The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions) by Amy Spalding

The New Guy (and Other Senior Year Distractions)
by Amy Spalding
Poppy Books
April 5, 2016

I obtained a copy of The New Guy at this year's Texas Library Association Convention.  I loved listening to Amy Spalding  in one of the panels that she sat on and was hoping to find that same sense of humor in her book.  At some points, I did see that humor, but it was definitely a book that should have been edited to be marketed toward middle grades instead of young adult. 

Jules McAlister-Morgan is a very driven senior in high school.  Her goals for the year include becoming the school paper's editor and keeping the paper fantastic, and getting into Brown University for her freshman year of college.  Alex Powell is a member of a former boy-band that had one big hit and then traveled off into obscurity.  He enrolls as a student at Jules' high school.  Girl falls for boy, boy "betrays" girl (at least in Jules' mind) and she sets off in revenge.  

Jules is compared to Leslie Knope of TV's Parks and Recreation.  She has a narrow focus and completely determined to get whatever she wants.  She can be a good friend, but as she is so narrowly focused, she forgets her friends as her desire for revenge takes over her emotions.  I tried.  I really tried to like Jules, but she annoyed me.  She was mean to her friends, the boy she liked, and kept so many secrets.  To me (others may love her), she was not nearly as likable as Leslie Knope.  She was like a Leslie Knope who didn't have her priorities straight.  

Bottom Line: I would rather see this edited a bit and placed in the middle grades section.  I think that age group is more suited for the story and the writing.  However...I still love listening to Amy Spalding!  She's fantastic!

The Girl I Used To Be by April Henry

The Girl I Used To Be
by April Henry
Macmillan Children's Publishing Group
Henry Holt and Co.
May 3, 2016

I obtained a copy of The Girl I Used To Be from Netgalley. I've read some of April Henry's books, so I was excited to get my hands on her newest one. The premise is incredibly intriguing. It's always been believed that Olivia's father killed her mother and that Olivia survived the attack.  Fourteen years later her father's body (well, part of it) has been found and now evidence proves that he was killed around the same time as her mother. If her father is not her mother's killer, that means that the killer is still loose and Olivia is the sole survivor. Now she has to find him before he finds Olivia.

The premise is fantastic, but the believability is low.  Olivia is supposed to be an emancipated 17-year-old that easily rents a house (not an apartment, but a house) in her old neighborhood, and yet no one realizes who she is, despite the fact that she keeps asking about the murders.  She's able to embed herself in this community, again as an emancipated 17-year-old, and yet no one even questions her background or how she came to be in the town other than her answer of "I'm saving money for college by living somewhere cheaper." It is a murder mystery, so some aspects may be a little more unbelievable, but the whole time, I keep thinking that these people are crazy not to think something's a little off with her.  

Bottom Line: I had a hard time connecting with the characters.  I'm a fan of April Henry's work and have many of her books in my library, but this one was not one that I loved.  I honestly just kind of liked it.  It had an okay resolution, but in my mind the first chapter ruined the ending a bit. It might be added to the school library as it is a good fun read, but you do have to put logic aside for a bit with this one.

Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry

Walk the Edge
by Katie McGarry
29 March 2016
Harlequin TEEN

Katie McGarry is an expert on walking a fine line of teen romance. She manages to not have the romance be too sweet or too explicit for my high school students (or me!). I read the first book in the Thunder Road series, Nowhere But Here in September, but this one, in my opinion, is a bit better and more compelling. It certainly feels more relevant.

Razor is in the motorcycle club Reign of Terror, and Breanna is the "perfect" student and daughter who's tired of always being just that. When an innocent moment between the two is photographed (and appears to be much less innocent), Breanna's world is turned upside down. The two make a pact that she'll help him solve a mystery that's been haunting him and he'll help her out of this bind. They are, as in most romances, slowly drawn together. They don't fit together, but something just makes perfect sense, and as the mysteries deepen, they fight to discover who they are apart and together.

