Genre: Romance

Pumpkin Heads

Every autumn all through high school, Josiah and Deja have worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say goodbye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September first.

But this Halloween is different—Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.

Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if—instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut—they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years…

What if their last shift was an adventure?

For three years, Josiah has had a crush on Marcy, a girl he only sees when they work at the pumpkin patch. On the last night of work, Deja talks Josiah into skipping their shift so Josiah can find Marcy and finally talk to her. Reluctantly, Josiah goes along with Deja’s plan. Readers will fall in love with the two characters as they explore the pumpkin patch looking for Marcy. Josiah is shy, sweet, and afraid of rejection, while Deja is confident, outgoing, and completely determined to have Josiah meet the girl of his dreams.

Pumpkin Heads brings all the joys of fall to life—the food, the corn maze, the pumpkins, and the friends. Throughout it all, Deja and Josiah discuss the idea of fate versus free will. The two friends reminisce about their years working at the pumpkin patch and worry about what the future will bring. As the two race against time trying to find Marcy, the story includes some wonderful patches of humor. For example, when Josiah worries about leaving the succotash booth, Deja says, “For God’s sake, Josie—true love trumps lima beans!”

Pumpkin Heads will encourage readers to be bold and live without regrets. Although the plot is a bit predictable, the main characters are truly unique. In the end, Josiah realizes that people cannot be judged by their looks. The only way to truly know someone is to talk to them. The graphic novel is illustrated in the orange and brown hues of fall, and each page has 1-8 sentences of text. The story is a quick read that will leave readers with a smile.

 Sexual Content

  • Deja runs into an ex-girlfriend and an ex-boyfriend.
  • Deja and Josiah see a couple kissing in the corn maze.
  • Deja asks Josiah, “Are you about to kiss me?” Josiah freaks out. After a short conversation, they kiss.

Violence

  • A goat runs around smashing pumpkins and trying to ram people.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Oh God” is used as an exclamation once.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Josiah and Deja show up at the succotash booth, a worker says, “Thank the Lord!”
  • Deja sees a girl crying, so she gives the girl a snack. Deja asks, “Why doesn’t God want me to have snacks?”

Starry Eyes

Zori and Lennon used to be best friends. Now they are each other’s worst enemy. They go out of their way to avoid each other, which is difficult to do when you go to the same school and live next door to each other.

When a friend invites Zori to a camping trip, Zori thinks this will be an opportunity to have some fun. No one told her that Lennon would be there. After a series of unfortunate events, Zori and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone.

With no one but each other for company, the two finally begin to hash out their issues. They slowly begin to understand each other, but they still have to fight the forces of nature. Can they work together and make it out of the California wilderness as friends?

Told from Zori’s point of view, Starry Night takes a winding trip and gives the reader a peek into Zori’s home life, friendship life, and love life. Unfortunately, Zori’s controlling, insecure nature makes her difficult to like. Zori is not the only boy crazy, but she agrees to go on a trip to advance her social standing. In the end, Zori discovers that her friends have been keeping secrets from her and that one friend has a grudge against her. So, it’s not a huge surprise when Zori’s friends sneak away in the early morning, leaving Zori and Lennon on their own.

None of the characters have healthy relationships with each other or with their parents. Zori is hiding the fact that her father is having an affair. Lennon allows Zori’s father to blackmail him, which is why he’s been avoiding Zori. In an effort to make Lennon jealous, Zori quickly finds a new boy to make out with. Instead of engaging readers with an interesting, plausible plot, Bennett relies on sexual desire and stupid teenage behavior to pull readers in. To make matters worse, the plot is often unbelievable and the characters unmemorable.

Starry Night is a predictable romance that would be best left on the shelf. If readers are looking for a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, Crossing the Line by Simone Elkeles would make a better choice. However, if you are looking for an entertaining romance, Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moren or Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo would be excellent alternatives.

Sexual Content

  • Zori’s parents have a wellness clinic, which is next to a shop that sells adult sex toys and is run by two lesbian women. Zori often talks about the types of toys for sale, such as butt plugs and cock rings. The shop “has a themed display window that the owners change once a month. This month it’s a forest, and like toadstools, a curated collection of bright rubber dildos rise from fake grass.”
  • Zori thinks it’s “kind of hard to ignore the giant vaginal-shaped sign out front.” She refers to the shop as “dildo land.”
  • Zori sees a photo album that shows her dad and another woman. “He’s got his arms wrapped around her, and—in one photo—is even kissing her neck.”
  • During spring break a boy kisses Zori at a party.
  • Zori uses her telescope to look through the neighbor’s window. She sees Lennon undress. Zori thinks, “holy mother of God, when did he get all…built? …He’s too lean to be buff.”
  • Zori has sex with a boy who was moving because “we were never going to see each other again.” Afterward she took three pregnancy tests “just to be triple certain.” Later, Zori finds out that the boy told his friends that they “hooked up.”
  • When Zori is preparing for a camping trip, she thinks about the boys who will be there. “I certainly hope there will be roaming hands.”
  • Someone asks Lennon, “Is it true that your moms were, like, together with your dad all at the same time… I mean all three of them.”
  • During a conversation, a boy says, “Did you know he and his best friend Neal Cassady both slept with Carolyn Cassady, Neal’s wife? Wild, huh?” Later, someone says, “Kerouac drank himself to death. Neal Cassady screwed anything that moved and was a total misogynist… Then he died of barbiturates abuse.”
  • At the campground, there is a “carved wooden statue that looks like two squirrels having sex.”
  • A girl says she is getting naked with her boyfriend “in the sauna later.”
  • A boy tells his friend, “your mom is hot.”
  • Before the story begins, Zori and Lennon did a “Great Experiment, in which we tried to incorporate intense make-out sessions in our normal relationship without telling anyone.” Zori thinks kissing Lennon was weird, but “also very nice. So nice that I can’t think about it right now, because it makes me flustered.”
  • Lennon tried to rent a hotel room so he could have sex with Zori after the homecoming dance.
  • When Lennon helps Zori with her backpack, she wonders if she wants him to touch her. She thinks, “I can’t afford to let my imagination run wild around him. The last time that happened I ended up in his lap on a park bench with his hands up my shirt.”
  • One of the boys has “been with” all three girls who are on the trip.
  • A girl tells Zori, “your skeevy dad tried to sleep with Michelle Johnson’s mom after the Olympic fund-raiser in Berkeley this spring.”
  • Zori has neurotic dreams about Lennon, but the dreams are not described. She thinks, “We just started talking again, and my body is so stupid that it’s already having erotic dreams about him, which is what got me into trouble with him in the first place.”
  • Lennon sees Zori “kissing Andre in front of [her] locker.”
  • Zori tells Lennon, “Andre and I had sex one time. Once! You probably screwed Jovana’s brains out for months!” Lennon tells her, “And yeah, we had sex. But I wasn’t in love with her.”
  • As Zori and Lennon fight, Lennon kisses her. “He kisses me roughly. Completely unyielding. His hand is on my head, holding me in place… I kiss him back.” The two make out for about one page and then are interrupted.
  • Lennon and Zori are talking when, “softly, slowly, his lips graze over mine. His mouth is soft, and his hands are roaming up my back. I exhale a shaky breath, and he kisses me: once, briefly. Warmth flickers in my chest.” Zori goes to unbuckle his pants when there is a scream. They leave the tent to find out what’s going on. The scene is described over a page and a half.
  • Lennon and Zori have sex. First, “we both pounce on each other at the same time… My legs wrap around his hips, and he’s holding me against the tree, pinning me as he warms my neck with kisses…” When they undress, Zori thinks, “I CAN SEE EVERYTHING, and I can’t stop looking—I don’t even care that I’m shivering in my bra and panties in the middle of the woods… It’s actually happening. It’s good, and a little awkward, and sometimes funny, because wow, human bodies are weird. But it’s also more than I expected—than I even hoped.” The scene is described over eight pages, but they stop and have a conversation before they have sex.
  • The story implies that Lennon and Zori have sex in the back seat of a car.

Violence

  • When Zori’s friend is mean, Zori thinks, “I sort of want to punch her in the boobs.”
  • Someone tells a story about a family that went camping and got lost. “An animal had eaten the husband’s leg.”
  • When Lennon tries to get a hotel room for him and Zori, Zori’s dad “demanded to know if my moms had sanctioned this. He called them ‘dyke heathens.’” Then, Lennon hit Zori’s dad. Lennon said, “After I landed the punch, he started to come after me, but one of the hotel employees stepped in.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • At the campground, the adults have wine served with dinner.
  • Zori watches as a couple of her friends steal wine. Later, she finds out that a couple of her friends got drunk that night. One drunk boy “Pissed on a yurt.”
  • Zori’s mom gives her “miracle weed lotion” to put on her hives.
  • Lennon’s father overdoses on pain pills.
  • A boy sends Lennon a text, “asking if I can get him weed again.”

Language

  • Profanity is used often. Profanity includes ass, bastards, crap, bitches, damn, dick, fuck, god-damn, holy hell, hell, shit, and smart-ass.
  • Zori sees a “motherfucking snake.”
  • Oh God, God, Jesus, Oh Sweet Lord, Christ, and other variations are frequently used as an exclamation.
  • Zori thinks, “Oh for the love of God” a few times.
  • The phrase “crap on toast” is used several times.
  • Lennon says that Zori’s dad is a dick, a scumbag, and that he has “sticks that are stuck up his ass.”
  • Lennon tells a girl, “You’re being a huge asshole, you know that?” The girl tells Lennon, “Brett likes you, and you’ve been nothing but a prick to him since we left Milita Hills.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • After Zori sees a picture of her dad kissing another woman, she thinks, “Thank God the normal clinic receptionist came in to take over for me at lunch.”
  • When a boy sees Zori spying on him, she thinks, “If there’s a God above, please let him or her grant me the power of time travel, so I can rewind the clock and completely avoid this nightmare.”
  • Lennon thinks, “Thank God for small favors.”
  • One of Lennon’s moms has no tolerance for thieves. Zori thinks, “May God have mercy on anyone who tries to shoplift vibrators from Toys in the Attic…”
  • Zori is distracted when Lennon is “feeling me up.” Because she can’t concentrate, Lennon asks Zori, “Are you saying I’ve got magic hands, like Jesus?”

Serious Moonlight

Birdie has been raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents. With no friends, Birdie spent her time reading mystery books. Birdie’s overactive imagination keeps her entertained. When her grandmother dies, Birdie’s world expands. She takes a job working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel.

Birdie hopes that her new job will give her the opportunity to be brave and solve a mystery. When her cute coworker, Daniel Aoki, has a mystery to solve, he wants Birdie’s help. The two come together to investigate a hotel guest, who they think is a famous reclusive writer. Together they embark on an adventure to uncover the writer’s identity. As the two try to solve the mystery, Birdie must also try to understand her growing feelings for Daniel.

With a wide variety of unique characters, Serious Moonlight delves into the complications that come with relationships. Both Daniel and Birdie are connected by their love of mystery as well as the fact that their fathers are not present in their lives. Birdie struggles with understanding her feelings for Daniel, especially since the first time they met they had sex. Like many teens, Birdie has questions about sex, relationships, and her own motives.

Told from Birdie’s point of view, readers can understand Birdie’s insecurities, worries, and confusion. Many teens will relate to Birdie because she is a likable character who is just trying to figure out what adulthood looks like. Birdie has a positive relationship with her grandfather and her aunt, who want to help her navigate life’s difficulties. By the end of the story, Birdie learns that “Missing people is hard. Letting new people inside is harder. But the reward for making the effort was greater than I could have imagined… It took me a long time to figure out that not everyone in my life was meant to stay. But using that armor didn’t shield me from future heartache. And even heartache felt is a million times better than running away.”

While Serious Moonlight has some light, humorous moments, it is not a Hallmark romance. The story hits on several difficult topics, including grief, sexual relationships, and having a child out of wedlock. The descriptive sexual content and the profane language may surprise many readers. The ending of the story has a few surprises, but Birdie’s conflicts are neatly wrapped up in a way that is not necessarily realistic.

In the end, Serious Moonlight is an entertaining, suspenseful story best suited for mature readers. Readers who are looking for an entertaining, but tamer teen romance should read Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo or What Light by Jay Asher.

Sexual Content

  • Birdie doesn’t know who her father is because her mother “got knocked up by an unknown boy when she was a rebellious seventeen-year-old.”
  • Birdie loses her virginity to a boy she just met. They have sex in the back of his car. Birdie wasn’t thinking “because once we got back there and clothes started getting unbuttoned and unzipped, it all happened so fast… So when it was over, I bolted.”
  • Birdie reads Seattle’s local alt-weekly city paper. When she reads the ads, “a few were just begging for kinky hookups.”
  • When Birdie tells her aunt about having sex, her aunt says, “Do you know how much weird sex I’ve had in my life… Sometimes it’s good; sometimes it’s awkward. Sometimes it’s just plain bad. It’s never the same.” Their conversation lasts for two pages.
  • Daniel tells Birdie about his father. “My dad didn’t want to have anything to do with me, so he basically gave my mom a big hunk of cash for an abortion, washed his hands, and said adios.”
  • Birdie thinks back to when she had sex. “I was transported back into his car, and my hands were in his hair, and he was kissing me into a wobbly, weak pulp.”
  • While driving a customer, Daniel “heard some Amazon bigwig order two male prostitutes on his phone.”
  • Birdie has a fling with one of her friend’s brothers. After basketball practice, “he kissed me by the fence. Then again, two days later, for much longer. Secret basketball make-out sessions became a regular thing for a few weeks.”
  • Daniel tells Birdie that it was a mistake to have sex because it was “pretty awful.”
  • While at a party, Birdie and Daniel are in character. They pretend to be teachers. When they talk about who their characters are, Daniel says, “We have ten [kids]… You couldn’t stay away from me. I tried to resist, but the smell of chalk dust and blackboards excited you, so we were constantly having sex in the classroom where we taught.”
  • While at the party, Birdie and Daniel are alone when Birdie kisses him. “Oh God, did he kiss me back. His mouth was on mine. Warm. Open. Eager. He kissed me like he meant it…” They were interrupted by other guests.
  • Birdie goes into a store and buys condoms. She’s surprised by the variety: “Fiery ice. Studded. Sensitive. Extra sensitive… Armor of the Gods.”
  • Daniel tells Birdie that he had sex with “someone I had a crush on.”
  • When Daniel tells Birdie that he loves her, they kiss. “We kissed like we were desperate, separated for years and had only minutes to spare until the world ended, rushing, breathless, all roaming hands-teeth-tongue…”
  • Birdie and Daniel kiss. Birdie “Kissed him back without thinking. His lips were soft and warm… Pleasure flooded my limbs. Then he was pulling away…” Daniel gives Birdie oral sex. At first, Birdie “nearly blacked out. First from embarrassment, then from pleasure.” The scene is described over two pages.
  • Daniel’s friend teases him about his good mood. His friend joked “about me having a look on my face as if I’d spent the weekend in Las Vegas with a bunch of male hookers and a bag of cocaine.”
  • While at work, Daniel and Birdie “may have taken advantage of our working situation and made use of an unbooked hotel room on our lunch break.”
  • Birdie’s aunt becomes pregnant after spending time with her ex-boyfriend. She says, “We’d been texting. One thing led to another, and we spent the weekend together in Scottsdale.”
  • Birdie’s mother died because of complications from a pregnancy. Birdie finds out that her mother “didn’t know who the father was, and she wasn’t planning on keeping it.”
  • Birdie and Daniel kiss, and “his mouth came down on mine. He kissed me quickly—small, desperate kisses all over my mouth, until I flung my arms around him and kiss him back.”

