35) Lola and the Boy Next Door-Stephanie Perkins

Just because something isn't practical doesn't mean it's not worth creating. Sometimes beauty and real-life magic are enough.

Lola Nolan is a different person every day. Hoping to one day become a costume designer, she changes her outer appearance every day. On the inside, though, she's just as sweet as ever. She loves her dads, her dog, Heavens to Betsy, her job at the movie theater, her best friend and her boyfriend, Max. Everything seems to be going really well in Lola's life. That is until she sees the Bell family moving back in next door. Before she can freak out, she scopes out the house and notices that he's not with them. Phew, that was a close one. No need to freak out! Or is there?

Days later he's there. Cricket Bell. The one that got away. The one that broke her heart. What is she going to do? Lola decides to be as nice seeing as she's completely over him. Or is she? No, she's in love with Max! Max, the guy that neither of her dads likes. Max, the older guy. Max, the jealous type. Max, the one she's suddenly not sure of as she gets closer to Cricket Bell once again. It doesn't help that Cricket lives in the same dormitory as Lola's co-worker, Anna's, boyfriend, Etienne at Berkley. But this isn't the same Cricket Bell that broke her heart. This is a more mature, grown up, ready to stand on his own two feet version of Cricket. Could Lola still be in love with Cricket?

Okay, seriously. I was as in love with this one as I was its predecessor. I literally just couldn't stop giggling and smiling the whole time! (To be clear: I neither giggle nor blush in my daily life. This is a shift in the cosmos for me. Smiling, yes. Giggling, no.) It was just such a sweet book. And it was absolutely wonderful to see Anna and Etienne. I thought that it was really funny and really well written and it flowed just like French Kiss. You really did just want to jump into the pages and hangout with these people. They're just really great characters and their situations don't seem at all overdramatized or entirely unrealistic. It felt, again, like learning about your friends.

I was incredibly sad to have finished it so quickly, but upon flying to my laptop once again I discovered: Stephanie Perkins is writing a third! Ah! It's so exciting to me. I can't wait to read all about Isla and see exactly how Anna, Etienne, Lola and Cricket play into her story. I'm sure it will be wonderful. The only problem? I have to wait all the way until next fall. Why must you do this to me, Perkins? So hurtful!

34) Anna and the French Kiss-Stephanie Perkins

For the two of us, home isn't a place. It is a person. And we're finally home.

Anna Oliphant is finally a senior. Only she won't be spending it in Atlanta where she's spent her whole life. No, she'll be spending it in the American boarding school in Paris. While most kids would be over the moon about the opportunity, Anna isn't too pleased. She doesn't speak French, she doesn't know anyone and her being sent there is only so her "Great Southern Romance Writer" of a father can say that she goes to school there. She's leaving her friends, her little brother, her job and a certain guy she just started to get to know a little better. What's so great about Paris anyway?

When she arrives in Paris, she cries the first night. Luckily for her, the walls are paper thin and the girl living next door comes over and takes Anna under her wing. She introduces Anna to her group of friends and within seconds, Anna is taken by Etienne St. Clair, an American-born Englishman living in Paris. Only problem is: he's in a relationship. And what about Toph back home? Anna makes the decision to keep her feelings to herself and do her best to fit in in this brand new world. But can she keep her feelings to herself for long? Will she actually start to love living in Paris? What will happen when she goes home for Christmas? Is this the experience that will change her life in more ways than one?

I absolutely loved this book. I picked up a copy of it last fall at a book conference and thought I would eventually get to it and probably not like it. Oh, was I wrong. I could not put this down. I giggled and blushed and smiled my way through it. Somewhere on the back one of the blurbs say that you will want to date this book and I'm here to tell you that that is entirely true. I wanted to jump into the pages and fall in love with Etienne in a big way. There was so much humor and the romance aspect wasn't overbearing and you really did feel like you were just learning about what your friends had been up to, which I think is always really great. 

