Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: First & Then by Emma Mills

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First & Then by Emma MillsFirst & Then
Emma Mills
Henry Holt & Co.

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With college application deadlines fast-approaching, Devon is under pressure to be her most extraordinary self. The problem? How would Jane Austen say this? She’s remarkably uninteresting. Devon has never minded the sidelines. Especially when her best friend Cas and secret love takes the football field. When her socially awkward cousin Foster moves in with Devon’s family, his presence changes everything, bringing the local unapproachable football star, Ezra, into Devon’s path. Like, almost constantly. Ezra’s new closeness seems to stir some jealous feelings in Cas, and at first Devon thinks this might be the moment in which he discovers his deep love … Continue reading →

Review: Be Light Like a Bird by Monika Schröder

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Be Light Like a Bird by Monika SchröderBe Light Like a Bird
Monika Schröder
Capstone Young Readers

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After Wren’s father unexpectedly dies, her mother rips her away from her only home. Move after move takes Wren further and further across the country, and Wren can’t help but wonder what her mom is running from. Then Wren finds a beautiful pond to secret herself away to watch birds the way she and her father used to do. When Wren discovers the local landfill owner plans to demolish her sacred place, Wren vows to stop him.

The birdwatching elements felt very natural to me. I’m not an experienced birdwatcher by any means, but my daughter and I … Continue reading →

Review: Just a Few Inches by Tara St. Pierre

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Just a Few Inches by Tara St. PierreJust a Few Inches
Tara St. Pierre
CreateSpace

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When Carrie finds the perfect dress for the Valentine’s Day dance, she buys it, even though it’s a size too small. Though she only has days to prepare for the dance, she radically changes her food intake and begins taking diet pills, more than the recommended dose. She slims down just in time for the dance. The dress, the night with her boyfriend, everything is perfect. Until Carrie realizes it isn’t only her waist that’s smaller. It’s her. She’s shrinking. Doctors scramble to find a cure while Carrie grows ever smaller. As she shrinks, she loses social status, but even worse, … Continue reading →

Review: Detached by Christina Kilbourne

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detachedDetached
Christina Kilbourne
Dundurn Press
Available August 13, 2016

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After her grandparents’ unexpected deaths, Anna begins to feel untethered from her life. She fantasizes about suicide, the only end to the awful pressure of existing that she can see. On the outside, her best friend Aliya senses something isn’t right with her usually level-headed friend. But as Anna’s behavior becomes more and more erratic, it’s hard for her friends and family members to face the truth that something is deeply wrong.

This is a fairly dark story about a teenage girl suffering from depression. What I liked most was having the inside and outside views of Anna—in her point-of-view and her friend Aliya’s. … Continue reading →

Review: Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee

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geminiGemini
Sonya Mukherjee
Simon & Schuster
Available July 26, 2016

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A small town home fits just right for Clara, who longs to study the night sky and live in the familiar community where everyone knows her and her sister Hailey. But Hailey wants more. She learns of an art program in San Francisco, and soon it’s all she can think about. Problem is, where Hailey goes, Clara must go, as the two are conjoined twins. While Clara and Hailey can’t imagine life any other way, they each long for things that seem impossible. A boyfriend. World travel. A trip to the stars.

Last year I read One by Sarah Crossan, and I kind … Continue reading →

Review: The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng

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year of the bookThe Year of the Book
Andrea Cheng
HMH Books for Young Readers

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When a social shift at school leaves Anna without her best friend, she turns to books for companionship. When she feels pressure in Chinese class because she doesn’t know as much as the other kids, books are her refuge. But as the people in Anna’s life begin to experience troubles of their own, she learns that sometimes, just like the heroes in her stories, she must step out into the unknown and offer help. Sometimes, Anna learns, this is precisely what makes for the best friendships.

Anna charmed me from the first page. I loved the descriptions of the stories she … Continue reading →