The Goodnight farm is engulfed by the McCulloch’s ranch – a pretty good metaphor to describe Amy Goodnight’s life. Her family is different; all of the women are practicing white witches. This is a source of embarrassment for Amy, who sees it as her job to be a liaison between her family and the “normal” world that surrounds them.            Amy and her sister, Phin, are spending the summer caring for the ranch while their aunt is away. What should be an uneventful summer full of chores turns into just the opposite with a series of unexpected events: a ghost comes to visit Amy, humanRead More →

After four years of separation, Gwendolyn “Dough” Riley’s best friend, and long-distance boyfriend, is moving back to town! The only problem is that while Wish has gotten tall, handsome and charismatic, all Dough has gotten is fat. Wish’s arrival changes Dough’s status at school from pariah to a fringe member of the It Crowd. While she enjoys her lost anonymity, Dough begins to wonder about Wish. It is almost like Wish is a different person; he seems somehow more distant and he is almost too beautiful. Wish is so bright and golden; it’s almost like looking at the sun. Just as Gwendolyn begins to buyRead More →

Josh had sex with his teacher. As a 12 year-old seventh-grader his history teacher selected, groomed and eventually manipulated Josh into a sexual “relationship”. As Mrs. Sherman is brought to justice and the entire town learns of the sordid details Josh retreats into his own head. Now a senior in high school, a gifted baseball player with an amazing mind, Josh is having a hard time breaking away from his seventh grade self. For six years he has felt like the proverbial elephant in the room- the one that everybody notices and is curious about, but won’t address. Perhaps the redemption/conclusion he craves will comeRead More →

You Are Not Here Book description:  Annaleah and Brian shared something special – Annaleah is sure of it. When they were together, they didn’t need anyone else. It didn’t matter that their relationship was secret. All that mattered was what they had with each other.  And then, out of nowhere, Brian dies. And while everyone else has their role in the grieving process, Annaleah finds herself living outside of it, unacknowledged and lonely.  Reader Review:   You Are Not Hereby Samantha Schutz was a great read it captured my interest within the very first few pages. It made me look at how to deal with theRead More →

I only recently saw the award-winning movie, “Slum-dog Millionaire” and was haunted by it for weeks. My immediate reaction to Trash by Andy Mulligan was that it was going to be similar in a variety of ways – the children are orphans, they live in desperate conditions, and they (rightfully) mistrust the law.  I wasn’t sure I could experience another story of the horrors of youth in a third world country but the writing kept me captivated. Raphael lives in a metal box on the edge of the dump. He works every day in the dump looking for something edible, recyclable, salvageable or hopefully, valuable.One day he finds something very special. HeRead More →

I love fairy tales! Who hasn’t thought about what they’d wish for if they had 3 magic wishes or dreamed of finding Prince Charming? Alex Flinn, once again, weaves real life and fairy tale magic together to take us on a fun and sometimes funny romp. Johnny and his mom own a shoe repair store in an expensive hotel. Business is not so good and teenage Johnny has to spend 12-18 hours a day there. When a guest at the hotel, an exotic princess, notices him and his work ethic she asks him to help find her brother. The twist? The prince has been cursed by a witch and turned intoRead More →

  Lingerby Maggie Stiefvater Lingeris the sequel to Stiefvater’s romance, Shiver.  In Linger, Sam and Grace can now be together, but their life is too complicated: Sam’s the guardian of the pack and there’s trouble when wolf Beck changes a guy name Cole.  As it turns out, Cole is famous rock star so it becomes much harder to keep the pack a secret. Later in the story, Grace start to get sick, which leads to a big surprise at the end. I liked this book because it’s a lot like Romeo and Juliet. I think Linger is a good book for people to read because shows that people will do crazy thingsRead More →

Jill Jekel is devastated by the murder of her father. When the police discover that he had been involved in illegal activities they lose interest in finding his murderer. Jill discovers that her father had been secretly working in his laboratory in the middle of the night and used her college savings account to fund his experiments!  Now with her mother falling apart, Jill tries to find “normal” again. When the mysterious, handsome Tristen Hyde gives Jill attention and support she finds herself curiously drawn to him. And when their chemistry teacher suggests they work together in a competition for a chance to win a 30K scholarshipRead More →

Let me start by saying I looooove Louis Sachar’s books! All of his work until now has been for an intermediate audience, 4th – 6th grade. Sideways Stories, There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom and Holes all read as if someone is telling the reader a good story. Sachar’s latest, The Cardturner, doesn’t disappoint in that regard. Alton is volunteered by his parents to work for his wealthy uncle over the summer after his junior year in high school. His mom hopes he’ll get into the old man’s good graces and leave the family part of his fortune. Alton’s job 4 days a weekRead More →