The Lucky List
By
Rachael Lippincott
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (June 1, 2021)
Hardcover: 304
pages
ISBN-10:
1534468536
ISBN-13:
978-1534468535
Reading
age: 12 years and up
Grade
level: 7 – 9
Publisher’s
Blurb:
Emily and her mom were always lucky. Every
month they’d take her lucky quarter, select lucky card 505, and dominate the
heatedly competitive bingo night in their small, quirky town of Huckabee. But
Emily’s mom’s luck ran out three years ago when she succumbed to cancer, and
nothing has felt right for Emily since.
Now, the summer before her senior year, things are
getting worse. Not only has Emily wrecked things with her boyfriend Matt, who
her mom adored, but her dad is selling the house she grew up in and giving her
mom’s belongings away. Soon, she’ll have no connections left to Mom but that
lucky quarter. And with her best friend away for the summer and her other
friends taking her ex’s side, the only person she has to talk to about it is
her dad’s best friend’s daughter, Blake, a girl she barely knows.
But that’s when Emily finds the list—her mom’s
senior year summer bucket list—buried in a box in the back of her closet. When
Blake suggests that Emily take it on as a challenge, the two set off on a
journey to tick each box and help Emily face her fears before everything
changes.
As they go further down the list, Emily finally
begins to feel closer to mom again, but her bond with Blake starts to deepen,
too, into something she wasn’t expecting. Suddenly Emily must face another
fear: accepting the secret part of herself she never got a chance to share with
the person who knew her best.
My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this book. Overall, the teenagers act
like teenagers. For Emily and her father, working through the loss of her
mother is fraught, and they tiptoe around each other a lot. They finally learn
to communicate better.
Emily overthinks the big thing that happened at
the end of junior year. She is certain she is a complete pariah, but I think
all her “former” friends that she’s avoiding are not as hung up on it as she
is. But her boyfriend problems are definitely something she has to think about
more deeply.
Free-spirited Blake is a positive force. She is
more open and willing to be who she is, and it is she who encourages Emily to
do the things on her mother’s list. There are some definitely surprises along
the way!
Possible
Objectionable Material:
The
usual teenage hijinks. Some swearing. Same-gender relationships. Sneaking out.
Who
Might Like This Book:
Those
who enjoy coming of age stories. I think boys could enjoy this story, though it
is definitely targeted more toward girls.
Thank
you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my
honest opinion.
The Car Share
By
Zoe Brisby
Publisher: Hodder
(UK June 3, 2021) (US March 29, 2022)
Paperback:
336 pages
ISBN-10: 1529366607
ISBN-13: 978-1529366600
Publisher’s Blurb:
A ninety-year-old woman with Alzheimer's and a
heartbroken young man end up sharing a ride to Brussels that changes their
lives forever.
When Alex pulls up to meet "Max", he
expects everything but a ninety-year-old lady who has her heart set
on getting to Brussels by carpool.
As for 'Max', who is actually called Maxine, she
could not be more ill at ease when settling into the seat next to this young
man with bloodshot eyes. God help her if he turned out to be a drug addict who
hasn't slept in days!
When it becomes clear that Maxine is suffering
from Alzheimer's and wants to take matters in her own hands while she still
can, and that Alex battles severe depression, a wonderful friendship
starts to form between the unlikely pair. Before long, their travel plans
take an unexpected turn...
My Thoughts:
This
was a lot of fun. Our two lead characters are real characters. Alex is clinically
depressed after taking an unsuccessful chance on love. Max has watched her
husband die with Alzheimer’s, and recognizes symptoms in herself.
Their
meeting is completely by chance…and entirely the best chance they have. Max is
determined to help Alex get some confidence before she dies. Alex is determined
to stop Max from going too soon.
Lots
of funny coincidences as runaway Max is suspected to have been abducted by
Alex. Max’s handbag may need to be acknowledged as its own character.
The
resolution of the book is tidy without being far-fetched.
Possible
Objectionable Material:
Mild
swearing. Conversation about suicide. Mental illness. Drinking.
Who
Might Like This Book:
Although
this book is targeted at adults, teens could certainly enjoy the story. Anyone
who likes road trips and unlikely friendships.
Thank
you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my
honest opinion.
