With Malice, by Eileen Cook

Jill wakes up in the hospital suffering from a broken leg and severe head trauma that's caused her to completely forget the past six weeks of her life. She doesn't remember her trip to Italy or the accident that caused her injuries and killed her best friend, Simone. She soon learns that the accident has made national headlines and that there is a investigation into what really happened (however, Simone's family and most everyone else thinks Jill is to blame). Some sources say it wasn't even an accident, but murder.

News reports, police interviews, blog posts, and communications between the girls and their families/friends before and after the "accident" attempt to piece together the story, but only Jill knows the whole truth of what really happened. 

And Jill can't remember any of it.

Or can she?

When I first heard about Eileen Cook's novel With Malice, it was billed as being a mystery worthy of We Were Liars (E. Lockhart), a book I couldn't put down and raved about to just about anyone who would listen. Needless to say, I was super excited to read it.

By now, I should know better than to listen to hype and comparisons to favorite books. About the only thing the two books shared was a wealthy main character with amnesia. With Malace held none of the magic and mystery and romance of We Were Liars. Instead, there was just lots and lots of catty mean girl drama with mystery and thriller elements mixed in for flavor (although by the end, I was so fed up with all the Drama I could have cared less what happened to the characters). The way Jill finally regains her memory feels almost too almost convenient, and ending is too neatly wrapped-up.

If you're looking for a good mystery, there are better options. --AJB

Maybe A Fox, by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee

No matter how fast Sylvie, 12, can run, she always wishes to be faster. Faster than the fastest racehorse. Faster than a speeding bullet. Faster than the speed of sound. So fast she can... Well, Sylvie never speaks her reason out loud. Even when her little sister Jules presses her for an answer. She does, however, write these wishes on Wish Rocks, which she throws into the nearby river. A river so dangerous the girls' father warns them never to go near it. Ever.

But does Sylvie listen? No.

One snowy morning, Sylvie doesn't return from her secret trip to the river. Could she have moved so fast Jules missed her return? No. Readers will learn that Sylvie slipped on a patch of snow and fell into the river. 

But at the exact moment Sylvie drowns, a fox cub is born. But not just any fox cub. Senna is special. She is "Kennen," meaning she is a spirit animal born with an important purpose. And the reader later learns that purpose is Jules. But why? 

Right away, we see that Maybe A Fox, by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee deals with some pretty heavy topics: The sisters lost their mother at a young age. Jules loses Sylvie. And other characters experiences losses as well. Maybe A Fox sounds like a very depressing book, indeed! But that's just it: It isn't depressing. Sure, it's sad. But it's also filled with mystery and the hope that things will get better. And things do.

Personally, I was really excited to finally read Maybe A Fox. Kathi Appelt is one of my favorite Tween authors, having penned one of my favorite Tween books, Keeper. While I didn't like Maybe A Fox as much as I liked Keeper, I still found it to be a fantastic book. One of the things Kathi Appelt does best is weave a bunch of seemingly unrelated storylines together. She is also the master of creating believable, well-rounded characters.

I can (and WILL) definitely recommend Maybe A Fox. --AJB

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

Molly and Kip are siblings traveling from Ireland in order to find work. After leaving (or escaping as Molly knows it) the two set off across the English countryside in order to find work as servants. They find work in the home of the Windsors. As they approach their new home the feel something isn't quite right. The townspeople of have worn them numerous times to turn around and find work elsewhere. Not knowing if there is anything else the two head into the 'sourwoods' and arrive in front of a crumbling estate that is intertwined with a massive black tree. Work begins and the two feel there is hope on the horizon. This hope dwindles as Molly drifts off to sleep in her basement bedroom and hears a "thump, thump, thump" coming from above...

