Monday, October 27, 2014

Cover Concepts: October 26 - November 1

Happy Monday! Welcome to the feature Cover Concepts on my blog. Every Monday I am going to create a post with all of the young adult book covers that are releasing within the week. I will then tell you all what I think about the covers; If I love them, or if I think that they could be better. At the end of the post, I will give you all a chance to vote on your favorite cover of the week. As I pick a lot of my reads based on their covers, this seemed like the perfect feature for me to begin on the blog. Feel free to leave comments with your opinions of the covers as well, and we can discuss them! :]

This Week: I took the week off from Cover Concepts last week because I felt like I needed a break from it. Since it's something that is usually fun for me, when it felt like a chore I decided a break was in order. I am back to it now, though. Here are the YA releases for the week!

1. Waterfall by Lauren Kate - October 28
Teardrop #2
 Thoughts: I am a bit confused by this cover because it does not match the first book in the series at all. On Goodreads it shows a different cover that would match, but that release date shows November 3rd, so I don't know what's going on there. The other cover is much better because I do not like this one at all. I hate that the model's face takes up the whole background, and I do not like the title across her face either. I do think that the title font would be cool if it was done differently.

2. Catalyst by S.J. Kincaid - October 28
Insignia #3
Thoughts: This cover certainly matches the other ones in the series, so that is great. I don't mind it too much, though it is kind of simple. I like the font and that the series title is much smaller than the actual title. I do like the design on the background, and the color is pretty nice as well. It's fine, but I'm not excited about it or anything.

3. Compulsion by Martina Boone - October 28
The Heirs of Watson Island #1
Thoughts: I am pretty intrigued by this cover, actually. I do appreciate when models are smaller and not the whole focus like this, though at first it did take me a moment to make sure that it was people in the middle of the pathway. I think that the background is beautiful and I like the design around the title. I like how everything is the sepia tint as well.

4. Get Happy by Mary Amato - October 28
Thoughts: This is a really poorly done, stereotypical contemporary cover. That is about all I have to say about it. Clearly I am not a fan.

5. Resisting Ruby Rose by Jessie Humphries - October 28
Ruby Rose #2
Thoughts: It definitely matches the cover of the first book, though I am not sure if that is a good thing or not. I like the colors and the dress on the model much better on the first book, too. I feel like they could have gotten much more creative instead of sticking with the same exact thing.

6. Earth & Sky by Megan Crewe - October 28
Earth & Sky #1
Thoughts: I like the illustrated effect of this cover. It seems like a mix of techniques and textures, which is intriguing. I am a HUGE fan of purple on a normal basis, but I do wish that they would have picked a different color to be the main focus as I do not love it here. I think it would have looked even better with a red.

7. Atlantia by Ally Condie - October 28
Thoughts: I know Condie from the Matched series, I own them though I have yet to read them. This cover reminds me a lot of those books, even though they are not related. It has some picture in the middle, a solid color background, and text. Yup, this is pretty much the Matched cover just with a shell instead of a girl in a bubble...

Which cover is your favorite this week? Don't forget to vote!


Which is Your Favorite Cover This Week?







pollcode.com free polls

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Stacking the Shelves [24]

I am joining in on Stacking The Shelves, a weekly meme hosted over at Tynga's Reviews. It is an easy way to share what books you picked up that week, and to see what other people have picked up to read themselves.

How to Participate?
  • Create your own Stacking The Shelves post. You can use my official graphic or your own, but please link back to Tynga’s Reviews so more people can join the fun!
  • You can set your post any way you want, simple book list, covers, pictures, vlog, sky is the limit!
  • I am posting Stacking The Shelves on Saturdays, but feel free to post yours any day that fits you.
  • Visit Tynga’s Reviews on Saturday and add your link so others can visit you!

THIS WEEK: 


I took a trip to Barnes and Noble yesterday while I was out with a friend, and naturally I could not leave without picking up a couple of new releases. I am very excited to read these two, as I have heard such great things about them both already.

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch

A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.

Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.

Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.

So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, and serving her kingdom just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.

 Winterspell by Claire Legrand 

The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince . . . but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.

New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor's ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother's murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.

Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.

Her home is destroyed, her father abducted--by beings distinctly not human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they're to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets--and a need she can't define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won't leave Cane unscathed--if she leaves at all.