Reckless:
The Petrified Flesh
By
Cornelia Funke
Publisher: Pushkin
Children's Books (June 8, 2021)
Paperback: 352
pages
ISBN-10: 1782691243
ISBN-13: 978-1782691242
Reading
age: 13 - 17 years
Grade
level: 8 – 12
Publisher’s Blurb:
Jacob has uncovered the doorway to another
world, hidden behind a mirror. It is a place of dark magic and enchanted
objects, scheming dwarves and fearsome ogres, fairies born from water and men
born from stone.
Here, he hunts for treasure and seeks adventure
in the company of Fox - a beautiful, shapeshifting girl, who guides and guards
him.
But now Jacob's younger brother has followed him
into the mirrored world, and all that was freedom has turned to fear. Because a
deadly curse has been spoken; and Jacob must risk his life to reverse it,
before his brother is turned to stone forever...
Revised and updated by Cornelia Funke, The
Petrified Flesh is the first book in the thrilling Reckless series.
My Thoughts:
I actually own and have read the original book.
In this one, however, Funke notes that she has made changes to pretty much
every page of the story. It’s been quite a while since I read the book, but this
does feel like it has more depth and shading to it.
This is not a happy, rainbows and fairies
story, although it is set in a sort of fairytale universe. Bad, scary things
happen. There is a war.
But the reactions of our characters ring true
for the situations they find themselves in. My favorite characters in this
story are the women—Fox and Clara. Especially Clara, who finds herself in an
unbelievable situation and doesn’t dramatize—she just does what needs to be done.
Possible Objectionable Material:
Lots of perilous situations. Sleeping together
is mentioned, not seen. There’s a war going on, so there is some violence, some
of it bloody.
Who Might Like This Book:
This book is marketed to teens, but the story
is about adults. Those who like fairy tale retellings will probably enjoy
seeing the fairy tale elements here.
Thank
you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my
honest opinion.
Text
in Show
By
Whitney Dineen and Melanie Summers
Publisher: 33
Partners Publishing & Indigo Group (June 4, 2021)
Paperback: 278
pages
ISBN-10: 198889140X
ISBN-13: 978-1988891408
Publisher’s Blurb:
It's a Dog Text World ...Autumn Jones is at a
crossroads. With no job offers in sight, she can either return to Koshkonong,
Wisconsin to work at her dad’s feed store or she can move to New York and help
her older sister Helen coordinate the Manhattan Kennel Club Show. She and Helen
may fight like cats and dogs, but Autumn would rather live with a thousand
Helens than go home after seven years of college.
Jack Campbell is the veterinarian to Manhattan’s
elite. Despite their adoration, he does not love them back. In fact, he’s vowed
never to date anyone who walks through the front door of his clinic. He spends
his days caring for pampered poodles sporting diamond encrusted collars and
placating their high maintenance owners. When he meets Autumn, he assumes she’s
going to be another client with more money than brains.
Autumn is thrown into a bizarre world of highly
competitive rich women who will do anything to win the coveted title of Best in
Show at Manhattan’s most exclusive competition. With her haughty sister
breathing down her neck, and a high-strung poodle following her everywhere she
goes, she doesn’t have time for love, even if she does find herself
face-to-face with America’s hottest vet every day.
Will Autumn run back to Wisconsin with her tail
between her legs? Will Jack find out that appearances can be deceiving? Will
Helen’s dog Fifi win Best in Show? Find out in the hysterical fourth edition of
the Accidentally in Love Series, Text in Show.
My Thoughts:
This rom-com is a quick read. It’s light and
undemanding. Autumn is a likable protagonist, as is Jack as a love interest.
Much of the plot here revolves around their pre-conceived ideas about each
other. Less likable is Autumn’s sister, Helen. I mean Helena. She’s all about
appearances and social climbing, along with her husband. I’m glad to say,
though, that she does get a redeeming moment.
Really, this is much like the Hallmark Channel
movies I like to watch while I’m knitting. They don’t take much brain power,
and are a pleasant and predictable way to pass the time. I’ve already purchased
a couple of others in this series on sale for my Kindle.
Possible Objectionable Material:
These are grownups, so drinking, sex (not
described), infidelity, cursing. There’s a scene of women in their swimsuits
with some description of their bodies.
Who Might Like This Book:
If you like Hallmark Channel movies—or dogs—or both—this
is for you!