The Night Gardener is a great scary story for those readers that aren't too sure about scary stories (aka me). The book is set in a great time period, the late 1800's. It's a time of horse drawn carriages, when story tellers are still popular (remember there are no television sets), and dark mystery. Auxier does a great job of mixing these elements in throughout the story (Molly even asks the family's doctor about using leeches at one point). He has also created an amazing set of siblings that show such devotion and courage towards one another. I hope that my siblings may look to me as Kip looks up to Molly. This scary (but not too scary) book is located in the Tween section. If you are brave enough to give The Night Gardener a try you'll be lucky enough to notice that Oxford's copy has been signed by the author!

Enjoy!
-JAC

From Where I Watch You, by Shannon Grogan

This book definitely gave me a big surprise! I was attracted to this book simply because of the cover which had a pink heart and an amusing title. I also expected a sweet story about a baker girl who receives romantic notes from an anonymous person. It did say suspenseful in fine print, but for some reason, I didn't think much of it until I actually began reading the story. So beware! From Where I Watch You is not only suspenseful, but it's also creepy and sad. You may not able to put this book down.

The main character Kara is struggling with her sister's death, her father's abandonment, and her mother's sudden and extreme turn to religion. She's got a stalker, she's scarred by a past incident that's keeping her from developing meaningful relationships, and she's trying to figure out how to get to a baking competition in San Francisco, one that will hopefully help her escape life in Seattle. On top of all this, Charlie, the boy she loved for ages, has returned after a long absence.

The mystery of who Kara's stalker will definitely keep you reading and if you love to bake, you will love the baking elements in this story. *JK*

I'm Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil

In this story, a sixteen year old, J.J. Green graduated from high school and wants to be a songwriter in 1960's New York, but she comes from a background where all Green family members must be lawyers. When she lands a 3 month summer job as a writer and assistant at a music company, she makes a deal with her mom and embarks on the beginning of everything she ever wanted until murder gets in the way.

I think this was a nice, clean mystery with lots of interesting complications and characters. It is a book about family, secrets, and lies. I loved the setting and the way that the author incorporated the civil rights movement gently into a story about the musical world where race had already begun to be problematic. It was an easy and fast read, and had a little of everything -- romance, mystery, history. Themes of finding your voice, learning to forgive, and reaching for your dreams add a nice depth. The language and situations are completely appropriate for all ages. *JK*

Cold In Summer, by Tracy Barrett

A lost little girl....

A town that's been drowned beneath a lake....

A hundred-year-old mystery....

Fresh from our New Tween Collection comes Cold In Summer, by Tracy Barrett, a fantastic mystery/ghost-story that is so good you'll be reading it under the blankets with a flashlight long after you've gone to bed!

Ariadne's family has just moved from their sunny Florida neighborhood to a small, rural community in Tennessee. Ariadne's family seems to be adapting just fine, but Ariadne, 12, feels very lonely. She misses her best friend, Sarah, and everything about "home." There's nothing in this new place for her.

Then Ariadne encounters May Butler in the woods near the local lake. Despite May's old-fashioned clothes, cryptic way of speaking in riddles, and odd habit of seeming to vanish at a moment's notice, there's something about May that makes Ariadne think this girl could become a friend. 

But not everything is as it seems.

There's a local legend about a young girl who vanished mysteriously just before the local dam was built a hundred years earlier, flooding the valley and drowning the town that once existed there. This missing girl's name was also May Butler. Could Ariadne's new friend be distantly related to the missing girl?

Or is the May Butler of the past and the May Butler of the present the same person?

This is a mystery only Ariadne can solve.

Pay no attention to the drab cover (Rule: Don't Judge!). Cold In Summer is a fantastic middle-grade story! Readers will be drawn in immediately and enjoy piecing together the clues to solve the mystery as it unfolds. Check it out today!

p.s. If you liked Cold In Summer, try Wait Till Helen Comes, by Mary Downing Hahn. --AJB

Teen Reviewer: Stormbreaker, by Anthony Horowitz

Teen reviewer Marissa N., age 13, read Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz on a friend's request. She found this adventure story to be very entertaining. 

