When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington

4*

Aiden, his school’s star baseball pitcher until life throws him a curveball in the form of vision loss, abruptly quits the team without explanation. Over the summer, he works at River Depot, his family’s outdoor adventure business and devotes his time and energy to finding an art form that inspires him. Olivia, who lives with the aunt who has raised her after her mother left to “find herself”, is dumped by her lifelong friend-turned-boyfriend Zander, loses a great job writing for a local newspaper when they are forced to sell the business, and finds out that she’ll be moving to Arizona at the end of the summer for her aunt’s new job. Desperate to salvage what she can of the summer, she begins work at River Depot and vows to focus on her writing.

Although Zander and Aiden’s were teammates, he and Olivia have to dispel misconceptions and acknowledge the break-up before they can begin to build a romantic attachment. As trust builds, Aiden reveals his vision loss and Olivia her family issues. However, she doesn’t tell him about her impending move. When the truth comes out, will Aiden’s sense of betrayal destroy their relationship?

There’s much to love in this character-driven coming-of-age romance. Aiden is the perfect boyfriend and their relationship is adorable. Pennington’s choice of Lake Michigan as the beautiful backdrop for their love story is brilliant and their visit to the Grand Rapids ArtPrize festival serves as the perfect inspirational vehicle for Aiden’s large-scale projects. The dual points of view give the reader a more complete picture of their relationship. She also introduces Aiden’s gay cousin Ellis while avoiding the stereotypical “gay best friend” trope.

However, there are some minor flaws that bear addressing. Problems that seem monumental are too easily resolved, such as Olivia’s renewed relationship with her mother and Aiden’s vision loss that is never fully-explained. When Olivia’s boyfriend Zander breaks up with her, she doesn’t seem very heartbroken. It also seems problematic to leave fate to a coin toss, which is cute only the first time.

Overall, it’s a perfect quick summer read with an charming romance and a refreshing lack of teen angst. Give this to fans of Sarah Dessen, Kasie West and Huntley Fitzpatrick


I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Tor Teen through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

We Were Beautiful by Heather Hepler

5*

Mia carries the facial scars from a tragic accident in which her older sister died when she was driving. Almost a year later, she is still unable to remember the events leading up to the crash, but knows she’s to blame. Abandoned first by her mother who leaves because the pain is more than she can bear and then by her emotionally paralyzed father, she is sent to NYC to spend the summer with a grandmother she’s never met and who is initially cold and distant. Despite hoping to hide, her grandmother arranges a job at a family diner run by the large, loud, loving Brunelli family who adopt her as one of their own. Fig, the granddaughter of the matriarch, Nonna, introduces her to her group of artistic friends (Art Attack) who share a common bond that is revealed as the story progresses. Over the course of the summer, friendships blossom, her attraction to enigmatic but adorable Cooper grows, and her amnesia slowly lifts, enabling her to learn the truth about the crash and to forgive herself.

Hepler has crafted a beautiful story that defines family as a loving rather than blood bond (Mia and her grandmother, the Brunelli’s, and the Art Attack kids). Art is a form of therapy, and Mia’s rediscovered passion for photography helps the healing process. The pacing is intentionally slow (written as a first-person diary of sorts) in order for the grieving and shedding of guilt to unfold organically. The lesson, never heavy-handed, is that we all have scars, many invisible, that fade with time but that are a reminder that we all have the capacity to heal with love and unconditional support. Diverse cast of characters with one interracial couple. Trigger warning for “recovering” Catholics who have a problem with the hypocrisy of the Church and some of its adherents. Highly recommended for libraries looking for young adult books on grief and healing or books that feature artistic protagonists.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Blink through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

4*

In book two of her Once Upon a Con series, Ashley Poston puts a modern, female spin on The Prince and the Pauper featuring Imogen, a diehard comic geek and Jess, a jaded young actress who plays Princess Amara in a movie version of the time-honored Starfield series (with costar Geekerella’s Darien Freeman). In a case of mistaken identity, Imogen takes her place on a panel when Jess pulls a disappearing act and the stage is set for the switch.

Jess is desperate to make Oscar-worthy movies, fears being type-cast, and is on the run from the paparazzi. She also has a compulsive need to check social media despite being vilified and threatened by Amara fanatics who are faithful to the original TV star, Natalia Ford. It’s a cautionary tale about the evils of social media and how trolls can have a negative impact if you let them. This story is a gift to fans of ComicCons, but the overwhelming use of SciFi jargon (nerfherder, Muggle, Starflame, Noxballs, doge) necessitates a glossary for the uninitiated. It features a diverse cast of characters and several charming romantic relationships, including Imogen and Ethan’s love/hate and four LGBTQ pairings. Highly recommended for teen collections.


