We Were Liars

 

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart  YA

(from Goodreads)  

#A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

(My Review) 

So, so the main character is trying to remember events that happened years ago on her grandfather's private island.  Everyone refuses to help her remember the tragic events, but she is determined to find out what happened and why they won't tell her. Hmmm...

Pumpkin

 

Pumpkin (Book 3 of 3)  by Julie Murphy  YA

(from Amazon)  Waylon Russell Brewer is a fat, openly gay boy stuck in the small West Texas town of Clover City. His plan is to bide his time until he can graduate, move to Austin with his twin sister, Clementine, and finally go Full Waylon so that he can live his Julie-the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music-Andrews truth.  So when Clementine deviates from their master plan right after Waylon gets dumped, he throws caution to the wind and creates an audition tape for his favorite TV drag show, Fiercest of Them All. What he doesn’t count on is the tape getting accidentally shared with the entire school. . . . As a result, Waylon is nominated for prom queen as a joke. Clem’s girlfriend, Hannah Perez, also receives a joke nomination for prom king.  Waylon and Hannah decide there’s only one thing to do: run—and leave high school with a bang. A very glittery bang. Along the way, Waylon discovers that there is a lot more to running for prom court than campaign posters and plastic crowns, especially when he has to spend so much time with the very cute and infuriating prom king nominee Tucker Watson.  Waylon will need to learn that the best plan for tomorrow is living for today . . . especially with the help of some fellow queens. . . .

(My Review)

This is such a fun read!  I loved this whole series!!!  You can read as a series, or alone - I really don't think reading this book without reading the others will take away from the understanding of the book or enjoyment.   Reading the whole series will just help fill in context.  Julie Murphy writes such rich characters that just jump right off of the page, and right into your heart.  I love the friendships, and how they interact to deal with problems that arise in the book.  I love that Murphy begins each book with a Dolly Parton quote.  And did I mention there are drag queens??  

The first book, Dumplin' (which is also a great book) was made into a Netflix movie.  Below is a list of the series in order.

1.  Dumplin'

2.  Puddin'

3.  Pumpkin

One Last Stop

 

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston  New Adult and College

(from Amazon)  For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.  But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.  Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.

(My Review)  This was a cute book.  Girl meets girl, but can only see her on the subway, on which she seems to be stuck on a loop (and from another time).  They start a relationship, but it seems hopeless, if one half of the relationship cannot leave the subway.  So, they must find a way to get her off the subway, without losing her forever.  I really enjoyed this!

Rise to the Sun

 

Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson  YA

(from Amazon)  Olivia is an expert at falling in love . . . and at being dumped. But after the fallout from her last breakup has left her an outcast at school and at home, she’s determined to turn over a new leaf. A crush-free weekend at Farmland Music and Arts Festival with her best friend is just what she needs to get her mind off the senior year that awaits her.  Toni is one week away from starting college, and it’s the last place she wants to be. Unsure about who she wants to become and still reeling in the wake of the loss of her musician-turned-roadie father, she’s heading back to the music festival that changed his life in hopes that following in his footsteps will help her find her own way forward.  When the two arrive at Farmland, the last thing they expect is to realize that they’ll need to join forces in order to get what they’re searching for out of the weekend. As they work together, the festival becomes so much more complicated than they bargained for. Olivia and Toni will find that they need each other, and music, more than they ever could have imagined.

(My Review)  I thought this was a sweet story of two girls who go to music festival and find each other.  With 2 POV, you get each of their perspectives and backstories.  You really get into their heads and thinking processes about how they feel about each other.  I thought it was a good read.

Radio Silence

 

Radio Silence by Alyssa Cole (Off the Grid, Book 1)  New Adult & College

(from Amazon)  No one expects the apocalypse.  Arden Highmore was living your average postgrad life in Rochester, New York, when someone flipped the “off” switch on the world. No cell phones, no power, no running water—and no one knows why. All she and her roommate, John, know for sure is that they have to get out, stat. His family’s cabin near the Canadian border seemed like the safest choice.

(My Review)  So, I accidentally got the wrong Radio Silence.  There is another written by Alice Oseman, that I had heard about, and of course I reserved the wrong one from the library.  But, when I received it, realized it, I read the description, I decided to read it anyway.  

I thought it was pretty interesting.  In the Sociology classes I teach, we talk about the impact of technology, and about what we would do if it all went away.  This book imagines that kind of world and follows a group of young adults as they deal with the impact of a world reeling from a world turned upside down.  I liked how they formed a family and supported each other as they dealt with the not-knowing about their own families and just trying to survive. 

Definitions of Indefinable Things

 

Definitions of Indefinable Things  by Whitney Taylor YA

(from Amazon)  Reggie isn’t really a romantic: she’s been hurt too often, and doesn’t let people in as a rule. Plus, when you’re dealing with the Three Stages of Depression, it’s hard to feel warm and fuzzy. When Reggie meets Snake, though, he doesn’t give her much of a choice. Snake has a neck tattoo, a Twizzler habit, and a fair share of arrogance, but he’s funny, charming, and interested in Reggie.  Snake also has an ex-girlfriend who's seven months pregnant. Good thing Reggie isn’t a romantic.  Definitions of Indefinable Things follows three teens as they struggle to comprehend love, friendship, and depression—and realize one definition doesn’t always cover it.

(My Review)

So, I realize this book might not be for everyone.  I thought the author did a good job describing the experience one feels during depression - and how it can be complex, and different for each individual who experiences it.  This book follows three individuals, who, for different reasons, have found themselves struggling, and isolated, and their relationships with each other help them learn more about themselves and how to cope with the events in their lives.  Now, don't get me wrong.  This is not a deep book.  It is a YA, rom-comish book.  I enjoyed it.  

The Downstairs Girl

 

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee  YA  

(from Amazon)  By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady's maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, "Dear Miss Sweetie." When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society's ills, but she's not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta's most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light.

(My Review)

I thought this was a good read.  It took me a bit to get into it, but about half-way through, the story got more interesting.  This was definitely a view of early-twentieth century Atlanta that we are not used to seeing.  I thought it was interesting, and heart-breaking (albeit, not really surprised), to see how Chinese were treated.   This book had a sweet story, which will definitely draw the reader in.  My only criticism was the author's heavy use of exaggerated southern colloquialisms.  I felt it distracted me, and slowed down my reading.