‘In Real Life’ by Jessica Love definitely lived up to the title. The story revolves around Hannah and Nick, best friends who live hundreds of miles apart, in southern California and Las Vegas. The fact that they have never met makes it so that their first meeting in real life has a lot of hype to live up to, especially since they have had opportunities to meet that have passed by without coming to fruition due to any number of circumstances.

Hannah, however, has decided to use her senior year spring break to finally go and see Nick, whom she has told her best friend, Lo, as well as her sister, Grace, and even herself, that she doesn’t have feelings for. At least not like that. Little does she know that the trip will be the catalyst for a number of realizations on her part, not only about her true feelings for Nick, but about her feelings about herself and what she wants out of life.

Lo and Grace accompany her to Las Vegas, picking up fake IDs along the way. When they get to Las Vegas, they surprise Nick, which sets off a chain of events that lead Hannah on a path through a very chaotic night that only serves to stir up trouble based on everything she thought she knew about Nick and their friendship being turned on its head.

The truths and lies that spring from their first meeting are realistic enough, and they help prove the point that you can never know someone fully, especially if you have spent most – or all – of your time talking to that person online, as Hannah and Nick have always done. While most would think their relationship would only grow from an in-person meeting, they are reminded that not everything works out the way one always hopes or expects it to, and sometimes phone and Internet conversations can be easier than in-person ones.

From taking chances on boys to feeling the pain of losing everything you thought you knew, anyone who has ever experienced emotions such as these will find themselves immersed in this book and eager to learn the outcome of Hannah and Nick’s first real-life meeting. Jessica Love has captured my interest with ‘In Real Life,’ and I look forward to reading more of her writing as time goes on.

You can find ‘In Real Life’ by Jessica Love here.

‘The Last First Game’ by Gina Azzi was a light, breezy read. I am generally a young adult reader, and even though this story definitely could have fit into that genre if the main characters were just a few years younger, I found myself enjoying the New Adult feel that this novel personified.

Main character Lila is starting her internship at Astor University in California during first semester of senior year, while best friends Mia, Maura, and Emma are all going their own ways as well during that semester. The way that they still stayed close through phone and video chats, as well as through their caring natures for each of the other girls was refreshing and sweet, with no one girl making her personal or professional life seem any more or less important than those of her friends.

When Lila meets Cade in the airport as she treks across the country to start her medical internship, which she may or may not still be excited about (if she ever was), she is almost immediately swept up in the excitement and uncertainty that comes with a new relationship. They hit it off quickly, and before Lila knows it, Cade is calling her his girlfriend. The two soon throw themselves headfirst into a steamy romance.

Trouble begins to brew, however, when Cade, one of the top NFL picks for next season, has an accident during one of his games, throwing his future into a whirlwind of loss, confusion, and unrest. As the novel progresses, Lila’s and Cade’s friends, both at Astor and elsewhere, have a chance to show their true colors, their parents have a chance to be there for them, make up for past wrongs (or continue to do things right), and relationships stumble, grow, and get tested by issues that arise and become stirred further by the campus gossip mill.

The truthful, realistic scenarios that Lila and Cade endure throughout the story are sincere and well-written. I love being able to see the characters in my mind’s eye and hear them speak through their words. The dialogue and writing were relatable for anyone who has ever been in college, in a relationship, or who has been missing friends. The symbolism of the title was also apparent to me as I read the book, not only in that Cade played his last first game of his college football career, but also in that everyone does their last first something at times. Thinking about this makes the reality of senior year and embarking on the rest of one’s life seem all that much more pivotal.

Vacillating between the different viewpoints of Lila and Cade, and hearing about their friends, near and far, helped keep the story moving, and helped keep me invested in the outcome for each and every one of the characters. Besides a few spelling and grammatical issues here and there, the novel did a wonderful job of taking readers through a semester in the lives of two college seniors who make it extremely evident that four months is more than enough time to make a lifetime of changes – sometimes in not-so-good ways, but mostly for the better.

You can find ‘The Last First Game’ by Gina Azzi here.

‘The Best Kept Secret’ by Wendi Nunnery took me a few chapters to get into, but once I did, I was hooked. Not wanting to give too much away (it is called ‘The Best Kept Secret,’ after all), the story revolves around Emma, a sophomore in high school. Much of the plot deals with her relationship with her best friend, Andy. She also cycles between liking a senior boy named Deegan and Andy’s brother, Jesse. Rounding out the main cast of characters, aside from Emma’s parents, are her good friend, Elsie, and another girl, Georgia, the token mean girl whom Emma can’t stand.

