Gemini by Sonya Mukherjee

Growing up with a twin I've had my fair share of sharing things- birthdays, bedrooms, toys, even friends. However, he (I'm a she) is my fraternal twin. Meaning we don't look a lot alike and aside from things and days, we don't share any of the same physical attributes. Hailey and Clara are also twins, they do look a lot alike (aside from the fact that Hailey has dyed her hair hot pink). They also happen to share more than a birthday and a bedroom. They share a spinal column. Hailey and Clara are conjoined twins.

The girls are in their senior year of high school in the small town of Bear Pass. Here most of the people are use to seeing the girls, who are conjoined back to back (or butt to butt as they put it). Daily life is routine and as normal as it gets for the girls. They may not physically be able to play on a sports team, but they (secretly) have a love for astronomy and the arts. Everything is thrown upside down when a new senior boy moves to Bear Pass. It's someone that has never seen the girls before. How will he react? With his reaction comes a new turn in the girls' lives, one that may just split them apart.

Gemini is a great coming to terms books for all readers (the characters are seniors in high school and speak heavily of college, this may make the book more relatable for older teens). The characters are strong and smart (how could you not be?). There real sides and feelings are also shown from each point of view as the chapters switch between the girls. They battle every day high situations such as applying for colleges and dealing with the opposite sex, while managing to be individuals. Individuals that happen to always be with each other. I love the characters personalities and how they manage their lives. Mukherjee does a fantastic job at not only describing big things, like a Sadie Hawkins Dance, but how the girls manage little things like setting the table as well. Gemini is a fantastic, fast pace read that is located on our new shelf. Check it out today! Let us know what you think!

-JAC

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 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

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

Ever since that family reunion 10 years ago when she and her cousin, Lindsay, were inseparable, Raina has wanted a sister. Someone to have fun with, someone to share adventures and secrets with, someone who would be a built-in best friend. So naturally she is thrilled when her parents finally, finally bring home baby Amara.

But having a sister isn't at all like Raina imagined. From the start, Amara is grouchy, argumentative, and prone to tantrums when she doesn't get her way. And she doesn't share any of Raina's interests. Except art. And, worse, Amara is the better artist. Naturally, none of this sits well with Raina. Or Amara, for that matter. And when a brother is introduced into the equation, things at the Telgemeier household go from bad to worse. And the years don't improve the situation any.

Sisters, by Raina Telgemeier, is an autobiographical graphic novel that illustrates Raina's summer before high school when she, her mother, Amara, and brother Will road trip it from California to Colorado for a family reunion. As the story (told partly in present day and partly in flashbacks) unfolds, the reader gets a better picture of Raina and Amara's stormy relationship and also of the drama that's going on within their family. Sure, the sisters fight and annoy each other. All. The. Time. But when life throws an unexpected curve ball their way, they're also are willing to be there for each other. Not that that'll admit to that, though. 

Over the years, I've become a big fan of Telgemeier's books. Smile, where we first meet Raina and her family, was (and still is) my favorite of the author's. And Drama was a cute and fun departure from the autobiographical books. Sisters is being promoted as a sequel/companion book to Smile, but you don't have to read one to fully enjoy the other.

Highly recommended! --AJB

We Are The Goldens, by Dana Reinhardt

Layla has a secret: She's in love. But she can't tell anyone. Not her best friends. Certainly not her parents. Not even her younger sister, Nell, who idolizes her and with whom she's closer to than anyone else in the world. They wouldn't understand. Because this is not just the average high school relationship. Layla is in love with one of her teachers--and he feels the same way (apparently) about her. She's been sneaking out to be with him, lying about where she's been, ignoring her friends, and making excuses to get out of plans (so she can be with him). 

And Nell is the only one who suspects something is wrong. She just doesn't know what. Of course there are the rumors (there are always rumors about this particular teacher), but she doesn't start to believe they might be true until she investigates...

...and what she finds is shocking even beyond what she suspected.

Told from Nell's point of view in an open narrative addressed toward Layla, We Are The Goldens, by Dana Reinhardt is nonstop action. No, not the car chases and explosions type of action, but the dramatic sort that keeps you turning pages. Readers discover along with Nell the mystery of what's wrong with Layla, they learn how she feels moment-to-moment, and share the shock of her final discovery, the one that may finally push her to break her silence.

An awesome book! Read it! --AJB

Teen Reviewer: Love Letters to the Dead

One of Kate's favorite books she read was Love Letters to the Dead, by Ava Dellaria. In this book, a debut novel for the author, Laurel's class receives an English assignment to write a letter to a dead person. This assignment helps Laurel come to terms with, and eventually heal from, her older sister's recent death.

"This was an amazing contemporary book that reminded me a lot of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I really enjoyed the letter format it was written in and the growth of the main character, Laurel. Laurel's sister was her role model, and when she died, Laurel had to find her own way in the world. The way she found herself in this novel was beautiful, and the conclusion really exposed the new Laurel. I also really liked Laurel's friends in this book. I think they really helped her cope and really added to this book overall. I loved this book and want to read more by Ava Dellaria." --Kate Marsh

Kate ended up choosing Love Letters to the Dead because of a review she read on Goodreads. She would absolutely recommend it.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

Laura Jean has had a crush on boy-next-door Josh for years! But Josh starts dating her older sister, Margo. Brokenhearted, Laura Jean does what she always does when it comes to boys she'll never have a chance with: She writes him a goodbye letter, pouring all her feelings onto the page, seals it, addresses it....and hides the letter in a special secret hatbox under her bed. When Margo dumps Josh the night before she's to leave for college (in Scotland!), Laura Jean is afraid Josh will disappear from her life forever. Then the unthinkable! Laura Jean begins to get contacted by the boys she wrote the letters to--and they're bringing up things she wrote in the secret letters. Only in the secret letters. It doesn't take long to figure out someone mailed the correspondence behind Laura Jean's back (accidentally? out of spite?)