Inspired by The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.

Along with the two books that I purchased, I also received a book in the mail from Merit Press. I absolutely love this publishing company, and they always send me finished hardcovers instead of ARCs, which I think is absolutely amazing. I am so excited to read the one they just sent as well!

How We Fall from Kate Brauning 

Ever since Jackie moved to her uncle's sleepy farming town, she's been flirting way too much--and with her own cousin, Marcus.

Her friendship with him has turned into something she can't control, and he's the reason Jackie lost track of her best friend, Ellie, who left for...no one knows where. Now Ellie has been missing for months, and the police, fearing the worst, are searching for her body. Swamped with guilt and the knowledge that acting on her love for Marcus would tear their families apart, Jackie pushes her cousin away. The plan is to fall out of love, and, just as she hoped he would, Marcus falls for the new girl in town. But something isn't right about this stranger, and Jackie's suspicions about the new girl's secrets only drive the wedge deeper between Jackie and Marcus--and deepens Jackie's despair.

Then Marcus is forced to pay the price for someone else's lies as the mystery around Ellie's disappearance starts to become horribly clear. Jackie has to face terrible choices. Can she leave her first love behind, and can she go on living with the fact that she failed her best friend?

What did you add to your shelves this week?

Friday, October 24, 2014

Review: Jex Malone by C.L. Gaber & V.C. Stanley


Category: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Merit Press
Publication Date: June 18th, 2014
Page Count: 303
Format: Hardback
Source: via the publisher (thank you!)

Goodreads Synopsis: A famous case. A missing girl. If they find her, will they be heroes? Or dead?

Bored out of her mind during a summer with her police detective father in Las Vegas, Jessica (aka "Jex") Malone starts doing what she does best--snooping. When she meets three new friends who share her passion for crime, from the geek to the fashionista, suddenly, the stifling desert days don't seem so long.

Her dad is never around, just like when her parents were married. But Jex's crew, the Drew-Ids, take the pledge of eternal secrecy and then get down to the good stuff--digging through the cold-case files in Dad's home office.

One of them, the thirteen-year-old case of Patty Matthews, is still a mystery. Finding Patty, who vanished into thin air, became such an obsession for Jex's father that it destroyed the Malones' marriage. So not only is this a big deal, it's personal.

Jex is determined to find out what really happened, and her excitement is contagious. Soon her friends are all on board and so is the missing girl's brother, the hunky Cooper Matthews.

But as they dig up more and more troubling information--more than the cops ever did--they also get the clear message that someone out there wants to prevent the truth from coming out. That somebody is also prepared to do anything, absolutely anything, to prevent it.

Jex isn't afraid; after all, she's a cop's daughter. But maybe she should be.

Laced with humor, toughness, and real CSI investigation techniques, Jex Malone could be the Nancy Drew for a new generation--but with a chilling twist. These wannabe detectives are on the brink of finding out the fate of poor missing Patty. But will they disappear without a trace, too?


GOODREADS . AMAZON . B&N

Review: It has been far too long since I have written an adequate book review here. I guess a lot of that has to do with the fact that I was in a reading slump for quite some time. While a ton of books have sounded great, and I've even purchased some of them, I just did not feel like actually opening a book and reading anything. I was finally able to change that and read several books that I have received in the mail from Merit Press over the past couple of months. After reading these books (the reviews for the others will come next week), I have quickly decided that Merit Press publishes some really, really good YA books. You should all check them out, they are worth it. 

This was the first book that I received from them, something that was super exciting, and the synopsis was something that seemed likely to pull me out of my slump. I am so glad that I was right about that, too. I am definitely into several crime shows; Law & Order: SVU, Cold Case, Criminal Minds, and the new one Stalker, just to name a few. I was excited about reading a book that seemed like it would be very similar to these shows, and to have a teenage girl in the action trying to solve the crime seemed even better. 

I felt pretty bad for Jex at first. She has to travel to Las Vegas to spend a summer with her dad, who can't even bother to take some time off work to actually spend time with her. Instead, he continues to constantly work, which is what led to his failed marriage to begin with. While Jex is snooping around the house with some new friends, they discover her father's cold case files, one of which is one her father focused on so much that it tore their family apart. Needless to say, Jex could not just put the file away, and instead focused her attention on trying to solve the case once and for all. 

