Category: YA

You Don’t Know My Name, by Kristin Orlando

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Image belongs to Swoon Reads.

Kristin Orlando has a degree in English literature and loves, words, bacon, and PJs. You Don’t Know My Name is her new novel.

Seventeen-year-old Reagan Hillis isn’t used to having friends and a normal life. She’s used to secrets, combat, and weaponry, having spent her life training to follow her parents’ footsteps in the top-secret Black Angels. Now she has a life, a group of friends, and feelings for the boy next door, Luke. Reagan isn’t even sure if she wants to be a Black Angel. Wouldn’t a normal life be so, well, nice?

When a rescue mission goes bad in South America, Reagan’s parents are right in the middle of it, and trouble follows them home, threatening to capsize Reagan’s normalcy and sink it without a trace. Reagan is tired of leaving her life in the middle of the night, and desperate for her parents to understand. But sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to, to save others, and Reagan finds herself on a mission with high stakes, a mission her normal life pales in comparison to.

I was expecting a fun type of story, like the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter. (I don’t know why I was expecting this, I just was.) That is not what I got. Instead, I got adventure, action, anxiety…and romance. Reagan has had a challenging life, and until recently, she’s been happy to follow her parents’ footsteps. But now she sees just how thrilling normal can be, and wants it more than anything. She’s so normal, so real, that I just loved her. Her relationship with Luke felt natural and charmed me. This is a fantastic read, but the ending was not what I expected. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

(Galley provided by Swoon Reads via NetGalley.)

 

Unnatural Deeds, by Cyn Balog

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Image belongs to Sourcebooks Fire.

Cyn Balog is a young adult author. Her newest novel is Unnatural Deeds.

Victoria Zell has never fit in. Not that she cares. She and her homeschooled boyfriend, Andrew, are inseparable, so Victoria doesn’t care about anyone else. Until Zachary Zimmerman shows up in her homeroom:  he’s gorgeous and popular, everything Victoria is not. Within the first hour, he convinces her to cut class, and now Victoria can’t get enough of that rush.

Even though Vic is loyal to Andrew, she is drawn to Z. But Z has secrets, and soon Vic is lying to everyone as she tries to unravel those secrets. Except Z isn’t the only one with secrets, and Vic’s past will come back to haunt her in its destructive rampage.

This book…I thought I knew where it was going. Seriously. All the signs pointed one way, and then we ended up completely off the map. I never saw the ending coming. Like, at all. Z and Vic are both great characters, and you’ll find yourself drawn into their mystery as they struggle to untangle it. You should definitely read this book!

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Fire.)

Did I Mention I Miss You? by Estelle Maskame

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Image belongs to Sourcebooks Fire.

Estelle Maskame is the author of the Wattpad sensation Did I Mention I Love You? trilogy. Did I Mention I Miss You? is the final book.

Eden hasn’t spoken with Tyler in over a year. After he left her, she started a new life at a school in Chicago, and tried to forget about Tyler. Now she’s just angry at him, and she never wants to speak to him again. But back in Santa Monica for the summer, it’s hard to forget Tyler when she’s surrounded by things that remind her of him.

And she’s not the only one who returns to Santa Monica. Tyler has made a new life for himself, and he wants Eden in it. Eden is confused by this new Tyler, and she’s not sure if she can ever forgive him. But when family conflict draws them together, Eden must decide if Tyler is worth everything he’s put her through.

Okay, I’ll admit it:  cheesy high school movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. Think Ten Things I Hate About You and Save the Last Dance. I also love reading books like that, and the DIMILY trilogy fits nicely in there. It’s been fun seeing Eden and Tyler change and grow throughout the books, and this is an enjoyable ending to a series I liked.

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley.)

One Was Lost, by Natalie Richards

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Image belongs to Sourcebooks Fire.

Natalie Richards used to work in a boring office cubicle before she discovered the art of making things up and became a young adult author. Her newest novel is One Was Lost.