Violence

  • In the past, Daniel tried to kill himself. He “tried to overdose and was found in the school library by a janitor.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • Birdie’s grandfather was in an accident, which “made him dependent upon mild opiates.”
  • When Birdie falls asleep on the ferry, an employee wakes her up. Birdie was “worried he thought I might be a drunkard or a heroin addict.”
  • During a dinner party, the adults have champagne. One of the guests gets drunk.
  • Birdie goes with her aunt to an art dealer’s house, where he has a “tray of vodka bottles.”
  • Birdie gets high when she accidentally eats gummy worms that are medicated with cannabis.
  • Daniel and Birdie go to an opera where “patrons cluster around a cocktail bar, drinking and chatting.”

Language

  • Profanity is used often. Profanity includes asshole, crap, bastard, damn, fuck, hell, jackass, piss, and shit. For example after they have sex, Daniel tells Birdie that, “I feel like an asshole, and I wish I had a time machine so that I could go back and change everything.”
  • Jesus, Christ, God, Oh My God and oh God are used as an exclamation occasionally.
  • When Birdie was ten, her aunt taught her “a dozen words that contained the word ‘cock.’”
  • Birdie’s aunt tells her, “your mother was a goddess. Not a whore. Not a sinner. You know this.”
  • Birdie says “GD” instead of saying “Goddammit.”
  • Daniel tells Birdie a story about a man who was “a real prick.”
  • Daniel calls someone “a total dick.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Birdie’s “grandmother had been religious. However, Grandpa veered toward angel sighting and UFOs and people communicating with their long-lost Aunt Margie from Topeka.”
  • When her aunt embarrasses her, Birdie thinks, “If there were an all-powerful being that ruled the universe, it would have surely heard my desperate prayer to please, oh please, have mercy and strike me down. I needed a natural disaster pronto—earthquake, tornado, tsunami. Anything.”
  • Birdie is confused about Daniel and thinks, “I wished someone could tell me what to do about Daniel. I wished I believed in something, so I could ask for a sign. Fate. God. Myself. Elvis.”

The Princess and the Fangirl

Everyone knows that Jessica Stone hates everything to do with the beloved sci-fi franchise Starfield. When she signed on to play the beloved Princess Amara, Jess was expecting to use the role as a springboard into bigger and better films. But being an actress in a sci-fi universe comes with an overwhelming amount of criticism. Jess can barely handle the hatred she gets from fans on the internet, and she certainly isn’t looking forward to being surrounded by them at the annual ExcelsiCon.

Starfield fangirl, Imogen Lovelace, practically grew up on the convention floor. Every year her family runs a booth at ExcelsiCon, but this year Imogen has her own mission. She wants to #SaveAmara from being killed off, and she’s got thousands of signatures on an online petition to prove she’s not the only one. When an unfortunate case of mistaken identity leaves Imogen onstage at a panel in Jessica’s place, Imogen takes the opportunity to speak out in favor of saving the Princess.

Jessica is furious, telling Imogen she will ruin her if she even attempts such a thing again. But when an incredibly confidential script to the Starfield sequel leaks online, and Jessica’s script is nowhere to be found, she’s afraid the blame will fall to her. Jess needs to expose the real culprit before the end of the Con or risk losing her career. The solution? Trade places with Imogen so she can scope out the Con herself, a plan that turns out to be much easier said than done.

The Princess and the Fangirl is a modern-day Prince and the Pauper with a fandom twist. Both Jessica and Imogen think they can gain something by stepping into each other’s shoes, but they both end up with an unexpected perspective. Jess is longing for anonymity and an escape from the harsh gaze of the Starfield fandom. She finds herself dropped right into the middle of it all, getting a first-hand look at how the stories she always viewed as inconsequential can bring people together. Meanwhile, Imogen, who is searching for a sense of purpose, is eager to use her newfound influence to right a few wrongs. But her peek behind the scenes reveals a disturbing darker side of Starfield that only Jessica Stone gets to see.

This story is technically a sequel to Geekerella, bringing readers back to ExcelsiCon one year later. There are a few cameos from familiar faces, but Geekerella can still stand on its own. Fans of romance will enjoy the fact that each of the girls has an adorable love interest, while the mystery of the leaked script will keep readers on their toes. Both Jessica and Imogen struggle with self-image issues that teen readers will find very relatable. And, like in Geekerella, Poston’s commentary on fandom is clever and meaningful: behind every Princess, there is a normal girl.

Sexual Content

  • Jess contemplates her role as Princess Amara, thinking about how she’d accepted the role expecting it to launch her career into more meaningful roles that wouldn’t require her to look “hot in a suffocating dress while running in heels.”
  • Imogen makes several sci-fi references, including a mention of “sexy David Tennant,” the actor who played the Tenth Doctor on the television series Doctor Who.
  • While onstage next to Darien, the actor who plays Prince Carmindor in the Starfield movie, Imogen thinks of him as “the love of [her] Tumblr life.”
  • Jess is jealous of how the Starfield fandom has grown to love Darien while they continue to harass her. “Darien sort of got the same blowback when he was announced to play Federation Prince Carmindor—which is how he met his girlfriend, btw—but it died off as the fandom embraced him. Now they write love letters about his inky-black eyelashes and immaculate abs while I get dissertations on how the small mole on the left side of my mouth has ruined the beauty of Princess Amara.”
  • Imogen tosses a #SaveAmara pin to a cosplayer in a “sexy Xenomorph” costume.
  • When one of Imogen’s moms asks the other to put a Captain America figurine on the top shelf of their display, she makes a joke that could be taken sexually. She says, “I could’ve sworn he belonged on the bottom.”
  • Imogen says that her little brother met his boyfriend in the astronomy lab. Although she thinks they probably “spent more time studying each other’s astrological compatibility than learning solar physics.”
  • Imogen doesn’t look like either of her moms. Imogen says, “…although Kathy carried both Milo and me. I look like the sperm donor apparently.”
  • Ethan, Jessica’s best friend, changes his shirt in front of her. Jessica thinks, “Sure he’s pretty cute, but my eyes don’t really linger. He’d be a catch if someone burns all of his nerd shirts and puts him in some jeans that actually show he has a butt.”
  • When Jessica looks through the comments on her social media, they include, “I can tell her where she can put those pretty lips” and “fixed her chest with small kitties lol [censored photo].”
  • Imogen literally runs into Ethan, spilling coffee all over him. Before she recognizes him as Jessica Stone’s rude assistant, she thinks that he’s hot. “He’s very very Hot like I-want-to-be-stuck-in-an-elevator-with-you hot, not we-are-now-mortal-enemies-because-I-just-spilled-my-coffee-on-you-while-not-paying-attention hot.”
  • Before trading places, Jessica makes a list of rules for Imogen to follow. Rule number four is, “Don’t flirt with anyone.”
  • Jessica doesn’t give her number out freely because someone “put it on an unsavory message board.”
  • Imogen thinks that contact lenses feel like “condoms for [her] eyeballs.”
  • Harper, Imogen’s friend, is selling her fan art out of a booth next to someone “hawking sexy pin ups of burly men.”
  • When Jess first sees Harper, her mind blanks because Harper “is very pretty, with delicate features, brown skin, and natural hair pulled into twin puffs on the sides of her head.”
  • Harper’s artwork is displayed on a board in the boot. Jessica describes it as a “copious amount of fan art of Princess Amara in the arms of various characters—men and women.”
  • Actor Vance Reigns is introduced as the villain for the Starfield Imogen finds him very attractive. “He is face meltingly hot. His shoulders and chest are broad, his torso tapers down to thin hips and sturdy legs. I mean, not that his legs wouldn’t be sturdy, but you know the kind of legs where you just know, under the molten-golden trousers, that he can basically smash watermelons between them? Yeah that’s the kind of thighs I’m picturing, and I think my knees have gone numb and dear god he’s too close.”
  • When Jess sees a picture of Princess Amara embracing a female Starfield character, she says, “I can’t help but blush seeing a girl with my likeness kissing the likeness of Fiona Oro who plays Zorine.”
  • Imogen notices that Ethan is wearing Captain America-themed shoes, “And then I’m just thinking of Ethan punching Nazis, and that’s kinda hot, actually.”
  • When Ethan heads off to watch a panel, Imogen says, “Have fun with the tres horny bois.”
  • Imogen thinks she can tell that Ethan likes Jess “by the way I caught him looking at me while I was posing for pictures with a seven-year-old Carmindor, the softness of his gaze, the curl of his lips upward ever so slightly. He must’ve forgotten for a second that I wasn’t the real Jess. Those looks are probably only for her.”
  • At the Stellar party, Jess sees two girls kiss goodbye. She thinks, “I don’t mean to stare but their kiss is so simple and easy, like saying see you later, that I don’t think any thought was put into it, I wish I knew what that was like.”
  • Harper and Jess tell each other about their first kisses. Harper says, “My first kiss was a seven-minutes-in-heaven thing. I was at a birthday party in middle school. It was…terrible.” Jess’s first kiss was on a movie set. Jess says, “He was older and I was, like, fifteen. His stubble was scratchy and it gave me a rash—and he smelled like weed. He’d been smoking all day.”
  • Jess realizes she has feelings for Harper. Jess thinks, “I have a crush on this girl with curly dark hair and ink smudges on her brown fingers and trouble tucked into her maroon-colored lips.”
  • Imogen, overwhelmed by her feelings, jumps on Ethan in the pool. “Turns out he’s a lot heavier than I thought, especially for a beanpole. And his torso is very solid. Are those abs I feel? Oh sweet baby Daleks, please don’t tell me Ethan actually has a nice bod.”
  • While in the pool, Imogen and Ethan are very close. Imogen thinks, “I have to remind myself that I can’t like him, but it’s hard when a droplet of water beads at the end of a lock of raven hair in front of his face, and falls on his cheek, and rolls down his cheek slowly, languidly, like I want to run my finger down his jawline. It’s like there’s no one else but us in the world, and his eyes navigate steadily to my lips.” They almost kiss, but Imogen pulls away at the last second.
  • After having spent the night talking to Harper, Jess thinks, “I am not a serial dater. I simply never cared… I’m not built to take a random person into a bedroom, I’m not wired to want those things, and so it made all those dates and chaste kisses with celebrities so easy.”
  • Jess dislikes the internet because it makes it easy for fans to forget about the people behind the characters. “Your hot take shouldn’t dehumanize me, or tell me that I’m wrong, or that I’m worthless, or a slut who slept on some casting couch for the role.”
  • Imogen’s ex-boyfriend shows up at a meet-and-greet. When they hug, “his hands slip low.”
  • While at dinner with Vance Reign, Imogen (disguised as Jess) discovers Vince has been trying to get the real Jess to go on a publicity date with him for a long time. He tries to kiss her, but she pushes him away.
  • Jess crashes the final Starfield panel. When she starts to leave, the director asks her where she’s going. Jess responds, “The horizon is wide, and I have a girl to kiss.”
  • Jess apologizes to Harper very publicly, and when the two of them are reunited, they kiss. Jessica says, “I give her the Starfield salute—You and I are made of stars—and I hope that’s enough. She smiles and presses her hands to mine in the same pose, and then slowly, finger by finger, they fall together—And she kisses me.” The description of the kiss is about half a page.
  • Imogen kisses Ethan. She takes “his face in my hands and pull him down to kiss me. He tastes like Cheerwine, his hands rising to cup the sides of my face.” The description lasts about half a page.
  • Jess and Harper meet to get coffee and kiss again. Jessica says, “I kiss her in front of the entire world, the first word on the first page of the rest of my life.”

Violence

  • When Jess discovers Imogen has taken her place on stage, she has some murderous thoughts. “I am going to kill her. I don’t even know her name but I don’t need her name to put her in an unmarked grave. I am going to chop her up into so many pieces that when alien archeologists find her bones in a thousand years they won’t even realize she was once human.”
  • Imogen’s younger brother calls her an embarrassing nickname. She tells him, “If you weren’t my brother and I didn’t love you, I’d strangle you with your own jockstrap.”
  • In a leaked scene from the Starfield sequel script, “A group of soldiers push CARMINDOR, tied up and beaten, into the middle of the council. CARMINDOR stumbles and collapses onto the dais. Blood drips from his mouth where he has been punched repeatedly.”
  • Imogen tells Ethan a story. “When I had to debate a guy over women’s reproduction he told me that women are too fragile to have control over their own bodies. I got kicked out of the club for kneeing him in the nards.”
  • Imogen’s ex-boyfriend, Jasper, shows up at a Jessica Stone meet and greet, causing trouble. Ethan steps in to get him to leave. “Jasper whirls around, fists clinched, ready to swing. I don’t have time to shout to Ethan that a punch is coming before he raises a hand and deflects the blow with his lower arm, grabbing Jasper by the shirt and pull-throwing him out through the nearest curtain.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Imogen claims to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time, like “delivering someone’s homework to a frat party when the cops show up.”
  • Harper invites Jess to join her at the Stellar Party, a space-themed party that her friends throw every year, where they “drink a little, sing some karaoke, stuff like that.”
  • In the hotel room where the Stellar Party is held, “on the kitchenette bar is a wall of liquor bottles and sodas.”
  • There is a drink at the Stellar Party called “Oh No.” Harper says, “Oh No is way more vodka than common sense.”
  • Imogen hugs her brother and notices that he smells like Stellar Party, “vape juice and Oh No.”

