Between Writing Reading

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head. But all that changes when the Lynburns return. The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Val...

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own. As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner. -Plot summary borrowed from Goodreads I've been waiting to read this sequel to Cinder , the sto...

Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls. For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one. Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders? Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness. With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realizes that only by ...

Shades of Earth by Beth Revis Plot summary omitted for fear of series spoilers!! Speaking of stunning series conclusions... I raved about the first book, Across the Universe , here and included it in my list of favorite books I read in 2012. I haven't formally reviewed the second book, A Million Suns , but I loved that one as well. I can't talk about either without giving things away, which is making me crazy because there are so many plot points I want to mention, and several works I'd love to draw parallels to. Which is not to say that Revis doesn't have a unique and fresh voice, because she certainly does. In all of the books I was impressed by her ability to construct such rich settings and complex characters, not to mention the carefully crafted tensions, moral quandaries and, best of all, mysteries! She is a master of suspense, with a perfect balance in revealing just enough information to keep her readers satisfied, while adding more layers and twists.  There...

Reached by Ally Condie Cassia’s journey began with an error, a momentary glitch in the otherwise perfect façade of the Society. After crossing canyons to break free, she waits, silk and paper smuggled against her skin, ready for the final chapter. The wait is over. One young woman has raged against those who threaten to keep away what matters most—family, love, choice. Her quiet revolution is about to explode into full-scale rebellion. With exquisite prose, the emotionally gripping conclusion to the international–bestselling Matched trilogy returns Cassia, Ky, and Xander to the Society to save the one thing they have been denied for so long, the power to choose. -Plot summary borrowed from Amazon There are so many trilogies, quadroligies and series going in YA lit at the moment that for me to pick up a second, let alone third installment is pretty rare. In this case, I'm glad I did. Like I said in my review of Matched , what makes Condie's dystopian trilogy stand ...