Category: Fiction

Lifeboat 12

by Susan Hood

With Nazis bombing London every night, it’s time for thirteen-year-old Ken to escape. He suspects his stepmother is glad to see him go, but his dad says he’s one of the lucky ones—one of ninety boys and girls to ship out aboard the SS City of Benares to safety in Canada.

Life aboard the luxury ship is grand—nine-course meals, new friends, and a life far from the bombs, rations, and his stepmum’s glare. And after five days at sea, the ship’s officers announce that they’re out of danger.

They’re wrong.

Late that night, an explosion hurls Ken from his bunk. They’ve been hit. Torpedoed! The Benares is sinking fast. Terrified, Ken scrambles aboard Lifeboat 12 with five other boys. Will they get away? Will they survive?

Kent State

by Deborah Wiles

An exploration of one of the darkest moments in our history, when American troops killed four American students protesting the Vietnam War.

May 4, 1970.
Kent State University.

As protestors roil the campus, National Guardsmen are called in. In the chaos of what happens next, shots are fired and four students are killed. To this day, there is still argument of what happened and why.

Told in multiple voices from a number of vantage points — protestor, Guardsman, townie, student.

Soul Lanterns

by Shaw Kuzki

This book is a beautiful tale that brings awareness and heart to the bombing of HIroshima and Nagasaki. This book is translated from Japanese, so some of the sentence structures do not flow exactly as we expect in English. It is still very easy to follow and tale brings up some of the gruesome experiences for those who were killed instantly by the bomb, killed slowly by the radiation, and those that truly did survive.

Twelve-year-old Nozomi lives in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. She wasn’t even born when the bombing of Hiroshima took place. Every year Nozomi joins her family at the lantern-floating ceremony to honor those lost in the bombing. People write the names of their deceased loved ones along with messages of peace, on paper lanterns and set them afloat on the river. This year Nozomi realizes that her mother always releases one lantern with no name. She begins to ask questions, and when complicated stories of loss and loneliness unfold, Nozomi and her friends come up with a creative way to share their loved ones’ experiences. By opening people’s eyes to the struggles they all keep hidden, the project teaches the entire community new ways to show compassion.

Soul Lanterns is an honest exploration of what happened on August 6, 1945, and offers readers a glimpse not only into the rich cultural history of Japan but also into the intimate lives of those who recognize–better than most–the urgent need for peace.

Stung

by Bethany Wiggins

Great mixture of dystopian and romance! The startling thing about this book is the recognition that how the world falls apart could potentially happen. It all starts with a vaccine… a vaccine gone wrong. I am looking forward to reading the second book! This one answered some questions, but still left a lot of unknowns. It was a fast paced book that was hard to put down.

There is no cure for being stung.

Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she awakens, her world no longer exists. Her house is abandoned and broken. Her neighborhood is barren and dead. And there is a tattoo on her right hand. A tattoo Fiona doesn’t remember getting…but somehow she must conceal at any cost. Because humanity has been divided.

Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded, while a select few live protected inside a fortresslike wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.

And Fiona has awoken branded, on the wrong side of the wall, and…normal.

Tornado Brain

by Cat Patrick

Tornado Brain was a window into the experience and perspective of a student who is neurodivergent. Frankie does not always process the world in the same way others. And let’s be real, we all perceive the world differently. Some like to be left alone more than others. Some handle loud sounds better than others. Some experience emotions on a bigger level than others. We ALL are unique in how we view and relate to the world around us. Following Frankie as she searches to find her missing friend, really helped me grow aware of how to treat everyone I communicate with to be more respectful and considerate. I would recommend this book for everyone, no matter the age.

Things never seem to go as easily for thirteen-year-old Frankie as they do for her sister, Tess. Unlike Tess, Frankie is neurodivergent. In her case, that means she can’t stand to be touched, loud noises bother her, she’s easily distracted, she hates changes in her routine, and she has to go see a therapist while other kids get to hang out at the beach. It also means Frankie has trouble making friends. She did have one–Colette–but they’re not friends anymore. It’s complicated.

Then, just weeks before the end of seventh grade, Colette unexpectedly shows up at Frankie’s door. The next morning, Colette vanishes. Now, after losing Colette yet again, Frankie’s convinced that her former best friend left clues behind that only she can decipher, so she persuades her reluctant sister to help her unravel the mystery of Colette’s disappearance before it’s too late.

A powerful story of friendship, sisters, and forgiveness, Tornado Brain is an achingly honest portrait of a young girl trying to find space to be herself. Inspired by her own neurodiverse child, Cat Patrick writes with authenticity and sincerity in her depiction of Frankie in what is ultimately a love letter to neurodiverse children everywhere.

Starfish

by Lisa Fipps

This book needs to be read by every single person, no matter what age, lifestyle, background, etc… No matter who you are, you will find something that connects you to Ellie’s experience. Everyone has insecurities and we all say words that hurt each other. Starfish shines a light to the emotional and mental burden caused by our own hurtful self-talk and the external as well. This book helped me reflect on my own upbringing, but also how I can do better for my students and my own kids.

Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she’s been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules—like “no making waves,” “avoid eating in public,” and “don’t move so fast that your body jiggles.” And she’s found her safe space—her swimming pool—where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It’s also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie’s weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who loves Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life–by unapologetically being her own fabulous self.