Sera did not want to go on her senior camping trip, but she didn’t have a choice. She especially didn’t want to go with Lucas, with whom she has a history. But there she was, hiking through the woods with a group of teenagers, and the only thing she has in common with them is this stupid trip.

Until the group is split in two, and her group wakes up groggy and disoriented, with words scrawled on their wrists. Their supplies are gone. Their chaperone is unconscious. And they find four dolls acting out a murder…four dolls dressed exactly like them. Someone stalks them in the woods, and since Sera has the only positive word on her wrist, soon everyone is suspicious of her. They have to get out of the woods before someone else winds up hurt or dead, but their stalker is always one step ahead.

So, this book….I’m a bit of a chicken sometimes, and this book creeped me out several times. Things kept getting worse for Sera and her friends, and the setting was spooky enough to make me swear off camping in the woods. Like, forever. I never did figure out what was going on, right up until the action-packed ending. One Was Lost kept me flipping pages until I finally found out what was going on.

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley).

The Cabin, by Natasha Preston

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Image belongs to Sourcebooks Fire.

Natasha Preston is a New York Times bestselling author from England. Her newest novel is The Cabin.

It’ been a rough year for Mackenzie and her friends. They lost two of their group in a car accident months ago, and things have not been the same since. Now, with graduation looming, they decide to celebrate at Josh’s parents’ cabin in the woods. Sounds fun, right?

Right up until the moment when they find two of their group brutally murdered. And with no signs of forced entry, that means one of the five survivors is the killer. With all eyes upon them, Mackenzie’s life—and those of her friends—will never be the same. She can’t stand not knowing what happened, but when her efforts to figure it out result in another death, Mackenzie starts to wonder just how well she really knows her friends.

The Cabin is creepy in a spine-tingling, looking-over-your-shoulder way. The characters are great, vibrant with life and their relationships are complex. Like Mackenzie, I didn’t want to believe one of them was the killer. Unlike Mackenzie, I’m positive I wouldn’t have gone back out into the woods looking for clues. If you’re looking for a read that will suck you in and keep you flipping the pages, grab this one!

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley.)

The Homecoming, by Stacie Ramey

 

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Image belongs to Sourcebooks Fire.

Stacie Ramey has a degree in speech pathology and works with autistic children. Her newest book, The Homecoming, is a young adult novel.

John has nowhere to go but home. Since his mother kicked him out, he’s gotten into trouble with the law, developed a talent for trouble, and bounced from relative to relative. Now “home” is the one place he doesn’t want to be, but it’s the only place he can be.

Starting over again at his old school is more than John can handle. The ruins of his family are tangled up in this town, and being back brings the tragedies of John’s past to damaged life every day. He tries to focus on lacrosse, but between his broken family and his anger issues, even sports aren’t enough to tame his dragon. Then he meets Emily, the girl next door, and starts to wonder if anyone can love the broken mess he’s become.

I’m not usually a fan of male-narrated young adult stories, but The Homecoming is an exception. I didn’t realize this was a companion novel to The Sister Pact (which I haven’t read). John is a compelling narrator, very troubled and broken, but only slowly aware of his brokenness. He grows so much during this novel, and the reader gets to see all of those changes and experience them with John. I really enjoyed this book.

 

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley.)

NaNo: Week 2 Update

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I do not own this image. But it’s so true, right?

I kind of forgot to post an update yesterday, so this is a day late (and a dollar short).

Current word count:  24,257. Almost halfway done.I feel this word count is more impressive if you also know that I’ve written 4,000 words each of the last 3 days.

Current mental status:

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I don’t own this image, either, but can we talk about the slightly manic look on this cat’s face? SO. ACCURATE.

 

Unfolding, by Jonathan Friesen

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I do not own this image. Image belongs to Blink.

 

Jonathan Friesen is a former teacher’s pet who wrote his first novel while his students were working. Unfolding is his newest novel.

