If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Another new one that I couldn't put down.  Another new one that I won't let go for a while.....

Carey's mom, a bi-polar meth addict, kidnapped Carey and her younger sister.  They've been living in a beat-up camper deep in the woods for ten years.  Mom comes and goes and Carey does her best to feed, clothe, teach and protect Jenessa.  As it turns out, there is a lot to protect Nessa from.....
One day authorities come and take them away.  Carey and Jenessa are placed in foster care.  Jenessa is selectively mute, but at 7 years old, she adapts quickly to her new home. It is Carey who finds it difficult to adjust as she tries to face the facts of her abandonment.

It is a gripping book.  I wanted to bring Carey and Jenessa home myself.

Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley

This is a new book and one that will stick with me for awhile.  Did you ever read Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott.  It reminded me of this new one.
Angie was on a Girl Scout camping trip when she was abducted.  Her family has been missing her for three years.  As the book begins Angie walks into the front door of her home.  Mom can't believe it!!!  This is her daughter ---- she's been missing three long years!!
In Angie's mind, she is still 13, not 16 years old.  She can not remember where she has been for the last three years.  As alternate personalities appear, Angie faces some pretty tough facts.  She finds that she was not only kidnapped, but also abused.  She has dissociative identity disorder (DID) .... that multiple personalities are sharing her body.  The personalities were a coping mechanism to deal with the abuse.
How do Angie and her parents put their lives back together?  Read the book and find out.  I couldn't put it down.

I Hunt Killers

The first three sentences in the prologue set the scene for this newer book by Barry Lyga.
"It was a beautiful day.  It was a beautiful field.  Except for the body."
Yikes!!!

 Jazz (Jasper) has a legacy....and it isn't a good one.  His father is the famous serial killer Billy Dent, a man that has claimed to have killed 123 people, including Jazz's mom.  Billy is now in prison, but it appears that another killer, "The Impressionist" is at work.  He is imitating Billy's crimes.  Jazz gets involved hoping that he can do something to help, and to remove the stigma of his family name.
Are you in the mood for a thriller?  This would be it.  I will warn you it is a bit gory in spots, but it certainly kept me reading.  I can't wait to dive into the sequel, Game.

The Opposite of Hallelujah

Caro's older sister, Hannah, has returned home after an 8 year absence.  Something drove her to become a nun at the Sisters of Grace Convent, but something has now sent her home.  Caro doesn't even remember her sister -- she left home when Caro was 8 years old.  Now she has returned, both anorexic and withdrawn.  Caro is embarrassed and tells her friends that her sister has returned home from the Peace Corps.....a "fib" which costs her her new boyfriend.
Read the book --- feel not only Hannah's pain, but the pain of the entire family.

Two Memoirs

I've read two books lately with similar titles; Heart of Iron by Kyle Garlett and Iron Heart by Brian Boyle.  It's interesting ---- both are memoirs, both deal with young men who dealt with tragedy in their lives.  In one case it was a horrific car accident, in another it was cancer and a transplant.  Both overcame their obstacles and trained for the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii.  That is a lot of coincidences!!
Do you want to read something inspiring?  Both really fit the bill.  It is amazing how small your problems become when you read about others who face much more in their lives.

T

Zoo

Another great book by a favorite author, James Patterson.  I think I especially liked this thriller because it threw in a little bit of dystopia.  What if "something" was causing usually docile pets, zoo and wild animals to attack?  That is the premise of this book.  Jackson, AKA "Oz" predicted that something was happening, but no one took him seriously.  Now, pets are brutally attacking owners.  Wild animals --- not just lions and bears, but even whales and dolphins, are turning on people.  The world certainly is different when "man's best friend" turns into a killer!

Panic by Sharon Draper

Draper is a well-known young adult author.  While I liked her newest book, Panic...it did seem to overload the issues.  The main character, Diamond, is abducted by a pedofile and finds herself held captive as a sex slave.  It that doesn't seem like enough there is sexting, abusive relationships and bullying thrown in!  It's a bit much, but it is done well and certainly will appeal to the female readers.    Do you like dance?  Diamond and her tight-knit group of friends are dancers at the Crystal Pointe Dance Academy.  
Give it a try....you have to find out how Diamond escapes the situation.

Warm Bodies

I didn't like this book, turned movie, by Isaac Marion.....at first.  The idea, that as zombies consumed their victims they would live out their memories, sort of "creeped" me out.  After I got over that, R, the zombie in the story grew on me.  I don't think I would go as far as Stephanie Meyer who said, "I never thought I could care so passionately for a zombie", but  nonetheless....the relationship between R and Julie, a human, is a love story.
There is hope for humanity ... and I like that.  Now I can see the movie:)

Reconstructing Amelia

A heartbreaking, "adult for young adult" book.  Maybe I'm naive, but I really didn't think bullying was this out of control.  I guess I am wrong:{  In this new book, Kate, a lawyer, receives a call from daughter Amelia's exclusive private school. Apparently Amelia, an excellent student plagiarized an English paper.  By the time Kate gets to school, she finds out Amelia has committed suicide and jumped off the roof of the school building.  An investigation leads to cyberbullying and hazing accusations.  Did Amelia committ suicide or not?  You'll have to read the book.....I hope it makes people think about how they treat others.

First zombie book of the summer!

I'm back .....I missed blogging.:)  Devil's Wake by Steven Barnes is my first book of the summer.    It's a good zombie thriller.
Remind me NOT to get the flu shot.  The zombie apocalypse starts with the simple, preventative shot.  As the world predictably implodes, the infected are turning into monsters.  Barnes certainly has enough gore in his descriptions for horror fans.  Kendra meets up with a motley bunch of characters.  As they drive their school bus full of supplies through the Pacific Northwest there is danger at every turn.
If you love a good zombie book, you'll have to add this to your list.

Life Happens Next

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman has always been one of my favorite books.  It's also been one of the most frustrating books.  Why?  I could never figure out if Shawn's dad killed Shawn.  The book was published in 2001 -- I've been waiting a lot of years to find out what happened!!

 

Life Happens Next does continue Shawn's story.  It is a quick, insightful read.  Like the first book you really are able to "get in the mind" of a disabled person.  If you've read the first, you definitely want to follow up with this one.  It's new in the LMC.