I liked the realistic portrayal of teen issues. Social media, cameras on every device, and people who don't understand or care about the lasting impact of reputations (especially online), are only adding to the stresses of teenagers today. Cyber-bullying and blackmail are happening more and more often as kids (and adults) have a much more visible online presence.

Breanna's family annoys me. Her constant forgiveness of them without any change on their parts annoys me as well. Perhaps that was what was intended on McGarry's part as many people live with horrible families, but put up with less than ideal situations. It did make the fact that Breanna and Razor fit together so well so much of a payoff. Razor is a fun character who is easy to picture and not that hard to relate to. Seeing the two interact and go through some major issues together was so sweet.

Final thoughts: good story, great characters, decent ending (there were a couple of things I wish McGarry would have explained), a fun read.

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

The Darkest Corners

by Kara Thomas

April 2016

Random House Children's

I obtained an electronic copy of this book after I requested it from NetGalley. What first caught my attention was the fact that the publishers are comparing it to Gillian Flynn's novels and the Pretty Little Liars series.  A book that can combine a teen novel with an adult mystery has accomplished something rare.  I wanted to see for myself if it was as good as it was intended.

The description is intriguing.  Tessa and her friend Callie testified against Wyatt Stokes in a murder trial that put him on death row when the girls were children.  Now teenagers, Tessa is beginning to doubt what she really saw the night it all went down and a visit to her hometown brings her suspicions and memories back to the forefront of her mind.

The methodical way in which Kara Thomas slowly weaves together personalities and facts allows for the story to become more intriguing and engrossing.  Tessa is a likable protagonist.  She is not the stereotypical teen in a young adult novel.  She has many struggles, one of those being that she now lives with her grandmother after her dad was put in jail and she and her mother were living out of their car.  Her hometown is like so many towns in the U.S. - washed up and fading.  The ending to the book (without spoiling anything), though satisfying, left so much still in flux.  This is my one complaint; it seemed to wrap up just a bit too quickly.  I was left with just as many questions as I had at the beginning of the novel. The only difference being that my questions at the end were not about what did happen, but what happened between the final chapter and the epilogue.  I wanted more from the characters even after the satisfying conclusion.

This is a book that certainly will be added to my library's collection after it is released.  The Darkest Corners delivered what it promised: a captivating mystery that will leave you wanting more, both from the story and the author.

Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

Dumplin’

by Julie Murphy

September 2015

HarperCollins

I had the incredible fortune to hear a synopsis of this book by Julie Murphy herself at a Texas Library Association convention panel.  After the panel, I immediately went down to the author signing line and stood in her line (along with many others who were listening to the panel).  I wanted to read this ARC.  This book did not disappoint in any way at all.

Small town Texas is accurately portrayed and the fantastic character of Willowdean Dickson drives the plot.  She is an unapologetically “resident fat person”, whose mother is a former beauty queen who is currently in charge of the Miss Teen Blue Bonnet pageant.  As an unexpected relationship begins with Bo (a mysterious former jock), Willowdean, the pinnacle of confidence, starts to crumble.  Only an entry into her mom’s world of pageantry can help her regain her confidence and perspective.  

Any book that starts with a Dolly Parton quote is bound to be spectacular.  Willowdean is certainly not just a “resident fat person.”  By having Willowdean as not simply a secondary character, Murphy deftly and easily avoids her being the stereotypical “fat girl” in the novel.  Will is relatable to readers of all sizes, and that really is why I enjoyed this book so much.  People have issues regardless of their jean sizes.  Murphy focuses more on Willowdean’s internal struggles (some that are because of her size, many not) and her conflict with her mother, rather than her problems with her peers.  The humor that Murphy infuses in her book allows for an incredibly fun read.

This book is funny, heartwarming, emotional, and a chance for every reader to analyze their own feelings of self-worth, all the while learning that everyone should do as the tagline says and “go big or go home.”