This is her review:

"The plot is about Alex, a typical boy who wants a normal life, but his uncle gets into a mysterious car crash and his (Alex's) life is flipped upside-down. With secret gadgets and intense training from M16 Secret Service, Alex is put into the life as a teen spy. Alex develops from a nervous teenager only worried about sports and grades to stopping villains. Along the road, Alex faces many challenges and it is intriguing to find out how he uses his special tools to get out of life or death situations. At the beginning, you might get a little bored, but wait a little longer and you won't be able to put it down!"

Marissa would recommend Stormbreaker to others.

Eleven, by Patricia Giff

What if your life wasn't really what you thought it was?

Young Sam is plagued by this question when, while snooping in his grandfather's attic for his birthday present, he discovers an old newspaper clipping containing a photo of his younger self. The only words Sam, who suffers from near-crippling dyslexia, can identify are his first name and the word "MISSING". Suddenly his whole world comes crashing down. If he is, indeed, "Missing," then where are his parents? Who is the man he has been calling "grandfather" all these years? Was he kidnapped? Who is SAM? 

Could these questions be the source of Sam's recurring nightmares about a castle a boat and a storm at sea?

If ONLY he could read that article!!

Then Sam is paired up with the surly and unapproachable Caroline for a class project. The two form an unlikely friendship, and Sam recruits Caroline, who loves to read, to help him solve the mystery. But time is running out. Can the two uncover the answers in time? 

Eleven, by Patricia Giff, is a fantastic, fast-paced mystery aimed at the tween audience, but older readers (even adults) will love it too and enjoy piecing together the clues as Sam and Caroline unravel them. There is a sense of urgency throughout this story, but readers will breathe a sigh of relief when all is revealed and things aren't as bad as they first seemed (the book ends happily). 

You won't be able to put this one down! --AJB

The Good Sister, by Jamie Kain

The Good Sister by Jaime Kain has been described (on Goodreads) as "The Fault in Our Stars meets The Lovely Bones," and I feel that is an apt assessment of this sad, but oh-so-good page turner. There's also a bit of We Were Liars mixed in.

The Kinseys are the picture-perfect example of a dysfunctional family. There's the former hippie mom who is determined to hold onto her flower-child roots. The former-hippie-now-reformed (but also absent) father. Sarah, Rachel, and Asha grew up in this crazy, messed-up household where the normal rules of the world didn't really apply. Despite the so-called "mellow" vibe of their California community, no one in the Kinsey household is really happy.

And ever since Sarah died, things have been even worse. Sarah, the "good" sister of the title, was the glue that held the family together. She was the sun the rest orbited around, built their lives around. With her gone, everything falls apart.

A lifelong leukemia patient, Sarah knew early death was almost a certainty. Everyone knew it was coming. Just not like this. Not in a hiking "accident" that may not have been all that accidental. Told from the three sisters' alternating viewpoints (with Sarah's perspective from the afterlife bringing an element of magical realism to the story), the true story gradually unfolds, uncensored. And it is a truth that's painful and far more complex and convoluted than the reader could imagine. Everyone's secrets come spilling out, and no one is who they first appear to be. 

Especially Sarah. Saintly, golden Sarah.

Saintly? Yeah right!

To say more would give too much away.

The Good Sister can currently be found on our New Book Shelf. Read it if you're looking for a complex mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. 

Definitely recommended! --AJB

Teen Reviewer

Teen Reviewer Sierra, 13, read and loved The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. In this first book (it's a trilogy), the main character, Mara, must sort out what really happened the night her three best friends died and why she survived when they did not. 

Sierra Neely: "I love the mystery of how Mara's friends died and why she can't remember anything"

Sierra recommends The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer for teens 13 and older.

This book has it all: Mystery, romance, a good dose of the paranormal, and a cliffhanger that will leave readers racing to the shelves for the sequel (like we said, it's a trilogy), The Evolution of Mara Dyer.

Oh...and don't miss the final installment: The Retribution of Mara Dyer!

