We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

My Aunt recommended this book to me over the summer so I brought it home to read. This was an interesting tale with a twist at the end. Readers will not be disappointed.

Amazon Review
Each summer the wealthy, seemingly perfect Sinclair family meets on their private island and We Were Liars is the story of what happened there; particularly one year the protagonist, Cadence, can’t seem to remember through her migraine haze. Prejudice, greed, and shifting patriarchal favoritism amongst the three adult sisters chafes against the camaraderie and worldview of the teenage cousins and their friend Gat, who also spends summers on the island with them. Sticky lemonades on the roof and marathon Scrabble games to twisty suspense, true love, and good intentions gone horribly wrong--We Were Liars begs to be read in one sitting.

Swim the Fly by Don Calame ( Abe Book)

This was a cute, fast read. I had heard this book was humorous and it did not disappoint. I think everyone will like this one if you are looking for a light hearted realistic fiction title.

Amazon Review
Fifteen-year-old Matt Gratton and his two best friends always set themselves a summertime goal. This year's? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time—quite a challenge, given that none of the guys has the nerve to even ask a girl on a date. But that goal starts to look easy compared to Matt's other aspiration: swimming the 100-yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to God or man) to impress the sizzling new star of the swim team. In the spirit of Hollywood’s blockbuster comedies, screenwriter Don Calame unleashes a true ode to the adolescent male: side-splittingly funny, sometimes crude, yet always full of heart.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness ( Abe Book)

My Review
I LOVED this book. I was not excited about this book based on the cover, size and the drawings I thought the book would be weird. Boy was I wrong. This is a beautiful story of a boy who is dealing with his mother's terminal cancer. I can't recommend this book enough. Simply lovely.

Amazon Review
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd-- whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself-- Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepard (Abe Book)

My Review
I was hesitant to read this one based on the cover and the premise. I throughly enjoed this book and am hoping to read the sequel. I was visualizing all of the characters as I was reading wondering what everyone looked like and what the island was really like.

Amazon Review

For fans of Libba Bray, this first book in a gothic suspense trilogy is inspired by H. G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau and has been hailed by New York Times bestseller Carrie Ryan as having "beautiful writing, breakneck pacing, a pulse-pounding mystery, and an irresistible romance."
Following accusations that her scientist father gruesomely experimented on animals, sixteen-year-old Juliet watched as her family and her genteel life in London crumbled around her—and only recently has she managed to piece her world back together. But when Juliet learns her father is still alive and working on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the old accusations are true. Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward, Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's insanity. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

This is where I leave you by Jonathan Tropper

My review
A friend recommended this book and I could not put it down. I finished the book in about 2 days. The movie is coming out in September and I can't wait. The author did a great job portaing a family dealing with death as well as their own personal issues taking place.

Amazon Review
The death of Judd Foxman's father marks the first time that the entire Foxman clan has congregated in years. There is, however, one conspicuous absence: Judd's wife, Jen, whose affair with his radio- shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public. Simultaneously mourning the demise of his father and his marriage, Judd joins his dysfunctional family as they reluctantly sit shiva-and spend seven days and nights under the same roof. The week quickly spins out of control as longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed and old passions are reawakened. Then Jen delivers the clincher: she's pregnant.

This Is Where I Leave You is Jonathan Tropper's (One Last Thing Before I Go) most accomplished work to date, and a riotously funny, emotionally raw novel about love, marriage, divorce, family, and the ties that bind-whether we like it or not.

Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

My Review
I loved this book. I had heard great reviews about this book and it did not disappoint. It was told from an interesting perspective and I was very intrigued to get to the end and solve the mystery.

Amazon Review

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau ( Abe Book)

I LOVED this book. I finished it over the weekend and I was so mad I couldnt start the sequel immediately. While this is another dystopian thriller I found it to be innovative and exciting. I never felt as if the author was stalling to keep the story moving yet I couldn't stop after each chapter. I think LP students will LOVE this book as much as I did.

Amazon Summary
It’s graduation day for sixteen-year-old Malencia Vale, and the entire Five Lakes Colony (the former Great Lakes) is celebrating. All Cia can think about—hope for—is whether she’ll be chosen for The Testing, a United Commonwealth program that selects the best and brightest new graduates to become possible leaders of the slowly revitalizing post-war civilization. When Cia is chosen, her father finally tells her about his own nightmarish half-memories of The Testing. Armed with his dire warnings (”Cia, trust no one”), she bravely heads off to Tosu City, far away from friends and family, perhaps forever. Danger, romance—and sheer terror—await.