First of all, let me say the blurbs on these book jackets are nonsense. This particular book, while worthy of notice and thought, will not leave you “breathless,” nor is it “heartbreaking” or particularly “raw.” OK, thank you, I feel… Read More ›
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The Goodbye Summer
Caroline is sixteen-going-on-seventeen, the only child in a loving and attentive family. Although she has dated before, she falls hard for a grocery store clerk named Jake, who is three years her senior, and she becomes embroiled in an intense… Read More ›
Hot Dog Girl
In the summer before her senior year, Elouise (Elle/Lou) Parker is working at an old but beloved amusement park called the Magic Castle in her small hometown. She’s not crazy about being assigned to walk around and dance in a… Read More ›
Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak
Lu Charles is a high school graduate embarking on her last summer before college enrollment in the fall. Filipino-American, she has two loving if divorced parents, one with whom she lives in an apartment in the heart of NYC (together… Read More ›
Belly Up
Once upon a time long ago and in a land far away, parents and societies recognized that youth with less-than-fully-formed brains (referenced that way in this book) needed to be protected from premature sexual activity that could sabotage their best… Read More ›
If I’m Being Honest
Living in Los Angeles with her unmarried has-been actress mom, senior Cameron Bright attends the most elite private high school on the West Coast, Beaumont Prep, courtesy of her wealthy, successful businessman dad, who heads his own company in New… Read More ›
Starworld
Sam(antha) is a 17-year-old girl with divorced parents. Her mother, although professionally successful, is severely OCD. Her dad has flown off to live and work in his native England, leaving Sam alone to cope with her. (He says later in… Read More ›
This Book Is Not Yet Rated
This is a well-written and entertaining book with many a good and thoughtful point to make about love, loss, communication, finding your tribe, finding your place in life, moving on, etc. Readers who love movies or have ever worked in… Read More ›
every moment after
It’s graduation day for the seniors of East Ridge High School in New Jersey, eleven years after a shooting in a first-grade class killed eighteen of their classmates. It’s a big media event, of course, but it’s also a pivotal… Read More ›
On the Come Up
This story opens with sixteen-year-old Brianna (Bri) Jackson dealing with a lot of worries. Her dad, once a rising rap star on the underground scene, is twelve-years-dead from a gang-related shooting, having left the family his famous name, a prized… Read More ›
Before You Buy YA 