‘The Unforgettables’ by G.L. Tomas follows new next-door neighbors, and seeming soulmates, Paul and Felicia. Their instant connection at a tag sale (garage sale, if not familiar with this term) is believable, unlike some of the insta-relationships that occur in other books. They both go for the same comic, showing that they clearly have common interests and aren’t just seeing each other based on looks. This was a refreshing change of pace since situations like this one more often occur based on physical attraction.

Little do they know that Paul and his family, having recently moved from Chicago, are Felicia’s next-door neighbors. Their families quickly hit it off. While Paul’s parents are more understanding about his free spirit, despite some attempts by his mother to reign it in, Felicia’s parents are described as much stricter and unbending in their positions. However, this may just be Felicia’s opinion of them, since as the novel progresses, they seem to give a little in terms of they way their viewpoints have been described.

Felicia and Paul’s relationship grows from friendship to something more, but neither of them quite knows what to call it, and Felicia’s insistence that her parents won’t let it grow to be anything more than good friends scares Paul off at times. Their relationships with others factor into this, from friends (or the lack thereof), to girlfriends, potential boyfriends, siblings, and others. Some characters were not fleshed out as much as they could have been, but this is relegated more to the secondary characters, such as Paul’s siblings and even their parents, at times. The parents seemed to act as more of a foil to their relationship, but they did serve their purpose in terms of showing how Felicia deals with everything she thinks is causing strife in her life.

The ending, albeit open-ended, was satisfying enough, but it would have been nice to have a jump ahead to learn more about how their relationship changed with time.

‘The Unforgettables’ is a story of trying to find strength where there doesn’t seem to be any. While Felicia and Paul sometimes succeed and sometimes fail in this pursuit, ‘The Unforgettables’ teaches that relationships can certainly be tested, and life has a way of getting in the way, but truth will always win out.

*Review originally posted on YABooksCentral.com*

You can find ‘The Unforgettables’ by G.L. Tomas here.

‘Blues Harp Green’ by Nicole Schubert has an interesting premise. The main character, Francie, meets Chet, a cute and friendly musician, early on in the novel. They hit it off right away and Francie begins crushing on Chet. Even though it could seem one-sided, Chet seems more than happy to talk with Francie, both via e-mail and through phone and video chats. The novel’s perspective, however, is Francie’s, and therefore Chet’s full intentions are never fully known. There was a lot of potential for further character development, as it was extremely hard to connect with the characters. This is not only meant in terms of Francie and Chet, but also Francie’s friends Stella and Eddie, as well as Chet’s bandmates.

In terms of plot, there was also potential for so much more. There were some highlights, in that some of the characters seemed to not be quite what they seemed as the story progressed. These somewhat “twisty” turns of personality were welcomed, but at the same time, there were often loose ends that didn’t seem to be fully formed. The timeline also often seemed to jump ahead, prompting a look back at previous pages to see if something had happened to make the current scene relevant.

Freedom to do what she wanted was a big theme for Francie. Her parents hardly make life easy for her, from her dad’s drinking to her mom’s enabling of it, and she uses playing tennis and trying to go see Chet and his band as an outlet to enable herself to make some bad decisions as well. This is something that can prove very true for teenagers, and in this way, the novel really hit the mark.

Francie’s relationship with new friend, Stella, despite not being fully formed, as mentioned earlier, was the best one in the novel, in my opinion. Even though Stella often seemed out for herself and herself alone, she did also seem to have Francie’s best interests at heart, even if it didn’t seem apparent. In keeping with talk of Francie’s relationships with her friends, it would have been nice to see Francie give Eddie more of a chance. He clearly had some sort of feelings for her, and further development with this would have made for more excitement in the sense of a triangle between her, Chet, and Eddie.

Fans of crush-at-first-sight and the struggle for independence will find that they can likely connect with the storylines in ‘Blues Harp Green’ by Nicole Schubert.

*Review originally posted on YABooksCentral.com*

You can find ‘Blues Harp Green’ by Nicole Schubert here.

‘Crushed’ by Elisa Dane is a story about owning up to one’s past and struggling to find the courage to move on in life. Main character Nev is having a hard time living her life after she moves in with her aunt and cousin. Even though she loves her cousin Livvie and her aunt, she is distraught that she can no longer be with her parents. Life is not going how she hoped it would, and her rocky past, littered with alcohol and hard-core partying, is not doing much to calm her nerves about living a “cleaner” and more relaxed life.

