What Am I Reading?
I grew up reading every Judy Blume book from the time my librarian suggested Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing when I was in fourth grade. My tastes changed as I got older and I gravitated to Mary Higgins Clark where I found I love mysteries.
Authors should keep up with what is being published in their genre, so you will see a lot of Young Adult novels listed here, as that is what I've been reading a lot of lately. I will link to an author's page where appropriate.
This Book is Gay
This candid, funny, and uncensored exploration of sexuality and what it's like to grow up LGBTQ also includes real stories from people across the gender and sexual spectrums. Inside this book, you'll find the answers to all the questions about stereotypes, coming out as LGBTQ, the ins and outs of gay sex, and more. You will be entertained. You will be informed. But most importantly, you will know that however you identify (or don't) and whomever you love, you are exceptional. You matter.
Click here for my review on Amazon.
The Bridge by Bill Konigsberg
In The Bridge, two teenagers – Aaron and Tillie – don't know each other, but they are both feeling suicidal, and arrive at the George Washington Bridge at the same time, intending to jump. Aaron is a gay misfit struggling with depression and loneliness. Tillie is of Asian descent adopted into a white family at birth. She’s overweight and trying to make sense of jilted love and a dad who doesn’t love her the way he loves his biological daughter. This astonishing and insightful Young Adult novel by Bill Konigsberg explores the possibilities of what could happen if they do or don’t jump.
Click here for my review on Amazon.
Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp
In Before I Let Go, best friends Corey and Kyra are inseparable, growing up in the tiny snow-covered town of Lost Creek, Alaska. When Corey moves away, they promise to stay in touch. Then, just days before Corey is to visit, Kyra dies. Corey is devastated and confused. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones, saying Kyra's death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she's a stranger. The more Corey investigates―and the more questions she asks―the greater her suspicion grows. Lost is keeping secrets―chilling secrets. This Young Adult novel by Marieke Nijkamp is a must read for anyone who wants to understand more about mental illness.
Click here for my review on Amazon.
One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
In One of us is Lying, author Karen M. McManus, weaves a tale of mystery – dropping clues to a murder laid out in the first ten pages. Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them. On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Only one of them never walks out. Before the end of detention, one is dead, and according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident as he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his co-detainees, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?
Click here for my review on Amazon.
Muted by Tami Charles
Inspired by true events, Muted by Tami Charles is a fearless exploration of the dark side of the music industry, the business of exploitation, how a girl's dreams can be used against her -- and what it takes to fight back. For seventeen-year-old Denver, music is everything. So, she is more than ready on the day she and her best friends Dali and Shak sing their way into the orbit of the biggest R&B star in the world, Sean "Mercury" Ellis. Merc gives them everything: parties, perks, wild nights -- plus hours and hours in the recording studio. Even the painful sacrifices and the lies the girls must tell are all worth it. Until they're not. Denver begins to realize that she's trapped in Merc's world, struggling to hold on to her own voice. As the dream turns into a nightmare, she must make a choice: lose her big break – or get broken.
Click here for my review on Amazon.
Seven Clues to Home by
Gae Polisner and
Nora Raliegh Baskin
In Seven Clues to Home, Joy Fonseca is dreading her thirteenth birthday, dreading being reminded again about her best friend Lukas's senseless death on this day, one year ago. But she’s decided she's going to finally open the first clue to their annual birthday scavenger hunt Lukas left for her the morning he died, hoping the rest of the clues are still out there. If they are, they might lead Joy to whatever last words Lukas wrote, and toward understanding how to grab onto the future that is meant to be hers. This novel by Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin left me with tears.
Click here for my review on Amazon.
Daisy Jones and The Six
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Daisy Jones and The Six is a gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous breakup during the height of their popularity. Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ roll she loves most. Daisy crosses paths with a band titled, The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne. A producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens is chronicled in this riveting novel, written as a series of snips from the band members during interviews with each of them. This remarkable novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid left me with a feeling of how we never truly know what’s going on behind someone’s eyes.
Click here for my review on Amazon.
