Cover: Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

 

 Sixteen-year-old Winston Winters is awaiting the inevitable.

Stuck at a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of unimaginable tragedy, Win knows it’s only a matter of time until he transforms into something dark, something wolfish, just like his father. Until he hurts people too. So in order to do the least amount of harm to those around him, he masters the art of shutting others out.

But meeting fellow cross-country runner Jordan Herrera thwarts Win's plans for emotional isolation. A scholarship student with secrets of her own, Jordan’s boldness and wit draw him in. And when she asks Win to accompany her to an all-night party in the deep New England woods, he’s torn. Because he’s not sure they should get any closer. He’s not sure Jordan will be safe with him. But she insists. And he goes.

Win wants to believe he’s not dangerous. That he would never hurt someone he cares for. But as he leads Jordan into the wilderness with his father’s blood running through his veins and wild wolves running through his fragile mind, Win knows this is simply not true….

I think this book sounds really good.  I like the cover too, and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Katie

Waiting on Wednesday #36: How I Lost You

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

My pick for this week is:

Grace and Kya always do everything together, and nothing can get in the way of their friendship. They have a pact: Sisters Before Misters. Buds Before Studs.

Only Grace knows what Kya's been through, or how much she needs someone to stick by her. No Matter What. Besides, Kya keeps life exciting-pulling Grace into things she'd never dare do on her own.

But inch by inch, daring is starting to turn dangerous. And Grace will have to decide how far she can go to save her friendship with Kya...before she ends up losing everything else.

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This sounds like a really good book.  It sounds like it will explore themes of friendship.  I have enjoyed the other books by Janet Gurtler that I have read.  This book is releasing on May 1st.

What are you Waiting On this Wednesday?

Katie

Review: Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Like his brothers, Luis Fuentes is a risk taker; whether he's scaling the Rocky Mountains or dreaming of a future as an astronaut, Luis is always looking for the next thrill. Nikki Cruz lives her life by certain rules -, don't trust a boy who says "I love you", boys lie to get their own way and never date a boy from the south side of Fairfield. Then she meets Luis at his brother Alex's wedding and suddenly she's tempted to break all her rules. Getting Nikki to give him a chance is Luis's biggest challenge, until he finds himself targeted by the head of the gang that nearly destroyed his brothers' lives. Will Luis's feelings for Nikki be enough to stop him from entering a dark and violent world that could prove to be the ultimate risk?

My Review:

I enjoyed Chain Reaction just as much as Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction.  The narrators were great characters, and I enjoyed the cameos from Brittany, Alex, Carlos, and Kiara.  The story kept me reading the entire time, and I couldn't put the book down.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Luis and Nikki are great narrators.  Nikki has trust issues after her last boyfriend broke up with her, and joined the Latino Bloods.  The boyfriend didn't know it, but Nikki was pregnant at the time.  She ended having a miscarriage and losing the baby.  Luis is originally portrayed as a more of a good guy Fuentes, but he is also cocky.  Like his brothers, he ends up getting involved in the Latino Bloods as well.  He finds out some secrets about his family, including who his father really is.  

The romance is this book is really well done.  Luis likes Nikki from the start, but she ends up kicking him.  This is back at Alex's wedding when Luis and Nikki were both fifteen.  Her boyfriend had just broken up with her, and she was dealing with many issues at the time.  Then, the story fast forwards to three years later, and Nikki and Luis are in school together.  They are also in chemistry together with Alex's and Brittany's teacher.  Nikki still doesn't want to trust a guy again, even though it's been years since her relationship ended.  Despite this, she finds herself falling for Luis, just as he finds himself falling for her.  They go through a few rough patches in their relationship, but they smooth it all out by the end.

The two other Fuentes couples make appearances in this book, and I enjoyed seeing them again.  Alex and Brittany get married at the beginning of the book.  Alex was keeping some secrets from Brittany before the wedding.  Luis does something he probably shouldn't have done.  He stops the wedding to make Alex tell Brittany the things he's been keeping from her.  Carlos and Kiara make an appearance later in the book.  Kiara's there when Carlos tells his ex-girlfriend he's still a bachelor.  Then he ends up proposing to Kiara before he has the ring, so he can prove he loves her.

If you like YA contemporary, read this book.

Katie 

Review: Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos

How do you find someone who doesn’t want to be found? A girl searches for her missing addict brother while confronting her own secrets in this darkly lyrical novel.Rachel has always idolized her older brother Micah. He struggles with addiction, but she tells herself that he’s in control. And she almost believes it. Until the night that Micah doesn’t come home.

Rachel’s terrified—and she can’t help but feel responsible. She should have listened when Micah tried to confide in her. And she only feels more guilt when she receives an anonymous note telling her that Micah is nearby and in danger.

With nothing more to go on than hope and a slim lead, Rachel and Micah’s best friend, Tyler, begin the search. Along the way, Rachel will be forced to confront her own dark secrets, her growing attraction to Tyler…and the possibility that Micah may never come home.

My Review:
  
Out of Reach is a great emotional read.  The characters are well-developed.  The story gives flashbacks so the reader can get a sense of what Micah was like in the past.  

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

Rachel is a great character.  It is clear that she really cares about her older brother Micah.  She's not sure at first if she should go look for him or not, but she makes the decision to go and find him.  She deals with a lot of difficult situations in this book.  Her brother is suffering from addiction, and she meets some interesting people when trying to find him.  She has to deal with situations like her car being stolen, and she has to meet drug dealers, and she even sees one get into a fight.

Micah is an interesting character.  It is clear that he has become caught in a downward spiral.  He started using meth, and he became addicted to it.  He has been in and out of rehab, but Rachel knows that he was still using drugs before he left home.  I think the Micah shown in the flashbacks before the drugs seemed more likeable than the guy he became after he started using.

Tyler is a great character.  He's Micah's friend, a guy who was in a band with Micah.  He cares about Micah, and he knows some things about Micah that Rachel doesn't know.  He knows that Micah not only uses the drugs; he also started dealing the drugs.  As Tyler and Rachel's journey continues, it becomes clear that he has feelings for Rachel, though there isn't really any romance shown between them during the book.

If you like emotional contemporary YA, read this book.

Katie 

Waiting on Wednesday #35: The Rules for Disappearing

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine.

My pick for this week is:

She’s been six different people in six different places: Madeline in Ohio, Isabelle in Missouri, Olivia in Kentucky . . . But now that she’s been transplanted to rural Louisiana, she has decided that this fake identity will be her last.

Witness Protection has taken nearly everything from her. But for now, they’ve given her a new name, Megan Rose Jones, and a horrible hair color. For the past eight months, Meg has begged her father to answer one question: What on earth did he do – or see – that landed them in this god-awful mess? Meg has just about had it with all the Suits’ rules — and her dad’s silence. If he won’t help, it’s time she got some answers for herself.

But Meg isn’t counting on Ethan Landry, an adorable Louisiana farm boy who’s too smart for his own good. He knows Meg is hiding something big. And it just might get both of them killed. As they embark on a perilous journey to free her family once and for all, Meg discovers that there’s only one rule that really matters — survival.

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This sounds like an interesting story.  I don't really know anything about Witness Protection, so I look forward to finding out about it in this book.  This book is releasing on May 14th.

What are you Waiting On this Wednesday?

Katie