This book had so many wonderful things going for it. I have to admit that I have not read a lot of mystery recently, but this one definitely makes me want to pick some more up. The book was thrilling and had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I never wanted to put it down, always wanting to know what was going to happen next. I also absolutely loved that I could not actually figure the whole thing out. Every time I thought I had it solved, I ended up being wrong. The resolution ended up being a surprise to me, which is something I love when it comes to books like this. It kept me intrigued, and that is very important in a mystery book. 

The authors did a wonderful job building interesting, complex characters as well. Jex had tendencies to be very self-centered, and I loved seeing this flaw in the main character as it is something that everyone struggles with at some point or another in reality. Aside from Jex, the friends had background information and strong personalities as well. They weren't just friends who were thrown into the story and used as pawns when needed, they were developed and played an important roll in the story. After all, they stuck beside Jex when she decided she wanted to solve the crime, so I think that says something about their friendship, even if it was quickly developed. 

As I said earlier, this book was definitely a page turner. The plot was well-thought out and interesting, and it was certainly fast paced. There was no point in the book where I got bored or was not interested in what was happening. I do hope to see more of these characters in future books, as I do think that this wonderful book could turn into an amazing series.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

 

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Blogger Spotlight: Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings

Hello everyone! Welcome back to another Blogger Spotlight. Please say a big hello to Missie from A Flurry of Ponderings. I have been following Missie's blog for some time now, and I absolutely love it! She is also one of the sweetest people around. Once again, I have asked her some questions, and I am going to share her answers so that we can all get to know her better! Make sure to also go by her blog and leave a comment saying hello.


1. Tell us a little about yourself; nicknames, occupation, pets, family 
My name is Missie. I live in Moorhead, MN and work as a mortgage loan processor. I have been married for 5 years and live with my husband and two large fish tanks! 

2. How long have you been blogging?  
I have been blogging on A Flurry of Ponderings since December. This book blog has been such an awesome experience and I plan on keeping it up for a long time!

3. How did you decide on your blog name?
I actually put it into a generator and fell in love with the name. It encompassed so many things that I blog about!

4. What is your favorite type of post? (review, meme, feature, etc) 
I love doing reviews, Top Ten Tuesday and Waiting on Wednesday

5. What 3 books would you recommend to everyone?   
The Hunger Games, Harry Potter series and Throne of Glass

6. What author are you dying to meet?   
Rainbow Rowell, Veronica Roth, Leigh Bardugo, and Laini Taylor just to name a few!

7. What Hogwarts house would you be in? (Or Divergent faction)   
Let’s do both! I would probably be a Hufflepuff at Hogwarts and Amity in Divergent!

8. Favorite Quote?
“He made her feel like more than the sum of her parts.” 
 
Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor & Park

Tell us 10 random facts about yourself:

1. My favorite place in the world is my bed
2. I would love it if it were summer all year around in Minnesota
3. I get anxiety if I don’t have a book with me at all times
4. I am 31 years old but don’t feel like an adult
5. I love Disney channel shows
6. I hold my breath when I do sit-ups
7. I sleep with a frog I have had for over 10 years
8. My husband and I got married on a whim while on vacation in Vegas
9. I was told I could make friends with anyone, even a bar tap
10. My dream is to write a novel someday
 
Thanks so much for allowing me to host you on the blog, Missie! It was so much fun to get to know more about you, and it sounds like we have a few things in common, so I look forward to talking even more in the future! Everyone else should stop by Missie's blog and say a big hello, as well! 
 
If you would like to be showcased on a future Blogger Spotlight, please go fill out the form HERE.
 
  
  

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Universal Studios Flordia Vacation - Part 1


I have FINALLY had time to write up part one of our vacation (it's been a month, oops!). You can check out our first day of the trip at my personal blog HERE. Enjoy! :]

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Top Ten New Series I Want To Start


It's Top Ten Tuesday time! I'm linking up over at The Broke and The Bookish. I am going to try to be better about doing these posts every week if I am able to. At least, I will really try to do them when I like the prompt for the week. It just so happens that I really LOVE the plot for this week. There are SO many recent/semi-recent series that I really need to begin reading. For real, I am way behind! Maybe putting them down in list form like this will help motivate me to get started. Without further ado, the Top Ten Series I Want to Start (that have been released in the past couple of years). 