Language

  • Imogen uses the phrase “Starflame” in place of curse words frequently. “‘Starflame!’ I curse. ‘I’m so sorry.’”
  • When Imogen and Ethan run into each other a third time, she calls him a “nerfherder,” an insult from the Star Wars “‘He is possibly the worst nerfherder in the—’ I say, while at the same time he says, ‘She’s that monster of a girl I was telling you—’ We both stop mid-sentence.”
  • When Imogen puts on a wig in order to pass as Jess, she thinks “the whole bit about long hair being more feminine is Noxballs.”
  • Ethan gets upset at Imogen and calls her a “Rapscallion look-alike.”
  • After the incident with her ex-boyfriend, Imogen appreciates that the remaining fans in line are decent people, but she thinks, “I hate that some of the dickwads in their midst are not.”
  • Natalia Ford, the actress who originally played Amara, rescues Jess from a crowd of angry fans. Jess notices that she’s wearing a shirt “covered in a pattern of tiny, artistically rendered middle-fingers.”
  • Right before the final panel, the director is looking for Darien, who is busy helping enact the girl’s plan to reveal who stole the script. Imogen tells him, “He went to take a piss.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Imogen runs into her ex-boyfriend, she asks herself, “God why do I feel so horrible?”

by Evalyn Harper

 

Like a Love Story

Like a Love Story takes place in New York City in the late 1980s. The AIDS crisis is devastating gay communities, and activists are protesting the government’s reluctance to extend research or support to those affected. The narration rotates between three teenagers: Reza, Art, and Judy.

Reza is new in town, having recently immigrated to New York from Iran, where his family escaped a violent revolution. In the closet with a nearly hypochondriac fear of AIDS, Reza starts at a new school and soon meets Judy and Art, who have been best friends since childhood. Both Judy and Art are committed to gay culture and gay activism under the tutelage of Judy’s uncle Stephen, an AIDS patient and well-known member of the gay community. Art is an out-and-proud gay teenager, who is assertive and upfront about his identity. Brash and unafraid, Art is full of anger at the injustice of the AIDS crisis. Judy, a straight girl who shares Art’s love of Madonna and fashion, supports him in everything and shares his love of fashion and film.

A romance develops between Reza and Judy. But Reza, a closeted gay, knows he can only hold out for so long before his secret comes out. The first two acts of the novel largely concern their false relationship, eventual falling-out, and then the ensuing romance between Reza and Art. Each of the three narrators has a fairly equal stake in the plot, and each brings their own narration, perspective, and personality to the story. Like a Love Story is largely a coming-of-age story, but it is really three coming-of-age stories as each character grapples with their sexuality, their future, and their imminent emergence into the adult world.

Like a Love Story is essential reading for anyone who wants to learn about the AIDS crisis or the origins of the modern gay rights movement. Without preaching or lecturing, the narrative paints a rich and engaging portrait of the political climate through its three narrators. Each character in Like a Love Story has a completely unique voice; readers can open the book to any page and immediately know who is speaking.

Regardless of their own identities, readers will see themselves in the characters because of how authentically they are portrayed. Each character has uncertainty about their place in the world, an imperfect relationship with their parents, a faulty understanding of how the world works, and a yearning to belong—and readers get to see them grow as the story progresses.

 Like a Love Story has some of the most compelling adult figures in a genre where adults are often one-dimensional and cast to the side. The relationship that each teen has with their parents is complicated and imperfect, but masterfully written. It is genuinely heart-wrenching to see Art’s interactions with his homophobic parents, and it is genuinely moving to see Judy’s conversations with her mother evolve throughout the story.

Like a Love Story does not shy away from sexual content and depictions of sex acts, but it’s one of the few books that feels justified in its usage. Characters frequently talk of condoms and bodily fluids. The mechanics of AIDS transmission and the effects of the disease are explained as Uncle Stephen succumbs to infections. Readers who pick up this book in 2020 will already know the ending to some extent. Thanks to modern medicine, many people today can live full lives with HIV and new pharmaceuticals can help prevent transmission. However, the characters don’t know this, and they can only grieve the dead and dying members of their community while fighting for rights and recognition. The story highlights the importance of community, activism, and love.

Sexual Content

  • When asked how he knew he was gay, Art says, “I had a wet dream about Morrisey.”
  • During a make-out session, Judy tries to find out if Reza is aroused. “As nonchalant as I can, I move my hand down, feeling his crotch. I feel something hard. Is it him, or is it his zipper? I can’t even tell. I’ve never felt a hard-on before.”
  • Judy thinks, “Art told me once that the subway was the hottest place in the city, as in sexual heat, not physical temperature. He said that all those bodies rubbing against each other basically made it a clothed, co-ed bathhouse.”
  • Reza sees a naked male mannequin in a store window and thinks, “I look at the mannequin’s body and find myself getting a little hard. I cover my crotch with my hands. I imagine that Art is the mannequin, standing in the store window naked. How sick do you have to be to be turned on by a piece of plastic?”
  • After Reza sees a photo of Art, Reza thinks, “I need to stop thinking about him, and I know there’s only one way to do that. I lie back on my bed, close my eyes, and unzip my pants. I see Bartholomew Emerson Grant VI come to life, enter my room, climb into bed with me. He kisses me, undresses me, tells me not to be scared. But then he’s gone, and all I see are images of dying men with lesions.”
  • A big part of the second half of the plot is Reza’s shame and paranoia surrounding his sexual desires. Stephen teaches Art and Reza about safe sex and about how to use condoms safely. Stephen tells them, “If you want a tutorial, we can go home and practice with bananas. . . Lube is lubricant. Men need it, because we don’t naturally get wet down there . . . the jury is out on whether oral sex is safe or not, but my advice is to use a condom for that too.”
  • Stephen says, “The straight world has defined losing your virginity as intercourse. That’s their thing. But we get to define it for ourselves. And you never, ever have to do anything you don’t want to.”
  • Reza thinks, “I hate those words. Oral. Anal. I hate how graphic they are, how hostile they feel.”
  • In a photography darkroom, Art takes off his clothes for Reza. “There’s only one thing to take off. My boxer briefs. I remove them. I stand in front of him, exposed.” They kiss, but don’t do anything else.
  • Judy has an intimate moment with Reza’s brother, Saadi. As Judy makes out him, “It’s furious. Our tongues explore each other. Then his hands are all over me… his breath is heavy, and his hips are thrusting urgently. I feel what I never felt when Reza and I kissed, an erection. Saadi is so hard. He sits up and takes his polo off.” They don’t go all the way. “He wants to have sex, but I tell him I’m not ready.”
  • Art says, “The first time I read porn, I was twelve. I found my dad’s stash of Penthouse and Playboy magazines in the back of his closet. But Penthouse has these sex stories in them, and they were very hot because there were men in them.”
  • The characters all go to a Madonna performance wherein she masturbates onstage. The act is not described in detail.
  • When Art and Reza finally consummate their relationship, they use condoms and lube. Reza wraps “my legs around him, pulling him closer to me, or deeper into me, because he’s in me now. We thrust and grunt and sweat until we almost fall off the bed.” The scene takes up about three pages, but it is mostly dialogue and doesn’t go into more physical detail.

Violence

  • While attending a protest, Art hears bystanders say, “Hose those faggots down. They like that.”
  • During a protest, police officers “yank Art away and handcuff him.” The other police officer “pushes Reza to the ground.”
  • Some bullies begin to taunt Art, and he reacts violently. “My fingers tense into a fist. Before I know it, I leap out of my seat and tackle Darryl to the ground, taking him down like I’m one of the gorgeous ladies of wrestling. ‘Go to hell, you fucking ASSHOLE!’ I scream as he writhes below me, his scared, beefy body stronger than mine but unable to overpower the force of my rage. ‘Get off me, fag!’ he yells. ‘Not until I give you AIDS,’ I say, and I spit on his face.” Art describes later, “I pull Darryl’s foot toward my face. He pushes his leg up, kicking my chin hard in the process. My teeth hit my lips. My head doubles back, hits the wall with a thud… My eyes flicker with the shock of pain. When I open them, I see blood on my hand and on my shirt.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • At a party with some kids from school, Judy gets “drunk on fruit punch.” Her friend tells her, “You don’t want your parents to see you like this.”
  • When Uncle Stephen is on his deathbed, he asks for a glass of wine. Judy’s mom pours wine for him and a small glass for Judy.
  • Uncle Stephen has been taking morphine for his pain; by the time he dies, his bottle of morphine is empty.

Language

  • Profanity is used frequently. Profanity includes: fuck, shit, hell, ass, and damn.
  • “Oh my God” is often used as an exclamation.
  • Art is determined to reclaim the words “faggot” and “fag,” which is a recurring point throughout the story. Judy’s mom asks Art not to use the word because “I heard that word hissed at my brother like a dagger throughout his childhood, and I don’t want to hear it ever again.” They eventually agree to disagree.
  • After coming out, Reza has “heard every possible word a homosexual could be called . . . Faggot. Pansy. Mary. Butt pirate. Fruit. Turd burglar. Flamer. Nancy. Queen.”

Supernatural

  • Art can see “auras.” Readers might recognize them as a condition called synesthesia, but to Art they take on a spiritual and artistic significance. Art doesn’t “snap a photo unless I see its energy. I know they’re all black-and-white, but they have colors to me. Auras.”

Spiritual Content

  • Art says, “I think that if it weren’t for all the bullshit rules of Catholicism, then there would be no Madonna, because what is she if not a rebellion against all of this?”
  • In a church, Art thinks, “I don’t want to burn this place to the ground. What I want is to make them see that I AM HOLY. These thoughts of me and Reza, they are holy.”
  • A priest’s homily “makes multiple references to protecting ‘the unborn.’” Art thinks, “It’s amazing how gung-ho he is about saving the lives of fetuses, but then he turns a blind eye to all the actual humans DYING right in front of him.”
  • Art lights prayer candles in a church and thinks, “I know that I don’t believe in a God who can grant wishes, but if there’s even a chance that such a God exists, then I have some wishes I’d like granted.” He wishes for AIDS to be cured.

by Caroline Galdi

 

Pugs and Kisses

Ana Ramos has always wanted a dog of her own, but her mother has a no pet rule. That’s one of the reasons Ana is happy to walk her neighbor’s adorable pug, Osito. When Ana takes Osito to the park, Osito befriends another pug, whose owner is a cute boy named Calvin. When Calvin assumes that Osito belongs to Ana, she doesn’t correct him. After all, Ana probably won’t see Calvin again.

Then Calvin enrolls in Ana’s school and they have several classes together. When Calvin suggests setting up playdates for the two pugs, Ana pretends that Osito is her dog. Soon, Ana discovers that she’s telling lies to cover up the fact that she lied about Osito. As time goes by, Ana’s lies increase, and she’s using both her best friend and her sister to help keep her secret. Ana wants to fess up about her lies, but she’s afraid of Calvin’s reaction. How is Ana ever going to get out of this mess?

Ana and Calvin meet at the dog park and bond over their love of pugs. Even though Pugs and Kisses uses the traditional romantic movie formula, younger readers will enjoy the sweet story of Ana’s first crush. Middle graders will understand Ana’s confusion when it comes to her feelings for Calvin. When Calvin invites her over to his house for dinner, Ana isn’t sure if going to his house is a “date” or just two friends hanging out. One positive aspect of Ana’s crush on Calvin is that both Ana and Calvin are smart and do not try to hide their love of academics.

The story hits on topics that are important to middle graders: friendship, families, and crushes. Ana is an imperfect character that readers will be able to relate to. Ana is often frustrated with her family, worries about school, and wonders about her emerging feelings for Calvin. However, the story doesn’t just focus on Ana’s family and Calvin. Another positive aspect of Pugs and Kisses is that Ana’s Puerto Rican heritage is naturally integrated into the story. Readers will learn facts about Ana’s sister’s quinceañera and her neighborhood.

Despite the predictable plot, the pugs and cute awkward moments will appeal to younger readers. Pugs and Kisses will entertain readers who aren’t ready to read longer books such as The Selection series by Kiera Cass. Readers who want a light romance with more action should read the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter.

Sexual Content

  • At her sister’s quinceañera, Ana is so excited that Calvin forgave her that “without stopping to think, I stood up on my tiptoes and give him a kiss. My first kiss. He looked a little surprised when I pulled away, but he was smiling.”
  • After kissing Calvin, Ana says, “I can’t believe I kissed you.” Calvin replies, “I’m glad you did.” Then he put a hand on Ana’s waist and “pulled me even closer to him, and then he kissed me again.”

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Dang is used twice. When Ana asks a boy to her sister’s quinceañera, Ana’s friend says, “Dang girl, I’m impressed.”
  • Darn is used three times. Ana says, “Darn right, I didn’t choose the pug life. The pug life chose me.”
  • Crappy is used once. When her friend’s dog runs off, Ana thinks, “How dare they keep going after their crappy fencing-in job had led to Pancake getting out?”
  • When Ana says something insensitive and upsets her sister, Ana thinks, “I felt like a jerk.”
  • Ana realizes that she’s been preoccupied and didn’t help her neighbor enough, so she says, “I’ve been an idiot.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Twilight

When Bella’s mother gets remarried, Bella leaves her home in sunny Phoenix and goes to live with her father in the perpetually rainy town of Forks, Washington. Forks is a tiny, gloomy town and Bella is fully prepared to be miserable for her final two years of high school. She doesn’t expect anything interesting to happen in Forks; that is, until she meets Edward Cullen.

Something is different about Edward. Breathtakingly beautiful and from a wealthy family, he baffles Bella with wild mood swings. When they first meet, he instantly despises her to the point of frightening her. Then—after disappearing for a week—he appears perfectly cordial. But it’s not until Edward saves her life in a feat of superhuman strength that Bella realizes the Cullen family is guarding a dangerous secret. It would be smarter to walk away, but by the time she realizes that, it’s too late. Live or die, Bella has fallen in love with Edward and she can’t walk away no matter the consequences.

Twilight is an epic story of love overcoming all challenges. The unique storyline has spawned an entire subsection of supernatural YA novels. The well-developed cast of characters will make the story come alive and hook readers immediately. Bella is not an overpowered heroine; she is quiet and clumsy to a fault, but she is fiercely loyal and brave. Bella risks everything for love, a choice that not all adults will agree with, but that most readers will understand and respect as they follow Bella’s journey with eagerness and excitement.

Twilight is a delightful start to a wonderful quartet. Parents may not want younger readers to pick up this book as Bella lies to her father about her relationship with Edward, and Edward frequently climbs in Bella’s window and stays the night (though they don’t go further than kissing). Aside from that caveat, Twilight is a wonderful story that swept through a generation of young readers like wildfire and will continue to be picked up by swarms of readers in years to come.

Sexual Content

  • When Bella and Edward kiss for the first time, “Blood boiled under my skin, burned in my lips. My breath came in a wild gasp. My fingers knotted in his hair, clutching him to me. My lips parted as I breathed in his heady scent.”
  • The second time Bella and Edward kiss, “His fingers traced slowly down my spine, his breath coming more quickly against my skin. My hands were limp on his chest, and I felt lightheaded again. He tilted his head slowly and touched his cool lips to mine for the second time, very carefully, parting them slightly.”
  • Edward and Bella kiss a few more times. These kisses are described briefly, such as “for the shortest second, his lips were icy and hard against mine” or “his lips touched mine gently.”
  • When saying goodbye, Edward “leaned in to swiftly kiss me just under the edge of my jaw.”
  • Bella gets lost in a bad part of town and is followed by several men. She considers dropping her purse, “But a small, frightened voice in the back of my mind warned me that they might be something worse than thieves.” Edward rescues her.
  • Bella asks Edward if marriage for vampires is “the same as it is for humans.” She then says, “Well, I did wonder…about you and me…someday…” Edward says he doesn’t think that would be possible, as humans are so breakable.

