‘Waiting on the Sidelines’ by Ginger Scott was an enjoyable read. It followed Nolan, and her crush, Reed, through all four years of high school. There was no shortage of all the issues that high schoolers are apt to deal with, from underage drinking to sexual encounters to bullying and emotional torment – sometimes self-inflicted and other times not. Nolan was a typical girl, despite being characterized as having been a tomboy prior to starting high school. Her crush on Reed was the front and center plot that wove its way through the entire novel.

Just like Nolan was a typical girl, Reed was a typical guy. He wasn’t big on letting her know how he felt, and when he did, the way in which he would switch back to seeming like he never said or did anything to lead her on was frustrating to no end. Their relationship had plenty of twists and turns which kept me interested. Even though I was not keen on Nolan giving Reed second, third, fourth, and even more chances than that, not just to be with her, but to have the chance to be with her, aggravated me, but I do understand the emotional turmoil that a teen girl can go through liking someone and waiting not so patiently to find out how he feels about her. The fact that she knows he isn’t treating her right doesn’t stop her from liking him – at least not completely. It may not seem right, but Ginger Scott hit the nail on the head with how Nolan acted and felt. After all, it’s not so easy to let go of feelings that you’ve held on to for what seems like forever.

One of the only reasons I would give it 4 stars out of 5 instead of the full 5 was because it took me forever to get through. It was quite long for the content within it. There was a lot that could have been taken out of the story, and the plot would have still played out in the same way. The other reason was that, even though I enjoyed how the story detailed Nolan’s entire high school career, I felt as though ninth and tenth grade meshed together in such a way that tenth grade turned into kind of a blur in terms of remembering what happened during that year, besides a few select details.

Overall, ‘Waiting on the Sidelines’ was a worthwhile read that captivated my emotions and made me eager to read on. I’m looking forward to reading ‘Going Long: Waiting on the Sidelines 2,’ even with my qualms out in the open.

You can find ‘Waiting on the Sidelines’ by Ginger Scott here: http://amzn.to/1KYp00Q

This is the second book of Janette Rallison’s that I’ve read. ‘How to Take the Ex out of Ex-Boyfriend’ was the first. I really enjoyed that one, but I was even more eager to read through this one once I got going on it. I almost couldn’t put it down since I was so anxious to know what would happen next.

Main character Charlotte is written as a nice girl who is stuck in the middle of her best friend Brianna’s relationship with her boyfriend. Charlotte is convinced that Bryant is cheating on Brianna, but when she brings up her suspicions, Bryant always has an explanation that appeases Brianna and makes Charlotte look like she’s scheming to break them up. Even though much of the story does revolve around this storyline, the relationship that evolves from Charlotte’s dilemma of how to deal with Bryant and her suspicions of him is really front and center. Bryant’s best friend is Colton, who is in the National Honor Society with Charlotte. Cute, smart, athletic, and oh – did I mention cute – Charlotte finds herself crushing on him but not having much luck since she’s dead set on outing Bryant to Brianna. Colton isn’t having any of it since he’s best friends with Bryant and so can’t be around Charlotte when she’s focused on revealing the truth – whatever that might be. Colton is insistent that Bryant isn’t cheating and has reasons why he knows this to be so. The truth of the matter is revealed over time, and all the while Charlotte is always in the center of it all, trying to figure out how to not be involved while at the same time having information thrown at her that makes it hard to not be part of the action.

I really enjoyed watching Charlotte and Colton’s relationship grow, then backtrack, then grow again, and how they got to know each other apart from their relationship in NHS and study group while they fought over her accusations of Bryant and eventually gained some common ground. An awesome read, and definitely not my last of Rallison’s novels!

