O'Daniels
- Apr 30, 2020
Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe by Preston Norton
Well, I don’t think I could have picked a better book to read during this time than Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe. It’s not my first Preston Norton novel (Where I End and You Begin is equally wonderful), and both stories have that “something.” I can’t quite put my finger on it, but despite the challenges his characters face, I’m always reading about it with a smile. Actually, I’ve listened to both and LOVED them. In this particular case, Cliff, or Neanderthal as
Grieshaber
- Apr 29, 2020
Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
Turning pain into art and an unintentional mission. SHOUT is the story of a girl who lost her voice so she wrote herself a new one. I am in awe of anyone who can write a memoir. To be able to look at the events of your life and select the ones that shaped you? I honestly cannot imagine. My life has been pretty much idyllic yet the thought of examining it so closely makes me shudder. I am not brave; I’m a Hufflepuff (no shade to you brave Puffs!). Just let me remember the good
O'Daniels
- Apr 28, 2020
Camp Valor by Scott McEwen and Hof Williams
Did you finish Netflix while on quarantine? Need something to wake you up? Camp Valor will do just that and it's on the Gateway list for the next school year (hint: get a head start on the list!). The premise is simple: pluck smart but slightly shady kids out of the juvenile system and send them to Camp Valor. They spend the summer learning the skills of bomb-building and defusing, shooting, surviving an attack, computer hacking, and jumping out of a helicopter all to help th
Grieshaber
- Apr 27, 2020
The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
I read The Cruel Prince way back in 2018 when it was first released. Spoiler alert (not really), it ends on a cliffhanger. I then had to wait ONE YEAR for book two, The Wicked King. Spoiler alert (not really), it also ends on a cliffhanger. I then had to wait ANOTHER year for book three, The Queen of Nothing. And the wait was worth it!!! I am so envious of those of you picking up The Cruel Prince for the first time because you can read all three books, one after the other.
O'Daniels
- Apr 22, 2020
The Lucky Ones by Liz Lawson
May survived the day she hid in the closet of her band room at school. Seven other people didn’t, including her twin brother, Jordan. Her brother, the one with almost perfect SAT scores, the genius of the family, the one her father pinned all his hopes on, gone in seconds, and she hid like a coward. It’s a day May relives over and over again, and the guilt she has for being a survivor, one of the Lucky Ones, is too much to handle. Her guilt has morphed into pure anger- she’s
O'Daniels
- Apr 21, 2020
The Loop by Ben Oliver
It’s been a hot minute since I’ve read a book and kept asking myself what is happening the whole time. The Loop reminds me that there are authors out there not afraid to write those books. The future in this bleak dystopian is quite frankly frightening.
Luka Kane, along with all the other prisoners in the Loop, has been sentenced to death for his crimes. Waiting out your execution date is like a nightmare version of the movie Groundhog’s Day. Each day starts with a morning g
Grieshaber
- Apr 20, 2020
Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen
Ever is the daughter of first generation American Taiwanese parents. Their love and expectations for her are high and their respect for her dreams is low. According to them, Ever WILL attend Northwestern and become a doctor. They have given up everything specifically so that could happen. Ever has been dancing since she was four (after all, you need more on your med school apps than academics). She is a gifted dancer and choreographer and is passionate about both. She sec
O'Daniels
- Apr 17, 2020
Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed
Khayyam's summer is off to a bad start. Her boyfriend Zaid is back in Chicago, posing up a storm with beautiful girls in precarious positions on Insta, and her academic career is over even before it even started. Fresh off the humiliation of trying to prove an art theory correct for an essay at her dream college (spoiler alert- she doesn't), she and her family are in Paris for the month. It's a tradition. Her parents are academics who have the month of August off, and her fat
Grieshaber
- Apr 15, 2020
Just Breathe by Cammie McGovern
Just Breathe is gonna be the easiest book to sell. Did you like Five Feet Apart? Then here ya go. Yes, it’s more “sick lit”. Yep, like FFA, it’s Cystic Fibrosis. But that’s where the differences end. David has CF but his parents have always assured him that he has a “mild case” so he has always assured his friends (and himself) that it’s no big deal. He’s President of the Senior Class. He has a longtime girlfriend. He’s well-liked and charismatic. He’s got no time for CF. But
O'Daniels
- Apr 14, 2020
The Speed of Falling Objects by Nancy Richardson Fischer
When Dani’s father invites her to the jungles of South America with the world’s hottest teen actor, it’s a no-brainer. She hasn’t seen her dad in years, and this will be her chance to impress him. Dani’s parent’s divorced years ago, and she can’t help but feel like it was somewhat her fault. After an accident that left her with one real eye and one fake one, it was her mom who stayed with her in the hospital, who nursed her when she was sick, and woke up with her nightmares.
Grieshaber
- Apr 9, 2020
The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper
Space Race 2.0 plus Gen Z’s thirst for reliable news. Internet fame. Young love. Debut author (debut author?!) Phil Stamper brings it all together in a YA novel that’s original and so, so readable. Cal is a social media journalist living in and reporting from NYC. He gained most of his half million followers from an election story and some coverage of NASA’s highly publicized upcoming mission to Mars. The NASA updates had some of Cal’s highest view numbers ever, so why has
O'Daniels
- Apr 8, 2020
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
This was fun. Like watching Investigation Discovery and listening to True Crime podcasts fun. Like the first season of Serial fun. There are some similarities, for sure, to that first season but this story has a very different ending.
Five years ago, Andie Bell was supposed to pick up her parents from a party but she never made it there. Just a few days later, her boyfriend Sal Singh is accused of her murder and found dead of suicide in the woods. Case closed, even though A
O'Daniels
- Apr 7, 2020
10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston
Warning: This book is a COVID-19 doctor’s nightmare, and that’s precisely why it hit the spot. There’s no social distancing. Instead, it’s centered around a huge Italian family crammed into one house during the holidays and one incredible Nonna. Set during one of my favorite holidays, Christmas, 10 Blind Dates will scratch that itch you might have if you are missing people or family. The story follows Sophie, a high school senior who is excited about the possibility of gettin
Grieshaber
- Apr 6, 2020
Start Here by Trish Doller
I absolutely adored this book. Don’t get distracted or misled by this gorgeous cover. It IS a book about summer and sailing and two gorgeous girls. But what it is NOT is fluff. It is NOT the story of friends having an easy, breezy summer filled with boys and silly adventures. It’s the story of two girls, maybe more frenemies than friends, grieving over the death of their shared best friend, fulfilling her dying wish by taking a summer-long sailing trip. The actual sailing is
