Book of the Month: July - Wanderlove

by Kirstin Hubbard

18-year-old Bria Sandoval has just graduated from high school, and already her life is not going as planned. Her parents are fighting a lot. Her boyfriend Toby has broken up with her. A talented artist, she has been accepted to the art school of her dreams, but she's decided not to go. Her friends bail on their planned backpacking trip. Bria then makes a life changing decision - she will still go on that backpacking trip to Central America, alone, in hopes of getting away from it all.
 
Arriving in Guatemala City, she is imme­di­ately dis­ap­pointed in her organized tour group and regretting every decision she's ever made. Then right in the airport, she meets a wild, adventurous girl named Starling and her younger half-brother, Rowan; experienced backpackers urging Bria to ditch her lame tour group and come with them instead. It's the perfect opportunity to do something she, and everyone back home, never thought she'd do.

As Bria joins them in their journey through an amazing part of the world, she realizes much about herself and what she's capable of. She can travel alone. She can make new friends. She can lose her camera and it's not the end of the world. In fact, it ends up being a blessing in disguise, because it encourages her to return to her true love...drawing. Bria starts to draw things that catch her eye through her travels, things and people that touch her heart, and the experiences she doesn't want to forget. These illustrations are included through the book and add a beautiful, moving element to the story.

There is a romantic subplot with Rowan that is a real slow burn, and fits the story perfectly. Both characters evolve as they get to know each other better and understand their common desire to run away from their old lives, and to discover their true selves.

A teen recommended this book to me a few years ago, and it became one of my most favourite books of all time. I hope that someone else enjoys it as much as I do!

History Is All You Left Me

by Adam Silvera

Griffin is a sixteen-year-old boy suffering in the aftermath of the loss of his ex-boyfriend Theo, who has just died in a drowning accident in California. On top of grieving the death of his first love, Griffin is also struggling with worsening symptoms of his OCD, the deterioration of his friendship with another boy, Wade, and an inevitable confrontation with Jackson -  the boy who stole Theo away from him.

Chapters alternating between present day and "history" weave together beautifully to tell the story of Griffin and Theo's beginning and end, and everything in between. Equal parts funny, romantic, heart-breaking and profound, you'll be thinking about this book long after you've finished reading.

Dangerous Girls

By: Abigail Haas

I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up Dangerous Girls, but needless to say I was blown away. If you're looking for a thriller that will mess with your head, make you feel all the feels and leave you in a traumatized state wondering what just happened - look no further.

This is a story of a group of friends who have planned a luxurious, unsupervised and scandalous Spring Break trip to Aruba. Anna and her best friend Elise are especially excited for the trip. A couple of days in and everyone is having a blast, engrossed in non-stop fun and debachery fueled partying.

However, the trip is cut short when Elise is found brutally murdered in their rental condo. Best friend Anna, along with her boyfriend Tate, are the only friends in the group without an alibi and are subsequently accused of murder. Following the arrest, Anna must try to fight the charges and prove her innocence in a country far from home. 

I can't say much more about this; it's just too good. Be warned, this is a mature read with some disturbing elements, and not for the faint of heart. If you like murder mysteries full of suspense, anguish and mind-bending twists, check this one out.

Abigail Haas is a pseudonym for Abby McDonald, author of some other teen books that are much more light hearted.

Book of the Month: November - Salt to the Sea

by Ruta Sepetys

If you're like me and love historical fiction, you must give this one a try. Salt to the Sea knocks it out of the park with its combination of interesting characters, mystery, suspense and heartbreak within the context of one of the lesser known tragedies of WWII.

Have you ever heard of the sinking of the German ship MV Wilhlem Gustoff, hit by a Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea in 1945? Over 9000 refugees died, of which approximately 5000 were children. That is six times more deaths than the sinking of the Titanic, making it the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history. I'd never heard of it either - shocking, isn't it?

In this book, we follow four teens from different backgrounds as they desperately seek passage on the Wilhelm Gustoff, in hopes of escaping the horrors of Stalin's advance into Germany and their war torn lives at home. Each character has their own unique story and tragic past that they are trying to keep secret. As their lives converge, we follow them and the rest of their unlikely travel companions on a suspenseful journey to the ship, and then unfortunately, through the greatest maritime disaster the world has seen.