Second Star, by Alyssa Sheinmel

Fairy Tale retellings can be very tricky, particularly ones reworked so they are set in modern day. Sometimes they work (as in Alex Flinn's Beastly), other times not so well. An example of the later is Alyssa Sheinmel's Peter Pan reboot, Second Star. 

At the opening of this story, we meet recent high school grad and Good Girl Wendy Darling. Wendy's twin brothers (Michael and John), both die-hard surfers, disappeared several months earlier. Pieces of their surfboards were found shortly after a huge swell swept up the coast, creating larger than normal waves (even for winter). Everyone but Wendy believes the boys drowned, even though no bodies were found. So after graduation, Wendy sets off to investigate and see if she can't find her brothers and bring them home. Instead she discovers an almost magical beach where the waves are always perfect. Here lives Pete and a group of homeless teens who spend their days surfing and stealing supplies from nearby McMansions. Wendy lies to her parents, saying she's going on a road trip with her BFF, and moves in with Pete and crew. Wendy develops a crush on the charismatic Pete... But she also falls for Jas, a local bad-boy-who-wants-to-be-good sort. Jas makes a living selling a hallucinogen called "Dust," and claims to know the whereabouts of her brothers. Wendy and Jas take off up the coast, chasing a storm that will bring unseasonably large waves. If Michael and John are anywhere, they'll be there when the waves hit. They find the beach, but not the brothers. Wendy and Jas rendezvous with Pete & Co. and take a boat out to catch the waves...and Wendy almost drowns.

She wakes up days later tied to a bed in the psych ward of the hospital... And here's where things get confusing. 

The reader learns that Wendy was found, bruised but otherwise physically OK, nowhere near the beach she claims to have traveled to with Jas. Her parents and doctors tell her that she must have hallucinated the whole adventure and everyone in it. The reason for this is Wendy apparently took an odd cocktail of drugs that combined to cause her "trip." Evidence suggests otherwise, though. Wendy can suddenly surf like a pro (before she couldn't). And near the end she anonymously receives a photo of the boys she fell for. And this is where the author left things. 

I did like the whole summery, dreamlike quality to the story. And the idea was a good one. Unfortunately, the execution was sloppy. The ending confusing.

Before diving into Second Star, know this: The story does require a good deal of suspension of belief in addition to the typical fairy tale elements. For example, what parents would allow their 17-year-old daughter to take off to do who knows what for weeks at a time--especially one as supposedly unstable as Wendy? Also, it is unclear at the end whether Wendy's whole adventure was imagined (as her parents and doctors claim), really happened (as the photo of Pete and the gang she receives at the end suggests), or a combination of the two. And if the adventure did indeed happen, why did Wendy's family, friends, and doctors tell her otherwise? If they want her to heal properly, wouldn't they be honest with her? Nothing really lines up properly.  Also, if the author wanted to add the "she just imagined the whole thing" twist, it could have been done better. The way it was, it seemed too rushed and, well, cliche.

If you're looking for a good magical realism story, there are better options. Ask the on-duty librarian for recommendations :)

AJB

Belzhar, by Meg Wolitzer

What if you wanted something so badly, you actually convinced yourself it was reality? Meg Wolitzer explores this in her addicting novel Belzhar.

After her boyfriend, Reeve, died, Jam was inconsolable...so her parents sent her to The Wooden Barn, a boarding school in Vermont that's sort of a halfway house for emotionally damaged teens who aren't crazy enough for the psych ward (but are too fragile to mix with regular society). Jam obviously doesn't want to be there. She wants to be with Reeve. But Reeve is dead, and they can never be together again.

Or can they?

Jam is stunned when she is one of five students selected for Special Topics English, taught by the mysterious Mrs. Quenell. Everyone who has ever taken the class has claimed it changed their lives, but have remained secretive about the details. So Jam goes, not knowing what to expect.

