The Best Books Ever

Want some new tunes?  Check out the soundtrack to this summer's Exile by Kevin Emerson! Check it out here ! And then go add Exile to your Goodreads page! Exile By Kevin Emerson Published April 29, 2014 Catherine Summer Carlson knows how to manage bands like a professional—she’s a student at the PopArts Academy at Mount Hope High, where rock legends Allegiance to North got their start. Summer knows that falling for the lead singer of her latest band is the least professional thing a manager can do. But Caleb Daniels isn’t an ordinary band boy—he’s a hot, dreamy, sweet-singing, exiled-from-his-old-band, possibly-with-a-deep-dark-side band boy. And he can do that thing. That thing when someone sings a song and it inhabits you, possesses you, and moves you like a marionette to its will. Summer also finds herself at the center of a mystery she never saw coming. When Caleb reveals a sec...

The School For Good and Evil By  Soman Chainani Published on May 14th 2013 Published by HarperCollins Source: Publisher The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away. This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduat...

Jaime's Top Five Horror Picks (No particular order!): The Experiments in Terror series by Karina Halle Ghosts, and haunted houses, and old TB clinics galore. Plus, if you like this sort of the thing, the romance rocks! The Blood Journals by Tessa Gratton Magic, and blood, and creepy crows, plus awesome characters and spooky villains! Possess by Gretchen McNeil DOLLS! That is all that I can say, don't want to ruin it! The Possession Series by Nancy Holder  Haunted Boarding School, blackouts, seriously scary mean girls! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6411849-possessions?ac=1 Bad Girls Don't Die series by Katie Alender Possessed kid.... absolutely horrifying! Jaime's Top Five Comedy Picks: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan This book belongs to so many categories for me, Kami and gang are funny and her dad may be the funniest! LOVE this book! (Be warned, there are some creepier parts!) Smart Girls ...

Sleep No More By  Aprilynne Pike Published on April 29th 2014 Published by HarperTeen Source: Publisher The blockbuster film Inception meets Lisa McMann's Wake trilogy in this dark paranormal thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike. This novel is also perfect for fans of Kelley Armstrong, Alyson Noel, and Kimberly Derting. Charlotte Westing has a gift. She is an Oracle and has the ability to tell the future. But it doesn't do her much good. Instead of using their miraculous power, modern-day Oracles are told to fight their visions—to refrain from interfering. And Charlotte knows the price of breaking the rules. She sees it every day in her wheelchair-bound mother and the absence of her father. But when a premonition of a classmate's death is too strong for her to ignore, Charlotte is forced to make an impossible decision: continue following the rules or risk everything—even her sanity—to stop the serial killer who is stalking her town. ...

Season of Wonder By  Lisa Tawn Bergren Published on April 8th 2014 Published by Zondervan Source: Publisher In the first book of the new futuristic dystopian series from author Lisa T. Bergren, the chosen remnants must work to redirect humanity’s course. The year is 2095. Gifted teens known as Remnants have been chosen and trained to act as humanity’s last hope to rectify the horrors that are now part of everyday life. The Community has trained these teens as warriors and assigned them Knights of the Last Order as protectors. Together, they are a force that will be difficult to bring down. But the Sons of Sheol, of course, are determined to do just that. As the Remnants begin their mission to course-correct humanity by saving and protecting key individuals, their enemies move to stop them, placing the entire world in peril. Lisa T. Bergren is the author of over forty books, with a combined count of over 2.5 million copies sold. She has writ...

Season of Wonder By  Lisa Tawn Bergren Published on April 8th 2014 Published by Zondervan Source: Publisher In the first book of the new futuristic dystopian series from author Lisa T. Bergren, the chosen remnants must work to redirect humanity’s course. The year is 2095. Gifted teens known as Remnants have been chosen and trained to act as humanity’s last hope to rectify the horrors that are now part of everyday life. The Community has trained these teens as warriors and assigned them Knights of the Last Order as protectors. Together, they are a force that will be difficult to bring down. But the Sons of Sheol, of course, are determined to do just that. As the Remnants begin their mission to course-correct humanity by saving and protecting key individuals, their enemies move to stop them, placing the entire world in peril. Bestselling author Lisa T. Bergren presents the first book in her new YA futuristic dystopian series—The Remnants Novels—fitting in with the ...

