my Best I’ve Read list last year, so I was really excited to see that Cat Patrick had another book coming soon, and grateful to Little, Brown for getting me an advanced copy to read. I went into this one hopeful, and I was not disappointed.

The romance. Cat Patrick writes romances with good guys. I so appreciate authors who are writing about the good, sweet guys who are respectful and act appropriately. It’s a good example for teens to see in books. It doesn’t mean there’s not drama and difficulty, but I appreciate the relationship between Daisy and Matt. It felt a little bit instalove-ish at first, but it didn’t bother me too much because she got to know him a bit more.

The suspense/mystery part with the medical miracle is interesting. The way it was all laid out and explained down to the small details made it believable to me. I could see something like this happening. All of the secondary characters involved because of it were intriguing. However, I did feel like some of those storylines were hinted at, but not wrapped up. But, I didn’t guess who would be responsible at the end, and that was quite the dramatic scene.

Then there’s the part of death and dying that permeates throughout this book. Issues of accepting the inevitable and wanting to be sad/angry/hopeful/relieved/etc. all come into play. It felt really honest and true and although it was done within the context of this larger issue throughout the whole book, Audrey’s storyline was very touching and meaningful to me.

There is also an overlying theme related to friendships, and they can be very difficult for teen girls, especially one who moves around quite a bit. I appreciate seeing these types of storylines (reminded me a little of Sarah Dessen’s What Happened to Goodbye as far as moving a lot and friendships, and think it’s another thing that teens need to read about and want to read about as they’re trying to figure out their own friendships.

Along with that was the issue of families and parents and who really cares for you. I enjoyed the development and growth of Daisy’s relationship with Mason, her father figure. It felt real to me and their interactions were interesting to read. Mason became one of my favorite characters by the end of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading REVIVED, a suspenseful contemporary romance dealing with life and death. I guess I realize through writing this that it was very multilayered. I will definitely be awaiting Cat Patrick’s next book, THE ORIGINALS coming in 2013, as I enjoy getting lost in her books and spending time in her stories.

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine-despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she’s reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy’s motives aren’t quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death.

I should have heeded the advice of the note from the editor in the beginning of the advanced copy of this book – “Do you have some free time?…you are not going to be able to stop until you’ve finished it.”  Reading this book was a roller-coaster of emotions all in one day. That’s because the way the tension was built and the suspense kept me turning pages until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore-and then picked it right back up again the next morning-finishing it in less than 24 hours. This book made me want to laugh, cry, scream, weep, cheer, yell, cringe, and, most of all, hope. Hope for Delaney to be all right in the end. Hope for Decker to admit to what he felt. Hope for her mom to figure out how to talk to her. Hope for Troy to be a good guy in the end. Hope for lives to be saved. It was a book that dealt with death, but left me with a feeling of hope.

This debut book is written in an approachable, straight-forward style, but in a really engaging way that drew me into the story even more. There is tension and suspense and truth and honesty and realness. There is also a main character who reaches in and grabs you. Delaney’s struggles with how people see her after her traumatic brain injury gave me a sense (even if I hadn’t read it in the author bio later) that the author had close knowledge of what someone who has dealt with that would be feeling and thinking. How does one go back to being normal when the brain no longer is? How does one go back to being normal after living when she should have died?

Delaney is a smart character, and I really liked that about her. There is something really refreshing about her voice and attitude that drew me to her. She’s the type of character who isn’t always completely reliable because she’s so messed up from what happened to her, and she doesn’t know what’s going on with her own head, so she’s freaked. She’s also honest with herself, even if not always with those around her. How can she be honest though, when those around her can’t even be honest with her? And how can she act how she was before, when she doesn’t even recognize some of the things going on in her head? It wasn’t only Delaney who was affected by the accident and her unexpected recovery, but all of those who know her and were involved. And then there’s Decker. I held out hope for him throughout. Interestingly, the very last book I read also dealt with a teen girl figuring out that her lifelong friend, who is a boy, is actually in love with her. Both of them felt true to how they would react and work through these realizations.

My heart broke for Decker throughout this book, but still hoped he would get through to Delaney. But she’s broken after the accident, and it takes many realizations about life and what’s important for her to heal. “What would you do if you had one day left to live?” Don’t wait, go do it because you never know when that last day will be. It’s a hopeful message to go after what you want, do the right thing, and share your feelings with the right people. Delaney starts to come to this realization of what’s most important in the last third of the book, after witnessing another death and figuring some things out about Troy. There were some deep thoughts and ways Delaney was trying to work out what’s right and wrong when it comes to expected and unexpected death that made me think and feel deeply as I read them.

This book is full of suspense and emotion and heartache and fear and sadness and hope. However, it is a short book, and I think more development could have been done with many aspects of it and because I would have enjoyed getting more detail on some things and spending more time with these characters. There are quite a few smaller plotlines within the larger book, and some of them are not as fully realized as they could have been. It left me a little bit lost on some of them feeling like I wasn’t getting the whole story. That being said, I do think because of the brevity of it, I will be able to get many of my students to read it, which is always a good thing. I definitely recommend reading this one on January 17th!