 1. The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu


 2. The Shatter Me Trilogy by Tahereh Mafi


 3. The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy Laini Taylor


 4. The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo


5. The Winner's Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski 


6. The Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas


 7. Fire and Thorns Series by Rae Carson


8. Let the Sky Fall Trilogy by Shannon Messenger


 9. The Finishing School Series by Gail Carriger 


 10. The Darkest Minds Trilogy by Alexandra Bracken 

I really need to start reading these strategies if I have a chance of getting to all of them anytime soon! Are any of these series on your list? Have you read any of them already?


 





 

Monday, October 20, 2014

2014 Releases I Still Want to Purchase - Part 3

Back again to share some of the 2014 releases that I still need to add to my shelves. I feel that this list might help when it comes time to make a list of books I would like to receive as Christmas gifts from friends and family (lets be real, I will probably have quite a few books on my Christmas list). Here are the releases I still hope to purchase from July, August, and September.

July Releases: 

The Dare by Hannah Jayne

Two jumped off the pier that night...but only one came back alive

Bryn did everything with her best friend Erica. So when someone dared Erica to jump off the pier one night at Harding Beach, Bryn was right by her side. But when Bryn made it back to the surface, Erica was nowhere to be found. Bryn tries to make a fresh start by burying her memories of that awful night. But when a Twitter post from "EricaNShaw" pops up on her feed and a chilling voice mail appears on her phone, she realizes that someone isn't ready to let go of the past...
 
 The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell. The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both. All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.

Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs.

But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.

Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.

When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.
 

For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she’s missed bits and pieces of her life. Now, she’s figuring out why. Now, she’s remembering her own secrets. And in doing so, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led…and the love that she can’t let go.

The Half Life of Molly Pierce is a suspenseful, evocative psychological mystery about uncovering the secrets of our pasts, facing the unknowns of our futures, and accepting our whole selves.
 
 Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally

Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.

But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.
 
 The Young World by Chris Weitz

After a mysterious Sickness wipes out the rest of the population, the young survivors assemble into tightly run tribes. Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington Square tribe, and Donna, the girl he's secretly in love with, have carved out a precarious existence among the chaos. But when another tribe member discovers a clue that may hold the cure to the Sickness, five teens set out on a life-altering road trip to save humankind.

The tribe exchanges gunfire with enemy gangs, escapes cults and militias, braves the wilds of the subway and Central Park...and discovers truths they could never have imagined.
 
 
August Releases:
 
 Some Boys by Patty Blount

Some boys go too far. Some boys will break your heart. But one boy can make you whole.

When Grace meets Ian she's afraid. Afraid he'll reject her like the rest of the school, like her own family. After she accuses the town golden boy of rape, everyone turns against Grace. They call her a slut and a liar. But...Ian doesn't. He's funny and kind with secrets of his own.

But how do you trust the best friend of the boy who raped you? How do you believe in love?
 
 Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre

Edie Kramer has a score to settle with the beautiful people at Blackbriar Academy. Their cruelty drove her to the brink of despair, and four months ago, she couldn't imagine being strong enough to face her senior year. But thanks to a Faustian compact with the enigmatic Kian, she has the power to make the bullies pay. She's not supposed to think about Kian once the deal is done, but devastating pain burns behind his unearthly beauty, and he's impossible to forget.

In one short summer, her entire life changes, and she sweeps through Blackbriar, prepped to take the beautiful people down from the inside. A whisper here, a look there, and suddenly... bad things are happening. It's a heady rush, seeing her tormentors get what they deserve, but things that seem too good to be true usually are, and soon, the pranks and payback turns from delicious to deadly. Edie is alone in a world teeming with secrets and fiends lurking in the shadows. In this murky morass of devil's bargains, she isn't sure who—or what--she can trust. Not even her own mind...
 

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out.  But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship. 
 
 Rumble by Ellen Hopkins

Matthew Turner doesn’t have faith in anything.

Not in family—his is a shambles after his younger brother was bullied into suicide. Not in so-called friends who turn their backs when things get tough. Not in some all-powerful creator who lets too much bad stuff happen. And certainly not in some “It Gets Better” psychobabble.

