Every Day by David Levithan Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012. I listened to this book and loved the story. The quality of the audio wasn't always consistent with the character voices changing now and then. I found the story captivating and was a little disapointed at the end when A doesn't get to be with Rhiannon. A never knows where he is going to be or who he is going to be when he wakes up, every day is a different person- never the same- and by now he has made peace with that. He has figured how to live day by day without getting attached or involved until he meets Rhiannon. He lets his guard down and falls in love, but this is a love story that can't be, even if he convinces Rhiannon to believe him and what he is.
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, Henry Holt & Co., 2012. I wasn't particularly crazy about this fantasy story but a few pages into it got me hooked into Alina's story. Ravka was once a great nation, but the Shadow Fold- a vast impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters- is destroying their nation. This magic world is ruled by the Darkling, a seductive and terrifying magician, who uses the Grisha's unique powers to fulfill his destiny. Alina and Mal, are orphans who grew up together and have been inseparable ever since but all that changes when Alina discovers a unique power that can take her into the world of Grisha and make her the Darkling's chosen one.Could she be the key to Ravka's salvation? Would she risk everything to fulfill the Darkling's destiny? Or would she choose true love and damnation?
Everybody Sees The Ants by A. S. King, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011. I loved this book!. This is a story with so much happening from Lucky's dysfunctional family with his father not getting over his own father not returning from Vietnam, his mother always avoiding conflict, and the ruthless, over the top bullying from Nader McMillan's. But that all change when things get out of control and Lucky has to stop using his dreams as a hiding place. Because it is only on his dreams that he thinks he can be a true hero and save his grandpa, stand to his bully, and fix his family. As a reader I could feel Lucky's transformation and kept thinking this would be a great choice for book club discussion with teens dealing with peer pressure and bullying.
