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The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Published October 24, 2016 Mystery , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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fixer

Genre:  Realistic fiction/mystery

# of Pages:  372 p.

Tess has lived with her grandfather ever since her parents died in a car accident when she was small.  Her older sister, Ivy, went away to college and never really came back so Tess knew things were about to unravel when Ivy showed up at her grandfather’s ranch.  Despite her best efforts, Tess could no longer hide her grandfather’s dementia from the world and Ivy had come to put him in a treatment center while Tess was forced to pack her bags and come to D.C. to live with the sister she hardly knew.  Only after she gets to D.C. does she realize what her sister actually does for a living:  she’s a fixer for wealthy and powerful people who have serious problems. Tess is expected to be a fixer like her sister when she starts her new school by the children of wealthy and powerful people who attend, but Tess is not interested in following after her sister’s example.  Then, a supreme court justice suddenly dies and a girl at her school confides to Tess that she does not think it was an accident.  Can Tess find out what’s really going on in D.C. without alerting her sister or anyone involved?  Will Tell and Ivy ever mend their relationship?

This is a fun novel for mystery or spy fans (fans of Ally Carter will enjoy this title).  The characters are fun and getting more developed all the time and no doubt will continue to do so as the series continues.  The mystery was exciting and provided a satisfying ending.  The idea of “fixers” has only started getting discussed in the last five years or so and it’s fun to see a young adult series focused around such an interesting career.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Published October 11, 2016 Realistic Fiction , Romance Leave a Comment
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fangirl

Genre:  Romance/Realistic Fiction

# of pages:  438

Cather does not like to go out drinking like most college freshmen she knows.  Instead, she likes to stay in and write fan fiction for a fantasy series she is obsessed with.  Meanwhile, her identical twin has tried very hard to distance herself from Cath so that they can start anew in college.  Cath slowly assimilates to college including getting used to her unusual roommate and her friendly male friend who seems to be in Cath’s room a lot.  There is a fair share of drama in Cath’s life (including a father who is struggling with his new empty nest), but the one thing that always balances things out is her love of writing, which is why she’s so excited for her fiction writing class.  Unfortunately, even that does not go exactly as planned…

Fans of John Green or any of Rainbow Rowell’s other books will become obsessed with these characters.  The story is interesting enough, but it’s the characters that make it hard to put this one down.  Cath is very relatable to anyone who’s ever been new to a place and trying to find your way.  She has trouble knowing who to confide in, who to trust, and who to run from.  Eventually she starts gaining more confidence in her new life and starts making proactive choices instead of reactive ones.  It’s a very compelling coming of age story that will leave readers wanting more.

Court of Fives by Kate Elliott

Published October 7, 2016 Adventure , Fantasy , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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court-of-fives

Genre:  Futuristic Fiction

# of Pages:  432

Jess lives with her military father, pregnant mother, and three sisters.  Due to the fact their mother is a commoner, her father was never allowed to legally marry her, but he has always taken care of them like they were legally his family.  Secretly, Jess likes to run the court of fives, which is an intricate and physically grueling competition that involves different challenges in a variety of patterns to figure out.  Jess knows that if her dad ever found out she was doing this he would be furious, which is why she’s kept it a secret.  The day before Jess is scheduled to compete in her first match, her father unexpectedly returns from war and insists on taking them to the competition.  She is forced to sneak out and compete or else she’ll lose her entrance fee that took her a year to save.  She is forced to throw the match at the end because winners must take off their masks and she cannot risk her father learning her secret.  However, she does not realize the attention her actions will bring to her family and the ferocity in which someone with power will work to destroy everything she holds dear.  Ultimately, it is the court of fives she must do in order to bring respect to herself and her family, but will it be enough?

Fans of futuristic novels like The Testing will love this book.  It is full of plot twists, excitement, and adventure.  A main part of the story even features an Indiana Jones’ type adventure that is hard to put down.  Jess loves training for the court of fives partly because it encourages her to think strategically, but in the end she is forced to use that kind of thinking in order to protect her family from a vicious adversary.  It is a fast paced, exciting story.