Eliza and Her Monsters

by Francesca Zappia

Eliza is a high school Senior and an extreme introvert who anonymously writes & draws web comics. She prefers her computer and her online friends over the real world. As a person who spent years playing a MMORPG and whole heartedly committing to it, I can definitely relate! I was an officer for my clan (guild), organizing raid fights, and clan hunts for top level materials. It was a lot of fun and I regularly chatted with my clan members, getting to know them, and building friendships. Eliza reminded me very much of myself. The only perk for her, is her web comic is so popular, she is making a lot of money!! She can already pay for herself to go to college and live comfortably on her own. For her, it’s a true pathway to a career. Her parents though do not understand this & often try to pull her away from what she loves to do. A new student arrives at her school as well though, and actually gets it! The relationships in this book are so true and real. I thoroughly enjoyed every second reading it!

Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she’s worked for begins to crumble.

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, Eliza is LadyConstellation, anonymous creator of a popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea. With millions of followers and fans throughout the world, Eliza’s persona is popular. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves her digital community.

Then Wallace Warland transfers to her school and Eliza begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile. But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

The Lovely & The Lost

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This was a great mystery book! It started off quickly and was a fast read. The book follows three teenagers (all from the viewpoint of the main character Kira) as they help search for a lost little girl in the forest and mountains in Sierra Glades National Park. All three teens have been training a dog and are waiting to test with FEMA to become certified search and rescue partners. They receive an urgent request to jump in a case of a missing little girl despite not being certified yet. The mystery of the missing girl turns into more than they realize and brings back horrifying, repressed memories within Kira. Is there a connection between the missing little girl and Kira’s past?

Kira Bennett’s earliest memories are of living alone and wild in the woods. She has no idea how long she was on her own or what she had to do to survive, but she remembers the moment that Cady Bennett and one of her search-and-rescue dogs found her. Adopted into the Bennett family, Kira still struggles with human interaction years later, but she excels at the family business: search and rescue. Together with Cady’s son, Jude, and their neighbor, Free, Kira works alongside Cady to train the world’s most elite search-and-rescue dogs. Someday, all three teenagers hope to put their skills to use, finding the lost and bringing them home.

When Cady’s estranged father, the enigmatic Bales Bennett, tracks his daughter down and asks for her help in locating a missing child — one of several visitors who has disappeared in the Sierra Glades National Park in the past twelve months — the teens find themselves on the front lines sooner than they could have ever expected. As the search through seven hundred and fifty thousand acres of unbridled wilderness intensifies, Kira becomes obsessed with finding the missing child. She knows all too well what it’s like to be lost in the wilderness, fighting for survival, alone.

But this case isn’t simple. There is more afoot than a single missing girl, and Kira’s memories threaten to overwhelm her at every turn. As the danger mounts and long-held family secrets come to light, Kira is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her adopted family, her true nature, and her past.

The Naturals Series

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Book #1: The Naturals

Brace yourselves ~ this book is intense. Some moments of the book literally put you into the mind of a serial killer! Naturals are teenagers who show strong ability for particular skills that can be helpful to the FBI. Skills such as being so good at lying, a lie detector test wouldn’t work on them and they can identify when someone is lying. Another whose memory allows everything she’s read or seen to be retained. A very small, private school has been started to train select teens to hone their skills and help solve cases. As you get to know the main character Cassie, and the other fellow students, no one is who you think and they all have secrets.

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want.  But, it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie. 

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides—especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms close. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Book 2: Killer Instinct

The second book picks up about 6 weeks after the first book. The Naturals are continuining to review cold cases, when a copy cat killer of Dean’s father appears. The Naturals have been told they cannot work on an active case and are trying to keep Dean from getting involved, but secretly want to help solve this case faster than ever before more people die. This installement delves further into the backstory behind our main characters while providing some great twists!!

Seventeen-year-old Cassie Hobbes has a gift for profiling people. Her talent has landed her a spot in an elite FBI program for teens with innate crime-solving abilities, and into some harrowing situations. After barely escaping a confrontation with an unbalanced killer obsessed with her mother’s murder, Cassie hopes she and the rest of the team can stick to solving cold cases from a distance.

But when victims of a brutal new serial killer start turning up, the Naturals are pulled into an active case that strikes too close to home: the killer is a perfect copycat of Dean’s incarcerated father-a man he’d do anything to forget. Forced deeper into a murderer’s psyche than ever before, will the Naturals be able to outsmart the enigmatic killer’s brutal mind games before this copycat twists them into his web for good?

Book #3: All In (My favorite so far!)

Three casinos. Three bodies. Three days.

After a string of brutal murders in Las Vegas, Cassie Hobbes and the Naturals are called in to investigate. But even with the team’s unique profiling talents, these murders seem baffling: unlike many serial killers, this one uses different methods every time. All of the victims were killed in public, yet the killer does not show up on any tape. And each victim has a string of numbers tattooed on their wrist. Hidden in the numbers is a code—and the closer the Naturals come to unraveling the mystery, the more perilous the case becomes.

Meanwhile, Cassie is dealing with an equally dangerous and much more painful mystery. For the first time in years, there’s been a break in her mother’s case. As personal issues and tensions between the team mount, Cassie and the Naturals will be faced with impossible odds—and impossible choices.