With Livvie by her side, she makes some new friends at her new school, but the one true friendship she feels she makes becomes seriously threatened right from the get-go when the girl’s quasi-boyfriend, Eli, turns out to be more of a player and less of a stand-up guy. Not understanding that no means no, Eli incessantly pesters Nev to go out with him. Her constant refusals only serve as an energy boost of sorts for him, making him even more persistent in his attempts. Not wanting to ruin her relationship with her new friend who is seeing Eli and thinking she can change him, Nev keeps quiet, much to her chagrin later on in the novel when Eli’s jerky ways catch up to her.

In the meantime, however, Nev meets hunky Bodie, who doesn’t seem to like her at first. As time goes on, he sees that she isn’t who he thought she was, and the icy exterior he wore around her begins to thaw, giving way to a hot and heavy relationship that Nev seemingly wants, but is afraid of at the same time, due to what she knows about Bodie’s past and how it intersects with her own feelings of wrongdoing in her own life.

Elisa Dane has shown, through ‘Crushed,’ how first impressions are not always right, life is not always fair, and karma sometimes comes at you when you least expect it. ‘Crushed’ has a little bit of everything a contemporary young adult novel needs – crushes, relationships, parties, conflicts, football, and so much more. Definitely a novel worth checking out.

You can find ‘Crushed’ by Elisa Dane here.

‘City of Grit and Gold’ by Maud Macrory Powell offers a glimpse into the lives of those who came from the old country, through the lens of historical fiction. Even though the main characters are Jewish, the story could easily have been about anyone coming from a faraway place and trying to make it in America.

Main character Addie can be easily related to by anyone who has ever felt somewhat on the outskirts of his or her family. She watches as her Uncle Chaim gets involved with protesters who are fighting for a better working wage, while her mother works to keep the household running and her father and another uncle run a hat shop as the family business. Her siblings, having come from the old country as young children, don’t feel the same sense of obligation to their father’s old world values as he does, however. Her older brother has differing political views and seems taken with the law, while her older sister, much in the tradition of ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ considers leaving with a boy she has met to start a new life away from her family.

Addie’s devotion to her various family members and desire to see everyone happy and healthy, while sickness weighs upon one of her cousins and countless others she comes upon in her travels through the streets of Chicago, is the crux of this novel. There were scenes that could have been explored further, but Powell’s writing style brings the characters’ personalities and thought processes to the forefront, providing ample opportunities for readers to connect with the past while feeling that the issues Addie and her family are facing could also be relevant currently.

‘City of Grit and Gold’ is a worthwhile read that sheds light on how purpose and dedication to a cause, whether for one’s own family or others, can tear people apart yet at the same time bring them together. With Chicago as a backdrop, Addie and her family and friends show how big city life, while seemingly enticing, can bring with it huge changes that some may not be prepared for, while others are ready and willing to weather any trouble for the chance at a better life for their children and their children’s children.

You can find ‘City of Grit and Gold’ by Maud Macrory Powell here.

*Review originally posted on YABooksCentral.com*

‘The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors,’ written by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Adam Rex, is an enjoyable play on the game of rock, paper, scissors. The rock, the paper, and the scissors, all coming from different parts of the house, both inside and outside, all feel that nothing is challenging them. So they seek out anything that will be able to defeat them. It is interesting that their goal in the story is defeat, but it truly shows how not everything is necessarily as it seems. When anyone plays a game of rock, paper, scissors, they most likely want to win, and it is doubtful that they ever are happy about losing. Yet this is what each of the items wants – to feel the pain of loss so they will understand and be able to empathize with all that they have conquered before.

Even though the plot is interesting and stems from a refreshing and unique viewpoint, infusing a regularly played game with a fun backstory, the story often went on too long in parts. It could have been pared down a bit to make it a little easier for kids to engage with since it would have been quicker to read.

Adam Rex’s illustrations showcase the strengths of each of the three main characters and permeate the text of the story with more meaning as readers see the truth behind each character’s thoughts and actions.

Much like Jon Scieszka’s ‘The True Story of the Three Little Pigs,’ the story shows a different side of what everyone thought could only be thought of in one way and turns it on its head. It can open up some thought-provoking dialogue about understanding different perspectives among those who read it.

You can find ‘The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors’ by Drew Daywalt here.

*Review originally posted on YABooksCentral.com*

‘Confessions of a High School Disaster: Chloe Snow’s Diary’ by Emma Chastain had its moments. Main character Chloe is starting her freshman year of high school and is determined to make a splash. Even before she sets foot in school on the first day, she meets incoming senior Mac Brody, with whom she falls head over heels into a crush. It doesn’t seem to matter to her that he’s dating the most beautiful senior girl. Chloe seems to think she has a shot, and Mac doesn’t deter her from believing this, as he makes more-than-friendly remarks to her whenever he sees her.

