Review: Hurdles in the Dark by Elvira K. Gonzalez

Hurdles in the Dark by Elvira K. Gonzalez

Hurdles in the Dark: My Story of Survival, Resilience and Triumph
Elvira K. Gonzalez
Roaring Brook Press
Published May 28, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Hurdles in the Dark: My Story of Survival, Resilience and Triumph

A Mexican-American teen girl dreams of winning an athletic scholarship against all odds in a Texas border town. This true story of survival, strength, and triumph is perfect for fans of Educated and Athlete A.

Twenty-four that’s how long fourteen-year-old Elvira Gonzalez is given to come up with the $40,000 she needs to save her kidnapped mother from a drug cartel. It’s … Continue reading

Review: Better Must Come by Desmond Hall

Better Must Come by Desmond Hall

Better Must Come
Desmond Hall
Atheneum
Published June 4, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Better Must Come

Barely Missing Everything meets American Street in this fiercely evocative, action-packed young adult thriller that looks at the darker side of light-filled Jamaica and how a tragedy and missing drug money helplessly entangle the lives of two teens who want to change their fate.

Deja is a “barrel girl”—one of the Jamaican kids who get barrels full of clothes, food, and treats shipped to them from parents who have moved to the US or Canada to make more money. Gabriel is caught up in a gang and desperate for a way out. When … Continue reading

Review: Past Present Future by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Past Present Future by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Past Present Future (Rowan & Neil #2)
Rachel Lynn Solomon
Simon & Schuster
Published June 4, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Past Present Future

They fell for each other in just twenty-four hours. Now Rowan and Neil embark on a long-distance relationship during their first year of college in this romantic, dual points of view sequel to Today Tonight Tomorrow .

When longtime rivals Rowan Roth and Neil McNair confessed their feelings on the last day of senior year, they knew they’d only have a couple months together before they left for college. Now summer is over, and they’re determined to … Continue reading

Review: The Worst Perfect Moment Shivaun Plozza

The Worst Perfect Moment by Shivaun Piozza

The Worst Perfect Moment
Shivaun Plozza
Holiday House
Published May 14, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Worst Perfect Moment

Equal parts tender and edgy, this inventive queer romance imagines what it might feel like to come of age in the afterlife.

Tegan Masters is dead.

She’s sixteen and she’s dead and she’s standing in the parking lot of the Marybelle Motor Lodge, the single most depressing motel in all of New Jersey and the place where Tegan spent what she remembers as the worst weekend of her life.

In the front office, she meets Zelda, a cute and sarcastic girl … Continue reading

Review: Where Was Goodbye? by Janice Lynn Mather

Where Was Goodbye by Janice Lynn Mather

Where Was Goodbye?
Janice Lynn Mather
Simon & Schuster
Published April 30, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Where Was Goodbye

A teen girl searches for closure after her brother dies by suicide in this breathtaking novel from the author of Learning to Breathe and Facing the Sun.

Karmen is about to start her last year of high school, but it’s only been six weeks since her brother, Julian, died by suicide. How is she supposed to focus on school when huge questions Why is Julian gone? How could she have missed seeing his pain? Could she have helped him?

When a … Continue reading

Review: Ghost Writers: The Haunting of Lake Lucy by Sandy Deutscher Green

Ghost Writers: The Haunting of Lake Lucy by Sandy Deutscher Green

Ghost Writers: The Haunting of Lake Lucy
Sandy Deutscher Green
Monarch Educational Services
Published May 14, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Ghost Writers: The Haunting of Lake Lucy

Your new pen pal has a grave secret.

A lakeside summer vacation is just what 13-year-old Jayce needs…except he’s convinced the ghost from his nightmares lives in the creepy house next door. But when he decides to team up with his twin sister to write a letter to the phantom neighbor, he’s shocked when THE GHOST WRITES HIM BACK! Now Jayce must uncover the dark secret of a cursed lake-or remain … Continue reading