No matter what his girlfriend Hayden says about faith and forgiveness, there’s no way Matt’s letting go of blame. He’s decided to “live large and go out with a huge bang,” and whatever happens happens. But when a horrific event plunges Matt into a dark, silent place, he hears a rumble…a rumble that wakes him up, calling everything he’s ever disbelieved into question.
 
 Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner

Torrey Grey is famous. At least, on the internet. Thousands of people watch her popular videos on fashion and beauty. But when Torrey's sister is killed in an accident -- maybe because of Torrey and her videos -- Torrey's perfect world implodes.

Now, strangers online are bashing Torrey. And at her new school, she doesn't know who to trust. Is queen bee Blair only being sweet because of Torrey's internet infamy? What about Raylene, who is decidedly unpopular, but seems accepts Torrey for who she is? And then there's Luis, with his brooding dark eyes, whose family runs the local funeral home. Torrey finds herself drawn to Luis, and his fascinating stories about El dio de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.

As the Day of the Dead draws near, Torrey will have to really look at her own feelings about death, and life, and everything in between. Can she learn to mourn her sister out of the public eye?
 
 
September Releases (Part One):  

Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes

Outside, Anika Dragomir is all lip gloss and blond hair—the third most popular girl in school. Inside, she’s a freak: a mix of dark thoughts, diabolical plots, and, if local chatter is to be believed, vampire DNA (after all, her father is Romanian). But she keeps it under wraps to maintain her social position. One step out of line and Becky Vilhauer, first most popular girl in school, will make her life hell. So when former loner Logan McDonough shows up one September hotter, smarter, and more mysterious than ever, Anika knows she can’t get involved. It would be insane to throw away her social safety for a nerd. So what if that nerd is now a black-leather-jacket-wearing dreamboat, and his loner status is clearly the result of his troubled home life? Who cares if the right girl could help him with all that, maybe even save him from it? Who needs him when Jared Kline, the bad boy every girl dreams of, is asking her on dates? Who?
 
 Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson

Caddie can’t stop thinking that if she keeps from touching another person’s skin, her parents might get back together... which is why she wears full-length gloves to school and covers every inch of her skin.

It seems harmless at first, but Caddie’s obsession soon threatens her ambitions as an actress. She desperately wants to play Ophelia in her school’s production of Hamlet. But that would mean touching Peter, who’s auditioning for the title role—and kissing him. Part of Caddie would love nothing more than to kiss Peter—but the other part isn't sure she's brave enough to let herself fall.

Perfect for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson, this debut novel from Rachel M. Wilson is a moving story of a talented girl who's fighting an increasingly severe anxiety disorder, and the friends and family who stand by her.
 
 The Jewel by Amy Ewing

The Jewel means wealth. The Jewel means beauty. The Jewel means royalty. But for girls like Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Not just any kind of servitude. Violet, born and raised in the Marsh, has been trained as a surrogate for the royalty—because in the Jewel the only thing more important than opulence is offspring.

Purchased at the surrogacy auction by the Duchess of the Lake and greeted with a slap to the face, Violet (now known only as #197) quickly learns of the brutal truths that lie beneath the Jewel’s glittering facade: the cruelty, backstabbing, and hidden violence that have become the royal way of life.

Violet must accept the ugly realities of her existence... and try to stay alive. But then a forbidden romance erupts between Violet and a handsome gentleman hired as a companion to the Duchess’s petulant niece. Though his presence makes life in the Jewel a bit brighter, the consequences of their illicit relationship will cost them both more than they bargained for.
 
 Zac & Mia by A.J. Betts

"When I was little I believed in Jesus and Santa, spontaneous combustion, and the Loch Ness monster. Now I believe in science, statistics, and antibiotics." So says seventeen-year-old Zac Meier during a long, grueling leukemia treatment in Perth, Australia. A loud blast of Lady Gaga alerts him to the presence of Mia, the angry, not-at-all-stoic cancer patient in the room next door. Once released, the two near-strangers can't forget each other, even as they desperately try to resume normal lives. The story of their mysterious connection drives this unflinchingly tough, tender novel told in two voices.
 