Despite Chloe seemingly having a good start to freshman year with the above facts, she isn’t having the easiest time with her home life. Her mom has basically abandoned her and her father, moving to Mexico to work on her novel. She says she’ll come home, and stops back in town once in a while, but she keeps Chloe’s delusions of her return to normalcy and suburbia up by never telling her that she truly doesn’t have plans to come back, at least not in the same family-friendly capacity as before. Chloe often takes this out on her father, figuring that he is the reason behind it all. Her meanness toward him and rejection of all things “right” and “proper” by going against the grain much like her mother does, make her sometimes seem the naive, misunderstood girl, and other times the girl who gets what is clearly coming to her.

Many of the details of Chloe’s exploits in the story seemed too old for her. This isn’t to say that freshman girls who are fourteen and fifteen years old don’t have issues relating to sex, alcohol, and seniors who want to make their lives miserable, but she seemed very caught up in issues that seemed far too old for her since she started out the story not seeming nearly as mature as the progression of her storyline. Even her best friend, who was a devout church-goer and seemed to not like Chloe’s chosen path for freshman year, found herself getting mixed up in issues that seemed older than the way her character was written. Maybe some of this was meant to showcase Chloe’s clear naivete to all of the senior exploits that she found herself dealing with, but it sometimes seemed too much for her young age.

All in all, Chastain has written a story that is interesting and relevant in this day and age. However, avid readers of young adult novels may find themselves thinking that the plot could have been made much more realistic based on Chloe’s age. Or, they may consider the idea that if Chloe’s past had been explored more, including who she was and how she acted in middle school, her issues may not have seemed so out of the ordinary for her.

You can find ‘Confessions of a High School Disaster: Chloe Snow’s Diary’ by Emma Chastain here.

*Review originally posted on YABooksCentral.com*

‘My Senior Year of Awesome’ by Jennifer DiGiovanni is a fun, entertaining story about main character Sadie and the issues she faces – or feels she faces – when she’s voted most likely to marry Andy Kosolowski. Not the coolest guy in school, everyone thought Andy was destined to win Most Likely to Succeed, raising Sadie’s suspicions that he had something to do with rigging the vote to get her attention.

Sadie would much rather have the attention of Dominic, a good-looking – but not quite as smart – guy who starts paying her some attention when they are paired together as lab partners. Along with her best friend, Jana, Sadie makes a list of some of the items they want to check off of what can only be called their high school “bucket list,” and they proceed to work through them one by one. High school didn’t seem so exciting until they find themselves embroiled in issues beyond what they could have expected. From taking on roles in the school play to trying to snag two guys to kiss in one night, Sadie and Jana explore high school in a way they never have, and not always with the best results. When Andy finds out about their list of things to do and sees how he fits into it all, Sadie finds she has some explaining to do. She never thought she’d have to explain herself to him, especially since she never even found him attractive, but when circumstances change, life – and the decisions she has started to make regarding hers – starts getting in her way.

DiGiovanni has captured a slice of high school life that is all too true. Circumstances can change at a moment’s notice, crushes can come out of nowhere, parents can sometimes seem more childlike than their own kids, and life can throw you for a loop, but high school is high school, and Sadie and Jana, in trying to make the most of it, come upon some much needed perspective about their own lives and how to handle them going forward.

Fans of contemporary romance will really enjoy ‘My Senior Year of Awesome’ by Jennifer DiGiovanni. She keeps the pages turning with a creative and sweet storyline that reflects so much of what high school can be about when you’re stuck in the middle of it.

You can find ‘My Senior Year of Awesome’ by Jennifer DiGiovanni here.

*Review originally posted on YABooksCentral.com*

‘Shorty & Clem,’ written and illustrated by Michael Slack, is an adorable story about two best friends. The plot is simple, but very sweet. Clem, a cute little quail, goes out for a while, leaving Shorty, a very short dinosaur, otherwise known as a shortysaurus, all alone. Shorty, despite meaning well, has an altogether too curious personality. So, when a package arrives, he jumps out of his skin, wondering just what it might be that has arrived. His imagination wanders and he gets super excited about opening up his package. That is until he realizes that the package is in fact not for him – it’s for Clem.

