To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Han, Jenny. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. 2014. 355p. ISBN 9781442426702. Available at FIC HAN on the library shelves. This book has been nominated for a Flume Award in 2015.

Lara Jean is the middle of three sisters who have always been together. When their mother died a few years ago, it was Margot, the eldest, that took the responsibility of running the household for her family. Margot cooks, plans the shopping, and raises Katherine, or Kitty, their 9 year-old sister. Their surgeon father works hard, but is clueless when it comes to girls.

Margot has now graduated, however, and is moving to Scotland to study. This leaves Lara Jean in charge of the household. A junior, Lara Jean has loved five boys during her short life. When love is not reciprocated, Lara Jean writes a letter to the boy she loved explaining why she loved him. She never sends these letters, but keeps them in a secret hat box in her closet. Her hardest crush was on Josh, who lives next door. Unfortunately for her, he fell for Margot before she could muster the courage to ask him out. So she wrote him a letter.

Margot has broken up with Josh, however, and now something terrible has just happened to Lara Jean. Somehow her secret letters have been mailed to the five boys she loved, and now she is confronted by the recipients of the letters. It’s time for Lara Jean to grow up and learn to deal with her feelings.

Say What You Will

McGovern, Cammie. Say What You Will. 2014. 343p. ISBN 9780062271105. Available at FIC MCG on the library shelves.

Matthew has a new job this school year. He will be a student aide to Amy, a disabled student. Born with cerebral palsy, Amy can’t talk by herself and needs a walker to move from classroom to classroom. When she got her first talking computer in 3rd grade, it opened a new world of possibilities for her. But when Matthew reacted negatively to a paper Amy wrote in 11th grade, telling her that not everything was positive in the world, and that Amy was sheltered, she realized that she indeed was. For her senior year, she wants to make friends and live a life without a teacher aide. And she wants Matthew to help her.

Matthew himself has issues with obsessive compulsive disorder. He has to wash himself all the time, or the voice in his head will tell him he will cause harm to someone. He must count lockers and other objects in the classroom. He is completely hung up on sex. But he’s been keeping his eyes on Amy, wondering what makes her tick and how she lives her life on a daily basis. So when he is approached to be one of her aide, he agrees.

Now that the two school misfits have found each other, they must learn to know each other and stretch beyond their comfort zone to finally open up and interact with the world.

Fans of Eleanor and Park will absolutely adore this tale of sorrow and growth as Matthew and Amy decide whether they can trust each other.

Love, Stargirl

Spinelli, Jerry. Love, Stargirl. Book 2 of the Stargirl series. 288p. 2007. ISBN 978-0-3759-1375-4. Available at FIC SPI on the library shelves.

When Stargirl departed Arizona, she left her heart behind with a boy named Leo. Now living in Pennsylvania, Stargirl has started a new life but she still misses her Leo. Back to being home schooled, Stargirl meets interesting characters in this little town. There is her neighbor Dootsie, a very enthusiastic five-year-old girl who talks all the time. Then there is Betty Lou, who has not stepped out of her house in nine years. Alvina is 11 going on 30. Margie runs the donut shop. Charlie sits all day and grieves at his wife’s grave. Arnold wanders town, asking everyone if they are looking for him. Then there’s Perry, who’s poor and proud, and to whom Stargirl finds herself attracted.

Stargirl intersects the life of each of these characters and touches them in ways she couldn’t have imagined. Told in a long letter to Leo, Stargirl describes her life over the course of a year and how she misses Leo. But as the days pass, and as she gets to know more people in her town, Stargirl realizes that life is what you make of it one day at a time.

Told from Stargirl’s perspective, this story picks up where Stargirl ended, and fills in some of the details Leo wondered about at the end of that book.

If you liked Eleanor and Park, you will enjoy the light romance and growth of Stargirl as she blossoms into a wonderful human being.

A Turn of Light

Czerneda, Julie E. A Turn of Light. Book 1 of the Night’s Edge series. 2013. 864p. ISBN 9780756407070. Available at FIC CZE on the library shelves.

