The Secrets we Keep by Trisha Leaver

I'm not sure where this book came from...it was just sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.  But boy was it a good one!

The story is about two sisters, Ella and Maddy, identical twins who may look alike, but couldn't be more different in personality.  Ella lives in Maddy's shadow, she's the quieter one, the smarter one, the one with a few close friends.  Maddy is the popular one with the boyfriend, a group of friends that she can always rely on for a good party and is co-captain of the field hockey team. 

One night, after a terrible argument, Maddy and Ella get in a car accident that leaves Maddy dead and Ella confused as to her identity.  When everyone assumes that Ella is Maddy, Ella figures that it is because everyone wants Maddy alive, and not her.  Ella feels she owes it to her sister to live the life she was meant to live, and Ella decides to give up her dreams and her life.  But it isn't easy being someone else, even if that someone is the person you should know the best in the world. 

Ella is such a wonderful character, you really get the sense of the struggle she is facing after not only the death of her sister, but learning the truth behind the person her sister had become. 

I can't wait to give this book to a few of the kids at school in September. 

If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say by Leila Sales

Back in the spring, I read a book This Song Will Save Your Life and I really liked it.  I ordered this book because it was written by the same author.  I've been in a bit of YA book slump trying to find a book to catch and keep my interest. This morning I had a bit of time on my hands, so I grabbed this book and it was just what I needed. 

If you don't have anything nice to say digs into what happens when mistakes are made in today's world of social media.  Winter, is a 17 year old senior.  She is a smart girl who has her future completely mapped out for her.  Then one night she sends out a tweet as a joke that goes viral and suddenly the whole world is mad at her.  She loses her friends, has hurt her family and has no idea what to do next.  The rest of the story explores how Winter deals with the fallout of one mistake that could happen to anyone. 

I thought this story was brilliant from many different angles.  The idea for kids to realize that what you post online stays there forever, and that when you comment or criticize someone, you don't always have the whole story.  I so often see the impacts of words exchanged online, I think people forget that behind the keyboard is a real person.  Hopefully this book will help people realize that their words do have power and can hurt. 

I think this is a book that could be read aloud in an Intermediate classroom for sure- I would suggest you read this one for yourself. 

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! 

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

Coming home from Italy a few weeks ago, the flight was 8 hours long which gave me lots of time to watch movies.  One of the movies I watched was Dumplin' starring Jennifer Aniston.  I LOVED the movie, just one of a few times I cried on the flight home.  When I got home I decided I had better read the book and I'm so glad I did.  I thought the book was even better than the movie. 

Dumplin' is the story of Willowdean Dickson from Texas.  Willowdean is a 16 year old who is mostly comfortable in her plus size body.  However it is not easy being her, Willowdean's mother is a former winner of the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet beauty pageant and each year she runs, organizes and hosts this prestigious event.  Willowdean has never felt the need to compete in the beauty pageant, but this year, something has changed for her.  Willowdean now sees the pageant as a way to show the world that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.  But it isn't easy for her because she isn't always as confident as she seems on the outside.  As Willowdean learns about love, friendship and death, she questions her ability to compete with the traditional beauty queens. 

Willowdean is an amazing character.  She is sassy and funny and a typical teenager.  I just loved her as a character.  There are a few mature parts to this story, I would be careful about the Intermediate students I gave this to, but Willowdean's attitude towards life is something that everyone needs to read. 

All Eyes on Us by Kit Frick

One look at Amanda and Carter and you know they are the golden couple.  They have all the right clothes, cars and friends. Their future is set- they will be the golden couple for years to come.   But if you look a little deeper, things aren't quite as they seem. 

Amanda is having doubts about Carter, but she knows her parents expect her to marry him so that her family will be financially stable.  Carter is dating Rosalie behind Amanda's back. 

Then there is Rosalie.  Her family are fundamental Christians who believe in conversion therapy and have used it to ensure that Rosalie follows the traditional path and finds a man to marry.  However, Rosalie is gay, and wants nothing more than to spend her life with her girlfriend Pauline, but Carter helps her convince her parents she is 'cured'.

When Amanda and Rosalie start receiving strange texts from someone, it seems that all of their secrets are about to be spilled.  It seems that there is someone who wants to see Carter go from the American boy to having his heart broken.  Amanda and Rosalie, unlikely allies, come together to solve this mystery and try to keep all of their secrets safe. 

I enjoyed reading this book. Rosalie is a great character who I felt a great deal of sympathy for.  On the surface, Amanda seems like a typical rich girl who gets everything she wants, however she is also struggling to live a life that she wants, not what her parents want. 

This book does have some mature content, but it would be fine to be in a grade 7 & 8 classroom /library. 

Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney Stevens

Back in May I read the book Faking Normal  and immediately looked online to see what else she had written, and that's when I ordered Dress Codes for  Small Towns. 

This is a really interesting book- lots to discover below the surface of the story.  The story is set in Kentucky, and the main character is Billie, a teenager whose father is the town preacher.  Having a father in this role is very difficult for Billie.  She is a tomboy who, with her group of friends "the Hexagons" stir up lots of trouble whenever they are together.  Billie is also discovering love, she's not sure if she loves her best friend Woods, or her other best friend, Janie Lee.  She is questioning her sexuality, her faith and what it means to love.  Throughout all of this, Billie is fiercely loyal to her friends,  and her community. 

This book is complex, the things Billie is grappling with are things I see in many students in my school.  It does deal with mature concepts, but I also think it is an important book for kids to read.  I'm looking forward to sharing it with some of the kids at school. 

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.