Violence

  • Esme tells Bella that after her baby died, “It broke my heart – that’s why I jumped off the cliff, you know.”
  • After Carlisle became a vampire, he “tried to destroy himself…He jumped from great heights…He tried to drown himself in the ocean.”
  • Bella is tortured and almost killed by a vampire. “A crushing blow struck my chest…He was over me at once, his foot stepping down hard on my leg. I heard the sickening snap before I felt it. But then I did feel it, and I couldn’t hold back my scream of agony.” This scene takes place over three pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Once, Bella “did something I’d never done before. I deliberately took unnecessary cold medicine – the kind that knocked me out for a good eight hours…tomorrow would be complicated enough without me being loopy from sleep deprivation.”

Language

  • Bella thinks, “Forks was literally my personal hell on earth.”
  • Bella says, “Holy crow!” a few times.
  • Bella says, “Darn it,” once.
  • Damn is used three times. Once, Edward says “Damn it, Bella! You’ll be the death of me.” Another time, Bella says “Dammit, Edward! Where are you taking me?”
  • When Jacob’s father sends him to warn Bella, Jacob asks, “Should I tell him you said to butt the hell out?”

Supernatural

  • A legend of the indigenous Quileute people “claims that [they] descended from wolves – and that the wolves are our brothers still.”
  • Edward and his family are vampires, and Bella meets another coven of vampires that pass through Forks. Unlike most vampires, Edward and his family survive off the blood of animals, so they do not have to murder people.
  • Some vampires have special abilities. Edward can read minds; his brother Jasper can control the emotions of those around him; his sister Alice can see bits and pieces of the future.
  • Edward tells Bella about a time in his life when he was a true vampire who fed on humans. He says that he “had a typical bout of rebellious adolescence…I wasn’t sold on [Carlisle’s] life of abstinence, and I resented him for curbing my appetite.”

Spiritual Content

  • Before the prologue, there is a Bible verse. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest therof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:17”
  • At first, Edward tries to stay away from Bella because he thinks it would be safer for her. Then he decides “as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly.”
  • When Bella asks to be turned into a vampire, Edward says, “I refuse to damn you to an eternity of night.”
  • Carlisle’s father was a pastor who was “enthusiastic in his persecution of Roman Catholics and other religions. He also believed very strongly in the reality of evil. He led hunts for witches, werewolves…and vampires.”
  • In passing, Bella hears a legend that the indigenous Quileute people “tied their canoes to the tops of the tallest trees on the mountain to survive like Noah and the ark.”

by Morgan Lynn

Maybe This Time

One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?

Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year’s Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family drama.

Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Andrew is entitled, arrogant, and preppy. Sophie just wants to get her job done and finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time she turns around, there’s Andrew, getting in her way and making her life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated isn’t so bad after all . . .

Told from Sofie’s point of view, the reader comes to understand why Sofie is focused on getting out of her small town. However, Sofie’s obsession with moving to New York has made her judgmental, snobbish, and self-centered. When Sofie meets Andrew, she automatically dislikes him and often says things just to irritate him. Sofie ends up falling in love with Andrew, which comes as no surprise. The change from dislike, to friendship, to love is very natural. Instead of instantly falling in love, the two slowly learn about each other, which allows their feelings to change.

Maybe This Time doesn’t just focus on the romance. The story also hits on difficulties with parents, misunderstandings with friends, and the dynamics of a small town. Even though Sofie often is snarky, her sweet side also comes out in unexpected places. Sofie’s little brother is one of the highlights of the story, and Sofie’s love for him is apparent.

Maybe This Time will give readers insight into small-town life. The story progresses at a steady pace and has many interesting characters. In the end, Sofie realizes that she actually loves her small town and even though she does plan to leave, she will always come back. The sweet romance touches on friendship, ambition, trust, and dreams without getting bogged down with a message. Readers looking for an easy-to-read romance will enjoy Maybe This Time.

Sexual Content

  • When Sofie hurts her foot, Andrew “squatted down, his hand brushing along my calf until it reached my ankle. Tingles spread up my leg all the way to my stomach. My cheeks went hot, and I leaned my head back against the mirror to try to keep that fact to myself. He wasn’t allowed to have this kind of effect on me.”
  • While walking by a car, Sofie sees a boy and a girl “in the passenger seat, and they were kissing.”
  • When Sofie and Andrew were arguing, Sofie’s “body seemed to be on autopilot. I leaned forward and pressed an angry kiss to his lips. . . Then all at once his free hand moved to the back of my neck. . . He tilted his head, deepening our kiss.” The kiss is described over ½ a page.
  • While serving at a dinner, a drunk man dropped a fork. When Sofie went to pick it up, she “felt a hand brush [her] leg. The man gave me a creepy smile and I stood. I pointed his own fork at him. ‘Please keep your hands to yourself.’”
  • Sofie doesn’t want to think about “a certain hot day by a certain shed kissing a certain boy whose mouth tasted like cherries.”
  • At a New Year’s party, Sofie’s friend says, “In fact, I’m going to find myself a boy to kiss at midnight tonight. I don’t care who.” Later Sofie’s friend says, “He was a midnight kiss. . . Don’t try to tie me down to someone I kissed at midnight.”
  • During a New Year’s party, Andrew kisses Sofie. Sofie thinks, “He tasted like heaven.”
  • Andrew and Sofie kiss several times. Once he tells Sofie, “You’re beautiful.” Then, “his lips brushed mine softly.”

Violence

  • Sofie’s brother is afraid of firecrackers because “Momma had a party in the backyard. . . Some guys started shooting their guns into the sky and my window got broke and a piece of glass hit my arm and I thought I was shot.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • While Sofie was at a wedding, she stepped on the “amber colored glass of a broken beer bottle.”
  • During a eulogy, the pastor talked about how the man “had a problem with alcohol when he was younger.”
  • While serving at a dinner, some of the people drink wine.
  • At Thanksgiving dinner, Sofie’s mom says, “Point me to the wine.”

Language

  • Holy crap is used twice.
  • Crap is used five times.

Supernatural

  • Sofie had a short conversation about her belief in an afterlife. She says, “I believe in an afterlife . . . I’m not sure exactly what it will consist of, but I believe we all have a soul, something that makes us who we are. When my gran died, I remember looking at her body and knowing something was missing, that she was no longer her.”

Worthy

Everyone at Linden’s high school is obsessed with a new app called Worthy. The app posts pictures of couples and asks, “Is the girl worthy of the guy?” Some use the anonymous platform to post cruel comments. As the voting goes viral, not every couple can handle the comments that begin to collect. The comments aren’t only online: the app and the couples it features are the topic of every conversation at school.

At first, Linden is focused on other things like cute Alex Rivera, the Prom Committee, and her writing. But soon, Linden is just as obsessed with Worthy as everyone else. Soon, the app is causing problems between Linden and her best friend, Nikki. What will happen when the spotlight turns on Linden?

Readers will relate to Linden as she struggles with online bullying. Even though Linden knows that posting mean comments online is wrong, she doesn’t have a problem voting. As the story progresses, four different couples are featured on Worthy. Linden overhears many conversations about the couples that allow the reader to understand how superficial the voters are. As more and more teens get caught up in the voting craze, Linden is forced to evaluate her own motives for voting. When Linden and Alex are featured on the app, Linden finally realizes how devastating people’s comments can be.

In a world where so many teens are connected on social media, the story has a realistic conflict; however, there are so many minor characters that it is often difficult to keep track of them all. Because the minor characters seldom appear, readers may find it difficult to care about how the app affects them. It isn’t until the app focuses on Linden that the conflict becomes more suspenseful. The story is told from Linden’s point of view, which allows the reader to understand her insecurities and her fears as well as see her personal growth.

Worthy is a cute romance that has several positive aspects. Nikki, Alex, and Linden’s parents all make a short appearance in the story. Despite that each family is different, they are all portrayed in a positive light. The story shies away from profanity and sex. Even though the story drags at points, the positive messages in the book make it worth the read. Connor makes it clear that teens need to look past people’s appearances. The story also shows the damage that online bullying can cause in relationships. Worthy isn’t afraid to explore difficult topics and would be an excellent book to use as a conversation starter.

Sexual Content

  • While in the school hallway, Linden sees her best friend Nikki kissing her boyfriend.
  • Linden thinks about her neighbor, Max. “When we were twelve, we shared our first kiss in the treehouse his dad built.”
  • While sitting outside of Linden’s house, Alex “raises his hand, still caught in mine, and traces his thumb gently against my lips. My face explodes with heat, and when his hand slips away, I lean in toward him. The first kiss is soft. Just a touch. . .He leans back on the grass, pulling me against his chest, and we are kissing. And kissing. And kissing.”
  • While in the school hallway, Alex tries to kiss Linden, and she jerks “backward because I’m not expecting it and it ends up a totally awkward kind of face bump.” Linden is embarrassed and thinks, “I’m not so sure public displays of affection are my thing. . . It’s funny we weren’t awkward at all when we were kissing Saturday night. I blush and smile at the memory.”
  • At school, Linden notices two kids kissing and notices that the girl “gives him a kiss right on the mouth, completely oblivious to the rest of the group.”
  • While at Alex’s house, Linden thinks “about kissing him in my front yard.”
  • At a school assembly, Alex sits next to Linden and gives her a “quick kiss. This time our lips touch confidently, like we greet each other like this all the time.”
  • Linden imagines asking Alex to prom and “then we’ll kiss.”
  • While sitting in Alex’s car, he “cups [Linden’s] cheek in his hand . . . He runs a thumb along my bottom lip. Slowly. Then he leans in to kiss me—very softly—following along the line his thumb travels with his lips.”
  • Linden thinks about her best friend and remembers “when Nikki told me Martin Wells had kissed her behind the trees outside the playground.”
  • While at a quinceañera, Linden brushes “[Alex’s] thick black hair back off his forehead, my fingers lingering as they slide down his face. . . Then he turns his head and his lips are on my palm. The heat explodes into my cheeks.”

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Oh my God and OMG are used eleven times in total.
  • Crap is used once. When Linden accidentally throws the bowling ball the wrong way, she thinks, “crap.”
  • Freaking is used once.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • While bowling, Linden doesn’t want her feet touching the shoes. She thinks, “Thank God for the thick boot socks I put on under my cowboy boots.”

A Match Made in Mehendi

Fifteen-year-old Simran “Simi” Sangha comes from a long line of Indian vichole – matchmakers — with a rich history of helping parents find good matches for their grown children. When Simi accidentally sets up her cousin and a soon-to-be lawyer, her family is thrilled that she has the “gift.”

But Simi is an artist, and she doesn’t want anything to do with relationships, helicopter parents, and family drama. That is until she realizes this might be just the thing to improve her and her best friend Noah’s social status. Armed with her family’s ancient guide to finding love, Simi starts a matchmaking service via an app.

But when she helps connect a wallflower of a girl with the star of the boys’ soccer team, she turns the high school hierarchy topsy-turvy, making herself public enemy number one.

Simi starts her sophomore year with the intent of standing out and being her true self. As she tells her own story, the reader gets an inside scoop on her thought process. Simi’s story bounces between her home life, her love life, and her school life. Simi is surrounded by a large and loving family. She also relies on her best friend, Noah, to help her through the day-to-day struggle of school.

The story’s large cast of characters doesn’t allow the author to give each person a unique personality, and many of the characters are not well-developed. Simi’s best friend Noah is struggling with his sexual identity, but his thoughts and feelings are never expressed, which makes it hard for the reader to connect with him. Readers may also have a difficult time because Simi’s family is from India, and they often use their native language; however, there are few context clues to help the reader understand the word’s meaning.

A Match Made in Mehendi gives the reader a look into Indian culture as well as the matchmaking process. The action slows down when Noah, Simi, and her brother work on the app. The matchmaking app is an interesting twist, but Simi seems more concerned with the app’s functionality than the couples the app matches.

Like many teens, Simi is trying to find her voice and stand up for herself. Simi’s story is unique and follows several couples as they try to navigate romance. However, the character-driven story does not contain a lot of action or conflict. Although the story has several interesting facets, A Match Made in Mehendi will easily be forgotten.

Sexual Content

  • While working on an art project at a boy’s house, the two take a break. “He leans close, picking a blade of grass from my hair, and for a second, I think he might kiss me.” But then the dog jumps between the two and the moment is over.
  • After a date, Simi’s “heart rate kicks up as he ducks his head and moves closer.” She thought he was going to kiss her and thinks, “I want him to. I have for so long.” But then, the boy “veers towards my cheek, laying the softest kiss there. It’s innocent and sweet, but all the same, shivers fan out over my arms.”
  • Simi’s friend Noah has a crush on a boy, but he isn’t sure how to handle it.
  • While at a gathering, Simi is talking to a boy. The boy “gently pulls me in toward him for a kiss. Except I’m so surprised, I knock over my cup of ginger ale before our lips can connect.” Simi tells him to try again, which he does. Simi thinks the kiss is “slow. Delicious. Sweet like ate-ki-pinni.”

Violence

  • A mean girl tricks Simi, then “as I crash onto my hands and knees, my phone careens through the air and smashes face down on the concrete.” The girl stomped on the phone, then “she laughs, does a haughty pageant wave, and keeps moving.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • During a dinner at Simi’s house, her dad “keeps everyone happy with drinks ranging from lassi and lemonade to Patiala pegs of his favorite single malt whiskey.”

Language

  • Profanity is used sparingly. Crap is used three times; holy crap and shit are both used once.
  • When Simi draws a picture of two people with hearts over their head, her sister says, “Good God.”
  • God, OMG, and dear God are all used as an exclamation once or twice.
  • Freaking is used five times.
  • Badass and kickass are both used once.
  • When someone takes credit for Simi’s artwork, she says, “They call it bullshit. Are you gonna tell her [the teacher] or am I?” Later she thinks the person is an “ass.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Simi’s grandparents got married, they were from different religions, but it wasn’t “a big deal.” Her grandparents “lit a lamp for both Wahe Guru and Mata Rani in our home after we got married and called ourselves doubly blessed.”

Don’t Date Rosa Santos

Everyone in Port Coral knows that the Santos family is cursed by the sea. After all, two generations of Santos women have loved men who were lost to the ocean. Which is why, even though she’s lived in a coastal Florida town for most of her life, eighteen-year-old Rosa Santos has never even stepped foot in the ocean.