You can find Janette Rallison’s ‘It’s a Mall World After All’ here: http://amzn.to/1zrkV4e

There are not many books that draw me in so easily, so willingly. It tends to take me a few chapters to really feel immersed in a book. This was not so with Lorraine Zago Rosenthal’s ‘Other Words for Love’. The characters and surrounding world that she created for them were so vivid that I felt as though I could be there myself from the very first page. The story revolves around Ari Mitchell, who starts off the novel nearing her junior year in high school. Her best friend, Summer, is happy to be there for Ari, even though she left their Brooklyn high school to attend Hollister, a prestigious Manhattan high school. When Ari gains the opportunity to also attend Hollister, one would think that life would be great for two best friends who can once again be together. Predictably, however (but not in a bad way), Summer doesn’t take too well to Ari being there, owing mainly to the fact that Ari quickly made a new friend, Leigh, who is not Summer’s definition of the “right type of people.” Summer warns Ari of Leigh’s past – how she killed her boyfriend, how she’s a drunk, etc. – but Ari goes on being friends with her, learning truths about Leigh and Summer all the while. When Ari becomes enveloped in a relationship with Leigh’s cousin Blake, after having harbored a short, but meaningful crush on his brother, Del, things become more complicated than Ari could have ever thought they would.

I thought that Ari’s family was well-written. It was intriguing to see how she handled her crush on her brother-in-law Patrick (her sister Evelyn’s husband). Watching how she dealt with that made her journey in terms of how she interacted with Blake come full circle. Patrick was there for her at the beginning and end to make her see what she really wanted in terms of a man, but she just had to do her utmost to find that in someone else. Maybe she’d find it in Blake, and maybe she wouldn’t, but as the novel went on, she learned about herself, progressing through her last two years of high school and first couple years of college with certain levels of uncertainty, anger, depression, and eventually faith. Despite the way her relationships gained traction and then stumbled, everything she goes through in the novel brings her to a satisfying conclusion for herself and how she plans to look back on life and find strength in it in terms of moving forward, no matter the ending she had at the end.

You can find Lorraine Zago Rosenthal’s ‘Other Words for Love’ here: http://amzn.to/1DmICWd

Maybe it’s just because I’m a sucker for novels-in-verse, having been spoiled by Sonya Sones’ spectacular writing style, but ‘Things Left Unsaid’ by Stephanie Hemphill made me thrilled to be able to pick up another author’s verse and feel just as compelled as I do when reading anything by Sones.

The main character in ‘Things Left Unsaid’ is Sarah, who has decided to shed her outer good-girl exterior and embrace going against everything she always felt was the right thing to do. No longer does she care about her grades in school or how she’s seen by friends or family. Instead, she’d rather hang out with Robin, a friend who doesn’t seem to have limits and finds herself drowning in dangerous issues as the novel progresses. Sarah’s other friends, Amanda and Gina, are polar opposites in and of themselves, so it’s not easy for Sarah to be swayed by either one of them, for they find it hard to come to a consensus to help bring Sarah back to the “right path,” whatever that might be.

Robin’s brushes with danger, including a suicide attempt, make Sarah re-think everything she’s been doing the whole year through. She finds her relationships faltering, not necessarily of her own doing. Gina, especially, seems more of a “frenemy” more often than not, clearly going for the things that Sarah most wants, including Derek Crawford. Despite hanging out with Gina, Hemphill’s verse makes it clear that he is interested in Sarah. It’s just how to make that transition happen that is the hard part.

Sarah finds herself more learning than once in this novel about growing up, learning how to accept who you are and what you stand for, and the power of friendship. I highly recommend ‘Things Left Unsaid,’ and I definitely plan to read Hemphill’s other novels-in-verse. A captivating read that takes you from August to May of one school year with grace and determination to show that everything can turn out the way you want it to if you set your mind on achieving what you really want – and not what others might see as best for you.

You can find ‘Things Left Unsaid’ by Stephanie Hemphill on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1GX5K3l

‘Black Cats and Ballet Slippers’ by Iva Valentino is perfect for the middle-grade reader. Middle school is definitely a time for introspection, but that doesn’t mean that all kids know how to handle the feelings they have, the questions they have about those feelings, or any other issues that come up. Gemma Mayfield is the perfect example of this. Between school and ballet classes, you’d think she’d be covered in terms of pre-teen stress and worry about how to get it all done, but on top of all that, her crush on Trevor Davis weighs on her mind and makes her wonder if he’ll ever return the like she feels for him. Adding to her troubles is her science partner, Joey Diggins, whom she starts to see in a new light when she thinks he’s been put under a spell by their teacher, Ms. Pruett.