Jonah has a tough life in tiny Gullary, Oklahoma. He has a debilitating physical condition and epilepsy, which keeps him on the outside of many things. His parents are distant. He’s in love with his next-door neighbor, the troubled Stormi, deposited here as an infant when a tornado touched down. The same tornado that destroyed the Supermax prison where Jonah now works—the only employee—as an occasional tour guide and the caretaker for the prison’s solitary inmate, the mysterious Tres.

Stormi is carefree and vibrant, everything Jonah wishes he could be. She’s also different, a difference the town notices when she senses things before they happen, averting tragedy—or not. When Stormi senses she should leave town to find safety, Jonah is drawn in her wake as they struggle to find out the truth behind what happened in Gullary so long ago, and left the town scarred and harboring a darkness Jonah can only imagine.

This book. I couldn’t put it down. Seriously. I would have finished it in one sitting except I’m not independently wealthy and had to go to work. From the opening sentence to the final line, I was completely spellbound. Jonah is a fantastic character:  he’s physically struggling, but emotionally strong, and this story is so firmly in his viewpoint I felt like I was experiencing every stumble and seizure. Stormi is full of life and mystery, and their interactions leap off the page. You should definitely read this!

(Galley provided by Blink via NetGalley.)

The Scent of Salt and Sand, by P.C. and Kristin Cast

 

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I do not own this image. Image belongs to Diversion Books.

 

P.C. and Kristin Cast are a mother-daughter writing team. They wrote the NYT best-selling House of Night series. The Scent of Salt and Sand is a novella in their Escaped series.

The walls separating Tartarus have fallen, and now monsters from Greek mythology have escaped to the mortal world. The Sirens are part of the escapees. Bound for centuries because of their bloodlust, greed, and murders, the Sirens now run Siren Tours for tourists to Alcatraz, where they find their prey.

It’s Melody’s first time in the mortal realm, and she doesn’t want to be there. She’s different from the other Sirens:  she doesn’t like blood, she has no interest in murder, and she hears specters in the water. Then she meets Dean, who becomes her assigned target, and falls in love. Can she keep Dean safe from her monstrous family, or has their love doomed them both?

So…I like P.C. and Kristin Cast. I enjoy their writing, which has a decidedly young adult slant. I’ve met them both, and they’re very bubbly and funny. I’m a fan of P.C.’s Goddess Summoning series, as well as The House of Night. I have not read either of the books in this series. I enjoyed most of this novella. The Sirens have always fascinated me, and their move in the real world is well-done. However, I really didn’t care for the ending of The Scent of Salt and Sand. At all. I intend to read Amber Smoke, but I’m pretty undecided about reading any more about the Sirens.

(Galley provided by Diversion books via NetGalley.)

Over-commitment?

So…I’ve decided to do NaNo next month for the first time since 2012.

Yes, I have a full-time job with long, crazy hours. Yes, I go to school, too. Yes, I have a 5k to train for in 2 weeks, a 10k in 5 weeks, and a half-marathon in February. Yes, I have 2 blogs to maintain and I write book reviews for My Trending Stories.

What’s your point?

I participated in—and won—NaNo 5 years in a row, from 2007-2011. I started NaNo in 2012, but depression hit me hard, and I abandoned it (along with practically everything else). I found that barely-started story (about 35 pages of it) last year and did not even remember writing it. (But I was pretty impressed!)

When I had mostly conquered my depression (May 2013), I wanted to get back to my normal life. Then I had a stroke on June 1st. I spent the next 6 months in a haze of exhaustion, recovery, and adaptation as I came to terms with my new normal after almost dying.

I didn’t write a thing for over a year.

Slowly, I’ve gotten back into writing, but I miss the adrenaline-fueled rush of NaNo, so I’m giving it a shot next week.

Guess which story I’m going to finish? Yep. The one I started during my last NaNo.