The first half or a bit more of the story was your typical contemporary young adult novel with romantic entanglements, unrequited crushes, and friendship troubles. Nunnery did a great job fleshing out the way Emma felt about Deegan, as well as the way she started to come to terms with her feelings for Jesse. Since Deegan was good friends with Andy, Emma got to spend more time with him, and the way she saw him act around Jesse made her begin to think twice about what kind of a person he truly was. The uncomfortable nature of his remarks about Jesse being gay, which had never been overtly stated by Jesse or anyone else at that point, were a sense of foreshadowing in the worst possible way.

When Emma is asked to the prom by Deegan, her heart leaps, partly because she hopes to be able to see Jesse there. Her emotions toward both guys lead her to a trainwreck of troubles at the prom, starting with a conversation she was clearly not meant to overhear between two people she thought she knew – or at least hoped she did. The conversation brings to light realizations that are not at all pretty, and which send the story into a downward spiral of uncertainty over what will happen next, and what should be done about what Emma now knows.

The barrage of ‘what if’ scenarios and revelations of truths that permeated the storytelling were rife with emotion. Any reader who doesn’t feel a slew of emotions ranging from happiness to hope to anger and disgust, on to animosity toward anyone who has suffered at the hands of a bully will find this story compelling and relatable, despite the host of emotions plaguing them as they read it.

You can find ‘The Best Kept Secret’ by Wendi Nunnery here.

‘Maisy and the Money Marauder’ by Elizabeth Woodrum is the second of three books in ‘The Maisy Files’ series. Having already read the first in the series, ‘Maisy and the Missing Mice,’ I had a good idea what Maisy was capable of in her work as a fourth-grade sleuth. I loved how the story also continued on with the idea of Maisy seeing her crime-solving world in black and white. The fact that she wears a fedora as she proceeds with her investigation only lends more character to the story, creating a film noir-esque image within the writing.

Along with her best friend and fellow friend of mystery and intrigue, Veronica, Maisy sets out to figure out who, if anyone, may be stealing students’ lunch money at her school. She has her ideas, but they sometimes seem farfetched, especially those that involve kids who don’t even go to her school. But the clues still lead her in the direction of a person she doesn’t know whether she should really suspect, and she hastens to figure out how that person may be connected to others who attend her elementary school.

Needless to say, Maisy does crack the case, her love of cherry lollipops still as evident through this case as it was when she was searching for the missing mice in the first installment in ‘The Maisy Files.’ It was also nice how the story started out just after the first case was solved, and that case actually figured into figuring out who the mystery marauder might actually be. It was a great idea to include the definition of the term “marauder” in the story as well, since Maisy and her class were reading a book about pirates and had to learn new vocabulary, including this word. It’s always nice when an educational aspect can make its way into writing that some figure is meant solely to entertain. That enlightenment factor is ever important and should never be taken for granted, as Elizabeth Woodrum has made perfectly evident in her storytelling.

You can find ‘Maisy and the Money Marauder’ by Elizabeth Woodrum here.

‘Catchpenny’ by Sarah Wathen was hard to put down. I found it intriguing and the writing style well-crafted. The main character is Meg, or, as main guy Tristan calls her by her full name, Mekaela. Basically an outcast on the fringes of high school society, and even that of Shirley County, where she lives, Mekaela knows a better life awaits her. Her mom has always told her so, and she has worked hard to live up to her academic potential to make a life for herself outside the confines of her small town. All that is still in the cards for her, but early on in senior year comes the added interest of Tristan Jameson, star quarterback, baseball player, and all-around popular jock, who decides to ask her out to their senior year homecoming dance.

Having recently broken up with his long-time girlfriend, Mekaela is initially skeptical of Tristan’s desire to take her to the dance. The fact that she is known around school and town as being particularly easy and pretty carefree with her body doesn’t help matters any. Her reputation is completely opposite that of Tristan, who is pretty much the golden boy who can do no wrong – especially in his mother’s eyes.