The Jewel by Amy Ewing

Published September 26, 2016 Adventure , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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the-jewel

Genre:  Futuristic Fiction

# of Pages:  358

Violet was pulled away from her family three years prior to the beginning of the story because she tested positive for a specific gene that made her desirable in their community.  After completing three years of training she is to be sent to auction to be sold to a rich and powerful royal family to be a surrogate for a royal child.  Violet would rather return home to her family, who resides in the marsh, in order to live in poverty than to be a plaything for the royals whilst living in true luxury.  Once Violet is purchased she does not know what to make of her new owner, her owner’s ungrateful son, or her owner’s absent husband.  Plus, she begins to discover there are lots of secrets in the Jewel, where the royal live.  She finds herself struggling not to rebel against those around her, but they really do have all the power over her.  Can she keep her beliefs intact while everyone around her views her as an object to be owned and manipulated?

Fans of The Selection and Divergent will enjoy the first in this series.  Violet is tough and smart, but there is so much she does not know that the reader gets to find out the true nature of her situation along with her.  There are some very intriguing supporting characters including the man who helped her prepare for her auction, her best friend who went to auction at the same time as her, and the royal women who scheme and gossip behind each other’s backs.  All in all, an intriguing premise that will hold your interest until the surprising last page.

Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klavan

Published September 19, 2016 Mystery , RAC , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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crazy dangerous

Genre:  Mystery

328 p.

2016-17 Iowa High School Award Winner

Sam Hopkins is the son of a preacher so he is often not treated the same as other kids, but he is not immune to bullies either and on one particular day while running he inadvertently draws the attention of three of the biggest bullies in school.  He refuses to back down to them and ends up joining their gang for a short while and they teach him how to steal cars.  Eventually he comes to his senses and realizes that he could get himself into real danger, but just as he’s telling them he won’t steal actual cars with them he sees them pick on Jennifer, who is an unusual girl in school who often speaks of demons and other strange things.  The bullies are about to go after her when Sam steps in and allows her to escape while he himself takes a terrible beating.  Afterward, everyone praises him for saving “poor, crazy” Jennifer and Sam begins to realize that all of  her “premonitions” might in fact be real.  Can he convince anyone that she might really be telling the truth about her visions?  Will he continue to get into more trouble if he keeps staying involved with her?

This story is difficult to describe without giving the heart of the story away.  Sam is confused by Jennifer and her condition, which makes the reader confused as well.  Meanwhile, everything that happens to Sam does eventually come together to make an interesting and complete story, but for a long time several of the pieces do not seem to go together at all.  Sam is a well crafted, complex character who is easy to identify with even if the reader has nothing in common with him.  For those who stick with the story past the beginning they will be pleasantly surprised by the action and fast paced resolution.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Published May 24, 2016 RAC , Realistic Fiction , Romance Leave a Comment
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geography of you and me

Genre:  Romance

# of Pages:  337

Iowa High School Award Winner 2016-17

Fans of sweet teen romances will love this title that follows Lucy and Owen who meet unexpectedly during a city wide blackout in New York City. They are trapped in an elevator when the blackout strikes and by the time they are freed decide to spend the evening together enjoying the city without the usual overpowering city lights.  After the blackout reality sets in as Owen’s dad loses his job and they must leave the city to find where they belong and Lucy’s dad gets a new job that transports her to Europe.  Throughout their travels, they send postcards to each other as well as exchange a few emails, but since they only had one night together neither one knows how hard they should try to stay in contact.  Meanwhile, Owen and his dad are dealing with the loss of his mother and Lucy is handling the new found family life she has found in Europe.  Can they find their way back to each other or are they simply too far apart?

Owen and Lucy lead interesting lives in this story as they completely move around the world for very different reasons, but there is still something that keeps drawing them together.  This book does not have a lot of supporting character development and the focus is always on Lucy and Owen.  Despite the fact that there are not a lot of major plot developments readers stay engaged with these two because their story is so relatable.  Fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han will enjoy this title.