Rosa has the next few years of her life all planned out. In a few months, she’ll be graduating from high school with both her diploma and a two-year degree from the local community college. Then it’s off to a four-year university where she’s been accepted in a study abroad program at the University of Havana. She’ll finally be fulfilling her lifelong dream of traveling to Cuba, the island of her ancestors. She just hasn’t quite figured out how to tell her Grandmother. It won’t be an easy feat. After all, Mimi Santos has always refused to talk about Cuba.

But when an offer to buy the Marina threatens to destroy Port Coral, Rosa must set her plan aside and help put together a fundraiser to save her beloved hometown. It might be more difficult than expected, considering she’ll be working side by side with the distressingly cute Alex Aquino. Her growing crush wouldn’t be that bad, except Alex happens to be the one thing that ought to be strictly off limits to a Santos girl like her: a boy with a boat.

Rosa struggles with some uniquely heavy issues like inherited grief and the immigrant experience of feeling like she doesn’t quite fit into her own culture. Although these issues might be difficult for some readers to fully comprehend, they are important, especially for Latinx teens looking to find themselves in a story. These tough themes are balanced out by the more “everyday” issues Rosa deals with, including the college application process and harboring a secret crush.

Although there are plenty of adorable and romantic moments, the story itself goes beyond the typical rom com. Moreno makes a beautiful exploration into the many ways that love can manifest itself; from the years of love and loss that bind the Santos women together, to the thrill of a relationship just beginning, to the overarching love that creates a community. The characters are all well developed and both Port Coral and Cuba come alive on the page.

Readers are sure to fall in love with the complex story of the Santos women, which is equal parts heart wrenching and hopeful. Don’t Date Rosa Santos is a wonderfully diverse story about family, identity, and finding your place in the world.

Sexual Content

  • Mimi tells Rosa that if she could go anywhere in the world, she would go to Hawaii because “I like The Rock. He is very handsome.”
  • Jonas kisses his fiancee hand.
  • When Rosa is being teased about boys, she thinks “There had been kisses at parties and group movie things, but nothing to write home about.”
  • Rosa’s mother says, “You haven’t had a crush in forever.” This prompts Rosa to reflect on her recent crushes: “An older guy in my calculus class at Port Coral Community who always held the door open for me, and a girl from the ice cream shop who never wore the same name tag and told me I smelled like strawberries.”
  • Rosa’s friend Mike teases her about “running away with an Argentinian sailor.”
  • Rosa asks Mike if he would date her. She says, “I was just curious if you’d ever think of me like that.”
  • Rosa describes Alex, the love interest, as “a very cute sailor tattooed with the sea.”
  • Rosa runs into Alex at the dock. He asks her to sit, and she decides to stay because “I needed a moment and this little seed of a crush really wanted me to sit with him.”
  • Alex runs a hand over his beard, and Rosa finds herself “wondering how it might feel to run my fingers across his beard and maybe press my face to his neck. I frowned, surprised at myself. Talking by moonlight softened a lot of edges.”
  • Rosa and her friend have a conversation about Alex in which her friend describes him as “super hot.”
  • While stuck on the side of the highway, Alex and Rosa kiss for the first time. “He smiled and ducked his head. He captured my lips in a kiss that already tasted bittersweet.” The kiss is described for about half a page.
  • Rosa’s friend tells the boys that they missed their chance with Rosa because she is “out here getting kissed by cute boys with man beards and baked goods.”
  • When Rosa is getting ready for her first date with Alex, she is advised to “Scoop him up and throw some sprinkles on that. Drizzle the caramel. You get me. Doodle his name in that little journal of yours. Doodle it hard.”
  • At the end of their date Alex tells Rosa, “I like you like you.” The two kiss briefly at the end of the scene.
  • When Rosa agrees to be Alex’s second for the regatta, he kisses her “quickly.”
  • When Alex and Rosa win the regatta, he “pulled me against him and dropped a hard, grateful kiss on my lips.”

Violence

  • During an argument, Rosa’s mother opens up about the death of Rosa’s father. “Tell [Rosa] that my love killed him. . . I loved him too much, so the sea took him. When this whole town cried for the lost boy at sea, you looked at your own daughter and her growing middle and said it was the cures. That it was me.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Rosa says that the vejitos, a group of old Cuban men living in Port Coral, act “like a person could live forever on coffee, rum, and cigars.” She later describes them as smelling like “sharp aftershave and cigars.”
  • Rosa says that Junior, one of the Peña Cousins, “used to sell weed, but now he was focused on getting his mixtape to go viral.”
  • Rosa’s mother returns home drunk after she “bought a bottle of wine and sat at the end of the dock where I drank the whole thing before slipping a note inside and chucking it into the water.”

Language

  • Oh my God, God, Dios mio, Por dios, and Jesus are all used frequently as exclamations. For example, when Mrs. Peña mentions jazz band, Ana replies “God, don’t say that so loud.”
  • Profanity is used frequently. Profanity includes: damn, hell, crap, and asshole.
  • Ana tells her brother that her drums “cost more than your shitty car.”
  • Ana tells Junior not to be “a dick.”
  • Mimi gets angry about the current state of Cuba and exclaims “Carajo qué mierda.”
  • Rosa’s mother says “Come mierda,” a phrase that literally translates to “shit eater” which Cubans often use to mean “dumbass.”

Supernatural

  • The Santos Women believe that they are cursed. The men they love are destined to die at sea. Rosa explains, “The lullaby of my life is that to know the sea is to know love, but to love us is to lose everything. We’re cursed, they still whisper, but whether it’s by an island, the sea, or our own stubborn hearts, I don’t know.”
  • Rosa’s grandmother acts as the neighborhood curandera. According to Rosa “The neighborhood curandera oversaw concerns about struggling gardens, bad dreams, career changes, and terrible luck, and she brewed hope frothier window that smelled like herbs and dryer sheets.”
  • Mimi owns a magical wind chime. “There was a wood and steel wind chime that was steady when the day was nice, a little wilder with the rain, and as agitated as a scared kid when bad luck was coming.”
  • Rosa owns a magical backpack. “Mimi had sewn it before I started high school, enchanting it with powerful words so it would always carry whatever I needed and never get lost.”
  • Rosa’s mother coming home has interesting consequences. “She and the house were like warring siblings, and it always knew when she returned, because it stopped working. Food burned, candles wouldn’t stay lit, and worst of all, my laptop always struggled to find the Wi-Fi signal.”
  • Rosa’s mother practices tarot. “Sometimes there was a knock at the door, late at night when she was home, and a sad eyed soul waiting on the other side. Mom would sit with them, cards spread across the old wood table. My mother was a storyteller fluent in spells and heartache.”
  • Mimi keeps a notebook that has “ingredients listed for different oils and potions,” as well as accounts of miracle helpings back in Cuba.
  • Rosa says that she puts acorns on windowsills “so lighting won’t strike my house.”
  • When Ana loses her drum sticks, she asks Rosa to “Give me some brujeria, Rosa. Throw down some shells, fire up some smoke! I need that tracking-lost-things spell!”
  • Mimi uses magic to create a replica of Havana in the middle of Port Coral.
  • When Mimi is describing Cuba, she says that Tia Nela warned her not to leave. “She warned me our land was bleeding and the sea would demand a sacrifice.”
  • Rosa knows something is wrong because the wind chime “was wild with panic.”
  • Rosa and her mother participate in a ritual where they see and hear Mimi and Alvaro’s spirits. The description lasts for about three pages.

Spiritual Content

  • When Rosa asks if Mimi would ever return Cuba Mimi responds, “My spirit will, mi amor.”
  • Rosa has an altar set up in her room, which includes, “a couple of pastel candles and fresh flowers sat beside a faded sepia picture of my grandfather and the single Polaroid I had of my father.”
  • When he sees Rosa, a sailor makes an old warding sign, “To keep evil away.”
  • After Rosa’s mother returns home, Mimi cleanses the house. Rosa’s mother claims it’s because of her “bad juju.”
  • Mimi and Rosa both pray to saints and ancestors throughout the story. For example, when Rosa’s mother comes home drunk, “Mimi reached for the saint medallion on her nightstand and muttered a prayer.”
  • Rosa and Ana perform a cleansing spell. “[Rosa] exhaled a shaky breath before asking for protection and guidance. Anna dimmed the lights, watching me. With the swipe of a match, I lit the wick and held the egg over the flickering candle light for a few seconds before closing my eyes and mindfully holding it to the top of my head.” The description of the full ritual is spread out over about six pages.
  • Rosa cleans off her altar and asks her deceased father and grandfather for advice. She says, “I could really use some help with college. Can you see the future? Yeah, it probably doesn’t work like that. But maybe you can get together with my other ancestors and let me know what you think? Some clarity on this would really help.”
  • Rosa listens to one of Mimi’s patients talking about a healing miracle. The patient says that it was “like listening to someone describe a version of la Virgen.”
  • When Mimi is describing Cuba, she says “If her cities fall, if we’re all gone, may God watch after her.”
  • While at the hospital, Ana and her mother pray silently.
  • When Alex offers to spend the night, Rosa says that she needs to lose herself in “inherited rituals.”

by Evalyn Harper

Somewhere Only We Know

10:00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she’s just performed her hit song “Heartbeat” in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She’s about to debut on The Later Tonight Show in America, which will hopefully be a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She’s in her fancy hotel trying to fall asleep, but dying for a hamburger.

11:00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She’s very cute. He’s maybe curious.

12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same.

Somewhere Only We Know switches back and forth between Lucky and Jack’s point of view, which gives the reader a fun insight into each person’s thought process. Each character has a secret, and the multiple points of view allow the reader to understand the fear behind the secret. Another interesting aspect of the story is the insight into both character’s heritage—both are American-born Koreans, who see Korea in a unique light. Lucky often compares America and Korea’s differences, but one thing that is similar in both countries is the idea that “women need to be pretty more than anything.”

Even though Lucky is a K-pop artist, she is just like many young adults: she desires freedom, wonders what path her life should take, and worries about letting others down. Even though the story takes place over a 24-hour period, Lucky’s joy at being able to explore the world is contagious. Her protective partner in crime, Jack, is not only insanely attractive, but is also struggling to figure out his future as he explores the narrow definitions of right and wrong.

Somewhere Only We Know is a fast-paced, funny romance that readers will not be able to put down. The story will make readers laugh while also exploring the idea of “living a life of quality.” In the end, Jack realizes that a “quality life involved caring for people. Being good to them. Being a good person for them in addition to yourself.” Somewhere Only We Know doesn’t gloss over the hard work that is involved in having a quality life. Lucky finally receives therapy to help her with her anxiety, and Jack has to be honest with his parents about his fears and dreams.

Somewhere Only We Know has two characters that fall in love in a day. Readers will enjoy watching the two stumble their way through that day. In the end, Lucky and Jack go their separate ways because they need to figure out their own issues, but the story leaves the reader with the hopeful thought that maybe love can grow when the time is right.

Sexual Content

  • When Lucky and Jack are walking on a city street, they pass “a couple making out in a dark corner.”
  • When an older man starts flirting with Lucky, she kicked him “in the shin, lightly” and told him, “And you need to stop creeping on me!”
  • When Lucky wakes up in a man’s bed, she states, “I was relieved, but I couldn’t quite figure out if it was from not having been despoiled, or if it was from knowing that if I had been despoiled, I would have wanted to remember it.”
  • When Lucky is leaving Jack’s apartment early in the morning, his landlady sees her and says, “You. Don’t sleep with bad boys like Jack.”
  • In order to avoid talking to a fan, Lucky kisses Jack. She “slipped my hand onto the soft skin on the back of his neck and pressed my body to his. Hips bumping, torsos grazing. . . I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my lips to his.” Even though Jack knew Lucky was creating a diversion, he “reached up and grazed her jaw with my fingertips. Her eyelashes fluttered before I pressed my lips to hers again, softly. Moving over them slowly. Her mouth matched mine in response, with a gentle intake of breath.” The kiss is described over three pages.
  • Jack asks, “Why is it that in rom-coms people always go from hating each other to like, ripping each other’s clothes off?”
  • None of the K-pop stars were supposed to date, “but there were hookups and covert dating.” However, Lucky had never dated.
  • Lucky tells Jack that she likes him. Then she says, “Isn’t it interesting that Koreans have a specific word for that? Because we understand that even saying you like someone is meaningful. In America, the moment is sealed by like, sex or some dramatic love confession. But in Korea, ‘I like you.’ That’s a big deal.”
  • When Jack changes his shirt, Lucky thinks, “good gravy, he was pleasing to look at. All lean, corded muscles and smooth, tanned skin.”
  • Jack kisses Lucky and she thinks, “Jack was good at this. Truly, he was too masterful. The head tilt was perfect. The soft touch of his hands on my face. The pressure of his lips. . . All that existed was Jack in front of me. Jack kissing me. This delicate and hungry exchange of breath.”
  • At a club, Jack and Lucky dance. As they danced, Lucky “shamelessly ran my hands through Jack’s hair, over his arms and chest. . . kissing him now and again.”
  • As Lucky walks, she has to go around “a couple making out against a lamppost.”
  • After a long absence, Lucky sees Jack, and “she reached up and kissed me. Hard. It was the kiss of an outlaw, of a soldier back from war. I gladly submitted, letting her wrap her arms around me, feeling her body lift as she stood on her toes to reach me.”

Violence

  • Lucky tells Jack about the time her sister was injured by a mob of fans. “A fan grabbed at her and she fell forward, onto her chin. She needed stitches. . . Seeing Vivian’s startled face before she hit the ground was the worst moment of my life. Spending a car ride with her while she cried, clutching Ren’s rolled up jacket to her bloody chin, was the second worst.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Every night, Lucky is “given two sleeping pills and one Arivan. The sleeping pills were standard, everyone took them. But the Arivan—that was top secret. Mental illness was still taboo in South Korea. . .”
  • When Jack first sees Lucky, he assumes she is “passed out” drunk; however, she is sleeping because of the pills she took earlier. Later she doesn’t want to tell him that she was “completely out of it from sleeping pills mixed with anxiety meds.”
  • A man asks Lucky if she would like a drink. When they sit down, he orders a gin and tonic.
  • At a karaoke bar, two women announce that they got married, then “the bartender uncorked a bottle of champagne.”
  • As Lucky goes through an area of town with bars and restaurants, she passes “drunk dudes.”
  • Jack’s parents didn’t want him to go on a “backpacking trip of discovery.” Jack’s sister thinks that the rich boys who do are just “discovering weed.”