What happens as a result of this exclusive membership is she and the other Special Topics students are allowed limited entry into the magical world they dub "Belzhar." This is a place they can go where the terrible thing that happened to them, the terrible thing that put them in The Wooden Barn, never happened and life is as it should be. For Jam, this means she can be with Reeve again. But she soon discovers they can only relive past memories. They can't create any new experiences. And she can never stay for very long. But this is enough for her.

As Jam and her classmates approach their last visit to Belzhar, they learn the truth about the place: That Belzhar gives them what they want to see...but it also reveals the truth about their trauma, the parts they blocked out the first time around. That during their final visit, they must re-live every sordid and terrible detail of the worst experience of their lives. This means Jam must re-live Reeve's death and face the awful, psyche-scarring truth about what really happened that day.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from Belzhar. I'd picked it up because I'd read a fabulous review that revealed just enough to spark my curiosity...but didn't give it all away. And it was good. Very, very good. Unusual, but very good...and I kept reading. I wanted to know what happened as much as the characters did.

Yes, there was a bit of a twist at the end (no spoilers). Not one that put my jaw in my lap, but still one that surprised me and changed the way I felt about Jam. Previous to the twist, I had felt a twinge of sympathy for her, certainly, but that was it. After all, she seemed to be getting better. Then the twist...and I realized how sick and twisted she really was. Far beyond what I first believed. 

Confused? Curious? 

Read the book. --AJB

The Lonely, by Ainslie Hogarth

Easter Deetz is dying, but she's not wasting away from cancer or any other tragic condition popular teen literature has romanticized as of late. No, Easter's demise is coming about from something much more gruesome: She's slowly bleeding to death, alone in the woods, after a boulder has fallen on top of her, crushing her legs.

Or is she?

Easter is a chronic liar. She admits as much early on in Ainslie Hogarth's debut novel, The Lonely. Of course, this confession could also be a lie, leaving readers locked in the paradox of whether you can trust her or not... But for the sake of argument, let's say she's dying under a rock, legs crushed and blood and guts soaking into the forest floor for insects and worms and other things to feast upon (Easter is very graphic). For this horrible, bloody death, Easter blames her sister, Julia, who apparently dropped the boulder on her.

Julia is the only thing that stands between Easter and what she calls The Lonely, a debilitating mental condition that cripples all the women in her family (her mother, her witch of a grandmother). Julia also makes Easter do horrible things like shut the neighbor's cat in a garbage can to die in the summer heat...like vandalize her grandmother's neighbors' lawns with obscenities...like set fire to the cabin her parents are renting one summer. 

Another important thing about Julia: She only exists in Easter's imagination.

And what an imagination! Stephen King would sell his soul (maybe) for the sort of horrid thoughts and images that regularly pop into Easter's head.

But then one day Easter walks into the upstairs bathroom and sees Something Terrible. Something even more Terrible than she could ever dream up. Of course she's wished for it more than a few times, but to see it in cold, hard reality... It's too much.

This is what sends Easter fleeing into The Woods where she encounters Julia and the fateful boulder. 

As Easter lies under that boulder, watching her body slowly bleed out and decay, she reviews her life with hamburger-eating, cigarette-smoking squirrels to bear witness.  And when the sun finally sets and darkness takes over the woods, she must finally face the Something she knows has been coming for her all day.

The Lonely is a very different sort of story. Easter is the ultimate unreliable narrator, and she will keep you guessing until the very end. And even after you've finished the book and set it aside, you'll still be wondering what exactly happened. A great choice for those who like a little horror and mystery and confusion (in a good way) mixed with their weird and bizarre reading choices. Awesome! --AJB 

FEATURED BOOK: Invisible I (The Amanda Project #1), by Stella Lennon

When new girl Amanda Valentino singles Callie out to show her around Endeavor High, Callie doesn't think too much of it. Then Amanda mysteriously disappears, leaving in her wake a series of cryptic clues about her whereabouts. As Callie pieces together the clues, she is joined by fellow students Hal and Nia, who Amanda also pulled into the mystery. Where is Amanda? And, more importantly, who is Amanda? Read the book to find out.

