Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: I am the Weapon by Allen Zadoff

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I Am the Weapon by Allen ZadoffI Am the Weapon
Allen Zadoff
Little, Brown and Company
Published May 13, 2014

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You will think he’s your best friend. Then, when tragedy strikes someone close to you, he’ll disappear, fade into memory.

Since he was 12, he’s been in the Program. He moves from place to place, from one assignment to another, befriending someone close to his target and then quietly completing his mission: assassination.

But the latest mission is different. Memories swell to the surface of his mind and the daughter of his target sees him too clearly. Instead of honing in for the … Continue reading →

Review: Seekers of the Lost Boy by Taryn Hayes

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Seekers of the Lost Boy by Taryn HaynesSeekers of the Lost Boy
Taryn Hayes
Maledi
Published May 3, 2013

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A light at the water’s edge prompts twelve year-old Simon to leave his family and return to the shore one last time. There he finds a bottle containing a message that will send his family on an incredible quest. The author of the message, a young boy, simply asks: Who is God and does he care about me?

As Simon’s family discusses their own answers, he can’t help wanting to communicate with this boy who asked the question so many years ago. With their father’s … Continue reading →

Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

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We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

WE WERE LIARS
E. Lockhart
Delacorte Press
Published May 13, 2014

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About We Were Liars

Since she was a little girl, Cadence has been spending summers with her Sinclaire cousins and family friend on a private island. In the infamous, wealthy Sinclaire family, emotions must be kept in check. Addictions and criminal behavior are not allowed.

But the summer after Cadence’s grandmother passes away, her perfect family falls into turmoil, and Cadence leaves the island with a mysterious head injury she can’t remember receiving.

When Cadence begs to return to the island to be with her family again, her mother … Continue reading →

Review: Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

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Torn Away by Jennifer BrownTorn Away
Jennifer Brown
Little, Brown and Company
Published May 6, 2014

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Fifteen year-old Jersey lives an annoyingly ordinary life, starting dinners for her working mother and dodging invitations to dance with her five year-old sister. All that changes when a fearsome storm spawns a deadly tornado that rips through Jersey’s life, leaving only wreckage in its wake.

Jersey survives the storm, but its aftermath sends her reeling. She’s lost everything. As she bounces from relative to relative, still shell-shocked by the memories of her home literally crumbling around her and swallowed by a powerful grief. Only a connection with another grieving family … Continue reading →

Review: Tessa by Melissa Wiltrout

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Tessa
Melissa Wiltrout
Life Sentence Publishing
Published September 3, 2013

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Fifteen year-old runaway Tessa Minor is forced to return home after being caught shoplifting some food from a grocery store. She dreads the moment she has to face her father again, knowing he’ll make her pay for every hour she’s been on her own. She wakes in the back yard shed at home, battered and bruised from her father’s punishment. When she’s finally able to return to school, Tess dodges questions from her friends but can’t help feeling curious about the new girl, Heather, who speaks openly about her faith and is warm and kind to Tessa. In the midst of a violent … Continue reading →

Review: There You’ll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones

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There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. JonesThere You’ll Find Me
Jenny B. Jones
Thomas Nelson
Published October 3, 2011

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Embattled by grief over her brother’s murder, eighteen year-old Finley Sinclaire embarks on a journey, hoping to encounter the God he so powerfully sensed in the beautiful Irish countryside. Though God seems to elude her, she can’t seem to escape the attentions of teen heart-throb and actor Beckett Rush. With mounting pressure to perfect her audition composition for the New York Conservatory, win over her assigned adopted grouch – er, grandmother – and avoid being caught in the web of girls falling for Beckett, Finley’s life spirals out of her control. Only … Continue reading →