As a reader, I can honestly say that I was much more skeptical than Mekaela probably was of Tristan asking her out. Maybe I’ve seen too many teen movies (‘Never Been Kissed’ my main thought in this instance) that had me quite wary of her accepting his invitation and having him proceed to make a fool of her in some fashion. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of predictability I thought was to come. This isn’t to say that there wasn’t plenty of drama and aggravation to go around for the characters. Mekaela doesn’t have the best reputation, and Tristan’s proposal to have her accompany him to homecoming is met with ridicule, sneers, and mean comments behind their backs.

The sense of realism that accompanies a reading of ‘Catchpenny’ is easily evident to readers. The story stirs emotions ranging from uncertainty to lust to fear of loss, on to love, anger, jealousy, and a host of others. ‘Catchpenny’ will make readers consider how throwing your instincts by the wayside can sometimes be the best and most uninhibited course of action. If Tristan hadn’t chanced asking Mekaela out, and if she hadn’t said yes, their lives would likely be much different. Sometimes the best changes can come from the reluctance to make change at all, even if one eventually ends up doing so. And so it is for Tristan and Mekaela – he breaking up with his long-time girlfriend and taking a chance on new love, and she taking a chance on real love, rather than continuing to give up her “virtue” without the benefit of a steady relationship.

You can find ‘Catchpenny’ by Sarah Wathen here.

‘The Girl with the Green-Tinted Hair: A Miraculous Fable’ by Gavin Whyte is an interesting tale. Those who love metaphors will find special meaning in the story. The narration revolves around a boy and girl and the overarching changes that make up their world. There is also a focus on how time can, almost certainly, heal all wounds, even if those wounds are figurative, in the sense of being uncertain how to cope with changes that one may not be ready for.

Even though the boy remains a seemingly static character, his changes throughout the story are merely more subtle than those of the girl. She undergoes an aging process, and on top of this, she ages much more quickly than the average person. The boy initially finds this off-putting, but through conversations with the girl and a sense of intimacy that they develop with one another, he comes to understand that her changes are not quite as drastic as they might seem, and he himself is undergoing them in his own way – the changes are just not nearly as noticeable to the naked eye.

Yet that is what the girl tries to impress upon the boy – that the naked eye should be used to explore the world around them and all that life offers, from the weather, to the stark contrast between merely living life and finding depth, emotion, and love for oneself, others, and everything else that is around.

This was an extremely quick read, and even though I wish there had been some more clarity regarding some of the metaphors the girl was expressing to the boy, I understand why it was not provided. Metaphors are subjective in nature, and so everyone who reads this tale must take from it what they can, without the author guiding the focus that every reader should have. Lessons garnered from this story provide potential for seeing life in a new way, and discerning how colors – from green to red to brown and on through the spectrum – along with the seasons, can shape these new understandings.

You can find ‘The Girl with the Green-Tinted Hair: A Miraculous Fable’ by Gavin Whyte here.

‘The Clay Lion’ by Amalie Jahn was a thrilling, suspenseful read. The suspense was palpable, especially as someone who tends to be partial to time-travel scenarios. Making everything work out is the ultimate goal, but when that doesn’t seem entirely possible, life – past, present, and potentially future – can become chaotic, and with that chaos comes the likelihood for worry and fear.

Brooke Wallace loves her brother Branson more than anything, and as a result of this love, she has decided to use the one trip that everyone in her society is allotted for time travel to go back to the time just before his death. Her goal: try to prevent it from ever occurring. The tension is quite evident, based on a variety of factors, but especially the heartache that Amalie Jahn so perfectly captures through Brooke’s first-person narration of life without Branson, as well as what life was like when he was still alive.

Her trip doesn’t go quite as planned, and the difficulty of coping with losing Branson all over again is too much for her to bear. So, she sets out to re-live and alter the timeline yet again to save him, but this time she takes more liberties than she knows she should, engaging with those she didn’t engage with either of the first two times (the “real” first time and the first trip to the past), and changing their future timelines as well. This mainly goes for her relationship with Charlie Johnson, a cute boy she meets and can’t help but befriend. Needless to say, the trip changes things more than Brooke had planned, and she must set out yet again to try to change the past, or at least salvage what she can of the future. I couldn’t help but think as I was reading how even though she wasn’t trying to change anyone else’s timelines, she was doing her best to remain ignorant of the fact that others could be affected second-hand. Eventually, she does learn that this is true, during one of the times she returns to the present.