If you are into little known accounts of history like I am, I highly recommend Ruta Sepetys' other two novels - Between Shades of Gray and Out of the Easy. They are equally engaging and well researched. Another great historical novel for teens is A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. Happy reading!

The House of the Scorpion

By Nancy Farmer

In a future world that feels very "old world", the USA and Azatlán (formerly known as Mexico) have struck a deal to curb illegal immigration. Along the length of the border, a new country named Opium has been established. The thousands of miles of drug fields are owned by a handful of very powerful, corrupt families, and are heavily guarded by security, making crossing the border nearly impossible.

Matteo Alacrán ("scorpion" in Spanish) is a young boy living in Opium, in a small isolated shack among the poppy fields. His caretaker, Celia, is the only family he has ever known. For some reason unbeknownst to him, he is strictly forbidden from ever leaving the shack. Matt's life changes dramatically when his hiding place is discovered by the rich kids playing on the property, and he is brought inside to the mansion. Matt is informed that he is in fact a genetic clone of the most powerful drug lord in the country and patriarch of the Alacrán family, 142-year-old El Patrón.

The problem is, clones are actually despised by humans; seen as nothing more than filthy, unintelligent animals. Upon his introduction into the mansion, Matt is treated with disgust and contempt by everyone around him, with the exception of a couple of special friends and El Patrón himself. Being the clone of a highly respected and feared man, Matt enjoys a certain amount of luxury and protection unheard of for clones. But why exactly is Matt so important to El Patrón, and what will become of him when El Patrón is no longer around? 

This award-winning book was published over ten years ago but it is one of my favourites, and still holds its own in the world of teen dystopian fiction. Don't miss out on this one or its sequel, The Lord of Opium.

Passenger

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

A new YA historical time-travel romance novel where said time travel occurs at the sound of orchestra music and the male protagonist is African-American and our first adventure back in time puts us on a pirate ship in 1776? Was this book written just for me?!

Etta is a seventeen-year-old violin prodigy. She lives with her mom, with whom she has a somewhat strained relationship, and she's never known her dad. Stories of her mother's life before Etta are riddled with inconsistencies, which have in part kept the mother and daughter at a distance.

One evening, while on stage at a violin performance, a strange sound pierces the auditorium, throwing Etta into hysterics and setting an incredible transformation into motion. The only other person who seems to hear the sound and know what is going on is a fellow teen violinist named Sophia. The girls are pushed through a time passage and land on a ship under attack, in the middle of the ocean, in the 18th century. 

How, and why, have Etta and Sophia managed to travel through time? As you might imagine, the answers are complex and span the centuries, as powerful time-travelling families fight to uncover a hidden artifact that could change the course of human history forever.

This book was...more work than I expected. It is long, and it took a while for me to get into it. However, the time travel sequences, the romance with a freed slave, and the treasure hunt leading to a surprise twist ending was enough to keep me going, and in the end I did enjoy it quite a bit. This is first in a series by Alexandra Bracken, who is also the author of the popular The Darkest Minds trilogy.

Book of the Month: March - The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

By Leslye Walton

In this award winning novel, Ava Lavender’s family has a history of tragic love stories. Her great-grandmother, Maman; grandmother, Emilienne; and mother, Viviane’s stories are all told through this multi-generational saga of love and love lost. A bad track record of foolish love does not forecast a hopeful future for Ava, and is further complicated by that fact that she was inexplicably born with a full-size pair of non-functioning wings. Is she a monster, a bird, or something else entirely? Her twin brother Henry is mute, highly sensitive and suffers from what is likely an undiagnosed form of autism. The siblings have a challenging road ahead of them, to be sure.

Following a childhood of isolation, sixteen-year old Ava is struggling to make sense of her family’s strange history and to find her place in the world. Driven by a desire to fit in, she ventures outside, doing her best to hide the wings she was born with. Her naivety is both her charm and her curse. Some will accept her, some will not…and then there are people like Nathaniel Sorrows. An evangelical preacher new to town, Nathaniel mistakes Ava for an angel and his obsession with her grows quickly and dangerously.

This story is magical realism at its best – disappearing people, ghosts, prophecy and birds are woven together by a magical thread that never feels illogical or out of place. Darker themes such as sexual abuse, depression, murder and betrayal make this better suited to mature readers. It is stunning, strange and certainly beautiful.

Find it here! You may also enjoy: Midwinterblood; Bone Gap; The Walls Around Us

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.