If you like a good, fun, really cute read, this is totally for you. You'll breeze through it and totally want more. Best part? There's a companion novel! It might not center around Anna, but she's still part of the story and it's wonderful. Who wouldn't want more of these characters once you've read this story? If only Stephanie Perkins would write nothing but this group's stories. Sigh. One can dream, right?

33) Norwegian Wood-Haruki Murakami

But who can say what's best? That's why you need to grab whatever chance you have of happiness where you find it, and not worry about other people too much. My experience tells me that we get no more than two or three chances in a lifetime, and if we let them go, we regret it for the rest of our lives.

Toru was a student studying in Tokyo in the late 1960s. While on a plane later in life, he hears a version of "Norwegian Wood" by the Beatles and thinks back to the time when that song really meant something to him. He's transported back to the time in his life when Naoko was the one person he truly cared about. He had met Naoko when they were much younger and she was dating his best friend. When his best friend committed suicide, the two stopped speaking until they ran into each other while he was studying at university in Tokyo. The two would spend their Sundays together walking around the city and talking about life. It was during these Sundays that he truly started to fall in love with the emotionally closed off Naoko. 

After an event gone awry for her, she stops speaking to Toru altogether. He's hurt and isn't sure what he did, but doesn't push it. He starts to hangout with an older guy in his dormitory and starts to see just how scummy guys can be. This guy has it all, but still manages to screw around just because he can. Toru isn't sure how he feels about all of it, but goes along with the guy to dinners and bars where they pick up girls. One day, while eating lunch alone, a girl comes and sits down next to him and starts a conversation. He starts to spend time with Midori and eventually finds his love for Naoko ruining things with Midori. But Naoko isn't capable of loving Toru. What will it take for him to realize that?

I was really excited to read this book. I think Haruki is an incredible writer and I think any book that was brought to life by a Beatles song should be read since I'm a huge Beatles fan. What? It's a thing. Anyway, although I thought that this was a really good book and full of really insightful pieces, it took awhile before there was a real flow to it. By that I mean it took awhile before I could really ease into it and not put it down. There was a lot of death and despair in this that I was not expecting and that also made it a little more difficult to get through. A suicide would just pop up out of nowhere and you'd need to put it down and think happy things for a bit! 

Would I recommend this book to others? Absolutely. I really do think that Haruki writes really well thought out plots and really beautiful lines. It's a great coming of age story for someone who is looking for something a little bit different. Just be prepared for the amount of sadness that resides within these pages. It can be overwhelming at times. Nevertheless, it's a really nice read.

32) Your Voice in My Head: A Memoir-Emma Forrest

Time heals all wounds. And if it doesn't, you name them something other than wounds and agree to let them stay.

Emma Forrest is an English journalist. When she was 22-years-old, she was living in New York City and realized that maybe it was time to start seeing a therapist. Luckily, she discovered one that would help her through bulimia, failed relationships, cutting and suicide attempts. However, when she called him to tell him all about some good news years later, she discovered that he had passed away from lung cancer. 

By telling her own story of mania, depression, ups, downs and everything in between, Emma gives you stories from others that experienced the brilliance of the doctor while simultaneously telling her history with him as well. So, you're getting more than just her story and how he helped her. You're also reading how he saved and how much he meant to others. 

This is an incredibly intense book. Emma Forrest has had a very intense battle with mental health and there is more than one suicide attempt throughout the book. There are bits of hope and it ends well, but from start to finish, things get a little hairy. I was sort of blown away by how much she had gone through, but it was a completely fascinating read. It read really quickly, but I'm not sure if it was due to the writing or if it was because I was so ready to be done with it because of the intensity. 

If you read it now, you'll be ahead of the curve, kids! It's about to become a film with Emma Watson and the perfection that is Stanley Tucci. It'll be interesting to see how it goes from page to screen, so get going, guys! Say you read it before the film!

31) Just Listen-Sarah Dessen

Music is a total constant. That's why we have such a strong visceral connection to it, you know? Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in your or the world, that one song stays the same, just like that moment.