Language

  • Profanity used: ass, bitch, damn, crap, holy crap, bloody hell, shit.
  • “Dear Lord,” “Oh God,” “Oh my God,” “Jesus,” and “Christ” are used as exclamations frequently.
  • Jack sneaks a girl into a party and dictates, “using some phony contact name that didn’t exist, combined with dickish entitlements, I got us upstairs.”
  • When Lucky goes into a bar, Jack says, “There are cooler places to go that aren’t full of douchebags.”
  • After Jack hurts Lucky’s feelings, he feels like a “jackass.” She thinks he is a “bastard.”
  • A “drunk loser” called Lucky a “bitch.”
  • Jack sends photos of Lucky to his boss, the manager of a tabloid magazine. The man likes “an ass shot” and refers to Lucky as a “bitch.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Lucky and Jack go into a Buddhist temple. Lucky says she is not religious, but she lights incense. Lucky said, “I’m not actually praying. I’m being respectful of other cultures.” Lucky and Jack have a brief conversation about prayer. During the conversation, Lucky says, “Buddhism is pretty interesting. It’s all about the path to liberation—to be free of things like early desires, to be free of cravings.” This comment leads to a short conversation about living life selflessly.

 

 

Shatter Me

Juliette has always been an outcast. She doesn’t understand why she is different; she just knows her touch is fatal. After being locked in solitary confinement for 264 days, Juliette is shocked when she gets a new cellmate—a boy. Adam wants to be Juliette’s friend, but she doesn’t know if she can trust him. Then, the Reestablishment takes both her and Adam to a new facility.

The Reestablishment has plans for Juliette. Plans to use her as a weapon. Juliette doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Even though Juliette is still a prisoner, she is discovering the strength to fight back. She wants to have a future. With Adam by her side, Juliette plans her escape. When the time is right, will Juliette be able to escape the Reestablishment? Will Adam lead her to a better life, or does he have plans to betray her?

old from Juliette’s point of view, the story focuses on her thoughts and feelings. However, her thought process is often hard to understand as her thoughts are often described using figurative language. There is also no clear transition between her thoughts and what is actually happening in the story, meaning readers may have to go back and reread some scenes to make sure they understand the text.

The story has an interesting premise, but readers will have a difficult time suspending their disbelief. The story never explains why Juliette’s touch is lethal. Since Juliette’s touch is only lethal when her skin touches someone else’s skin, it is hard to imagine that no one has given Juliette a pair of gloves. Instead of helping Juliet protect others, her parents moved around after each disaster. When Juliette accidentally causes the death of a little boy, she is sent to prison and placed in an isolation cell. Once she is placed in the care of the Reestablishment, her main captor always wears gloves to protect himself. If her captor came up with the simple solution of gloves, why didn’t anyone else?

Juliette soon discovers that both Adam and her captor are immune to her touch. Since Juliette revels in the ability to simply touch another person, Juliette and Adam share steamy kisses between the high-action scenes. Although the plot is hard to believe, fans of dystopian stories will enjoy the unique characters as well as the battle of good versus evil. Full of suspense and surprises, Shatter Me is an action-packed story with plenty of steamy scenes. Readers will want to jump into the next book, Ignite Me, to see if Juliette finds freedom or just a different type of prison.

Sexual Content

  • When Adam holds Juliette, she thinks, “I wish I knew the taste of his lips.”
  • While Adam and Juliette are alone, he grabs her and puts her against the wall. Juliette is “trembling everywhere and he’s so gentle, so careful, touching me like I’m made of porcelain and I want to shatter. He’s running his hands down my body running his eyes across my face running laps with his heart and I’m running marathons with my mind. Everything is on fire. . . suddenly his lips are on my neck and I’m gasping and dying and clutching at his arms and he’s touching me touching me touching me and I’m thunder and lightning. . . ” The scene is described over two pages.
  • Adam tells Juliette that he loves her. Then, “his nose is touching my nose, his lips one breath away, his eyes devouring me already and I’m a puddle with no arms and no legs. . . His hands at my waist, gripping my hips, his legs flush against my own, his chest overpowering me with strength, his frame built by bricks of desire. . . He’s everywhere up my back and over my arms and suddenly he’s kissing me harder, deeper, with a fervent urgency that I’ve never known before.”
  • As Adam and Juliette kiss, she slips “my hands under his shirt and he chokes on a moan that turns into a kiss that needs me and wants me and has to have me so desperately it’s like the most acute form of torture. His weight is pressed into mine, on top of mine, infinite points of feeling . . . his lips are falling down my shirt and I don’t understand why I need to wear clothes anymore. . .” Their embrace is interrupted.
  • When Adam kisses Juliette, she gasps “and he’s kissing me, deep and powerful and unrestrained. His arms around my back, dipping my body until I’m practically horizontal. . .”
  • After Adam and Juliette escape, they get to a safe place and Juliette asks Adam to touch her. Then, “my face is in his hands and my lips are at his lips and he’s kissing me. . . His body is almost on top of mine, one hand in my hair, the other feeling its way down my silhouette, slipping behind my knee to pull me closer, higher, tighter. . . He takes my hands and press them against his chest, guiding my fingers as they trail down the length of his torso before his lips meet mine again and again. . . His hands slip under my shirt, skirting my sides, touching me like he’s never dared to before, and my top is nearly over my head when a door squeaks open. We both freeze.” The scene is described over two pages.
  • One of Adam’s friends tries to get him to move to a safer location. When Adam doesn’t hurry, the man shouts, “I mean, shit, man, I don’t think there’s ever a bad time to get naked, but now is probably not the best time for a nooner. So unless you want to get killed, I suggest you get your ass out here.”
  • When soldiers capture Juliette, a man grabs her, and “his lips touch my skin and I actually whimper.” The man tells her, “God I’d love to just take a bite out of you.” Juliette pretends she likes the man’s touch so she can get his gun. The man’s “hands are exploring my body, slipping down my back to feel the form of my figure and it’s all I can do to keep from doing something reckless. . . And he kisses me. Hungrily. Desperately. Eager to break me open and taste me. . . I pull him closer, grab a fistful of his jacket and kiss him as hard as I can, my fingers already attempting to release the first of his buttons. Warner grips my hips and allows his hands to conquer my body.” When Juliette has the opportunity, she shoots him. The scene is described over three pages.
  • When Adam is beaten, Juliette tells him to get better because “I’m going to memorize every inch of your body with my lips.”
  • When Adam heals from his injuries, he wants to be alone with Juliette. When everyone leaves, Adam leans “in and I’m leaning in until I’m practically on top of him and he’s slipping me into his arms and kissing me with a new kind of desperation . . . His hands are threaded in my hair, his lips so soft and urgent against mine. . .” Adam “kisses my bottom lip. Bites it for just a second.” The scene is described over a page.

Violence

  • Juliette thinks back to when the Reestablishment was taking over the country. She remembers “the bad memories. . . Protests. Rallies. Screams for survival. I see women and children starving to death, homes destroyed and buried in rubble, the countryside a burnt landscape, its only fruit the rotting flesh of casualties. I see dead dead dead red and burgundy and maroon and the richest shade of your mother’s favorite lipstick all smeared into the earth.”
  • While in her cell room, guards come in and begin shouting. While Juliette stands there doing nothing, a guard “slams the butt of his gun into my back and my knees crack as they hit the floor. I finally taste oxygen and a side of blood. . . A steel-toed boot kicks me in the ribs, fast, hard, hollow.” The guards shove a gun into Juliette’s cellmate’s face. The guards make the two walk to a new destination. During the trip, Juliette thinks, “I don’t know how long I’ve been walking before another blow to my back cripples me.” When Juliette falls down, “there’s another heavy boot pressed into my back and I can’t lift my head to distinguish who’s speaking to me.”
  • A soldier is accused of “fraternizing with civilians believed to be rebel party members. He has stolen food and supplies from storage units. . .” When the soldier doesn’t deny the accusations, a man “takes a short breath. Licks his lips. And shoots him in the forehead.” The man’s “limbs are bent at odd angles on the cold, concrete floor. Blood is pooling around him and still no one moves.”
  • When Adam was younger, his drunk father took him to school. Juliette watched “a father slap his 8-year-old son in the face. I watched Adam fall to the floor and I stood there motionless as he was kicked repeatedly in the ribs.” While hitting him, Adam’s father screamed, “It’s your fault, you worthless piece of shit.”
  • In order to understand Juliette’s power, a man puts a toddler in a room that has spikes that come through the floor. In order to save the boy, Juliette is forced to touch him. When she does, “his screams pierce through me like I’m being shot to death, one bullet for every second. He’s clawing at my arms, my chest, kicking my body as hard as he can, crying out in agony until the pain paralyzes him.” After the test, Juliette gets angry. “I catapult through the concrete walls. I crush the glass with 10 fingers.” The test is described over four pages.
  • In order to escape, Adam slams “the butt of his gun into Warner’s head. Warner’s gun misfires and Adam catches his arm and twists his wrist until his grip on the weapon wavers. I grab the gun from Warner’s limp hand and slam the butt of it into his face. . .” During the fight, “Adam slams his knee into Warner’s spine. Warner falls to the floor with a muffled crack and a sharp intake of breath.” After Warner is tied up, Juliette and Adam are able to escape.
  • A man tells Adam, “No one should have to wake up in the morning and find dead bodies in their living room, but shit happens. We deal with it, and we find a way to survive.” As the man continues to talk, Adam gets angry and presses “a gun to his forehead.”
  • As Adam, Juliette, and others flee from the Reestablishment, “there are children everywhere, bright colors of small bodies suddenly screaming at our approaches. . . Adam pushes me to the ground just as a bullet flies past my head. He shoots down another door toward another exit, and we run through the ruins towards another exit, trapped in the maze of what used to be a clothing store. Gunshots and footsteps are close behind. . . Adam is breathing hard. He grips the gun in his hand. Pops his head out for a split second and fires. Someone falls to the floor, screaming.” Several people are killed and Adam is captured.
  • Juliette follows a trail of blood and finds Adam, who is “hanging from bound wrists, shirtless, bloodied, and bruised everywhere. His head is bent, his neck limp, his left leg drenched in blood despite the tourniquet wrapped around his thigh. . . His wrists are rubbed raw, bleeding, his body pounded into one piece of pain, his leg bloodied through with a bullet.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • In the past, Adam’s father drove drunk.
  • A man gives Adam’s ten-year-old brother a sleeping pill. The man doesn’t want the boy to see Adam being chased by the Reestablishment.
  • When Juliette escapes, someone gives her a sedative to help her get over her shock. Later, Adam is also given a sedative to help him recover.

Language

  • Profanity is used often. Towards the end of the book, the profanity ramps up and appears on almost every page. Profanity includes ass, asshole, bullshit, bastards, crap, damn, goddamn, hell, holy shit, and shit.
  • “Oh God,” “God,” and, “Jesus” are used as exclamations often.
  • After Adam treats Juliette badly, he says, “I’m sorry I’m such an asshole.” He also tells her, “I was a jerk yesterday. I treated you like crap and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
  • Someone calls Adam a “sick bastard.”
  • When a man sees Adam and Juliette kissing, he says, “Son of a motherless goat—“
  • One of Adam’s friends refers to Juliette as a “psycho chick.”
  • A man slept in a shed; he described that it “was weird. Crazy shit growing in the place. I almost ate something I thought was fruit before I realized it smelled like ass.”

Supernatural

  • When Juliet touches someone, she drains the life out of them.9 When a guard touches her, “I can hear his anguish, I can feel the power pouring out of his body, I can hear his heart beating in my ears and my head is spinning with the rush of adrenaline fortifying my being. . . My skin is pulsing with someone else’s life and I don’t hate it.” Juliette breaks the connection before the guard is seriously injured.
  • In the past, Juliette tried to help a little boy, but she “killed a little boy in a grocery store simply by helping him to his feet.”
  • Somehow Juliette was able to punch through a steel door. Her “fist flies through 12 inches of steel like it’s made of butter.”
  • Juliette goes to a compound where she meets a man who can move things with his mind. There is also a man who tells her, “Sometimes I electrocute people by accident” and another who is really flexible. He “loops one arm around his waist. Twice.”
  • At the compound, two women are healers—one heals the physical body and the other heals emotional wounds. Yet another person can “blend into the background of any space. Shift myself to match my surroundings.”

Spiritual Content

  • When in a difficult situation, Juliette “prays to God I’m making the right decision.”

What Light

The Christmas season holds a special place in the heart of Sierra’s family. Her parents first met at a Christmas tree lot and quickly fell in love. Now her parents own a Christmas tree farm in Oregon. Every winter, the family travels to California to set up their Christmas tree lot. Because of this, Sierra has never had a normal Christmas holiday, but she has never wanted anything different, having friends in both Oregon and California.

Sierra has always been able to keep her two lives apart, but all that changes when she meets Caleb, a handsome boy with a bad reputation. Even though Sierra is warned to stay away from Caleb’s cute smile, Sierra is drawn to him. The more she gets to know him, the more questions she has about his bad reputation. Sierra is determined to show others that Caleb’s past mistakes should not define him, but with mounting pressure from her parents and friends, Sierra wonders if Caleb is worth the trouble. Amid growing suspicion and misconceptions, Sierra wonders if love really can conquer all.

What Light is a beautiful story about first love, forgiveness, and family. Readers will fall in love with Sierra, who doesn’t hide her intelligence when trying to attract a boy. Instead, she continues to use advanced vocabulary and enjoys the fact that Caleb tries to stump her with new words. Readers will be drawn to Sierra because of her sweet, trusting nature and her love of all things Christmas. Another positive aspect of the story is Sierra’s parents, who use positive communications skills to guide Sierra through her first love, even as they worry about the possibility of Caleb breaking her heart.

As teen romances flood the market, What Light will draw readers in with relatable characters who have healthy relationships. This sweet story steers away from sex, swear words, and other objectionable material. Any reader who is looking for an engaging holiday romance should grab a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa and curl up with What Light. Like a Hallmark Movie, this story will leave readers with a smile and the belief that love can indeed conquer all.

Sexual Content

  • Heather talks about her boyfriend and says, “If the choice is between listening to him or kissing him, kissing is a much better use of his mouth.”
  • When Sierra talks to Heather about her boyfriend, Sierra says, “You and Devon hang out a lot, and I know you make out a lot, but does he know you really like him?”
  • Sierra’s friend tells her to, “put a stupid mistletoe over his head and kiss him already!” During the conversation, the friend also says, “You should probably kiss him, though, before you make any bigger decisions.”
  • The first time Sierra and Caleb kiss, “he touches my cheek with his hand and guides me toward him. His lips are so soft against mine, sweetened with peppermint. I lean further in and get lost kissing him. I slide off him to the mat and then he rolls himself on top of me. I wrap my arms around him and we kiss with more intensity. We pull back to catch our breaths and look into each other’s eyes.”
  • Caleb kisses Sierra and “once again I lose myself in his kiss. I trace my lips from his jaw to his ear.”
  • While on a date, Caleb “kisses me softly. I reach up and touch his cold cheeks, which make his lips feel even warmer. I wonder if every kiss with Caleb will feel this new and magical.”
  • Caleb and Sierra kiss several other times, but the kisses are not described.