 

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

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!

I Was Here

by Gayle Forman

18-year-old Cody's world is shaken to the core when her best friend, Meg, commits suicide while away at college. Cody and Meg were so close that they grew up like sisters, so it is no wonder that Cody's grief is amplified by the fact she had no idea her best friend was suicidal. They had grown a bit distanced during their first year apart, but still, how is it that Cody saw zero of the telltale signs of depression?

When Meg's parents send Cody to pack up their daughter's dorm room, Cody finds that her best friend has kept secrets from her she never would have expected. She also uncovers something strange: deleted emails and encrypted files on Meg's computer. With the help of some new friends, she sets out to discover the truth about the seemingly suspicious circumstances surrounding Meg's suicide. 

This was an uncomfortable read for me, with a side romance that I just couldn't get behind. However, I can see how many readers will love and connect with this story. Gayle Forman tackles some heavy issues with stark realism and there's no doubt that she packs a punch here.

Book of the Month - July: All Our Yesterdays

By Cristin Terrill

Em is being held prisoner on a secret military base. All that keeps her going is the voice of the boy in the cell next door and a list of instructions she finds inside the drain, written in her own handwriting. It appears that she and the neighbouring prisoner have made multiple attempts to stop the creation of a time machine that will destroy the world, but every visit back in time has landed them right back to this moment: trapped and tortured in a cell by the man known as "the doctor".

Meanwhile, Marina, an insecure private school girl has fallen in love with James. Not only is James handsome, sweet and shy, but he is also an incredibly gifted science prodigy from an esteemed family. When a tragedy causes James to lose it all one night, Marina is fiercely protective and will do anything to support him in his time of need. But as the hours pass, James' behaviour becomes increasingly erratic.

The instructions on the note are clear: Em has only one thing left to do, and this is her last chance...until Em and Marina's stories intertwine in a way that leaves both of them reeling.

Time travel is a concept that has always fascinated me, and while at times there are some real brain benders trying to figure out the logistics of how everything goes down here, it is worth the ride! 

Other books like All Our Yesterdays: The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer,  The Here and the Now by Ann Brashares, Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher, and Hourglass by Myra McEntyre.

The Selection

By Kiera Cass

I'm not going to lie: I picked this book up based solely on the gorgeous cover. Turns out, I became so hooked on the story that I'm now a tiny bit obsessed with this series by Kiera Cass.

In a newly formed nation called Illea, citizens are born into a strict caste system that rarely allows for upward mobility. So understandably, when it is announced that a Selection will be held to find a wife for the handsome Prince Maxon, and that teen girls of all castes are eligible to enter, the nation is buzzing with excitement.

When America Singer is Selected, it should be cause for celebration. But leaving behind her family and her secret love with a boy of a lower caste, America is brought into a fierce competition she has no intention of winning. Gradually, as she gets to know Prince Maxon, America begins to question all the plans she has made for her future.

Yes, this will remind you of the reality TV show The Bachelor. Yes, it's fluffy and silly but also ridiculously romantic and I'm a sucker for princes and forbidden love, so there you have it. Perfect summer beach read.

The series continues with The Elite, The One, and The Heir, as well as the companion novel The Selection Stories: The Prince and the Guard.

Book of the Month - March: Salvage

By Alexandra Duncan

Seventeen year old Ava was born and raised in deep space, on a merchant ship called the Parastrata. The culture of her ship is conservative and patriarchal. Women have babies, cook, clean, and work with textiles and animals. Men are leaders who take multiple wives, act as guards, fixers and flyers and are allowed to travel between the space ship and Earth.  Ava has never known anything beyond the Parastrata and as the captain’s daughter, or “so girl”, she is obedient and accepting of the rules – usually.

When she is sent to a neighbouring ship to be married, she makes a huge mistake the night before her wedding and is sentenced to death in the Void. Utilizing her natural aptitude for “fixes” and problem solving, she narrowly escapes to the Earth below, leaving behind everyone and everything she has ever loved.

Landing on Gyre, a floating trash pile on Earth, she is astounded to learn that women are capable of more than she ever imagined. Ava learns both figuratively and literally how to stand on her own two feet. Her new found freedom ignites her brave and adventurous spirit, brings forth unexpected friends, a secret family…and maybe even love again.

This unique feminist science fiction story was right up my alley, and the character development was great. Check it out!