 Starry Night by Isabel Gillies

Sometimes one night can change everything. On this particular night, Wren and her three best friends are attending a black-tie party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate the opening of a major exhibit curated by her father. An enormous wind blasts through the city, making everyone feel that something unexpected and perhaps wonderful will happen. And for Wren, that something wonderful is Nolan. With his root-beer-brown Michelangelo eyes, Nolan changes the way Wren’s heart beats. In Isabel Gillies's Starry Night, suddenly everything is different. Nothing makes sense except for this boy. What happens to your life when everything changes, even your heart? How much do you give up? How much do you keep?
 
 Falling into Place by Amy Zhang

Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High’s most popular junior girl. Mass, acceleration, momentum, force—Liz didn’t understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn’t understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect? Amy Zhang’s haunting and universal story will appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman, and Jay Asher.
 
 Kiss of Broken Glass by Madeleine Kuderick

In the next seventy-two hours, Kenna may lose everything—her friends, her freedom, and maybe even herself. One kiss of the blade was all it took to get her sent to the psych ward for seventy-two hours. There she will face her addiction to cutting, though the outcome is far from certain.

When fifteen-year-old Kenna is found cutting herself in the school bathroom, she is sent to a facility for mandatory psychiatric watch. There, Kenna meets other kids like her—her roommate, Donya, who’s there for her fifth time; the birdlike Skylar; and Jag, a boy cute enough to make her forget her problems . . . for a moment.
 
 Sway by Kat Spears

In Kat Spears’s hilarious and often poignant debut, high school senior Jesse Alderman, or "Sway," as he’s known, could sell hell to a bishop. He also specializes in getting things people want---term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake IDs. He has few close friends and he never EVER lets emotions get in the way. For Jesse, life is simply a series of business transactions.

But when Ken Foster, captain of the football team, leading candidate for homecoming king, and all-around jerk, hires Jesse to help him win the heart of the angelic Bridget Smalley, Jesse finds himself feeling all sorts of things. While following Bridget and learning the intimate details of her life, he falls helplessly in love for the very first time. He also finds himself in an accidental friendship with Bridget’s belligerent and self-pitying younger brother who has cerebral palsy. Suddenly, Jesse is visiting old folks at a nursing home in order to run into Bridget, and offering his time to help the less fortunate, all the while developing a bond with this young man who idolizes him. Could the tin man really have a heart after all?

Blackbird by Anna Carey

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her.

On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined. 
 
 Get Even by Gretchen McNeil

The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars in Gretchen McNeil’s witty and suspenseful novel about four disparate girls who join forces to take revenge on high school bullies and create dangerous enemies for themselves in the process.

Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that’s what they’d like the students and administrators of their elite private school to think. The girls have different goals, different friends, and different lives, but they share one very big secret: They’re all members of Don’t Get Mad, a secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school’s bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers.

When their latest target ends up dead with a blood-soaked “DGM” card in his hands, the girls realize that they’re not as anonymous as they thought—and that someone now wants revenge on them. Soon the clues are piling up, the police are closing in . . . and everyone has something to lose.
 
 Made For You by Melissa Marr

When Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital, she’s confused—who in her sleepy little North Carolina town could have hit her with their car? And why? But before she can consider the question, she finds that she’s awoken with a strange new skill: the ability to foresee people’s deaths when they touch her. While she is recovering from the hit-and-run, Nate, an old flame, reappears, and the two must traverse their rocky past as they figure out how to use Eva’s power to keep her friends—and themselves—alive. But while Eva and Nate grow closer, the killer grows increasingly frantic in his attempt to get to Eva.
 
 Jackaby by William Ritter

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police--with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane--deny.

Doctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.
 
 The Vault of Dreamers by Caragh M. O'Brien

The Forge School is the most prestigious arts school in the country. The secret to its success:  every moment of the students' lives is televised as part of the insanely popular Forge Show, and the students' schedule includes twelve hours of induced sleep meant to enhance creativity. But when first year student Rosie Sinclair skips her sleeping pill, she discovers there is something off about Forge. In fact, she suspects that there are sinister things going on deep below the reaches of the cameras in the school. What's worse is, she starts to notice that the edges of her consciousness do not feel quite right. And soon, she unearths the ghastly secret that the Forge School is hiding—and what it truly means to dream there.
 
[I decided to split September up because there are soooo many books I want that released in September :]
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