Annabel Green is the girl who had it all. Or at least she was until her best friend, Sophie, turned her into a social pariah. Sophie was the mean girl who liked to assume instead of understand the facts, which left Annabel with no friends when the school year started. No one sees a change in her at home since one of her older sister's became anorexic. She also has no one to sit with at lunch which leads her to sit on the wall by herself. Only she's not by herself. Some few feet away sits Owen. Annabel has never talked to him because of where they fit on the social ladder. It also doesn't help that Owen is intimidating and known around the school as a fighter.

When Sophie does something at school one day to embarrass Annabel, it's Owen who offers his help. Confused, but open to the idea of finally having someone to talk to again, the two begin talking at lunch. Owen's favorite topics: being honest and music. His headphones are always attached to his ears and she wonders what he's listening to and what makes him so strongly attached to music. Through Owen, Annabel learns all about the wide expanse of music out there in the world and the impact it has on anyone and everyone while also learning that there's music inside of you that needs to be listened to in order for understand and appreciate your own life.

I'm doing my best to rip through the Dessen books, kids. After not really being into some of them, I was very happy to have liked this one. I am a firm believer in all things music, so it was really great to read certain parts and think, "See! I am not the only one who thinks like this! It IS universal and it does make life better!" At the same time, it was a Dessen book and they can get sort of formulaic, but that's why you like them. You know what you're in for when you pick one up and that's okay. It was a quick, enjoyable read and that's all that matters.

One of the best parts: Remy and Dexter! I really love when she picks characters and throws them into another story or just references them in another situation. The books all take place in pretty much the same town, so it's nice to see familiarity every now and again instead of pretending like they never existed. I missed Dexter and Truth Squad. Anyway, I'd recommend this to girls, but it really isn't a male's cup of tea.

30) The Serpent's Shadow-Rick Riordan

(Disclaimer: Third in a series. Book one, Book two.)

A person's shadow stood for his legacy, his impact on the world. Some people cast hardly any shadow at all. Some cast long, deep shadows that endured for centuries.

For Carter and Sadie Kane, life hasn't been easy over the last year and a half. They discovered that they were magicians from the House of Life in Egypt, their dad was hosting Osiris down in the underworld and Sadie's cat was actually the cat goddess sent to protect her. All totally normal. They managed to stop Apophis from rising, but saving Ra wasn't an easy feat. Now they're stuck with a mind warped sun god and very little time before the world is plunged into darkness.

For all their efforts, Apophis is still trying to rise. Chaos is threatening to overcome the earth and wipe out every soul along the way. In order to restore Ma'at (order) to the world, it is up to the Kanes and the initiates of Brooklyn House to keep the rebels at bay and crush Chaos before it breaks free. They know that Apophis is destroying every scroll of a specific spell, but they always just miss it. If they could figure out what was written on the scrolls, they might stand a chance in beating Chaos. They could ask the gods, but they seem to be disappearing the closer the time of chaos is. It isn't until Sadie realizes they're looking for his shadow that they devise a plan.

Again, it's extremely difficult for me to go any further simply because this is the final book in a series and that's just not fair. I will say that I did this book in essentially a single sitting. Its predecessor really left you clamoring for more and it definitely lived up to your expectations. It was just as funny, heartbreaking and war torn as the first two were. There were casualties everywhere, but there was a great deal of redemption as well. What's fantastic about Riordan is that he writes adolescents in such a strong way that doesn't make it feel like kids are just out there frolicking in fields or something. He writes them so powerfully and I think that that's important to understand. Kids can be capable of anything.

I am definitely sad to see this series end. I thought it was really well written and it definitely kept you interested while simultaneously teaching you all about Egyptian mythology. That's another great aspect of his work: you're learning without even realizing it. However, if ending this means more Percy Jackson books, I'll take it!

29) Insurgent-Veronica Roth

(Disclaimer: This is a sequel. If you would like the first review, venture here.)

Like a wild animal, the truth is too powerful to remain caged.

The simulation is over. Everyone has woken up to see and question the mayhem that was sparked across the city. But for Tris, she was never asleep. She was never unaware of the blood she was spilling. She knows Jeanine will be after her for ruining her plans and being divergent. She knows she has to run for her life.