This turn of events only serves to pique Shorty’s curiosity, and for every thought he has about what could be inside, he tries to tell himself that the package is not his and he must stop thinking about it. This hardly works, as Shorty finds himself messing with the package in a variety of ways. When it accidentally opens, Shorty is very upset with himself, despite all of the attention he paid to it to try to find out what was inside. He worries about what Clem’s reaction will be. When Clem returns, the turn of events is not necessarily what anyone would expect, and shows how friendship can win out despite worry and bad feelings that may occur in the interim.

Michael Slack has crafted a story that combines friendship, wonderment, worry, forgiveness, and an emotional rollercoaster for Shorty as he navigates trying to figure out how to handle this package that has arrived. Young kids and their parents will love sharing their storytelling time with this cute and thoughtful tale that will have them smiling and laughing along.

You can find ‘Shorty & Clem’ by Michael Slack here.

*Review originally posted on YABooksCentral.com*

‘Prince Ribbit,’ written by Jonathan Emmett and illustrated by Poly Bernatene, is a splendid story with an interesting and all-too-true moral – “just because it’s in a book doesn’t mean it’s true.” In an age where people are apt to believe much of what they hear, whether it is on the Internet, on TV, or elsewhere, this story truly teaches a lesson and backs up the idea that you really have to read closely – and often between the lines – to determine the truth of the matter.

Princesses Arabella and Lucinda are typical girls. Starting the story off by reading a fairytale, they claim that if they were to ever meet a talking frog, they wouldn’t make the mistake of treating him poorly. On a slightly ironical note, it is interesting that two such vain princesses would even be interested in conversing with a frog, let alone kissing him on the off-chance he would turn into a prince. They don’t even like the frog they meet at first, shrieking at him to get away – until he speaks. But, I digress.

Princess Martha, on the other hand, has her feet planted firmly on the ground. As she watches her sisters treating the frog she found like he’s royalty, she questions why they’re being so kind to him. Their response relies on their feelings about fairytale stories that show frogs turning into handsome princes. Even though Martha tries to convince them, through actual nonfiction books, that frogs are just frogs and aren’t necessarily enchanted, the sisters spout back Martha’s own line – “just because it’s in a book doesn’t mean it’s true.” This is quite a fascinating way of showing how people can disagree using the same arguments.

As the book concludes, Martha and the frog continue to show readers, as well as Martha’s sisters, that the moral of the story is quite flexible, and you never quite know exactly how everything is going to end up.

A creative and thoughtful retelling of an age-old fairytale, ‘Prince Ribbit’ will not only be enjoyable and entertaining for readers, but will allow them to think outside the box and make their own determinations and predictions about how the story might turn out in the end.

You can find ‘Prince Ribbit’ by Jonathan Emmett here.

*Review originally posted on YABooksCentral.com*

‘Accidentally Me’ by Kim Karras finds main character Sabrina desperate to find a way to leave home and go to college out west. The problem is that she feels there is no way her parents are going to let her go all the way to California. She considers herself an accident since she was born so long after her two other siblings, and since her sister and brother seem to take up much of her parents’ attention and money, she doesn’t think she stands a chance of getting out of her hometown unless she comes up with a reason why she must leave.

It stands to reason, at least in Sabrina’s mind, that the only escape is to hire a pretend stalker who will scare the wits out of her dad, who will in turn insist that she get as far away as possible from where they live so she can be away from said stalker. Her shenanigans, however, result in some uncertain feelings over the person she hires – a guy named Calvin with whom she went to high school. At first he seems kind of strange, but then he starts saying sweet things and spending time with Sabrina, prompting her to reconsider the whole stalker debacle and wonder if a real relationship might be in the works for her. Calvin is kind of a mystery wrapped in an enigma as the novel progresses. It is hard to make out what his intentions really are, and Sabrina’s feelings become a breeding ground for even more uncertainty about whether she should leave her home, whether she should be with Calvin, and whether her life really is the accident she’s always made it out to be.

Sabrina’s relationship with her sister develops nicely over the course of the novel, and her relationship with her parents is all too real for how parents might seem some of the time – especially when one thinks his or her opinions don’t really count, like Sabrina believes. The symbolism of Sabrina working in the zoo and talking about all of the animals that live in captivity there was also a nice addition to the novel, as Sabrina clearly feels that she is stuck in her hometown, much like an animal stuck in the zoo rather than roaming free.

Karras did a nice job in ‘Accidentally Me’ of showing how, despite one’s best intentions, things can go awry, yet life can still be full of surprises, despite the odds it may seem are stacked against a person.

You can find ‘Accidentally Me’ by Kim Karras here.