The fact that Gemma thinks that Ms. Pruett is a witch (not just that she could be, but that she definitely is) hits at the core of what so many kids think about when they’re young, but are often too afraid to say, for fear they may be considered strange or crazy. But let’s be honest – who hasn’t thought about the possibility that someone might be a witch, or how you yourself would feel if you had powers? I know I have. Gemma becomes transfixed with the idea that Ms. Pruett is putting spells on Trevor and Joey, discounting the fact the entire time that people change, and maybe that’s all that’s happening. However, strange things continue to happen, and it seems only a matter of time before it’s revealed that Ms. Pruett is really a witch, casting spells on students for what Gemma believes is her perverse pleasure.

Along with best friend Izzie, Gemma comes up with a plan (albeit maybe not the best one – but who comes up with the greatest plans in middle school?), only to be foiled at almost every turn by Demonica (the girls’ nickname for mean girl Monica). Gemma’s journal entries helped move the story along, recapping all the events that lead up to the Halloween dance and everything that happens there.

There were a couple spots where continuity was an issue, in terms of names of people or events, but the overall premise of the story and the character development was well-conceived.

Complete with a black cat, a wand, and a Halloween dance that turns everything Gemma believed on its head, you’re in for a fun, worthwhile read that will fill you with pleasant, yet nerve-wracking memories of middle school life.

Additionally, feel free to check out my video review of ‘Black Cats and Ballet Slippers’:

You can find ‘Black Cats and Ballet Slippers’ by Iva Valentino on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1IBcXVs

Mike & The Deaf Student by Sharon Straka Hendricks is an empathetic look at what bullies are capable of and how they can change their tune. The book does a fine job noting the difference between empathy and sympathy by coining the “Walk A Mile In My Shoes” club. If all children, and adults for that matter, could be as caring and understanding about others and the issues that affect them, whether physically, mentally, or otherwise (or in other words, learned to walk in each other’s shoes), the world would be a much better place. This book should be read in elementary schools and during story time at home, libraries, and elsewhere. By starting children off learning about empathy at a young age, they will be more likely to represent the characteristics exemplified in this book as they get older. As a result, they will have matured at a faster rate.

Please see my video review for this book as well:

 

You can find ‘Mike and the Deaf Student’ by Sharon Straka Hendricks on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1GWKgUD

‘Joshua’s Island’ by Patrick Hodges is a story that captures the innocence of childhood and blends it with the uncertainty of being a teenager. All the while, bullying is at the core of the story. Joshua has to deal throughout the novel with the ongoing aspects of bullying that plague him day in and day out, and have done so for the last three years. Now that he’s in the eighth grade, he realizes that there is only one more year until high school – the only freedom he can see in the foreseeable future. Compounding his troubles are his new Science class partner, Eve, who wants nothing to do with him. As time goes on, their relationship evolves into something more. Whereas in other novels evolution along these lines sometimes seems forced, it was compelling and realistic in this novel. Joshua finds friends in unexpected places, and Eve, whose status changes between popular and outcast in the story, gives Joshua strength he didn’t know he had.

Through friends like Eve, as well as a younger girl who rides his bus named Kelsey, and others, he finds hope. Even though hope doesn’t always translate into action, progress is not a lost concept in this story. If only everyone had someone in his or her life who was as concerned and willing to help at any cost as the friends Joshua finds as the story goes on, maybe bullying could be a thing of the past. I was very moved by this story. I found myself smiling, tearing up, and wanting to know what happens next. Though some readers might think the narrative and dialogue sound too mature at times for eighth graders, by the end of the novel, it was a moot point and made sense. A great read for kids and adults alike.

Additionally, feel free to check out my video review of ‘Joshua’s Island’:

You can find ‘Joshua’s Island’ by Patrick Hodges on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1C7if6f