With Margo away, things between Laura Jean and Josh get more complicated. Then there's classmate (and former crush) Peter, who Laura Jean agrees to date to make Peter's ex jealous. Sure, it's a ruse, but Laura Jean wonders: is there something more between them? Add to the confusion a nasty rumor and a forbidden interaction with Josh. Situations reach a head when Margo returns from college to find her little sister has been intimate with her (Margo's) ex. Drama, drama, drama...but finally a resolution.

And then there's the biggest question of all: Who mailed those letters?

The first in a proposed series, Jenny Han's To All The Boys I've Loved Before is a fun and beachy romance in the same vein as the author's ever-popular Summer Trilogy. Pick this one up if you want a light romance. Look for the sequel, P.S. I Still Love You, due out in 2015.

Fangirl

Identical twins Cath and Wren used to do everything together, including co-author the internet's most popular Simon Snow fanfiction. But college changes everything. Even before the sisters arrive on campus, Wren drops Simon (and, by association, Cath) in favor of parties, guys, and whole cliche college scene. Hurt and completely overwhelmed, Cath just can't seem to find her niche: Her roommate is downright surly, her creative writing professor believes fanfiction is synonymous with plagiarism, and a certain guy seems just a bit too friendly. And that doesn't even include all the family drama going on outside of school.

The more her real life world seems to fall apart, the deeper Cath dives into her fanfiction. Simon Snow, his love interest/nemesis Baz, and the whole Snow fandom are the only things that make her feel safe and truly at home. But she can't hide there forever. Or can she?

Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl is an awesome coming-of-age story about opening yourself up to new experiences, daring to try new things, and taking a chance on befriending people you, otherwise, might not associate with. In short, it's about what can happen when you dare to step outside your comfort zone. Sure, it can be scary, but in the end you're glad you did it. And you'll be glad you took a chance on reading Fangirl as well! --AJB

Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story

Don't let the (short) length of Wait Till Helen Comes, by Mary Downing Hahn, fool you. There's enough creepiness packed into this slim volume to keep you reading long into the night--and jumping at every strange sound you hear as your house settles (pssst: don't turn off the light. Helen's coming to get you!).

The horror begins almost immediately when step-sisters Heather and Molly discover a creepy old graveyard in the woods behind their new home. At the weed-choked edge of this graveyard, the girls find a forgotten, moss-covered  gravestone carved only with a set of initials and a date of death. This stone becomes an obsession for the girls, particularly for scardy-cat Molly, who is, perhaps, overly disturbed by its isolated location and its mysterious inscription. Her uneasiness soon transforms into terror when Heather begins visiting the stone, claiming she's met and befriended Helen, the spirit of the young girl buried beneath it. But Helen's no friendly ghost. She's an angry and vengeful spirit who, Molly learns, may very well be responsible for leading several children to their deaths in a nearby pond. And it's looking like Heather might be the next victim. Can Molly convince her step-sister of Helen's deadly agenda before it's too late?

Wait Till Helen Comes is one of our 2014 Oxford Middle School Battle of the Books selections. I first encountered it when I was in middle school, and found it seriously creepy back then! When I re-read it for the Battle, it was still just as creepy as I remembered! So if you're looking for something scary, something other than love triangles and Hunger Games wannabes, or just something you won't be able to put down, look no further than Wait Till Helen Comes! --AJB

Teen Reviewer: Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

Teen Reviewer Kate, 13, read an advance reader copy of Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith. She'd heard about this suspense novel on Goodreads, and was entertained by it. Here is her review:

"Wild Awake is not a typical teen book, but I liked it. The author developed her main character, Kiri, at the very start. Through this book, I slowly saw the perfect Kiri fade. I just don't think she was the same by the end of the book, which is why I liked it so much. The plot of the book, I think, is what really stands out. There is never a slow moment. The end of the book was rushed. The author didn't take much time on ending the book. It just ended. Although I didn't think the ending was great, the rest of the book was pretty good. I felt the details and characters really shined. The author knew what she wanted to do with these characters, and they turned out great. I really think this book is worth reading"

Wild Awake was released May 28. 2013. Kate would not hesitate to recommend it.

Beastly Summer

Jealousy is a terrible, monsterous thing. That summer, Tessa began to envy everything about her younger sister, Lulu--from Lulu's new shoes to the fact she began dating Tessa's crush. Then Lulu drowns in a freak accident, and Tessa blames herself. For everything: For Lulu's death, for her best friend's crippling accident, for her parents' sorrow... Surely the entire world sees her as a beast. It's how she sees herself. Read her story and decide: How do you see her?

The Year of the Beasts is a unique find. Text tells the story of the chain of events leading up to Lulu's drowning and alternating graphic novel pannels, portraying Tessa as she views herself, detail the aftermath. Not a happy story by any means (actually, parts are quite disturbing). But very worth checking out. --AJB