Violence

  • Caleb tells Sierra about a time when he was younger. He was angry at his sister and ran after her with a knife. When Caleb’s sister ran from him, “she got to her room and slammed the door. . . I stabbed her door with the knife over and over. I didn’t way to hurt her. . . but I could not stop stabbing the door. I heard her screaming and crying to our mom on the phone. Finally, I dropped the knife and just slumped onto the floor.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Sierra’s friend went on one date with a boy who was “caught with an open can of beer in his friend’s car.”
  • On New Year’s Eve, a boy promises to be “the designated driver for the entire cheer squad.”

Language

  • God is used as an exclamation twice. Oh my God is used as an exclamation once.
  • Hell, damn, and crappy are all used once
  • Caleb’s sister calls her brother “bone-headed.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Sierra teases a boy, saying, “You probably consider your sweet tooth a major sin.” The boy replies, “No, I don’t remember that one being mentioned in church, but laziness has been, and I am that.”
  • A little girl tells Caleb that her family has “said a prayer for you.”
  • A family’s car breaks down on a long trip and the family has to rent a motel room. When the woman recounts the experience, she says, “Thank you, God, they had a pool there or the kids would have killed each other.”
  • Caleb and Sierra have a brief conversation about church. Caleb is a believer, and although he attends church, the story doesn’t go into his beliefs.
  • Sierra says a prayer. “Please don’t let this be the last time I see Caleb.”

The Heir

Eadlyn, the daughter of Maxon and America, is next in line for the throne and will be the first woman in her country’s history to rule by herself. Eadlyn is powerful—the last thing she needs is a man to get in her way. When unrest begins to develop throughout the country, Eadlyn’s parents come to her with a solution to distract the people while they attempt to settle the turmoil in the country—a Selection of her own.

Eadlyn is against the idea. She doesn’t see how babysitting 35 boys will solve the country’s problems. Eadlyn finally agrees to an attempt at finding a husband through the Selection but plans to sabotage it by acting as unpleasant as possible, encouraging the boys to leave on their own and finishing the Selection her way. However, Eadlyn quickly discovers that she must play to the eye of the public in order to win the public’s favor of herself as the next ruler in line for the throne.

As the Selection runs its course, Eadlyn finds herself enjoying some of the boys and doesn’t entirely hate the thought of them being in her house. However, with fights and attempted inappropriate touching, the press begins to show that Eadlyn doesn’t have control over her own Selection. Will Eadlyn finish her Selection with a husband and continue on to rule the country?

Readers won’t be able to put down this installation of the Selection series as they watch the newest generation of Illea’s royalty work through a possible uprising, budding romance, and a whole new type of Selection. Although the first few chapters of The Heir are slow, the pacing picks up and will leave the readers turning the pages to find out if Eadlyn will find the love of her life and still rule Illea. Readers will want to read the previous books of the Selection series in order to fully enjoy and understand The Heir.

Eadlyn is shown as a powerful, headstrong heir to the throne, who learns how to let her walls down. Eadlyn discovers that letting people see her as more than just a ruler, will actually benefit herself. At the beginning of the book, her condescending, blunt, and rude personality may turn away readers. However, readers will eventually fall in love with Eadlyn as she learns how to be the “people’s ruler.” Entertaining characters from previous books make appearances along with new, well-developed characters. Overall, these components create a storyline that will keep readers turning the pages. The story highlights the importance of family and friends and shows that with the help of others, anything can be accomplished. Because the conclusion of The Heir ends with a cliffhanger, readers will want to have the next book of the series, The Crown, on hand.

Language

  • When Kile and Eadlyn greet one another on a date, Eadlyn jokes, “It’s ‘Royal Pain in the Ass’ to you, sir.”
  • Kile apologizes for calling Eadlyn “bratty.”
  • After a parade ends in a disaster, Eadlyn’s parents ask her what happened. Eadlyn replies, “Hell if I know.”
  • “Darn it” is used once.
  • Loser is used twice. Eadlyn jokingly tells someone, “Come in, loser.”
  • Erik tells Eadlyn, “That’s really none of my business, and you’re obviously having a rough day. I’m an ass.”

Sexual Content

  • General Leger is seen kissing his wife, Miss Lucy. In the studio, “General Leger was there, kissing Miss Lucy on her forehead and whispering something to her.”
  • When Eadlyn recounts her disastrous meeting of the Selected men, she says, “one blatantly stared at my chest for the entirety of our meeting.” Eadlyn later sends this man home for the reason, “‘When we met, you couldn’t stop staring at my breasts.’”
  • Kile and Eadlyn kiss in a hallway with the hopes of being photographed by paparazzi. Eadlyn describes their kiss saying, “Kile leaned down, lips meeting mine, holding them there. Then his lips parted and closed and parted again.” Their kissing is described for about a page.
  • Ahren, Eadlyn’s twin brother, makes fun of her for her lack of relationship experience. Ahren says a picture in the paper does not count as a relationship and, “Neither does making out with Leron Troyes at that Christmas ball in Paris.”
  • When going on a date with Baden, Eadlyn says, “Baden and I are going to make music…. I mean that literally, by the way.”
  • Eadlyn invites Kile over to her room and they kiss. Eadlyn recounts that she “wrapped my hand around his head, pulling him to me, and an instant later his arms were around my waist.” Eadlyn describes their kissing for a page.
  • Eadlyn is overwhelmed and goes to Kile for help. Eadlyn pushes Kile into a closet. “I was so overwhelmed, I pressed my lips into his, knowing that would make everything else stop for a minute.” As their kissing gets hotter, Eadlyn begins to remove his shirt, but Kile stops her.
  • Henri and Eadlyn kiss in the kitchen. Eadlyn describes their kiss as delicate. “I pressed my lips into his, trying to tell him without words that this was okay, that I wanted him to hold me.” Their kiss is described for half a page.
  • Camille, Ahren’s girlfriend, comes to Illea from France. When Camille arrives, Ahren, “held her tightly and kissed every corner of her face.”
  • Camille and Ahren sneak off to spend more time together. “Ahren snuck away with Camille, kissing her every step of the way.”
  • When Camille and Ahren don’t show up to breakfast one morning, Eadlyn assumes that either, “Ahren had come to his senses and told her that he needed to consider other options, and they were both in the process of avoiding each other… or they’d spent the night together and were maybe still in bed.”

Violence

  • When Kile calls Eadlyn “bratty” his mother “twacked her son over the head.”
  • When Jack tries to take things too far with Eadlyn, Ahren comes to Eadlyn’s defense. As Jack continues to torment Eadlyn in front of Ahren, Eadlyn had “never seen Ahren throw a punch before. It was almost as shocking as Jack’s limp body after my brother’s fist forced his head to whip back at an awkward angle.”
  • During a group date, Burke and Fox get into a heated argument over their cooking styles. As their argument continues to heat up, “Burke threw a punch that knocked Fox back several steps. I sucked in a breath, frozen. Fox came back at him, and I was pushed to the floor by Burke’s arm pulling back for another punch.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • As Eadlyn and her parents prepare for the arrival of the Selected men, her mother and the chef discuss the need to finalize the first seven-course dinner. Eadlyn “groaned internally. A true seven-course meal could take six hours from the first sip of a cocktail to the final bite of chocolate.”
  • Eadlyn hides away from her people. She says she “took shelter in long baths or a drink with dinner.”
  • After Eadlyn’s parade for the Selected men goes awry, Eadlyn’s mother and father “were both drinking something a little stronger than wine—a rare occasion—though it didn’t appear to be doing much for their nerves.”
  • When Eadlyn invites Kile into her room, Kile “spotted the wine I’d provided and wasted no time in pouring himself a glass.”
  • When Ean questions Eadlyn on what her favorite food is, Eadlyn answers, “Do mimosas count?”

Spiritual Content

  • When Eadlyn comes across two guards, one of the guards says, “Thank God. Go to the king and tell him we’ve found her.”
  • When Eadlyn’s mother has a heart attack, Eadlyn rushes to the hospital wing. When she gets there, “Aunt May sat next to Miss Marlee, who appeared to be deep in prayer.”
  • When the Selected men find out that Eadlyn’s mother is in the hospital wing, they come to show their support. As they approach Eadlyn, Kile says, “We’ve come to pray.”

Supernatural Content

  • None

Paper Girl

Zoe hasn’t left her family’s Denver penthouse in over a year. Doctors continually tell her that her anxiety will get better if she takes little steps, but she knows that she can’t do that. That would mean going outside into the real world, and the thought of that is too terrifying to contemplate. It is much better to stay inside where it is safe, in a world that she constructs out of paper. Nothing can hurt you inside. Nothing can scare you.

Everything changes when her mom decides to hire a tutor for Zoe. But it isn’t just any tutor. . . it’s Jackson, a friend of her older sister Mae. Jackson is the only person from the outside world that Zoe wishes she could see. He’s the boy that she has been thinking about non-stop for a year. How can she let him into her world?

Zoe’s world is flipped upside down as Jackson enters her life and makes her realize that the world outside her door might not be as scary as it seems. The story doesn’t just focus on Zoe, but also shares Jackson’s perspective. Jackson faces many difficulties as he deals with homelessness, an alcoholic father, and the struggle of raising money for college.

Zoe and Jackson don’t realize that they have been communicating while playing online chess together. For over a year, they have been sharing their problems with each other. Online is the only place that they feel free to share their struggle. Will the two ever be able to connect in person? Paper Girl is a captivating read that sheds light on the diverse struggles of adolescence.

Paper Girl discusses mental health at length, as the main character has debilitating anxiety that restricts her from leaving her home. She often meets with therapists and doctors in order to grapple with her illness. Through first-person narration, the audience is able to feel her struggles firsthand, giving a vivid picture of life with a mental illness. Jackson’s father is also depicted as a rampant alcoholic, and although the audience never directly sees him in this state, it is referenced frequently. The characters face realistic hardships, which at times will disturb readers. However, Zoe and Jackson’s story also highlights the importance of having compassion for others who are trying to navigate life. The story does not only focus on the character’s hardships but also adds in a satisfying romantic plot.

Paper Girl is a delightful and easy read, making it an enjoyable experience for the audience despite having some heavy subject matter. The depth and relatability of the characters draw readers in, inviting them to enter Zoe’s paper world. The small details of the characters’ interactions and the sweet romance create an endearing charm that keeps readers on the edge of their seats, eager to see what happens next.

Zoe’s family is an integral part of Zoe’s journey, and although they are not always understanding, they truly want what is best for her. Another positive aspect of this story is that therapy is portrayed in a positive light.

Zoe’s journey is powerful, as she and the audience learn how to battle inner demons to live a fulfilling life. Beautifully written, Paper Girl is a must-read that has relatable characters who struggle with anxiety and are afraid of being judged by others. Paper Girl will evoke emotions of frustration and sadness, as well as give readers a message of hope.

Sexual Content

  • Zoe’s parents kiss in a scene, making her feel mildly uncomfortable. “Dad kissed Mom on the lips long enough to make me cringe.”
  • In Zoe’s fantasy world, she would “flirt with [Jackson] a little.”
  • Zoe’s fear of seeing Jackson was, “the equivalent of the naked dream.”
  • When Jackson’s elbow brushes Zoe’s, he thinks, “her skin was so smooth and warm and I wanted to touch it again.”
  • When Zoe thinks about Jackson wanting to get to know her, it “makes my whole body buzz.”
  • Mae teases Zoe about Jackson and says, “You think he’s hot and you want to kiss him?”
  • Mae kissed her boyfriend, Robert, “all the time, and even though I made faces, she seemed to like it.”
  • Zoe fantasizes about Jackson and thinks, “Jackson’s kisses were probably like his smiles. Overwhelming. Brilliant.”
  • In another fantasy, Zoe imagines that she and Jackson would walk around Denver. “He’d kiss me, right in the middle of the sidewalk. He’d slide his hand down the hem of my shirt, where a sliver of bare skin was exposed and—”
  • Gina, Zoe’s therapist, tells her a story of when she was in college and threw up on a guy’s shoes. “I offered to take him out that weekend, and though he didn’t want new shoes, he still went out with me. And we dated for a year.”
  • There is a scene where Zoe and Jackson stand on a balcony staring out at the night sky. During the entire scene, Jackson has his arms around Zoe’s waist.
  • Mae says that Zoe “has it soooo bad” for the comic book character Mr. Fantastic, and that he has “sexy glasses.”
  • Mae casually asks Zoe if Jackson is a good kisser. When Zoe says that she has yet to kiss him, Mae recommends that she, “pull him over to Mercury and say something about gravity not working or something then kind of fall into him. . . with your lips.”
  • Zoe and Jackson share their first kiss. “His found mine without hesitation. They were warm, like his hands, and softer than I expected. Gentle. My mouth parted, ready to say his name, but he took this as an invitation to step even closer, so his hand slid up my back and the other found my cheek with those same warm fingers.” Later, after trying again, Zoe says, “I was right, Jackson was a great kisser, and I never wanted him to stop.” They kiss several more times throughout the novel.
  • After they kiss, Jackson’s “fingers slid up my spine, making my world tilt.”
  • When Zoe tells Jackson that she wants to make a paper asteroid belt, he says, “Oh God, you make that sound sexy.”
  • While they are making out, Jackson is surprised when Zoe, “shifted in my lap to straddle my legs.” After this, the elevator unexpectedly dings, surprising them, and they hastily get up to look normal. Jackson “yanked down the front hem of my shirt to cover the effect Zoe had on me.”

Violence

  • Mae and her friends play a game when they watch horror movies, where they compete to see who comes closest to guessing the number of people who will die. Some of the movie is described. “She fired off another shot. The killer collapsed in a heap . . . In a last burst of unnatural and bloody vengeance, the Prom Night Slasher jumped on Alisha, using his bare hands to strangle her.”
  • Zoe worries that Jackson’s dad, who is an alcoholic, had “gotten violent.”
  • Zoe’s therapist, Gina, got jumped in college. “‘He had a knife. I tried to fight, but. . .’ She pushed aside her scarf to reveal a jagged scar that ran down her neck to her collarbone. ‘It almost killed me.’”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Jackson’s dad is referenced many times as being an alcoholic and a drug addict. Eventually, he goes to rehab and gets his life back on track.
  • Jackson is homeless. His father still receives his mail and official paperwork, so he isn’t caught by social services, but “I wasn’t sure how much of that agreement Dad remembered, since he’d made it while working toward an epic high on heroin.”
  • Jackson thought his Dad had sold his clothes “for drug money.”
  • When Jackson’s Dad calls him for the first time in months, he grows suspicious and thinks of his schedule. His dad, “didn’t typically start the party until two a.m. First, a few beers, then tequila, and if that didn’t get him where he wanted, he’d hit the heroin.”