Tris needs to figure out a plan. If they can get into hiding, they have a chance of devising a plan to take down Jeanine and the Erudite headquarters. Together with her brother, Caleb, and Four, they take the members of Abnegation, including their leader, Marcus, and Dauntless around them and make a break for Amity, the faction just beyond the fence. But not everything goes according to plan there. Tris grows leery of Marcus and his ties to Jeanine. She also knows that their time in Amity is precious as Jeanine will stop at nothing to capture Tris and Four. When the Erudite and duplicitous Dauntless soldiers come searching for them, they just barely escape. 

Without a faction or a real plan, the motley crew of refugees are left with only one option: join with the factionless. However, the factionless aren't what they seem to be. They are joining together and they are rising to take down everything Erudite stands for and with it, the faction system itself. Tris is again apprehensive about this approach, but refuses to tell Four as the factionless holds more secrets for him than any other place in the city. 

Can this group continue to outrun Jeanine and her army? Can Tris convince Four of what is right? Is it possible that everything they know is wrong? What would happen if Tris just handed herself over? Would that end the hunt for the divergent? Would that save everyone within the fence? What would happen if the factions fell?

One thing is clear: war is imminent.

My God, the wait for this book was excruciating. The ending to Divergent absolutely left you wanting more. I felt that this one was a lot quicker to get into, but that might have been simply because it was the sequel and there was less set up. It had a lot of action, but there was so much more character development in this one which I really enjoyed. What I also really enjoy about this series is that the main character is unbelievably flawed. You root for Tris, but you also kind of want to smack her in the face for being stupid sometimes. Yes, she's an incredibly strong and powerful female lead, but she's also completely hotheaded and can make a poor decision every now and again, which is much more realistic than other female leads in books. 

I was very happy with the way this book turned out, but I will say that the ending left me sort of confused. There was a total cliffhanger, but I'm still perplexed as to what the ending might mean. Of course, I am out of my mind with anticipation for NEXT FALL'S (far too long, in my opinion) conclusion, but I'm still not entirely sure what happened there at the end. I'm sure it will all be answered in due time, but for now, I will remain confused. I really do think this is a great read for anyone who enjoyed The Hunger Games or similar dystopian works. I would recommend this in a heartbeat to either females or males.

28) The Adoration of Jenna Fox-

Jenna Fox is finally awake. She's told she's been in a coma and that she's still recovering from a terrible accident. Jenna doesn't know who or where she is, but something just doesn't feel right. Even though she's given a DVD collection of her life, the pieces still don't add up. It also doesn't help that she keeps hearing distant voices and catching snippets of memories that don't seem to go along with what her family is telling her. For instance, if she suddenly remembers living her entire life in Boston, why are they suddenly living in California? Why does her grandmother no longer speak to her? What would happen if she tried to eat something that wasn't the liquid nutrients they've been giving her? 

Her neighbor makes her wonder about her new location. Her grandmother makes her think about her sudden obedience. Her new friends at school make her curious about her dad's (slightly unethical) invention of BioGel. Her videoed childhood makes her notice the differences. The locked closet in her mother's room creates even more questions. 

Is she even really Jenna Fox?

Secondary Schools read. I generally sort of stay away from Science Fiction as it doesn't really do much for me, but I was absolutely enthralled by this book. It was so well written and you were right there with her as she navigated this new life she's found herself in. You sort of bounce between what's going on in her head and what the rest of the world is seeing and I really enjoyed that. It was getting sort of frustrating not necessarily knowing what was going on until the very end, but that's generally half of the fun. You just wanted to know what the answers were! When I closed the book, I instantly flew to my laptop and hoped there was a sequel. It was that good. 

If you're not necessarily huge on science fiction, this is a nice way to sort of ease yourself into it. It's a quick and exciting read that keeps you interested. If you need a comparison, I would definitely say it's basically a modern day Frankenstein. If that sounds interesting to you, hop to it!