The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

I was very intrigued from the first page of this book. I certainly enjoyed it but I am having a hard time describing the book. Initially I would have set a mystery but as the story played itself out it seemed more dark realistic fiction. I have not ready anything by this author but I am definitely interested to read the rest of her books after finishing this book.

Amazon Summary

Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it.

Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Not anyone.

As their senior year unfolds, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

I have really enjoyed everything I have read from Adam Silvera. I liked this book but I did not LOVE it. I listened to it instead of reading it so that could have played into my interest level.

Amazon Summary
On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I LOVED this book. I have loved almost all of Neal Shusterman's books. This was an awesome introduction to a new series. What would life be like if there were no more wars, government, disease and death?

Amazon Summary
Two teens must learn the “art of killing” in this Printz Honor–winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award–winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This book has been on my to-read list for quite some time. It has been getting a ton of buzz and I was eager to check it out. I thought the author did a wonderful job depicting a difficult situation. When a cop shoots an unarmed African American boy who is to blame. Starr is a very likeable character and I enjoyed watching her process the event and the days following.

Amazon Summary

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

This was a very interesting read. It was unique and unusual and I certainly recommend it. I found myself trying to rush through this book to get to the beginning.

Amazon Summary
Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat.
Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete. 
An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two. 
A bad romance, or maybe three.
Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains. 
A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her.
A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.