Invisible I, the first in the eight-book Amanda Project saga sets the stage for the rest of the series. Read the book and follow the clues on the accompanying website to see if you can solve the case before Nia and Hal do. 

This interactive series sounds like a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it hasn't really been checking out all that well. Invisible I is currently being featured on our Island Of Misfit Books display. So if this sounds interesting, stop by and check it out...and be sure to request the rest of the series while you're at it. If this, and the other featured books, don't get rescued, they'll lose their place in the collection.

FEATURED BOOK: Whispers from the Dead, by Joan Lowery Nixon

Today's featured book, Whispers From The Dead, by Joan Lowery Nixon, can be found on the Island of Misfit Books display.

Sarah isn't the same after her near-death experience. There seems to be a shadowy presence trailing her every step. And when her family moves into a new home, the truly creepy stuff starts: Screams and pleas for help only Sarah can hear, nightmares, grisly ghostly sightings of a young woman being dragged across the floor by a man carrying a knife... This sort of thing would send the average teen straight to a padded cell in the local asylum, but not Sarah. Instead, she investigates...and helps crack an the disappearance and unsolved murder of Rosa, a young immigrant girl who had been working at the house before she and her family moved in. Whodunit? You'll have to read the book to find out.

Originally published in the early 1990s, Whispers From The Dead is, if anything, a bit dated. For example, Sarah doesn't just open her laptop and jump on the internet to look for clues to Rosa's murder. There are no smart phones or MP3 players. And any pop culture references would likely be unrecognizable to teens of today. That said, today's teens might find it difficult to relate to Sarah. 

Aside from that, Whispers From The Dead is a solid murder mystery with a strong female lead. There's a bit of light romance, but for the most part situations remain pretty innocent and appropriate for younger teen readers. 

And the big reveal will give you chills. --AJB

Lies My Girlfriend Told Me, by Julie Anne Peters

Alix thought she and her girlfriend, Swanee, were destined to spend the rest of their lives together. They'd go to the same college after graduation, get an apartment (or a house), and live happily ever after. Then Swanee dies suddenly, leaving Alix grief-stricken and disbelieving. She's not sure how she's supposed to go on. Swanee was everything.

But things go from bad to worse for Alix when she goes up to Swanee's room after the funeral, finds Swanee's phone, and discovers someone named Liana has been texting Swanee...and continues to do so as she stands there, phone in hand. These are not the sort of texts you send to a friend or family member. They're the sort you send to someone you like (love?) in that way. Not stopping to think, Alix pockets the phone. Before long, she's struck up a tentative texting conversation with Liana. Then the two girls begin meeting up and talking about things... And they discover that Swanee hadn't been honest with either of them. About A LOT of things. 

Over the next several weeks, Liana and Alix try to come to terms with Swanee's death and how she played them both. What they didn't expect to come out of this tragedy, this betrayal, was a friendship. Maybe more.

Author Julie Anne Peters always writes a good story, and Lies My Girlfriend Told Me is no exception to this rule. Not your traditional romance, but still real. The connection between Liana and Alix felt very natural. No Insta-(gag me)-Love here. A solid friendship with the promise (maybe) of more. Characters were developed and the storyline unfolded with no lulls or slow spots.

Recommended. --AJB

Teen Review: The Luxe, by Annna Godbersen

Teen Reviewer Kati Flanagan, 18, read, re-read, and re-re-read Anna Godbersen's The Luxe (the first in a 4-book series) and loved it just as much the third time around if not more. Set in 1899 Manhattan, The Luxe centers on Elizabeth and Diana, sisters and members of the city's most elite class. But despite their position within society, life is far from rosy for these girls.

