Weekly Reads: The Cheerleaders

The Cheerleaders is a teen book that I heard a lot of buzz about before it came out. I had an e-ARC of it, but I didn't get through it before the book was published. I don't read a ton of mysteries, but this one seemed up my alley and a possible contender for the YA book list for the state, and I serve on that committee. I have never read anything by Kara Thomas, so I was excited when my library finally got the book in.

It was a PAGE TURNER. I thought I had things figured out a few times, and I was really sucked into how everything unfolded. A great mystery for teens and adults who like to read YA.

My rating: 4.5 stars

Summary from goodreads:

There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook.

First there was the car accident—two girls gone after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know why he did it. Monica’s sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they lost.

That was five years ago. Now the faculty and students at Sunnybrook High want to remember the lost cheerleaders. But for Monica, it’s not that easy. She just wants to forget. Only, Monica’s world is starting to unravel. There are the letters in her stepdad’s desk, an unearthed, years-old cell phone, a strange new friend at school. . . . Whatever happened five years ago isn’t over. Some people in town know more than they’re saying. And somehow Monica is at the center of it all.

There are no more cheerleaders in Sunnybrook, but that doesn’t mean anyone else is safe. 

Weekly Reads: Literally

I was really excited to pick up Literallyespecially after it was compared to the movie Stranger Than Fiction. It was a really fast read and I was excited to see how it would finish up, but I was slightly underwhelmed with the ending.

My rating: 3.5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

A girl realizes her life is being written for her in this unique, smart love story that is Stranger Than Fiction for fans of Stephanie Perkins.

Annabelle’s life has always been Perfect with a capital P. Then bestselling young adult author Lucy Keating announces that she’s writing a new novel—and Annabelle is the heroine. 

It turns out, Annabelle is a character that Lucy Keating created. And Lucy has a plan for her. 

But Annabelle doesn’t want to live a life where everything she does is already plotted out. Will she find a way to write her own story—or will Lucy Keating have the last word? 

The real Lucy Keating’s delightful contemporary romance blurs the line between reality and fiction, and is the perfect follow-up for readers who loved her debut Dreamology, which SLJ called, “a sweet, quirky romance with appealing characters.”

Weekly Reads: More Happy Than Not

More Happy Than Not is one of the books I was most excited to read this summer after hearing tons of hype about the debut novelist. It was being compared to Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind in a YA book. Since that's my favorite movie, obviously I had to read it.

It. Was. Amazing.

I loved it, and I didn't want it to end.

Read it, you won't regret it.

My rating: 5 stars.

Summary from goodreads:

Happiness shouldn't be this hard…

The Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-relief procedure seems too good to be true to Aaron Soto -- miracle cure-alls don't tend to pop up in the Bronx projects. But Aaron can't forget how he's grown up poor or how his friends aren't always there for him. Like after his father committed suicide in their one bedroom apartment. Aaron has the support of his patient girlfriend, if not necessarily his distant brother and overworked mother, but it's not enough. 

Then Thomas shows up. He has a sweet movie-watching setup on his roof, and he doesn't mind Aaron's obsession with a popular fantasy series. There are nicknames, inside jokes. Most importantly, Thomas doesn't mind talking about Aaron's past. But Aaron's newfound happiness isn't welcome on his block. Since he's can't stay away from Thomas or suddenly stop being gay, Aaron must turn to Leteo to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he is.

Adam Silvera's extraordinary debut novel offers a unique confrontation of race, class and sexuality during one charged near-future summer in the Bronx.