I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Quirk Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Road Leads Back by Marci Bolden

3*

Almost 30 years ago, dorky Harry Canton left artsy Kara Martinson after one night of fumbling sex. Twenty-seven years later, he shows up at her art show and discovers he has both a son and a young granddaughter with Down’s Syndrome. Bolden, in the first book of her Stonehill Series, has written an emotionally-wrenching story of betrayal, forgiveness, and a love that can’t be denied. Kara, after a lifetime of running from commitment and the fear of abandonment, has to find the strength to face the past and forgive not just her parents, but herself so that she can embrace the future. It is impossible to read Bolden’s depiction of the incredible damage that parents can do when they put their own selfish needs ahead of their children’s without wanting to crawl into the pages and throttle them. Regrettably, this second-chance romance relies on too many plot devices that stretch plausibility. Kara never outgrows her penchant for running away, Harry pushes too hard and fast for a commitment, son Phil instantly embraces a relationship with Harry and freely criticizes Kara for his nomadic upbringing, and Harry’s mother and Kara’s father refuse to take full responsibility for their cruelty towards their children. As a result, the book is frustrating and somewhat underwhelming. Not the best of the genre, but it will find its audience.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Pink Sand Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Cliff House by RaeAnne Thayne

4*

After their mother dies of an overdose and they spend a year in separate foster homes, sisters Daisy and Bea Davenport are adopted by their young aunt Stella and raised in the beautiful Northern California coastal town of Cape Sanctuary. The experience is so positive that Stella dedicates her life to fostering more children, a charitable organization to help foster families make the experience a positive one, and teaching at the local middle school. Now that her nieces are grown women living independent lives, Stella decides to fulfill some of the dreams she sacrificed years before. When she runs into the college sweetheart she left behind, she is given a second chance at love she’d never expected.

Bea, an artist who got pregnant by one of the foster kids (now a major rock star named Cruz) had a rocky marriage that ended in divorce years before. Now she’s eager to pursue a romance with her long-time friend, former NFL player and local football coach Shane, but, just as she’s about to act on her feelings, Cruz, who was attacked and injured by the jealous husband of a fan, shows up to convalesce and try to convince her to give him another shot. Should she try again for the sake of their daughter or hope for a future with Shane?

On the surface, Daisy seems to be the polar opposite of Bea, a repressed, sensible accountant who is averse to risk-taking…until she meets Gabe, a documentary filmmaker who pushes her to open up and question the way she’s been living her life. She is also carrying a secret that, if revealed, might make her carefully-constructed world fall apart. Why is she trying so hard to repress the carefree, creative parts of her personality?

Thayne, author of the Haven Point series, has written a complex, emotionally-satisfying standalone romance (three in one, actually) that has more than the typical plot points to happily-ever-after. There is the love between the three female protagonists, Stella’s admirable dedication to improving the foster care system, multiple points of view that help develop the main characters, and a couple of mysteries to be revealed. Give this to fans of Sarah Morgan and Susan Wiggs. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Harlequin Romance through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Dating Game by Kiley Roache

3*

When the only three freshmen in an extremely difficult class on entrepreneurialism are thrown together to come up with an idea and pitch for the next hot app, frustrations mount and diametrically-opposed personality traits threaten to sink them before they even get started. Sara is an obsessive control freak from an upper-middle-class midwestern family who is a whiz at coding and has a strong work ethic and moral compass. Arrogant, insensitive, rich boy Braden is the epitome of white male privilege and only wants to get out from under his morally-bankrupt father’s thumb. He has the marketing savvy but knows nothing about computers. Kind, dedicated scholarship student Roberto needs to become successful in order to afford legal representation for his mother who, as an illegal immigrant, was deported to Mexico when he was a pre-teen. He can’t afford to fail the class, but refuses to compromise his ideals by continuing to promote an app that, despite the hype, doesn’t inspire romance, but plays on people’s vanity and need for validation from virtual strangers. Will they be able to work together despite their differences or will they lose the game before they’ve even begun?

Although the book is an easy read with a storyline that has great potential, it falls flat for a number of reasons. There is very little character development despite the first-person narrative from all 3 protagonists, and Braden’s personality goes from bad to worse as the story progresses. Since Sara can’t stand him, it seems improbable that she’d start dating him after a moment of sensitivity on his part. Roberto is the more likely love interest, but their relationship is never developed. So, the love triangle seems forced and devoid of chemistry. Although Roache avoids the eroticism of most New Adult novels, this book is still not geared to high school students.


I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Inkyard Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Last Year of the War by Susan Meissner

Elise Sontag, the American-born daughter of German immigrants, has been raised in Iowa. She is peripherally aware of the war, but doesn’t give it much thought until her father is arrested on suspicion (based on circumstantial evidence) that he’s a Nazi sympathizer. Although he’s innocent, the country is looking for people to blame for the tragedy of Pearl Harbor and the U.S.’s entry into the war. So, the family is sent to an internment camp in Texas, where, separated from everything that’s familiar and living under armed guard, Elise begins to lose her identity as an American. When she meets fellow internee Mariko Inoue, a Japanese-American teen from Los Angeles, she finally has a friend who she can compare stories with and plan a future together in New York City when they both turn 18. Unfortunately, neither anticipates that their families will be repatriated to their parents’ native countries, leaving behind everything they know and facing great danger as the Allies advance and the war winds down. Will they survive the war and, if so, will they ever make it back home?