The small village of Marrowdell is isolated in the northern reaches of the country of Roth, bound on one side by the Bone Hills and the lazy river that runs from them. The colonists who arrived here two decades ago are hearty and healthy, and live long lives. But most visitors cannot stay, for their nights are populated with nightmares. And not everything is what it seems. Toads lay eggs. The wheat harvests itself. It’s almost as if a spirit watches over Marrowdell

Jenn Nalynn was born here, and on the eve of her 19th birthday, she cannot wait to escape. All of her life she’s been willing herself elsewhere. Her most precious possession is a faded map showing a large part of the world, and all of these places attract her. What mysteries lay beyond the limits of her small village? Living with her father and her older sister Pegg, Jenn is ready to leave with her aunt after the fall festival.

For as long as she can remember, Jenn has spent time in the meadow at Night’s edge, near the Bone hills. There, her friend Wisp lives. Invisible, Wisp talks to Jenn, but, more importantly, he listens to her. If she could only have one wish, it would be to bring Wisp to her. When she stumbles upon a magic ritual, she decides to turn Will into a man so they can live happily ever after.

Meanwhile, Bannan Larmensu’s war has concluded with a peace treaty, and the countryside where he fought as a truthseer has been turned over to the enemy. Surrendering his weapon, he makes his way north to the farthest place in Roth, where he hopes to settle with his loyal companion and fellow soldier Tyr and his warhorse Scourge. He arrives in Marrowdell in time to see the results of Jenn’s wishing, when Wisp, now Wyll, falls in the river and must be rescued.

Now Bannan and Wyll are engaged in a battle for Jenn’s heart. But something else is tugging at her too. Marrowdell itself is coming alive, and at the Great Turn, the solar eclipse of this lifetime, the edges of the world will fray with the Verge, and wishes will become possible.

An original tale of magic and wishing, the fantasy setting is exquisite and its inhabitants are worth the read.

If you enjoyed this book, you will like Seraphina.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. 1999. 213p. ISBN 978-0-671-02734-6. Available at FIC CHB on the library shelves.

As a freshman in high school, Charlie does not stand out. He is neither popular nor at the bottom of the social ladder. He’s smart, but not smart enough to be on honor roll. He’s not the biggest geek, clown, or any other role played by students. He’s a nobody, and he does not mind at all not being visible to the rest of the high school crowd.

Socially awkward, Charlie manages to make a few friends during a football game. He meets seniors Patrick and his sister Sam, and immediately falls hopelessly in love with Sam. Suffering from depression and low self-esteem, Charlie is not sure what his new friends see in him, but as the relationship grows Charlie begins to sail through unknown territory. He has his first date. He lives through Patrick’s intense dramas. He discovers sex, drugs, and the Rocky Horror Picture Show. But through it all, Charlie begins to immerse himself in his own life. Unfortunately, living sometimes means being front and center…

Told in the form of letter Charlie writes to an unknown narrator, this coming-of-age story will strike a cord with everyone who’s ever stood on the sidelines of life.

Zoe Letting Go

Price, Nora. Zoe Letting Go. 2012. 279p. ISBN 978-1-59514-466-9. FIC PRI on the library shelves.

Sixteen years old Zoe Propp is unceremoniously driven and dropped off by her mother at Twin Birch, a facility that welcomes teen dealing with anorexia. Zoe has no idea why she’s here. Surely this must be a mistake. The other five girls that are here clearly belong as their bones stick out and they are clearly too skinny. But she’s not. So why is she here, instead of back home spending the summer vacation with her best friend Elise?

Throughout her stay at Twin Birch, Zoe begins the process of exploring what has happened to herself and to Elise, and learns to deal with the other girls in the facility. She passes the time by writing letters to Elise, since telephone calls, cell phones, and the internet are not allowed. Will Zoe finally realize why she is here before it’s too late?

If you liked this book, consider reading Thirteen Reasons Why, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, We Were Liars, If I Stay, Black Box, The Vanishing Season, or Kiss of Broken Glass. All of these books feature a tragedy and a voyage of self-discovery as the central element of the plot.