Every Day

by David Levithan

'A' is a soul who wakes up in a different body every single day. This has been happening since the day he/she was born. Every day 'A', who is of indeterminate gender, race and physical appearance, gets to be the person whose body he/she is inhibiting, and has access to their memories and to their lives.

The day 'A' wakes up in the body of Justin seems like it will be an average day in the life of a moody teenage jock, until 'A' meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon.
 
The next day, 'A' is in a different body again, but is unable to forget Rhiannon. From that moment on, 'A' goes against his/her code of conduct and has only one goal each day - to reconnect with Rhiannon, in whatever body he/she may be inhabiting that day.

I loved this book and the questions it brought up - like, how interconnected are attraction and physicality? What is it that makes you love a person? What, if anything, separates what 'A' does from what some religions would consider demonic possession? And if you could truly walk in another person's shoes for a day, how do you think it would change you? 

Another Day is the companion novel, which tells the story from Rhiannon's perspective.

 

Stone in the Sky

Stone in the Sky

By Cecil Castellucci
Have you ever gone to the library to pick up the newest book series only to find that the first book in the series is out. Well that is what happened here but I decided to try reading the second book first and see how it went. I was not disappointed at all. I was able to follow the story even though I had not read the first book, Tin Star. Stone in the Sky is set in space and filled with aliens and adventure this book is a wonderful look at the human experience. Our main character, Tula, has not had it easy but she has found her place, safety, a home and a family. Award winning author Cecil Castellucci brings the reader to a remote space station near a resource rich planet. Beings from across the universe, some very dangerous, are descending upon the planet in the hopes of becoming rich. Unfortunately, for Tula, one of these people is the man who nearly killed her many years ago. Readers should be ready for an intense read when they pick this up. Adventure, intrigue and romance fills this duet of novels. According to the author this series is only going to be two books long, unlike many series and trilogies on the YA shelves.

Book of the Month: November - 100 Sideways Miles

100 Sideways Miles

by Andrew Smith

Here's what you need to know about Finn Easton: He has one blue eye and one green eye. He lives in the shadow of his father's cult-classic book, in which the main character bears an uncanny resemblance to Finn. He measures the world in miles instead of minutes. He plays baseball. As a little kid, a dead horse falling from a bridge broke Finn's back and killed his mother. The aftermath is that Finn is scarred and suffers from epileptic seizures.

If this is sounding a bit strange, let's not forget that this story also features knackeries, abandoned prisons, and a lot of raunchy analogies for the symbol : | :

One summer, Finn falls in love with a girl named Julia. After Julia moves back home, Finn and his best friend Cade go on a road trip to Oklahoma. The boys leave in hopes of figuring out life after high school, but their involvement in an unexpected accident rewrites their future.

When author Andrew Smith went on a book tour earlier this year, his tagline was "Keep YA Weird". He is the master of offbeat, experimental fiction and this coming-of-age story was the perfect combo of great writing, likeable characters and a dash of weirdness.

Other books like 100 Sideways Miles: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, Noggin by John Corey Whaley, Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith, Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Are You Still There

by Sarah Lynn Scheerger

Gabi, a senior in high school, is an over-achiever.  She volunteers, gets straight As, and has already submitted early action applications to her colleges of choice. Things are going according to plan, until a bomb scare at her school turns her life upside down.  The cops are able to find the bomb in time, but they don’t find the bomber.

Shortly after the bomb scare, Gabi starts finding strange, threatening notes in her locker and around school campus. Could they be messages from the bomber, or someone else?  Why are so many of the notes left for Gabi?  

Meanwhile, school administrators set up an anonymous help line, and Gabi is one of the students asked to help staff the line. The students staffing the line are an unlikely group – representing all different cliques in the school, but Gabi realizes that she has more in common with some of her new workmates that she would’ve originally thought. Part mystery, part realistic fiction, this is a relatively quick read.

Things I Know About Love

Things I know about Love

By Kate Le Vann

I was looking to read a little something with some romance and this popped out at me from the shelf. I was intrigued because of the premise; a young woman travels half way across the world to visit her brother after she has won a battle with Leukaemia, this sounded inspiring and Things I Know About Love was just that. Livia is a strong young woman looking to get away and celebrate winning a battle with a serious illness. She travels from England to New Jersey to visit her brother over the summer and she ends up finding love.
Over the summer instead of creating a traditional travel journal, Livia decides to create a blog. She writes about all of her experiences in this private blog. The book is written as if the reader has been given access to this blog and the format of the writing style is fun to read. With lists and notes about love and life the reader is taken into this seventeen year old girls life and self-reflection. I especially enjoyed reading some of the British slang that Livia uses and found myself reading many portions with an English accent. One word of warning though; you might need a tissue for some points and you will definitely finish the book wanting to know more.
After finishing I was drawn to look at more YA fiction that had a blog feel and now I am reading Kiss & Blog. I'll let you know how it goes!

Saint Anything

By Sarah Dessen

Sydney has lived her whole life in the shadow of her older brother Peyton. Everyone in her life, especially her parents, dote on him despite his continued troubles with the law. Then one night, her brother gets in real trouble when he drives drunk and hits a boy on a bike. Now Sydney is known as the girl with the brother in jail, and all she wants to do is crawl under a rock. 

To allow her family to put her costly private school tuition toward lawyer bills - and to get away from the stares - Sydney decides to change schools for senior year. At her new school, Sydney meets the Chatham family, who have their own set of problems but are entirely more open than Sydney is used to. As Sydney navigates through new and old friendships, a new family dynamic, and confronting her crushing guilt about the accident, she starts to find herself after feeling invisible for a very long time.

This book started a bit slow for me, but by the halfway point I was in love with it. Sarah Dessen fans will not be disappointed. I really connected with the characters and loved the meaning behind the title "Saint Anything" (you get to it, eventually). Also, that beautiful carousel on the cover!

Alex as Well

Alex as Well

By Alyssa Brugman

This is the complicated story about a young teen who is trying to figure out who they are. Many teens are trying to figure themselves out but for Alex things are a little more complicated because Alex, our main character, was born a little different. Alex was born intersexed. What is this? You may be asking yourself. Well Alex was born with the sexual organs of both sexes. As a baby Alex's parents chose to raise Alex as a boy. Unfortunately Alex has always felt like a female. So after being raised as a boy for so long she decides to create a whole new identity as a female. The journey will be tough and long. Many questions and lessons about gender, acceptance, sexuality, belonging, and friendship are dealt with in this novel. Alyssa Brugman's Alex as Well answers the question; does it matter whether you're a boy or a girl?