Sekret By  Lindsay Smith Published on April 1st 2014 Published by Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan Children's Source: ARC from publisher An empty mind is a safe mind. Yulia's father always taught her to hide her thoughts and control her emotions to survive the harsh realities of Soviet Russia. But when she's captured by the KGB and forced to work as a psychic spy with a mission to undermine the U.S. space program, she's thrust into a world of suspicion, deceit, and horrifying power. Yulia quickly realizes she can trust no one--not her KGB superiors or the other operatives vying for her attention--and must rely on her own wits and skills to survive in this world where no SEKRET can stay hidden for long. I was excited for this book as soon as I first read the blurb from the publisher, because if there's anything I'm into, it is superpowers, spy stories, and Cold War era-Russia.  The fact that this book had all of those things made it a must-read for me...

Big Fat Disaster By Beth Fehlbaum Published on April 18 2014 Published by Merit Press Source: Netgalley Insecure, shy, and way overweight, Colby hates the limelight as much as her pageant-pretty mom and sisters love it. It's her life: Dad's a superstar, running for office on a family values platform. Then suddenly, he ditches his marriage for a younger woman and gets caught stealing money from the campaign. Everyone hates Colby for finding out and blowing the whistle on him. From a mansion, they end up in a poor relative's trailer, where her mom's contempt swells right along with Colby's supersized jeans. Then, a cruel video of Colby half-dressed, made by her cousin Ryan, finds its way onto the internet. Colby plans her own death. A tragic family accident intervenes, and Colby's role in it seems to paint her as a hero, but she's only a fraud. Finally, threatened with exposure, Colby must face facts about her selfish mother and her own shame. Harrow...

Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out By Susan Kuklin Published on February 11 2014 Published by Candelwick Press Source: Netgally Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference. Portraits, family photographs, and candid images grace the pages, augmenting the emotional and physical journey each youth has taken. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful or heartbreaking, is completely different from the other because of family dynamics, living situations, gender, and the transition these teens make in recognition of their true selves. I think this a really important book for teens (and adults) to read, whether or not they have someone in their lives who is transgender. I appreciated that the book is a series of conversations with six diffe...

  This is not a complete list of my heart stealing characters, not by far... I will make it up to the rest of them, eventually! Riley and Beck from The Demon Trapper's series  by Jana Oliver Emma, Gretchen and Penelope from A Breath of Frost (The Lovegrove Legacy #1)  by Alyxandra Harvey Karou, Akiva,  Zuz, Brimstone, Issa and the rest of the Chimaera from Daughter of Smoke & Bone series by Laini Taylor Harry, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid and their friends, family and professors, in the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowliing Ismae and Duval from Grave Mercy  by Robin LaFevers Perry, Dex, Ada and Rebecca from the Experiments in Terror series by Karina Halle Xandy, Vex and William from the Immortal Empire series by Kate Locke Scarlet, Rob, John and Much, the gang from the Scarlet series by A.C Gaughen Sybella and Beast from Dark Triumph  by Robin LaFevers (Annith, You will most definitely be a part o...

Drama Queens in the House By Julie Williams Published on March 25 2014 Published by Roaring Brook Press (Macmillan) Source: Publisher All of Jessie's world is a stage, and she's determined to become a player, in Drama Queens in the House by Julie Williams. Sixteen-year-old Jessie Jasper Lewis doesn’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t surrounded by method actors, bright spotlights, and feather boas. Her parents started the Jumble Players Theater together, and theater is the glue that holds her crazy family together. But when she discovers that her father’s cheating on her mother with a man, Jessie feels like her world is toppling over. And on top of everything else, she has to deal with a delusional aunt who is predicting the end of the world. Jessie certainly doesn’t feel ready to be center stage in the production that is her family. But where does she belong in all of this chaos? Dear reader, I'm sorry to say that I had to DNF this one about half-way...

The Here and Now By  Ann Brashares Published on April 8, 2014 Published by Delacorte Press Source: eARC from Netgalley An unforgettable epic romantic thriller about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world . . . if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to. Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love. This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.  Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth....

Neverwas By  Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, Larkin Reed Published on January 7th 2014 Published by Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic Press "I was sixteen the second time I had my first kiss...." At the end of AMBER HOUSE, Sarah made a choice that transformed everything--and now she must choose it all again. Things are very different--better--for Sarah and her family: her Aunt Maggie grew up; her parents are happily married; her grandmother died after a long, productive and respected life. But other things are different too, and not for the better. After growing up in the free country of the Pacific Northwest, Sarah Parsons has settled in at Amber House, the stately Maryland home that's been in her family for generations. But the world surrounding the House feels deeply wrong to Sarah. It's a place where the colonists lost the 1776 Insurrection, where the American Confederation of States still struggles with segregation, and where Sarah is haunted by echoe...

