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After by Amy Efaw tackles the very sensitive issue of “dumpster babies.” Devon is a straight-A student, star goalie of her soccer team, and probably more mature than her own mother. So what could have possessed her to throw her own baby in the trash? The answer is not simple, and Efaw approaches it with a fresh perspective. The book is largely set in a Juvenile Detention Center, where Devon awaits a hearing to determine whether or not her case should be kept in Juvenile court. Through her interactions with her lawyer and the people (both the staff and the other girls) at the center,Read More →

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When Abbey’s best friend Kristen vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, she refuses to accept that Kristen is dead. As rumors fly that her death was no accident, Abbey goes through the motions of grief, including attending her best friend’s funeral, where she meets Caspian, a mysterious and handsome stranger that keeps popping into her life. As the story unfolds, Abbey quickly realizes that the truth can be a fickle friend, challenging everything she thought she knew about her best friend, the boy she is quickly falling for, and even herself. One of the most unique features of Jessica Verday’s The Hollow isRead More →

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To be completely honest, Breaking Dawn, the end to the highly successful Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, was not everything that I had hoped for. However, it does succeed in giving the delightful love story between Bella and Edward that has enthralled us for three books a resounding finish, and Meyer has pulled out all the stops drafting this story. Adding in a few new twists, lots of characters, and bringing back the vampires we love to hate, Breaking Dawn shatters the Twilight mold and boldly enters a whole new arena. One of the new features in Breaking Dawn is having a large section ofRead More →

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Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen, is the story of Sam Carrier. All Sam can dream of is being an average guy who can actually talk to the beautiful and perfect Naomi. However, Sam has Tourette’s syndrome, which causes his body to twitch and tic and his mouth to not cooperate with his head. However, Sam’s life is about to change, through the long lost words of his deceased father and his new (and unexpected) friends. The journey he embarks on is one of self acceptance, love, and finding out just who you are in the world. As Jonathan Friesen’s debut novel, Jerk, California is oneRead More →

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In Special Topics in Calamity Physics, author Marisha Pessl spins an intriguing tale filled with mystery, teenage angst and dark humor. With a unique style of writing, narration peppered with references, similar to a research paper, Pessl’s novel takes on the unique world of Blue van Meer, an eccentric, introspective teenager whose life is interrupted by the death of a woman named Hannah Schneider. As the book unfolds, Blue jumps back in time and narrates the past year, which is filled with an array of interesting characters and mysterious circumstances that lead to a surprise twist at the end. Pessl’s novel is captivating, and whileRead More →

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Sonya Sones’ What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know is an easily accessible story of a lovable nerd experiencing his first relationship and its accompanying issues. It tells the story of Robin Murphy, an awkward artist who happens to land a popular girlfriend. When she is dropped by her friends for dating ‘the’ Murphy, they must make a stand together or lose what they have fought to gain. Written in accessible verse, What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know is a poignant coming-of-age tale. Sones’ narrator Murphy is the anti-hero whose quirks and insecurities are instantly endearing and lovable. As an imperfect Prince Charming, Murphy’s journey from timid boyRead More →

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Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande attacks the controversial arguments surrounding religion in schools from a new perspective. Mena, Brande’s protagonist, starts the school year having been kicked out of her church group. When none of her former friends will speak to her, Mena finds refuge in science class with a charismatic teacher and cute new lab partner. When the class begins the unit on evolution, however, Mena finds herself in a difficult position between her old and new friends. Tackling a number of controversial subjects, this book tells a compelling story of a young girl figuring out what she believesRead More →

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Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer’s much-anticipated follow up to her highly successful novels Twilight and New Moon, continues the saga rich with vampires, werewolves, and Bella Swan, the girl who loves them both. Picking up right where New Moon left off, Eclipse is filled with danger, intrigue, fighting and plenty of suspense. While the plot is riveting and the book is a page-turner that is almost impossible to set down, Eclipse differs from the first two books in the amount of background and character development Meyer provides. Not only does Meyer delve more deeply into the mythology of the werewolves and vampires, she also picks out individualRead More →

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In the Name of God by Paula Jolin is a moving and eye-opening depiction of the struggle to find one’s self and what one believes in. Nadia, the narrator of Jolin’s tale, is a seventeen-year-old girl in modern Damascus who is trying to figure out how to be the best Muslim she can be. Her quest is interrupted when her cousin Fowzi is arrested for speaking out against the government. As she watches her family and their varying degrees of faith deal with her cousin’s arrest, Nadia must figure out what she believes. Jolin’s compelling book provides a far-reaching look into a complex and controversialRead More →