Every day by David Levithan

Published May 16, 2016 RAC , Realistic Fiction , Romance Leave a Comment
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every day

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

# of Pages:  322

RAC:  Yes

2016 Iowa High School Award Winner

“A” wakes up in a different body every day and has gotten used to this type of life.  When A wakes up in Justin’s body one day everything changes since Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon, and A enjoy a very special day that neither of them can forget.  Eventually, A breaks down and tells Rhiannon about his unusual lifestyle and she’s cautiously supportive.  However, A notices that she does seem to have more trouble accepting A on days when A occupies a female body.  As time goes on, A uses any excuse to go see Rhiannon and in the process alerts one of the hosts, Nathan, to A’s existence.  Nathan decides to go public and announce to everyone that he was inhabited by the devil and A’s life begins to get complicated.  Meanwhile, Rhiannon isn’t sure how much longevity their relationship could really have.  Is there a way for them to stay together when there is absolutely no way to predict whose body A will inhabit from day to day?

This award winning book is unique and asks the reader to think about many issues such as how important appearances are and how important gender is.  A doesn’t care about gender, sexual preference, or appearance because to A it is fluid and doesn’t reflect the person inside.  To others, however, A quickly discovers just how important these things can be.  The book also shows how difficult it would be to not have lasting relationships and cohesive memories.  All in all, a very engaging read recommended for those who like unique romances such as The Fault in Our Stars or Eleanor and Park.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Published May 4, 2016 Historical Fiction , RAC Leave a Comment
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salt to the sea

Genre:  Historical Fiction

# of Pages:  391

RAC:  Yes

In this companion to Between Shades of Gray, a group of individual refugees are trying to escape the final dangers of war as the Russians close in.  Joana, Emilia, Florian, and a few others end up coming together to try and escape the final horrors of this war.  They endure many difficulties on their journey (and they all have their secrets), but eventually make it to the ship called the Wilhelm Gustloff and are granted passage to freedom.  The ship is meant to carry 1500 passengers and instead thousands of women, children, and wounded soldiers fill every corridor of this luxury liner.  Unfortunately, tragedy and heartache are not behind them quite yet.

The characters in this book are all different and yet interesting in their own way.  They’re all escaping something and wish to forget their pasts yet for various reasons they cannot. The story of the Wilhelm Gustloff is in itself very interesting because it was a bigger tragedy than the Titanic, but yet very few people even know about it.  Sepetys always finds a way to tell the stories of those people and events that were not properly told in history books.  Students at my school have greatly enjoyed learning about Stalin’s regime in Between Shades of Gray and I think they will also enjoy this title and its unique perspective on this terrible war.

Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke

Published April 26, 2016 Historical Fiction , RAC Leave a Comment
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secrets she kept

Genre:  Historical fiction

# of Pages:  405

RAC:  Yes

This title has been on my list to read for awhile and it was worth the wait.  Hannah and her mother have never been close, but when her mother dies of Cancer she finds herself lashing out at those around her as if she’s struggling more than she expected.  After going through her mother’s things she realizes that not only was her mother German, not Austrian like she’d always been told, but she still had a living grandfather in Germany.  She decides to go see him and try to learn why her mother was the way she was.  Meanwhile, the story keeps flashing back to Hannah’s mother, Lieselotte as a girl growing up with the ever growing Nazi presence.  Lieselotte’s father and brother become completely engaged in the Nazi party, but she finds herself horrified by the injustices she’s seeing around her.  She works with a family who was very kind to her mother as she lay dying of Cancer, to aid those being chased from their homes.  Hannah slowly uncovers what happened to her mother and why she never told her about her past or her grandfather.

