Click'd by Tamara Ireland Stone

This summer I discovered a new author- Tamara Ireland Stone  and have now read a few books by her.  I really like her writing style.  While the first two books Every Last Word and Little Do We Know are heavier books that deal with big issues, this one is a bit lighter, however it still deals with important issues. 

Click'd is the story of Allie- a 7th grader who has just spent the summer at a Girls Coding Camp where she created her very own app- Click'd.  Allie is very proud of her app, she wanted to create an app that would help her meet friends who shared similar interests.  She is thrilled when her computer science teacher recommends her for a huge coding competition that is coming up soon.  Allie is very excited to share her new app.  After showing it to her friends, Allie is convinced to open it up to her school. Suddenly the whole school has Click'd fever and her app is reaching epic proportions.  But when she discovers a glitch in her app that has the potential to leak personal data and information, Allie is torn between allowing her success to continue and doing the right thing. 

I thought this book was great- the grade 7 students in this book are similar to grade 7's at my school.  Interested in their phone, the latest app and their friends.  Allie is a great character, I loved reading about a female who is passionate about coding, but also interested in soccer and her friends.  I think this book would make a great read aloud and would allow opportunities for discussions about coding, friendship, perseverance and other topics that are interesting to students in grade 7 and 8. 

 

Little Do We Know by Tamara Ireland Stone

This book arrived a bit unexpected (this seems to happen a lot!), but then I realized I finished Every Last Word a few weeks ago and this is by the same author.    I loved this book as much as I loved Every Last Word. 

Hannah and Emory have been best friends for their whole life, they are both very different girls.  Hannah is the daughter of a pastor, and she is committed to her church and the preaching of her father. Hannah has been waiting to go to Boston for University for ever, but dreading leaving her best friend.   Emory is the daughter of a single mother who has recently found love and is currently planning her wedding. Emory is an actress and is in love with her boyfriend Luke, but preparing for their inevitable parting when they head off to different schools. 

Three months ago, Hannah and Emory got into a terrible fight, both of them saying things they didn't mean and they haven't spoken since.  Both miss each other, but can't quite find the way back to their friendship.  One night Hannah finds Luke slumped over the wheel in his car barely alive.  This draws the three of them together as they struggle to come to terms with what happened and how to move forward after the accident. 

I loved the way this story was told from both Hannah and Emory's perspective.  Luke, is the perfect boyfriend- funny, sweet, kind, but also realistic.  I was worried that Hannah's commitment to her religion would be hard to read, but I loved how she was grappling with her faith, and how she wanted to handle religion and faith outside of how her parents handled it.  I loved the glimpses of friendship between Hannah and Emory before the fight and how the girls supported each other even though they were totally different. 

This story does have a bit of mature content, Emory and Luke are a serious dating couple, but it is done in a really sensitive, vague way that leaves me knowing that it would be ok in an Intermediate library.  It reminded me a bit of The Fault in Our Stars - teenagers in love, but committed to each other.   

I'm going to go and order the rest of the books that Tamara Ireland Stone has written, even though I have a shelf full of books to be read! 

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

I have no idea where I found this book, I ordered it Thursday and it arrived Saturday morning.  When I opened up the box will all the books, this one stood out as what I need to read next.  I've not read anything by Tamara Ireland Stone before, but you can be sure my Amazon cart currently has more of her books in it. 

This story is about Samantha - a 16 year old who on the surface has it all.  She is popular, is friends with all the right girls, does well in school, has a great family and is on track for a college scholarship in swimming.  But Samantha is hiding a mental illness, Samantha has OCD and she struggles to turn off her brain when it starts to worry about something. 

Samantha is secure with her friends, but she also knows that one small slip up and she will be shunned by them all, and that scares her a lot.  But then Sam meets Caroline who introduces her to Poet's Corner, a secret group of kids from her school who aren't like her regular friends.  As Sam gets to know these other students, she is drawn to AJ more and more, and she starts to feel like she is a normal teenager.  However, what Sam needs to learn is that normal is different for everyone. 

I LOVED this book- I read it in about 3 hours straight.  As I was reading it I was thinking about a few kids in my school who struggle with anxiety and mental health.  Sam reminds me so much of one of my girls- a girl who like Sam thinks she is weak and different and broken and yet like Sam, she is stronger than anyone I know.  I'm really hoping this student will read this book, but I'm not sure I can convince her of that. 

There is one mature scene in this story, however it is gentle enough that this book still belongs in an Intermediate classroom.  I can't wait to read more books by Tamara Ireland Stone.