This book is just FUN (as long as your idea of fun is a super-dark, sometimes shockingly violent, psychological thriller). Told in a backwards format (it begins with Chapter 18 and ends with Chapter 1) Genuine Fraud is definitely a read-in-one-sitting kind of book and one that will have you on the edge of your seat. As the story opens, Jule seems to be enjoying a fabulous solo vacay at a luxurious resort in Cabo. But things quickly don’t add up. She introduces herself to someone as Imogen and not long after, she’s on the run - paying the bartender to whisk her away from the resort and then disappearing to another country. As we follow Jule around the world, we learn what happened to her b
When Ozzie’s longtime boyfriend, Tommy, literally disappears from the world, Ozzie (literally) feels like the universe is shrinking. As his world gets smaller each day, Ozzie spirals into depression and bounces from therapist to therapist. He still has his best friends but he feels a distance from them ever since the universe started shrinking. When he begins a new relationship with classmate, Calvin, his mental health issues extend to sexual health issues and Ozzie feels more confused than ever. Even though Ozzie can be completely obnoxious (rude to his parents, impatient with his friends, etc.), readers will be rooting for Ozzie to make his peace with Tommy and the universe and embrace t
Ellie Frias haunts this story as she is forced to watch the unthinkable happen over and over again. She knows exactly how these girls feel; the emotions that swell on their tear-stained faces, the embarrassment, the fear, the regret and finally, the shame. And she can’t do anything but watch. Her helplessness isn’t her fault, seeing as how she’s dead. Ellie didn’t plan for this to happen to her. Her existence wasn’t remarkable when she was alive, despite her trying to change that. It wasn’t that she wanted to be at the top of the food chain, merely make it so people noticed she was even ON the chain. Her struggles with bullies and rumors in her old school forced her to keep her head down,
Why is YA making it a contest to see who the absolute worst parent ever is and why do I keep picking up those books?? Fine, Mr. McCauley, you win for the most despicable dad thus far read. Short of sexual abuse, which quite frankly, wouldn’t have surprised me, he’s got emotional and physical abuse down pat. So why does his 'cocktail at ten in the morning' wife stay with him- he’s loaded, and she likes it that way. Hadley doesn’t like it, but it’s what she’s used to and to make her life and the life of her ten-year-old sister happy, she goes with it. She acquiesces to his 4:30 am runs so she doesn’t get fat (his words, not hers) and stays fit for the select Lacrosse team she hates playing for
One of the fun things about reading so many books is that you will always find a connection between the book you are finishing and the book you are starting. Usually, it’s just a little thing. But sometimes, it’s a big thing. On the first morning of Spring Break, I awoke to beautiful, fat snowflakes falling outside my window. The book I had already chosen to read for that day was Kiss Me in New York - a book that takes place in the NYC airport on Christmas Eve during a snowstorm. Fun! Because that book was totes adorbs and I couldn’t put it down, I needed another book to read that day. I picked up the next book in my TBR pile, The Chaos of Standing Still. After reading a book description
I can see why American Street was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature in 2017. It’s a familiar take on the immigration experience in that it shows the American Dream isn’t as easily achievable as it might seem. What makes it different is Fabiola and her mother’s journey. Sixteen years ago, when her mother was eight months pregnant with Fabiola, she traveled from Haiti to Detroit to live with her sister until the baby was born. Fabiola was born an American citizen and then the two of them returned to Haiti. Flash forward sixteen years. Fabiola’s aunt has been sending her and her mother lots of money all these years in order for Fabiola to attend a private sc