This is a fresh take on WWII fiction in that it really depicts what it was like growing up in Germany during this time no matter where your loyalties laid.  At the same time it depicts the lingering affects of WWII and the Nazi mentality.  Since Hannah was born and raised in the U.S. she has a hard time understanding why there are still so many hard feelings until it is explained to her just how bad things got for Jews during this time.  The story unfolds nicely and it’s easy to see why Lieselotte ended up feeling bitter and betrayed.  Highly recommended.

Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

Published April 11, 2016 Mystery , RAC Leave a Comment
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free to fall

# of Pages:  473

Genre:  Realistic Fiction/Mystery

RAC:  Yes

Iowa High School Award Winner 2016

Rory is thrilled when she gets accepted into the prestigious Theden Academy, an all expense paid prep school with an excellent reputation.  Shortly before she leaves, she learns that her mother, who died in childbirth, also attended Theden and left her a symbolic necklace.  This story is set in the future where everyone is dependent on their smart phones and uses an app called Lux that makes literally every decision for them from what to major in to what to eat for breakfast.  As Rory settles in she meets a young barista at a nearby coffee shop and he helps her see what a disadvantage it is to always have an app make decisions for you.  She begins using Lux less and less and in the process notices more around her, including the shady practices of her new school.  Is someone out to get her?  What really happened to her mother and did she actually die during childbirth?

This is a fun, fast paced story that fans of futuristic fiction will enjoy.  The story is detailed and has many revelations that unfold in a timely way.  The characters are all well developed and it’s easy for the reader to see each of their motivations.  Despite there being quite a market for futuristic dystopian-esque books this one is unique enough to stand out and will keep readers engaged.

Jillian Cade: Fake paranormal investigator by Jen Klein

Published April 6, 2016 Fantasy , Mystery , RAC Leave a Comment
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 jillian cade

Genre:  Mystery/Fantasy

# of pages:  277

RAC:  Yes

Jillian does not believe in paranormal activity, but yet she works running her father’s paranormal investigation firm ever since he left her to fend for herself and her dying mother.  She tells clients what they want to hear in order to earn money to pay the electric bill, but that does not stop her from judging those who do believe in the paranormal.  When a high school classmate offers to pay big money for her to find her missing boyfriend, Jillian jumps at the chance until the mysterious new student, Sky, inserts himself into the investigation claiming that there is supernatural activity at work here.  As Jillian and Sky work the case she faces the possibility that supernatural occurrences might actually exist.

Fans of mysteries and fantasy will enjoy this light, fun story about a teenage girl trying to do it all.  There is a lot about Jillian’s backstory that has not been uncovered yet, including a mysterious obituary she finds of herself dated six months in the future listing a sister among her family whom she’s never heard of.  There’s plenty more stories Jillian can and probably will tell in future volumes.

Need by Joelle Charbonneau

Published March 23, 2016 RAC , Realistic Fiction Leave a Comment
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need

Genre:  Realistic Fiction

# of Pages:  338

RAC:  Yes

Kaylee is desperately trying to find a kidney donor for her brother who is very sick.  Her and her mother have been tested and are not matches so she really wants to find her father who ran off shortly after DJ’s diagnosis.  Her best friend, Nate, then introduces her to a new social media site called Need.  Need members can only join by invitation and once you are in you can choose something to ask for that you think you “need.”  In exchange the program will ask you to do something in order to earn whatever you asked for.  Kaylee distrusts this site, but is desperate and asks for a kidney for her brother.  Meanwhile, her classmates are receiving new cell phones, computers, etc. and all for doing tasks they consider innocent.  When a boy is asked to deliver a box of cookies to a classmates’ door he does not think anything of it until the next day when that classmate is in the hospital due to a severe peanut allergy.  Did he cause her death?  What about the other mysterious happenings all over the neighborhood?  Are these high school students to blame or are they innocent bystanders?

Morality and responsibility for ones own actions are strong themes in this book.  We live in a very media based materialistic society and many teens feel they deserve or “need” all the cool things their friends seem to have.  This book asks the question of what would you do if you could get your every wish fulfilled?  The eventual outcome of who is behind Need is very believable and satisfying, if not a bit scary in its realistic nature.  Fans of The Testing will enjoy this new book from the same author.

