The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Summary
Josh and Emma are about to discover themselves--fifteen years in the future

It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long--at least, up until last November, when everything changed. Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD-ROM in the mail, his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto Facebook . . . but Facebook hasn't been invented yet. Josh and Emma are looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.

Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updates--it's all there. And every time they refresh their pages, their futures change. As they grapple with the ups and downs of what their lives hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right--and wrong--in the present.

My thoughts
 I was so excited to read this book after Jay Asher's debut novel Thirteen Reasons Why. I absolutely LOVED this book. It might have had to do with the throw back to the 90's and remembering my first experience with the AOL CD-Rom disk that arrived in the mail but I LOVED this book. I thought it was a cute idea taking facebook into the future and I loved the idea of trying to change your future of your destiny. I highly recommed this one as a light fun read.

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time. Some of the students were assigned this book for class and I thought I would assign it to myself as well. I found the book very interesting. I am not much of a non-fiction fan but felt as if this was a well written engaging read. I would highly recommend this book. Now I need to read the follow up Super Freakonomics.

Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand

I just finished reading Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand and all I can say is WOW. My sister finished this book last week and was raving how much she loved it. A year ago, someone told me it was the best book they had ever read. I had high expectations for this book and they were all met. Unbroken follows the true life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympian, WWII VET, POW and a survivor of a plane crash. Mr. Zamperini had such a full life it is hard to believe that everything in this book in true. Not only was I taken by Mr. Zamperini's story I learned so much about WWII and the situation with Japan. Often times in school we focus on the war in Europe. I felt as if I learned so much about the war in the Pacific. For history lovers I cannot recommend this book enough. For everyone else, I still recommend it as an American hero tale.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars is John Greens newest arrival to the Library. I am a  big fan of John Green so I was looking forward to reading his latest novel. There were moments in the book that I was no very engaged but in the end I was in tears and truly fell in love with the two main characters. If you are a John Green fan I think you will enjoy this one, but I wouldn't recommend it for a first time read.

My Bloody Life by Reymundo Sanchez

The students are always asking about this book and it was checked out all year long. I knew the premise of the book was about a former gang member but I wanted to make sure there was a positive message in this book discouraging gang violence. This summer, my friends were looking for a book for our book club, so I suggested we read My Bloody Life. I started it the last week of school and voraciously finished this book. The topic is obviously captivating dealing with several Chicago gangs and their violent activities with shootings, drive bys, fights, and drug dealing. This is an eye opening account of what life is like for gang members and why young children would partake in such behavior. This was a great book, but sad for all those who lost their life for the purpose of owning 'turf'.

Dear Bully

This is a must read for EVERYONE! Dear Bully is various authors recounting their own history of being bullied, witnessing bullying or being the bully themselves. I found this book to be engrossing and heartbreaking. As a teacher I ponder the question of what we can do right now.  The message we preach to kids is that it gets better, but what can we do right now to stop the bad behavior? I think a good start to addressing the bullying situation is reading this book out loud as a class. I think we need to talk to students about making fun of other students and the damage and hurt that is caused by teasing. Sometimes, a student is causing harm just by standing aside and letting someone else be bullied. I think everyone should read this book as it is eye opening to the pain that can be caused with words.

Stay Close by Harlan Coben

I have been a big fan of Harlan Coben since I was in high school. I have slowly been adding his books into the Library's collection. I enjoyed this book but it was definitely not one of my favorites. I love a good suspense thriller and I felt as if the suspense was lacking. I had solved who the killer was half way through the book and just waiting to find out I was right for the remaining half. This was a typical Coben novel. I do enjoy the snark and sarcasm he writes for his characters though.