Thank
you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my
honest opinion.
The
100 Years of Lenni and Margot
By
Marianne Cronin
Publisher:
Harper Perennial (June 1, 2021)
Paperback: 352
pages
ISBN-10: 0063017504
ISBN-13: 978-0063017504
Publisher’s
Blurb:
An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories.
Seventeen-year-old
Lenni Pettersson lives on the Terminal Ward at the Glasgow Princess
Royal Hospital. Though the teenager has been told she’s dying, she still has
plenty of living to do. Joining the hospital’s arts and crafts class, she meets
the magnificent Margot, an 83-year-old, purple-pajama-wearing, fruitcake-eating
rebel, who transforms Lenni in ways she never imagined.
As
their friendship blooms, a world of stories opens for these unlikely companions
who, between them, have been alive for one hundred years. Though their days are
dwindling, both are determined to leave their mark on the world. With the help
of Lenni’s doting palliative care nurse and Father Arthur, the hospital’s
patient chaplain, Lenni and Margot devise a plan to create one hundred
paintings showcasing the stories of the century they have lived—stories of love
and loss, of courage and kindness, of unexpected tenderness and pure joy.
Though
the end is near, life isn’t quite done with these unforgettable women just yet.
Delightfully
funny and bittersweet, heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting, The One
Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot reminds us of the preciousness of
life as it considers the legacy we choose to leave, how we influence the lives
of others even after we’re gone, and the wonder of a friendship that transcends
time.
My Thoughts:
This
was an absolute delight. But I’m just going to warn you right now: have some
tissues for the final few chapters.
The
story is told in first person, mainly by Lenni, but she also records Margot’s
stories from her life as they create their paintings. We are never told precisely
what Lenni is dying from, and it doesn’t really matter. Her condition deteriorates
as the story progresses, but her personality and will remain vibrant and
strong.
Margot
is also clearly drawn and a distinctive character. The supporting characters in
this story have depth to them and serve a purpose beyond just moving the plot
along.
There
are tragic things in both of our main characters’ stories, but they are never
broken by their circumstances.
Possible
Objectionable Material:
Sneaking
around. Cursing, including some f words. Same gender relationships. References
to sex. Illness and death.
Who
Might Like This Book:
This
one is marketed to adults, but teens could definitely enjoy it. The main characters
are female, but I think the stories are fairly universal. If you like to hear
grandma’s stories about her life, this could be a good fit.
Thank
you to the publisher and GoodReads for the giveaway!
Ace
of Spades
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Publisher: Feiwel
& Friends (June 1, 2021)
Hardcover:
432 pages
ISBN-10:
1250800811
ISBN-13:
978-1250800817
Reading
age: 14 - 18 years
Grade
level: 10 – 12
Publisher’s
Blurb:
Gossip Girl meets Get
Out in Ace of Spades, a YA contemporary thriller by debut
author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé about two students, Devon & Chiamaka, and
their struggles against an anonymous bully.
All you need to know is . . . I’m here to divide and conquer.
Like all great tyrants do. ―Aces
When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon
Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school’s
senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start.
After all, not only does it look great on college applications, but it
officially puts each of them in the running for valedictorian, too.
Shortly after the announcement is made, though,
someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets
about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten every
aspect of their carefully planned futures.
As Aces shows no sign of stopping, what seemed
like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game, with all the cards
stacked against them. Can Devon and Chiamaka stop Aces before things become
incredibly deadly?
With heart-pounding suspense and relevant social
commentary comes a high-octane thriller from debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé.
My Thoughts:
To
be clear: I am not the target demographic. I have never watched Gossip Girl
or Get Out. I am a straight, white, middle-aged woman.
So
some of this book didn’t work for me as it might for people of color or part of
the LGBTQIA community, or a teenager.
This
might most closely be called a psychological thriller. Someone is definitely
trying to get to Chi and Devon. The story is about who and why—and that’s where
it gets really heavy really fast.
The
underlying plot is frightening. Realistically, while I 100% believe that racism
is rampant and sometimes targeted to keep people from getting ahead, I don’t believe
that it’s as deeply widespread as the author postulates here. I really, really,
really hope it’s not.
I
don’t want to say too much more about the plot, for fear of giving away any of
the surprises. But I do want to address something about Chiamaka that has been
bothering me. Like, if I randomly wake up at night, I start thinking about it.
