Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Every once in a while you read a book that just makes you smile. Fangirl, is that book. Rainbow Rowell is a phenomenal author and I can't wait to read attachments now and anything else she will write in the future. I loved Eleanor and Park and I just loved loved loved Fangirl. Rowell captured what it is like to be a fan of a book and how you think and want for the characters in the book. A great author brings the characters off the page and into the readers life and heart and Rowell accomplished that. I read this book at the gym, at my desk, at the kitchen table, I couldn't stop reading and I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a little empty and sad not that I have finished the book. Two big thumbs way up. I am going to order more copies ASAP so everyone can read this book.

Amazon
At first glance Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl has a lot in common with Eleanor & Park: idiosyncratic girl with troubled family meets good, normal boy and falls in love for the first time. But this is why Rowell is so talented--from the same basic ingredients she can create something new and special. In Fangirl, quirky introvert, Cath, is safe within the immensely popular Simon Snow (think Harry Potter) fan-fiction blog she writes with her twin sister, but college turns her life upside down, leaving her feeling like an awkward outsider. When she writes, Cath knows exactly what her characters should say to each other, but when it comes to forging real-life friendships, much less a romance, she hasn’t a clue. An immensely satisfying coming-of-age novel, Fangirl deftly captures the experience of discovering your true voice and clumsy, vulnerable, remarkable, first love

The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick

I have recently become a big fan of Matthew Quick after reading Boy 21 and Please Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. I was very eager to read his latest novel. Ultimately, I didn't love this new book. It was a very quick read and different from anything I have ever read before but I found it to be just okay. I don't see the students relating well to the main character or the plot.

Amazon Summary
After his mother’s death, 38-year-old Bartholomew Neil, a middle-aged man who has never left home, is at a crossroads in his life. Finding a form letter from Richard Gere buried in his mother’s underwear drawer, he begins a one-sided correspondence with the superstar, triggering a series of events that culminates in a life-­altering road trip to Canada with a motley crew of misfits including his secret crush, the girlbrarian; her foulmouthed, oddball brother; and a Catholic priest who has fled his parish. The quartet travels northward in search of Bartholomew’s biological father, and humor, pathos, and quirky bends in the road define their odyssey, making it increasingly clear that it is all about the journey, not the destination.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

I had been wanting to read another book by Gillian Flynn since finishing Gone Girl last year. I finally picked up Dark Places and could not put it down. I was so captivated by the plot and the back and forth narration between present and past. I highly recommend this as a suspense thriller/murder mystery. A little mature and dark for some of the students.

Amazon Summary
Libby Day, the protagonist of Flynn’s disturbing second novel, was, as a seven-year-old, the only survivor of her family’s brutal murder by her older brother, an event dubbed by the media the “Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” Twenty-five years later, she has become a hardened, selfish young woman with no friends or family. Since the tragedy, her life has been paid for by donations of well-wishers, but, with that fund now empty, Libby must find a way to make money. Her search leads her to The Kill Club, a secret society of people obsessed with the details of notorious murders. As Libby tries to gather artifacts to sell to The Kill Club (whose members, it turns out, doubt the guilt of her brother), she is forced to reëxamine the events of the night of the murder

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King (Abe Book)

Ask the Passengers is on this years Abe List. While selecting this years titles I made a note to myself to read this book as it sounded interesting. I absolutely loved this book and I love this author. I was excited to read this book as it is the same author as Please Ignore Vera Dietz, one of my recent favorite titles. I hope to read this for book club next year as I think the students will enjoy is as well as create a great discussion regarding coming out in high school and being accepted.

Amazon Summary

Astrid Jones desperately wants to confide in someone, but her mother's pushiness and her father's lack of interest tell her they're the last people she can trust. Instead, Astrid spends hours lying on the backyard picnic table watching airplanes fly overhead. She doesn't know the passengers inside, but they're the only people who won't judge her when she asks them her most personal questions . . . like what it means that she's falling in love with a girl.

As her secret relationship becomes more intense and her friends demand answers, Astrid has nowhere left to turn. She can't share the truth with anyone except the people at thirty thousand feet, and they don't even know she's there. But little does Astrid know just how much even the tiniest connection will affect these strangers' lives--and her own--for the better.

In this truly original portrayal of a girl struggling to break free of society's definitions, Printz Honor author A.S. King asks readers to question everything--and offers hope to those who will never stop seeking real love.

Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

I have been wanting to read this book since it came into the Library. I absolutely loved Hate List and was looking forward to more from Jennifer Brown. However, I felt this book fell flat. I didn't care too much about the chaarcters and felt the road trip was endless. This will not be a favorite of mine.

Amazon Summary
Kendra has always felt overshadowed by her older brother, Grayson, whose OCD forces him to live a life of carefully coordinated routines. To Kendra, the only way she can stand out next to Grayson is to be perfect, and she has perfection down to an art -- until a cheating scandal threatens her flawless reputation.

Behind the wheel of her car, with Grayson asleep beside her, Kendra decides to drive away from it all -- with enough distance, maybe she'll be able to figure everything out. But even in the midst of the road trip's flat tires, gas-station food stops, and detours to quirky roadside attractions, eventually Kendra must stop running and come to terms with herself, her brother, and her past.

Uganda be Kidding me by Chelsea Handler

If you like Chelsea Handler, you will like this book. Handler details her traveling adventures over the past two years with friends and family. I liked the book but not as much as her others. However, there were definitely a few laugh out loud moments while reading the story.

Amazon Summary

Wherever Chelsea Handler travels, one thing is certain: she always ends up in the land of the ridiculous. Now, in this uproarious collection, she sneaks her sharp wit through airport security and delivers her most absurd and hilarious stories ever.

On safari in Africa, it's anyone's guess as to what's more dangerous: the wildlife or Chelsea. But whether she's fumbling the seduction of a guide by not knowing where tigers live (Asia, duh) or wearing a bathrobe into the bush because her clothes stopped fitting seven margaritas ago, she's always game for the next misadventure.

The situation gets down and dirty as she defiles a kayak in the Bahamas, and outright sweaty as she escapes from a German hospital on crutches. When things get truly scary, like finding herself stuck next to a passenger with bad breath, she knows she can rely on her family to make matters even worse. Thank goodness she has the devoted Chunk by her side-except for the time she loses him in Telluride.

The Elite by Cassandra Cass ( Sequel to The Selection)

I loved this book. I absolutely loved The Selection and couldn't wait to keep reading The Elite. The only dissapointing thing is waiting now for The One when it comes out in June. I liked this better than Delirium and Matched. Someone recommended this book and compared it to The Bachelor meets the Hunger Games and I think it is a great summary.

Amazon Summary
Kiera Cass’s The Elite is a must-read for fans of dystopian fiction, fairy tales, and reality TV. This sequel to The Selection will enchant teens who love Divergent and The Bachelor.

In America Singer’s world, a bride is chosen for the prince through an elaborate televised competition. In the second book of the Selection series, America is one of only six girls left in the running. But is it Prince Maxon—and life as the queen—she wants? Or is it Aspen, her first love?

The Elite delivers the adventure, glamour, political intrigue, and romance readers of The Selection expect, and continues the love triangle that captivated them.