Adeptly written with a hearty helping of character development and specificity in staying as true as possible to the original timeline, while still attempting to re-write history, Jahn has me hooked and eager to read more of her series. I look forward to checking out the next two novels, ‘Tin Men’ and ‘A Straw Man.’ From Brooke to Branson to Charlie, on to Brooke’s parents and a cast of supporting characters who help keep the storyline moving from past to present back to past again and eventually into the future, ‘The Clay Lion’ captures the angst of loss, the beauty of love, and the compassion that stems from both.

You can find ‘The Clay Lion’ by Amalie Jahn here.

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‘Choices’ by Michelle Lynn is quite a departure from her ‘Dawn of Rebellion’ dystopian series of books. However, her foray into the romance genre is an equally appealing experience for readers.

The main character of the story, Michaela, has hopes and dreams for herself. Yet, she finds herself constantly battling her possessive boyfriend, Ethan, and her wealthy, strict parents, who all seem to want what’s “best” for her, so long as it serves their purposes. The only friendly faces she has in her life are those of her brother, Chris, and her quasi-brother (and Ethan’s real brother), Josh. When Michaela tries to leave her life behind and start anew, her past finds a way of continuing to haunt her, pulling her back in at times when she thought she had finally broken free.

Michaela’s future has always been set, at least in the eyes of Ethan and her parents. Then, Jason comes along. A good friend of her brother Chris’, Jason is everything Ethan is not, and Michaela can’t believe she’s thinking about another guy when she’s not sure she’s even over Ethan, after all he’s done to her. She questions herself and her decisions constantly throughout the book, wondering why she falls into certain patterns and why she even bothers with her controlling parents, among other things. Jason always seems to be around to pick up the pieces, but some misunderstandings throw a wrench in their plans to reveal how much they might truly like each other.

I did enjoy this story, even though I felt as though some of the points were brought up too much, such as how Ethan’s family came from “old money” and it would be crazy, according to her parents, for her to not marry him, settle down, and live the socialite life that has always been awaiting her. Another point that seemed to be brought up quite a bit was about how Michaela’s parents were controlling; they were constantly pushing her toward Ethan. I understand that these types of issues were meant to show why the choices Michaela was making for herself were so important (hence the title of the book), but it seemed a bit redundant at times. Overall, however, I felt the characters were realistic. I’ve read many romance novels, so I expect some of the predictability I got from this one, but I mean that in a good way. Even though I expected everything to work out for the best, there were some twists and turns in the storytelling, as well as flashes of anger I felt toward Ethan and flashes of desire I felt toward Jason for being strong much of the time while Michaela found her footing.

A courageous step into a different genre, Michelle Lynn has engaged me once again with her writing style after having read the first in her dystopian series, ‘Dawn of Rebellion.’

You can find ‘Choices’ by Michelle Lynn here.

‘Sophie’s Different’ by Patrick Hodges is a fantastic follow-up to ‘Joshua’s Island’ and ‘Ethan’s Secret,’ Hodges’ first two novels in the James Madison series of books. Sophie Devereaux, the younger sister of main character Eve from ‘Joshua’s Island,’ is the protagonist of this story, with Ayden Saunders, an acquaintance turned friend, rounding out the dual narration that Hodges so consistently and creatively uses to share different viewpoints in his novels.

Sophie’s life should be easier. She has two best friends, a loving family, and she has even caught the eye of a pretty cute boy. But all isn’t necessarily as it seems, since the pretty cute boy is probably just using her, despite her assurances to the contrary when she is warned about him by Ayden.

Ayden is happy to steer clear of trouble, but he tends to find himself mixed up in more than he bargains for when he eavesdrops on people’s conversations. Giving himself the name “Invisiboy,” Ayden learns that Sophie is being used to make this cute, popular boy’s girlfriend jealous, and his girlfriend isn’t having any of it. She’s willing to go to whatever extremes necessary to make sure Sophie never lives down the torment she has awaiting her.

Through skillful writing and carefully placed cameos by his past two novels’ main and supporting characters, Hodges creates a world unto itself, yet ensures that history, while seemingly repeating itself, is never taken for granted. Bullying is a terrible, devastating issue to deal with, but Hodges always tackles it with the utmost sincerity and grace. His scenes are realistic and truthful to the way many young people feel in school and in life nowadays, and I highly recommend educators to add this series of books to their curriculums. The stories can be read quickly and with ease, and they showcase not only the battles, but the triumphs that go along with being a kid and dealing with everything that comes along with it.

‘Sophie’s Different’ by Patrick Hodges is available for pre-order on Amazon by clicking here.