Chiamaka
has endured racism from a very young age. Biracial, her father’s family doesn’t
even want her or her mother to visit them. But she’s also very, very wealthy.
As in, she wears Jimmy Choo shoes to school. She has a dressing room. With a
side room just for her shoes. She is virtually amoral as she recounts her social
manipulation in order to be top of the school, in pursuit of her goal to be
admitted to Yale and go on to medical school.
But
she herself is bigoted. Devon is a scholarship student from the bad side of
town, and he’s poor. Chiamaka is constantly criticizing his clothes, and can’t
believe he doesn’t have a tuxedo, and wonders why he wears the same thing all
the time. She seems to be absolutely unable to recognize her own prejudices.
Overall,
it was a good book. It moved quickly enough for me to read it in a single day.
I did find the resolution of Chi and Devon’s problem to have a little bit of a deus
ex machina vibe. It built and built, and then…what?
The
epilogue was fun, although I do wonder…what happened next? It doesn’t really
matter, but it kind of does.
Possible
Objectionable Material:
Materialism.
Same-sex relationships, teens having sex (none of it described past kissing).
Lots of swearing, including the f word. Fighting. Drug dealing. Drinking.
Sneaking around. Psychological manipulation. A hit-and-run accident.
Who
Might Like This Book:
People
in the target demographics. Those who like psychological thrillers. Those
interested in racial and queer issues.
Thank
you to the publisher and GoodReads for this giveaway.
One
Great Lie
By
Deb Caletti
Publisher: Atheneum
Books for Young Readers (June 1, 2021)
Hardcover:
384 pages
ISBN-10:
1534463178
ISBN-13:
978-1534463172
Reading
age: 4 years and up
Grade
level: 9 – 12
Publisher’s
Blurb:
When Charlotte wins a scholarship to a writing
workshop in Venice with the charismatic and brilliant Luca Bruni, it’s a dream
come true. Writing is her passion, she loves Bruni’s books, and going to that
romantic and magical sinking city gives her the chance to solve a long-time
family mystery about a Venetian poet deep in their lineage, Isabella Di Angelo,
who just might be the real author of a very famous poem.
Bruni’s villa on the eerie island of La Calamita
is extravagant—lush beyond belief, and the other students are both inspiring
and intimidating. Venice itself is beautiful, charming, and seductive, but so
is Luca Bruni. As his behavior becomes increasingly unnerving, and as Charlotte
begins to unearth the long-lost work of Isabella with the help of sweet, smart
Italian Dante, other things begin to rise, too—secrets about the past, and
secrets about the present.
As the events of the summer build to a shattering
climax, Charlotte will be forced to confront some dark truths about the history
of powerful men—and about the determination of creative girls—in this stunning
new novel from award-winning author Deb Caletti.
My Thoughts:
Honestly? I requested this book because my one
day in Venice was not enough.
This book was…fine. It wasn’t great. It wasn’t
terrible. It was…fine. I think I became more engaged in the subplot than in the
actual plot.
Young writer Charlotte is a character with
depth. She has insecurities. She has a boyfriend because that’s what you do in
high school. She has a major case of hero worship for an author whose work
resonates with her, and is ecstatic to be able to attend his writing camp in Venice.
And then she finds out that, while he may be a
great writer, he’s a horrible human being. Other reviewers have mentioned that
she should have caught on sooner and not doubted her instincts as much, but he
used his fame and her admiration (and that of others) as part of his arsenal to
manipulate the girls at the camp.
The secondary plot is Charlotte investigating a
book of poetry that has been handed down in her family. She is eager to prove
that her ancestress was the writer, although everything indicates that the
poems were written by a man. It is her pursuit of proof that really caught my
interest, and the way that the author showed how early woman poets were treated
was really interesting.
In the end, Charlotte does not get the resolution
in the main plot that we hope for. But her search for Isabella is much more
rewarding.
Possible Objectionable Material:
Teenage drinking. Sex, though not described.
Sexual assault. An adult manipulates and takes advantage of younger women, and
is borderline abusive of the young men. Swearing, including the f word.
Who Might Like This Book:
People who like coming of age. People like me who love Venice. The protagonist is female, but I think boys could also enjoy this book.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
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