"(The Luxe) is a true work of art. The immense romantic detail included in the entire novel allowed me to catch something new each time. This novel is ab exhilarating, extravagant twist on an old-fashioned plot. The appeal lies not only in the romance, but also in the thrill which accompanies each plotted suspense. Anna Godbersen possesses the ability to write with such vibrancy and depth that I feel the characters are my own personal friends and foes." --Kati Flanagan

Although she Kati originally chose The Luxe for it's pretty cover, it seems as if this historical romance/drama/suspense story has become a favorite she wouldn't hesitate to give to a friend. Recommended for teens age 16 and up.

Teen Review: Since You've Been Gone, by Morgan Matson

Teen Reviewer Mandalyn Sterner, 16, loved Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson, a story about overcoming fears, daring to break out of your comfort zone, and discovering things about yourself you didn't know you were capable of.

When shy, cautious Emily's best friend Sloane leaves without saying goodbye at the beginning of summer, Emily doesn't know what to do. Sloane was always the one to plan their fun and crazy adventures. It's shaping up to be the worst summer ever when Emily receives a mysterious "to do" list of crazy tasks only Sloane could think up. As Emily tackles the tasks, she gains confidence and learns she doesn't need Sloane to have fun.

"The book was really good. It was a fiction book, but it seemed so realistic. I thought it kept you at the edge of your seat, wondering what would happen next and what the outcome would be. It had a good base, so you didn't get lost."

Mandalyn recommends Since You've Been Gone for teens 16 and up.

We Were Liars

Each summer, Cady Sinclair's family lives on an idyllic private island. The Grandparents: Harris and Tipper. The Aunts: Carrie, Bess, and Penny. The Children: Johnny, Will, Mirrin, Liberty, Taft, Bonnie, and Cadence. Cady. And there's Gatwick. Gat. The boy Cady loves. On the surface, everything seems beautiful. Perfect.

But there is a hidden underbelly to this life. This story. The dark and ugly part outsiders don't see, because to show weakness and imperfection is SO not the Sinclair style. The aunts quarrel constantly over the large inheritance, and the cruel and senile grandfather fuels these arguments for his own sick amusement. Cady and Gat's budding relationship is forbidden because Gat is an outsider. A foreigner. And, even though no one will come out and say as much, the wrong color. But Cady doesn't care. She sees through the adults' shallowness and pettiness. She, Gat, Mirrin, and Johnny. The Liars, as they call themselves. Then, their 15th summer on the island, the four devise the perfect plan to punish the adults and make them see the error of their ways. Make them see just how shallow and petty they really are. It's foolproof.

Only something goes very wrong.

Cady is found on the beach, half-clothed and with mysterious injuries no memory of what happened. 

She is taken away, hospitalized. For two years, she is not allowed to return to the island or even speak of it. No one will tell her what happened that night or why she can't remember anything. Her emails, letters, calls to Johnny, Mirrin, and even Gat are ignored. She can't imagine why the people who matter most to her have abandoned her when she needs them most, and she's desperately hurt by it.

Then the summer before she turns 18, Cady is permitted to return to the island. The grandfather (grandmother is now dead), the aunts, the Liars, and the younger cousins are all there...and everyone is carrying on as if nothing happened years earlier. It's obvious something is very and profoundly wrong, but one will tell Cady anything.

She must get on with her life, they say.

She must remember on her own, they say.

And then she DOES remember. And nothing can ever be the same again. 

We Were Liars is an amazing story with the most shocking, unpredictable twist I've encountered in a long time. Read it! --AJB

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel

Author Ransom Riggs created a sensation with his novel, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children a few years back. This story, which was constructed around some very, well, "peculiar" old photos told the tale of a boy trying to track down his family history and finding something extraordinary. 

This popular book is now a graphic novel. Even though the original format could practically be classified as a graphic (after all, it's a story told with pictures), this book gives the story a whole new dimension. Characters come to life through Cassandra Jean's drawings, and you'll find many people and places look just how you imagined them when you read the book book. Sprinkled throughout are photos from the original book. 

Even if you've already read the book, the graphic is definitely worth a look! --AJB