The Beauty that Remains--"No one ever talks about the living who have unfinished business with the dead. How do they ever find peace again?"

Title: The Beauty that Remains

Author: Ashley Woodfolk


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Logan's ex-boyfriend, Bram, died in a mysterious "suicide."  Shay's twin sister, Sasha, died of leukemia. Autumn's best friend, Tavia, died in a car accident on the way to a party that Autumn (and Tavia's brother, Dante) were supposed to attend. Logan obsessively watches Youtube videos of Bram; Shay struggles to keep up Sasha's music blog; Autumn writes messages to Tavia's email account.  All these grieving teenagers have some connection to the defunct band, Unraveling Lovely.


What I think: I thought I had read some sad, yet moving, books this year, but this one was . . . WOW.  I originally picked it up because it had a blurb from Angie Thomas, the author of The Hate U Give, on the cover: "Be prepared to be broken, be prepared to feel whole again." Since The Hate U Give is one of the best books I've ever read (and I've read LOTS of books), I picked up The Beauty that Remains. And again, wow.

If I Was Your Girl--"Pro-tip: read the author's notes FIRST"

Title: If I Was Your Girl

Author: Meredith Russo

What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Amanda moves in with her estranged father to attend a new school for her senior year of high school, and everything seems to be going well for her so far.  She meets a new group of girlfriends and even begins dating Grant. But Amanda has a secret: she is a transgender female and knows that if anyone finds out the truth about her past, her newfound happiness could be over.


What I think: Sometimes I am a brat and flip ahead in the pages of the book to see what's going to happen later in the story.  I sometimes spoil major plot points or even the whole ending for myself when I do this, so I nearly always regret it (but I can't stop doing it because, well, I have no idea).  But anyway, with this book, I actually did not regret flipping through towards the end.

When the Moon Was Ours--"The blue whirled in on itself like the curves of a nautilus shell"

Title: When the Moon Was Ours

Author: Anna-Marie McLemore

What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer):  Best friends Miel and Sam are known as the strange ones in their town. Miel's wrist grows roses, and Sam paints moons to hang in the trees.  Miel lives with Aracely, the town curandera, and Sam pollinates the pumpkins in the Bonner's pumpkin field.  When the beautiful, yet evil Bonner sisters want to use Miel's roses to enhance their powers, they discover a secret about Sam that they threaten to reveal to the whole town.

What I think (in 250 words or fewer): McLemore is Mexican-American who describes her writings as magical realism. She blends elements of folk and fairy tale and culture in her stories.  Miel appears out of a water tower when she is five, Aracely cures the townspeople of "love sickness," and Sam is a bacha posh who wants to remain a boy.

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park--"& brothers, JFK, sign language, divas, & extreme fabulousness!"

Title: My Most Excellent Year:  A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park

Author:  Steve Kluger

What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): TC, Augie, and Alè tell stories of their freshman year in high school.  When TC was six, his mother died, and TC and Augie became close friends and "brothers."  Alè is new in school, the daughter of the US ambassador to Mexico, and secretly taking singing and dancing lessons. TC develops an instant crush on her. Meanwhile, Augie comes into his own as a fabulous, singer-dancer-actor, taking the school by storm in Kiss Me Kate.

What I think:  Wow, I am not sure I can adequately describe how much I loved this book.  I think I will just list some of the awesome parts of the book below:

Between Mom and Jo--"People are liars and forever is a myth and the glue is only as good as the two ends it holds together"

Still not sad enough after reading Ashes to Asheville?  Then you should read Between Mom and Jo
  

Author: Julie Anne Peters


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Nick is just like any other junior high boy, but his family is different than some: he has two moms.  His biological mother is the practical one (who cooks and pays bills), and Jo is the one who takes him camping and fishing and teaches him about the facts of life.  When Mom and Jo separate, Nick is not allowed to see Jo anymore and is very upset at the loss of his parent.

What I think (in 250 words or fewer): 

--Hello, customer service?  I read We are Okay and Ashes to Asheville, and, I don't know, I need more sadness.  I just haven't cried enough for one week.

--More sadness, huh?  Well, we can certainly provide that.  How about we keep the theme of a loss of a parent?  This time, we'll make the kid an only child with no close friends.

--Ooh, that does sounds sadder!  Tell me more.

If you liked We are Okay, you should read Ashes to Asheville

If you liked We are Okay, you should read Ashes to Asheville

Author: Sarah Dooley


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Sixteen-year-old Zany and twelve-year-old Fella lost Mama Lacy to cancer six months ago.  Now Zany lives with Mama Shannon, and Fella lives with Mrs. Madison, her maternal grandmother.  Mama Lacy's dream was to have her ashes scattered in the park in Asheville, so in the middle of the night, Zany picks up Fella and the urn with Mama Lacy and set off a road trip to Asheville to fulfill Mama Lacy's last wish.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer):  I managed to read three books with similar themes in the last couple of days.  Usually when I do something like that, I try to schedule the reviews so they are not published close to each other, but this time, I am going to write them all in a row.

We are Okay--"A story of betrayal, grief, loneliness, and finally, healing"

Title: We are Okay

Author: Nina LaCour


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer):  Marin has not spoken to her best friend Mabel or anyone else from home, since Marin's grandfather's sudden death and Marin's departure to college in New York last August.  Now it is winter break, and Marin is staying alone in her dorm room, waiting for Mabel to visit her. Perhaps Mabel can help Marin through the grief and loneliness and someday be okay again.


What I think (in 250 words or fewer):  LaCour mentions in the book's acknowledgements and in this article that she wrote the book while dealing with the loss of her grandfather, and it shows.  Grief and loneliness and isolation just pour from the pages; I don't know how else to describe it.  Even the weather and the present-time setting are isolated--Marin is staying completely alone in her dorm room during a snowstorm in New York and at one point even the electricity goes out.

It's Our Prom (So Deal with It)--"Event planning is one gigantic pain in the butt"

Title: It's Our Prom (So Deal with It)

Author: Julie Anne Peters


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Azure is asked to be on the prom committee to help make it an event that will appeal to all students.  Azure invites her best friends, Luke and Ridhaka (whom both Azure and Luke secretly have crushes on), to help plan.  Luke is busy is directing and starring in a musical he wrote, and Ridhaka is feeling pressured by her parents' high expectations.  Azure quickly becomes overwhelmed with the logistics of planning a prom.

What I think (in 250 words or fewer): I enjoyed this book!  I have been really overwhelmed lately with books filled with violence, poverty, racism, and serious bullying.  It's Our Prom had a small, realistic amount of homophobia, but otherwise, nothing too stressful.

Tattoo Atlas--"Nice is different than good" OR "All of us have some crazy in us, don't we?"

Title: Tattoo Atlas

Author:  Tim Floreen


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Last year, Franklin brought a gun to school and killed Rem's friend, Pete. Now Franklin is the subject of an experiment (run by Rem's mother) to see out if sociopaths can be "cured" by implanting a device that activates the "empathy" parts of their brains. The procedure seems to work on Franklin, and he and Rem almost become (more than) friends, but when another classmate is killed, Rem wonders if Franklin is fooling everyone.


What I think: Tattoo Atlas is a frustrating, suspenseful, horrifying, and thought-provoking book that I could not put down, even when one of my kids asked me why I was "looking at the book with such a scared face."  I tried to take breaks and go back to reading the other books I am in the middle of, but I couldn't. I had to know what was going to happen to Rem, Franklin, and their other classmates, but at the same time was scared to find out what was going to happen.