The Siren by Keira Cass

Published February 25, 2016 RAC , Romance Leave a Comment
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siren

Genre:  Romance

# of Pages:  327

RAC:  Yes

Kahlen was turned into a siren when she was a teenager after witnessing her entire family’s demise at the hands of the sirens that preceded her.  Kahlen finds the life very sad and struggles to forget the faces of the people they drown with their songs in the Ocean in order to appease Her.  At the same time, she loves the Ocean and believes she cares about her too.  One day she meets a young man in a library and despite the fact she cannot speak around him he finds her interesting anyway. They spend very little time together before she realizes she is falling for him and makes the decision to stay away because she still has 20 years on her sentence as a siren.  Months later, after a devastating event, she finds herself running back to him and they have an amazing day together.  Can they find a way to be together?  Is being together safe for either one of them?

Once again Keira Cass has created an interesting tale of two people who have an instant connection and yet are not able to be together due to her situation as a siren.  The fact that the ocean is a character is unique and Cass finds a way to make that work so that you both like and hate the ocean at the same time.  Readers will appreciate that Kahlan and Akinli’s story finishes in one book.  The story is captivating, but it would have lost something if it was stretched out for any longer than one novel.  Fans of the Selection will enjoy this title.

After Impact by Nicole Stark

Published February 12, 2016 RAC , Science Fiction Leave a Comment
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after impact

** Special Review**

Genre: Futuristic Sci/Fi Thriller

# of Pages:  259

RAC:  Yes

Avalon wakes up in her cryochamber and learns that she has been frozen for 100 years.  She also remembers that when her father predicted that a meteor would strike earth, and completely decimate life as they knew it, only 5000 people were allowed into the underground habitat that was created to sustain life until humans could return to the surface again.  Since such a limited number of people were allowed into the habitat only younger people were allowed and Avalon was forced to say goodbye to her beloved father.  Upon reawakening, Avalon notices some strange happenings in the habitat including that some people seem to be getting deathly ill when they are supposed to be immune from such diseases due to a vaccine everyone receives once they come out of the cryochamber.  Who could be behind this?  Whom can she trust in this new place surrounded by people she does not know?  Should she speak up and ask questions or simply take the safer route and follow the rules?

Fans of futuristic novels such as The Testing, Alive, Across the Universe, or Red Rising will enjoy this title.  The plot moves quickly and the characters are interesting and engaging.  There is some resolution, but the ending definitely leaves room for a sequel.  While some aspects in the story can be found in other similar titles, there is enough originality here to draw readers in and make them want to know what’s going on in this strange habitat controlled by a few people.  Recommended.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Published February 10, 2016 Award Winners , Mystery , RAC Leave a Comment
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i hunt killers

Genre:  Mystery

# of Pages:  360

2016 Iowa High School Award winner

RAC:  yes

Jazz is the only son of a notorious serial killer named Billy.  Billy reportedly murdered over 200 people and Jazz is struggling with the doubts that he could end up just like him.  He does not want to become a killer, but he worries it’s already inside him waiting to come out.  When he hears of a murder in his small town he goes to the scene to help out since he “knows how serial killers work.”  The police reject his help, but eventually come back to him when it’s discovered this new murder is mimicking one of Billy’s early murders.  Who would be recreating his father’s grisly murders and why?  Can Jazz help the police before more people lose their lives?  Can Jazz prove to everyone and even himself that he is not going to follow in his father’s footsteps?

Fans of mystery books will enjoy this title because it has a good amount of plot twists, suspense, and colorful characters.  Jazz is truly battling with himself because he will always be the son of the infamous Billy Dent and he needs to figure out what that means for the rest of his life.  He does not want to be like his father, but having been raised by him he sometimes does not see life situations the same way that others do.  Luckily, he has a small but powerful support system that is helping him realize that he is capable of valuing human life.  There is a bit of gore in this title, but nothing worse than an episode of CSI or Criminal Minds.

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