Unlike Susan Meissner’s three other 5* books I’ve read (As Bright as Heaven, Secrets of a Charmed Life, and A Fall of Marigolds), this one was a disappointment. The premise was intriguing, but the execution was too much narrative and too little dialogue. It read more like a history book than historical fiction and, as such, characters weren’t well-developed and the emotions felt muted. It is a first-person narrative from Elise’s point of view as an old woman with worsening Alzheimer’s, so the focus is on herself with very little of Mariko’s story since she was unaware of what happened to her friend after the war. Meissner clearly did her research and, for those not familiar with the history, it is interesting to learn of the fate of German Americans during WWII and the depiction of life and death in Germany near the end of the war. It is also surprising to learn that prejudice amongst internees was just as fierce as it was outside the barbed wire fences. Unfortunately, the descriptive narrative bogged down the story and, without Mariko’s backstory, the brief reunion of the two friends after many decades didn’t make much sense or pack the emotional wallop one would expect. Overall, not a bad story, but not on a par with her other novels.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Next to Last Mistake by Amalie Jahn

5*

Tess Goodwin, Iowa farm girl, lover of cows, chess player, and best friend to Zander, the boy next door, is blindsided when her father re-enlists in the military and moves the family to Fayetteville, North Carolina. She worries that she’ll lose her relationship with Zander despite his assurance “You’re always gonna be a part of my life, even if you’re no longer a part of my days”, that she’ll be all alone without him acting as her “relationship liaison”, and that she won’t be able to adjust to a bigger school in an unfamiliar place. When she sees the casualty count billboard on the base at Ft. Bragg (“incentivizing the practice of staying alive”), her fear for her father’s safety is actualized. On her first day of school, she meets Leonetta who, along with new friends Alice and Summer, helps Tess navigate the racially and economically-diverse landscape that her homogeneous town in Iowa didn’t prepare her for. As she stumbles and apologizes for unintentional microaggressions, she builds the first real female friendships she’s ever had and realizes that mean girls exist everywhere. Through letters and phone calls, she also comes to accept that her love for Zander is more than platonic. Is there hope for the two of them becoming more or will distance and time tear them apart?

This is an exceptional YA novel that breaks from the normal tropes and, instead, focuses on healthy friendships, sweet romance, and the strength and support of a loving family. Romance, though present, isn’t the main focus. At its heart, it is the story of platonic love between friends. Jahn uses blond, blue-eyed Tess’s friendship with two African-American girls to highlight the issues of racism, “voluntary isolationism” in peer groups, and white privilege without becoming preachy. By using first person and liberal dialogue, she easily invites us into her characters’ lives. And when tragedy strikes, our tears are inevitable. Highly recommended for libraries serving teens.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Light Messages Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

XL by Scott Brown

4*


Will Daughtry is a late bloomer, just shy of 5 feet tall, and both he and his family are losing hope that he’ll ever grow. The one positive in his life are his friendships with stepbrother Will (6’3”) and Monica (5’10”) who he’s loved since age 11. After an especially upsetting 16th birthday, when he’s given a “clown car” as a gift and then catches Will and Monica kissing, he gets really angry. Virtually overnight, he begins to grow…at a rate of 2 inches a month. For the first time in his life, he’s happy and finally “seen,” by girls and by coaches. By the time he tops 7 feet, his “nice guy” persona is dissolving and it’s starting to affect his relationship with Drew and Monica. Add to this mix a social media troll who’s threatening him and stirring up the pot, and a day of reckoning is imminent.

There’s so much to recommend this book. With its humor, focus on sports (primarily basketball and surfing) and the male protagonist POV, it will appeal to teenage boys. Brown’s extensive use of gorilla interaction as a metaphor for the three protagonists’ relationship highlights just how little we’re removed from apes. All characters are well fleshed-out, and Monica is a strong, fearless female. In a YA field populated with themes of death, abuse, parental neglect and suicidal ideation, it’s refreshing to have a story that addresses these issues without them taking center stage. The only minor cons are that there is no answer as to what is causing Will’s growth spurt and whether it will stop, his whining and callous behavior, and Tolkien references that will stump those not familiar with his stories. Ultimately, its messages are “Be careful what you wish for; it might just happen” and that nice guys don’t always finish last. As Will observed while watching the beta male gorilla Mike, “Was Mike nice because that was his nature? Or because that was his context?” and what happens when the context changes?

Recommended for ages 13 and up with minimal swearing and violence (except between gorillas) and sexual references that are alluded to but not described.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Knopf Books for Young Readers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.