REVIEW: Hate List

Valerie and her boyfriend, Nick, are social outcasts at their school. They deal with their mistreatment and being bullied by creating a "Hate List" with the names of all of the people who torment them. For Valerie the list is just an outlet for her feelings - for Nick it becomes a list of all the people he intends to kill. When Nick comes to school and begins to shoot the people on the list, Valerie tries to stop him and gets hit herself. Saddened by Nick's choice to shoot classmates and eventually commit suicide, Valerie's problems are just beginning as she is implicated in the murders for her part in the hate list. As Valerie struggles to clear her name and her conscience, she must also face going to school again with classmates who distrust and dislike her even more than before, and a family who is falling apart because of her actions and part in the school shooting. Can Valerie mend relationships with family and classmates, and can she recover from losing the only person she trusted?

Excellent book - highly recommended!

REVIEW: If I Stay

Seventeen year-old Mia has a perfect life - she has a loving family who she gets along with wonderfully, a great best friend, a caring boyfriend and a cello playing hobby that is taking her straight to Julliard after high school. All of that changes when, on a snow day break from school, her family has a horrific car wreck. Mia travels outside her body to see both of her parents deceased and as she frantically searches for her brother, an ambulance takes her away. Mia soon discovers that she's in a coma, and it's up to her whether she decides to go with her family to the other side or stay with her remaining relatives, best friend, boyfriend and love of the cello. What will Mia decide?

Great book! Highly Recommended.

REVIEW: The Everafter

Madison knows only one thing for sure, and that is that she is dead. Caught somewhere in between, Madison is confused about why she is in neither heaven nor hell. As she floats through nothingness, some items from her past start to appear. As she takes hold of the items, she's taken back to moments from her life. She discovers that all of the items she is discovering are things from her past that she had lost. When she travels back to her life, she begins to remember parts of her life, and she is able either watch her life or take part in it. If she takes part, she changes everything in her life. As she travels back to one part of her life, she discovers that there is another ghost there as well, and she discovers that the ghost is trying to communicate with her. Can Madison figure out who to communicate with others from beyond? Will she figure out how and why she died and finally be able to move on? A very different and compelling book. Recommended!

REVIEW: Cold Skin

A novel in verse, Cold Skin takes part in a coal mine town in Australia just after World War II. The sleepy town rarely has any action until a local high school girl gets murdered. The murder throws the whole town into a tailspin and a local family is at the center of it. Each section is told from a different point of view from various townspeople. The first half of the book was really hard to get through, but if you can make it to the murder mystery part, the book gets much better.

REVIEW: Hold Still

Caitlin's best and only friend Ingrid has committed suicide. In an effort to avoid any more pain, Caitlin has shut herself off from the world over the summer. As she struggles to come to terms with going back to high school without Ingrid, she takes comfort in knowing that their favorite art teacher, Ms. Delani, will be there to share her pain - until Ms. Delani completely shuns Caitlin. Confused by Ms. Delani's snub, Caitlin begins to sabotage her much beloved artwork. Just as Caitlin begins to find a new life without art/photography and without Ingrid, she discovers Ingrid's journal. As Caitlin begins to read the journal she discovers a darkside of Ingrid she never knew existed. Will the journal help Caitlin to better understand Ingrid, or will it force her to destroy all of her new found relationships? Will Caitlin ever understand what is wrong with Ms. Delani or will she be forced to give up art and photography forever?

A captivating read that deals with familial relationships, friendship, teacher-student relationships and romantic relationships. Highly Recommended.

REVIEW: One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies

Ruby lives with her mom on the east coast and has a nice quiet life which she enjoys with her best friend, Lizzie, and her boyfriend, Ray, until suddenly her mother dies. Forced to move across the country to live with her famous, estranged dad, Whip Logan, Ruby is utterly distraught. She misses her home, her friends and her boyfriend, and she completely rejects all attempts Whip makes to make her feel welcome. At her new school, she struggles to make friends and come to terms with her new living conditions. Slowly, through new acquaintances, Ruby learns more about her father and the terms of his estrangement. This novel in verse is a great quick read!

REIVEW: I Heart You, You Haunt Me AND Chasing Brooklyn

In I Heart You, You Haunt Me we find out that Ava's boyfriend, Jackson has died. Ava feels responsible for his death and is having a hard time coming to terms with losing him and moving on with her life. As she struggles to cope with losing Jackson, Jackson begins to visit Ava by leaving messages for her, playing songs for her and making his presence known throughout her house. After missing him for so long, Ava welcomes Jackson's presence back in her life, but is it too much? How can she move on when he's always around as a constant reminder of her other life? I Heart You, You Haunt Me is great novel in verse about teen love, love lost and how to cope with losing someone you love. Highly Recommended!

Chasing Brooklyn, by the same author, is another story about a girl named Brooklyn who lives in the same town as Ava and who also loses her boyfriend, Lucca. Shortly after Lucca's death, Lucca's best friend Gabe dies as well. Gabe begins to haunt Brooklyn's dreams. While Brooklyn struggles to fight off haunting images of Gabe, while wondering why Gabe visits but Lucca doesn't, Lucca begins to visit his brother Nico, warning Nico to help Brooklyn. Lucca's message disturbs Nico because he doesn't know how to help Brooklyn or what she's struggling with. The novel in verse alternates between Nico's voice and experiences and Brooklyns. It is another awesome story about teen love, lost love and coping with death. Highly Recommended!

REVIEW: Bad Girls Don't Die

Alexis, a high school student who is interested in photography, appears to have a fairly normal, conventional life until strange occurrences and dreams begin to make her question her sanity. Alexis begins to notice strange balls of green light around her house, random doors opening and shutting and strange behavior in her sister. Is it all in her imagination or is something possessing her little sister and turning her house into a dangerous haunted house?

Bad Girls Don't Die is a page-turner that will keep "scary story" fans interested until the conclusion.