Being Sloan Jacobs By  Lauren Morrill Published on January 7 2014 Published by Delacorte Source: Netgalley Meet Sloane Emily Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C., who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the mass of misery that is her life. Now meet Sloane Devon Jacobs, a spunky ice hockey player from Philly who’s been suspended from her team for too many aggressive hip checks. Her punishment? Hockey camp, now, when she’s playing the worst she’s ever played. If she messes up? Her life will be over. When the two Sloanes meet by chance in Montreal and decide to trade places for the summer, each girl thinks she’s the lucky one: no strangers to judge or laugh at Sloane Emily, no scouts expecting Sloane Devon to be a hero. But it didn’t occur to Sloane E. that while avoiding sequins and axels she might meet a hockey hottie—and Sloane D. never expected t...

Beyond New Eden By  H.S. Stone Published on March 8th 2013 Published by H.S. Stone Source: Author Eve 142 has lived her entire life in the domed city of New Eden, home to the only surviving humans after the War. Like all of the inhabitants of New Eden, Eve 142 is a clone. Together with the other clones, dubbed the Adams and the Eves, she leads a safe, predictable existence. However, Eve’s life changes when she causes a tragic accident to befall one of the Adams. As retribution, she and her counterpart, Adam 142, are banished from New Eden. At first, Eve 142 considers their punishment a death sentence because she grew up believing the world outside the dome was uninhabitable. She is wrong. Forced to live in the Wastelands, Eve and Adam discover many new truths about the outside world and, more importantly, the truths about themselves. I'm a huge dystopian/post-apocalyptic fan. They are my favorite type of books by far. This was no exception. I read it from start to fi...

A Matter of Souls By  Denise Lewis Patrick Published on April 1st 2014 Published by Carolrhoda Books Source: Netgalley From the shores of Africa to the bowels of a transatlantic ship to a voting booth in Mississippi to the jungles of Vietnam, all human connection is a matter of souls. In this stirring collection of short stories, Denise Lewis Patrick considers the souls of black men and women across centuries and continents. In each, she takes the measure of their dignity, describes their dreams, and catalogs their fears. Brutality, beauty, laughter, rage, and love all take their turns in each story, but the final impression is of indomitable, luminous, and connected souls. I kind of want everyone to read this book.  It's a collection of short stories, so it goes by very quickly, and the focus is exclusively on people of color throughout history.  Aside from a strong theme of equality and civil rights, each story stands alone, so it's a very easy book to read ...

The Glass Casket By  McCormick Templeman Published on February 11, 2014 Published by Delacorte Press Source: Library Death hasn't visited Rowan Rose since it took her mother when Rowan was only a little girl. But that changes one bleak morning, when five horses and their riders thunder into her village and through the forest, disappearing into the hills. Days later, the riders' bodies are found, and though no one can say for certain what happened in their final hours, their remains prove that whatever it was must have been brutal. Rowan's village was once a tranquil place, but now things have changed. Something has followed the path those riders made and has come down from the hills, through the forest, and into the village. Beast or man, it has brought death to Rowan's door once again. Only this time, its appetite is insatiable The Glass Casket was a surprise for me! I love dark, creepy stories, but a lot of the time when I pick up a story expecting it,...

The Tree House By  Shay Lynam Published on March 2013 Published by Shay Lynam Source: Author Hailey is an average twenty-year-old college student, living an average life. Or so she thought. When a past she never knew existed is brought to light, the reality she thought she knew is shattered and Hailey is left alone to pick up the pieces. Who could know this world holds such evil? Who is this strange, obscure boy that seems to know more than he is saying? And what can one girl do when a fight to stay alive becomes a fight to avenge and protect the ones she loves? I had a really enjoyable time reading this book. I was pulled in immediately and found myself wrapped up in the story. Hailey is a twenty something student who is almost immediately thrown into something she (and you) don't understand. Someone breaks into her house, her parents are most likely dead, and she's on the run from "suits" who seem to want to kill her, or at the very least, take her...

The Forever Song By  Julie Kagawa Published on April 15th 2014 Published by Harlequin Teen Source: Netgalley VENGEANCE WILL BE HERS Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer. MONSTER Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie. In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone. I don't think I was actually ready to say goodbye to this...