Language

  • Profanity is used frequently throughout the book. Profanity includes: damn, hell, crap, bastard, shit, holy shit, and dammit.
  • Jackson’s online chess partner was “kicking my ass.”
  • Zoe calls her math makeup homework “crappy.”
  • Jackson said that he’d been, “riding a ship through the shit storm of life with my father at the helm.”
  • Oh my God, God, and oh God are used as exclamations several times.
  • Jackson calls Zoe a “badass.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

by Morgan Filgas

Pretend She’s Here

Emily can’t believe that her best friend Lizzie is gone. Every day she misses Lizzie now that she’s dead and her family has moved away. When Lizzy’s parents and her sister come back to town to visit Lizzie’s grave, Emily is happy to see them. Emily thinks that they are the only people who can understand her pain.

Emily doesn’t think twice about getting into the vehicle with them. After all, they are her second family. But soon, Emily realizes that Lizzie’s parents aren’t in town for a quick visit. Instead, they have come on a desperate attempt to bring Lizzie back to life. Soon Emily is trapped by the desperate parents, and she’s afraid there is no escape.

Pretend She’s Here is a unique story that has a major creep factor to keep the pages turning. The story focuses on Emily, who is kidnapped at the beginning of the book. Much of the story is told through Emily’s memory, which unfortunately eliminates much of the suspense. Emily’s large Catholic family is difficult to keep track of, and the many flashbacks of the seven siblings become confusing. There are simply too many characters to keep track of and many of them do not have a distinct personality.

Lizzie’s mom, Mrs. Porter, clearly wants to turn Emily into a replacement for Lizzie. The fact that Mrs. Porter’s family goes along with the plot allows the reader to see how desperate Mrs. Porter has become. However, Mr. Porter fades into the background, and readers will miss seeing how he fits into the family dynamic. The ending of the story is also a bit frustrating because Emily has so many chances to tell people who she really is, and yet she stays silent. At one point, she faints and is taken to the doctor, who sees many clues that Emily is in a desperate situation, but the doctor doesn’t act on her suspicions. Even though the author manages to make this unlikely scenario with the doctor believable, the ending of the book stretches the imagination too far.

Pretend She’s Here isn’t just a frightening kidnapping story; it also has themes of alcoholism, grief, friendship, and the power of forgiveness. While some readers may enjoy the kidnapping story, others may be frightened by it, especially because Emily is taken by someone who she considered her second family. Readers looking for a frightening story that examines the desperation that grief can cause will enjoy Pretend She’s Here. However, readers who are easily frightened should leave this book on the shelf.

Sexual Content

  • Emily’s friend says that she sees “stars” when she kisses her boyfriend.
  • Emily thinks back to her sister who would go up to the church steeple with her boyfriend “to kiss.”
  • Emily thinks about Casey and imagines “the feeling of his lips on mine.”
  • While at school, Emily sees Casey, and “all I wanted was for him to kiss me right there, that exact moment.”
  • While sledding, Emily and Casey’s sled crashes. They started laughing. “Then all at once the laughter stopped, I looked into his eyes, and he kissed me. The world fell out from under me, and I was floating in space, held up by Casey’s arms. . . His lips were soft and the kiss was hot, and I forgot I had a body and a life—and I was part of Casey and he was part of me.”

Violence

  • Emily is kidnapped and her hands are bound behind her back. She tries to escape. Emily “crouched as if about to bar, then used my legs as springs and smashed into Mrs. Porter, knocking her down, making her cry out. I turned and ran as fast as I could into the trees.”
  • In order to get Emily to behave, Mrs. Porter videotapes herself walking with Emily’s mom. Emily sees, “Mrs. Porter’s red plaid jacket and then, in her other hand, a knife with a thick, sharp silver blade. She made a jabbing motion.” After she watches the video, Emily “slapped her in the face as hard as I could, fumbled for the phone. Cloe (Mrs. Porter’s daughter) charged at me, clawed the phone out of my hand. We kept fighting for it, but then she shoved me.”
  • Emily sees her family and tries to get out of the car, but “Mrs. Porter wriggled between the two front seats and pulled my hair so hard my head smashed the headrest. She slapped my face. . . Mrs. Porter had now wriggled her way into the back seat beside me. Fingers still tangled in my hair, she tightened her grip, shaking my head, making every nerve in my scalp scream with pain.” Emily stops struggling when Mrs. Porter tells her, “I’ll kill your mother here and now.”
  • Mrs. Porter stops Emily from leaving. “I started to jump up. But she clawed my wrist, nails digging into my skin, pulling me back down. . . Then I saw the other hand. Her fingers were closed around the knife with the silver blade. . .” Mrs. Porter tries to kill Emily, but Emily “fought her. I hit her as hard as I could, heard my fist crack her cheekbone. I tried to kick her, but she’d leapt up from the bed, gripping my wrist, and my foot missed. She was waving the knife, stabbing the air, but I kept ducking, trying to pull away.” Mrs. Porter stabs Emily, who is rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Someone kidnaps Emily and gives her drugs so she will sleep. “A bottle clinked. I turned my head, saw her lift a small vial in front of her face, insert a syringe into the rubber cap to withdraw liquid, and lightly pump the plunger so a tiny clear stream squirted into the air. . . I felt the needle prick, then a slow ache in my bicep. Almost instantly, I felt light-headed.” Emily falls asleep.
  • Emily’s mother is an alcoholic, and Emily thinks back to a time when her mother missed her play because she was drunk. Emily’s mother, “had been sober over a year now. Since the last horrible fight that had sent her to rehab. . .” Emily thinks about her mom not being at the play, and when she got home, “I found my mother passed out in bed. The fumes left no doubt that there’d been alcohol involved.”
  • Casey’s mom was prescribed oxycodone. She became addicted and died of an overdose. Casey says, “One day she took too many. She never woke up.”
  • A doctor gives Mrs. Porter a prescription for Xanax.
  • While Emily is in the hospital, she is given Morphine which puts her in a “sick, sleepy twilight state.” She is also given opioids.

Language

  • Oh god is used as an exclamation twice; oh my God and OMG are used as an exclamation once.
  • Damn is used once.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Emily’s family is Catholic and attends church. Emily thinks about all of her siblings’ names and how they were “Catholic to the max. My mom had gone to St. Joseph’s College; my dad had gone to Holy Cross.” She and her siblings were given saint’s names and were baptized. Emily thinks, “even though we skipped Mass a lot, we did our best. We believed in the sacraments and had all made our first communion and confirmations.”
  • Emily’s mother says, “By the grace of God, I haven’t picked up a drink since.”
  • Casey, who was blind, tells Emily about his mother. “. . . She never stopped hoping I’d be able to see better someday. . .I had the best doctors, but her real faith was in St. Anthony.”
  • When Emily is in the hospital, she thinks about her mother. “I prayed you wouldn’t drink. I just wanted everything to be okay.”
  • While Emily was missing her mother, she “tried to pray, but I felt there was no one listening. I couldn’t hear God talking back to me. The priest from All Souls Church came, but I told your father not to let him in.”

Burning Blue

Nicole has it all. She’s rich, beautiful, and popular. When unknown assailant splashes acid onto Nicole’s face, her tragedy is splashed over the national news. As Nicole tries to come to terms with her disfigurement, the reporters follow her trying to get a gruesome picture of her wounds.

Jay has always been a loner. Because of an embarrassing epileptic seizure he had during an assembly, his classmates treat him like a freak. When he sees Nicole’s damaged face, he decides to find out who did it. As he begins to dig for clues, he discovers that Nicole is surprisingly down-to-earth. Jay uses his hacking skills to try to uncover the truth, but this leads him into danger. He realizes that everyone is a suspect—teachers, friends, and even Nicole herself. Can Jay find the assailant before there is another attack?

After a chance meeting in the school counselor’s office, Jay and Nicole form a fragile relationship. Both are trying to deal with an event that has changed the way their classmates see them. Both are trying to figure out how to deal with a difficult situation. The author highlights that people who face trauma do not bounce back immediately. Instead, they need time and therapy to heal their wounds.

Readers will be able to relate to Jay, who not only has a troubled relationship with his father, but also struggles with fitting in with his peers and allows his fear of being embarrassed to control his choices. Because Jay has been the target of other’s mean comments and has faced difficulty because of his epilepsy, Jay has empathy for others. Jay’s hacking abilities give the story an interesting twist. As Jay hunts for clues, the reader will want to continue turning the pages to find out what happens next.

There is never a dull moment in Burning Blue, which has elements of romance, teenage anguish, and high school drama. The wide cast of possible suspects allows the readers to question each person’s motives. The ending contains several surprises and will leave the reader questioning the nature of evil. Teens looking for an action-packed mystery will want to grab Burning Blue. Besides being a highly entertaining story, Burning Blue highlights that appearances can be deceptive. After you’ve read Burning Blue, you may want to check out Griffin’s book Adrift, which is another packed story.

Sexual Content

  • Nicole’s boyfriend was usually a gentleman, but one “afternoon he was jacked up on too many Red Bulls or whatever, desperate. He wouldn’t let her go. He kept saying, ‘One last kiss.’”
  • When the police were interviewing people, Jay thinks the police “were looking for someone who hated Nicole, not somebody who was trying to bone her.”
  • Jay hacks into someone’s social media and sees a text that says, “Somebody should blow her boyfriend and post the video on her fb.”
  • After Nicole’s face is burned, a girl stops and stares “like she’d stumbled onto a rape in progress.”
  • Some boys invite a girl to a party with “the intention of having her pull the train.” Jay takes the girl outside “with the intention of walking her home. She was smashed, tackled me onto the hood of this Mercedes sedan, rammed her tongue down my throat.” Then she pukes. This girl was the “only girl I (Jay) had ever kissed. I mean, I’d gotten hand jobs before from this chick in my building who was a year older than I was, but when you kiss a girl on the mouth, even if it’s only for three seconds and she pukes after, that’s kind of serious in my book.”
  • Jay sees a custodian’s email. “Somebody named Isabella1801 had emailed what she wanted to do with him that night. No whips or chains, but it was borderline hard-core.”
  • A girl likes to take her friends’ phones and send texts. Someone explains, “You’d check your Sent folder and see you’d just zipped the dude an invitation to give him a blow job.”
  • Someone asked Jay if he’d “boned her (Nicole) yet?”
  • Jay kisses Nicole. “I put my hands on her face as I leaned in and kissed her. I kissed her checks, her eyes, her mouth. In time, we stopped trembling, and the cold was gone from us. . .”

Violence

  • Someone squirts acid on Nicole’s face. She screamed as she was “trying to wipe off the acid made the situation worse. She burned her hands.”
  • Jay pinned someone in a wrestling match. Afterwards, the boy got his friends together for revenge. “After practice the guys stuffed up the sink and held my head under the water until Dave came in. He shoved everyone back. . .”
  • A reporter was trying to take pictures of Nicole and wouldn’t leave her alone. Jay “grabbed his camera and smashed it on the pavement.”
  • Someone attacked Jay. He “ran, but she kicked my foot from behind. She smashed my head face-first into musty green mini-golf carpet. I felt her knee in my back and something smooth, cold and heavy behind my ear. Metal, the nose of a pistol.” The police appear and help Jay.
  • While in a car, a boy grabs Jay. “The arm was around my neck, and the chokehold was tightening. . .My neck was pinned to the edge of the seat back. . .I was fading out. . . I was sure they were going to kill me, and I panicked. With images of that childhood car crash blinding me, I drove my feet into and through the back of the driver’s seat.” The car crashed. Jay ends up in the hospital and one person was seriously injured.
  • A girl was having sex with David. She’s angry that he “let me such your dick no problem, but you’re embarrassed to be seen in public with me.” She thinks his dad would say she is a “low-class whore.”
  • Nicole’s mom “poured the oil onto herself.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • There is a rumor that one of the boys was “willing to do anything to win, including possibly giving himself steroid-induced testicular cancer.”
  • Jay takes anticonvulsant medication for his epilepsy.
  • After Nicole is burned, she is given pain medication, but sometimes she flushes it down the toilet because it makes her feel numb. She also takes Xanax to help her sleep. Later in the story, she takes Prozac.
  • Jays dad was drinking “a bottle of red wine, the second one.” It is implied that Jay’s dad has a drinking problem and has gotten a DUI before.
  • A reporter “liked to buy the cops ending their eight-to-fours a pony beer or two.”
  • Jay takes an adult friend “a six of Becks.”
  • Jay didn’t want Nicole to see his apartment because, “once in a while people hung out in the lot and smoked weed and drank and yelled and fought.”
  • An adult tells Jay that he’ll give him twenty bucks if he got a haircut. Jay jokes, “Might just blow it on meth too.”
  • When a girl had “a few too many drinks” and puked in the bathroom, Nicole helped her out.
  • Jay’s dad calls to check on him, and Jay says, “I’m just mainlining a little heroin.” Jay was upset that when his dad called he had been drinking.
  • When Jay called a friend, she said she was drinking “straight vodka.” Later she tells Jay that, “If you were really thankful, you’d get me the Budweiser.” Jay recommends she go to rehab.
  • Jay, his mother, and father went to a party. Jay’s mother and father had been drinking. His mom drove even though she’d “had a few.” The car hit black ice and crashed. His mother died.
  • After a car accident, Jay is given pain killers.

Language

  • Crap is used often.
  • Profanity is used occasionally and includes ass, bitch, damn, hell, piss, and shit.
  • “Oh my God” is used as an exclamation six times. “Goddamn” is used once.
  • When Jay breaks a reporter’s camera, the man yells, “fuck you.”
  • Jay calls a guy a “douche.” Later, someone calls someone a douche bag.
  • Dick is used three times. Jay asked Nicole if her dad was “being a dick about money.”
  • Jay says he needs to act tough or he’d get his “ass kicked.”
  • Jay thinks, “I was going to catch the son of a bitch who burned Nicole Castro.”
  • Someone said Nicole’s father was a “bona fide prick.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Catching Jordan

As a quarterback, senior Jordan Woods dreams to play in the big leagues. The only problem? She’s a girl. That doesn’t stop her from pursuing a football scholarship to the University of Alabama. When a new quarterback comes to town, she realizes that she will have some competition for her position on the field—and for her heart. Ty Green, the new quarterback, is extremely good-looking. Jordan has an instant crush on her competition, but he isn’t her only problem.

Her father, a starting NFL quarterback, won’t come to her games, and she’s under the scrutiny of college recruiters. To make matters worse, her best friend, Sam Henry, is in love with her. But Jordan doesn’t know how Sam feels, and it soon becomes complicated when Sam reveals his feelings. Jordan must figure out how to stand out on the football field and how to navigate dating relationships and young love.

Catching Jordan is a story that pulls readers in with realistic struggles. All her life she has had to fight against the world telling her that a girl could never stand up and play at the college level. Her own dad, a former NFL player, doesn’t want her playing out of fear of injury. She also has trouble trying to navigate dating and love, something she has always avoided out of fear of losing the respect of her teammates.

Although the story has some cliches, Jordan’s character makes reading Catching Jordan worthwhile. Readers will fall in love with Jordan. Even though Jordan is considered “one of the guys,” she has the same emotions as any other girl.  Whether she is venting about her father, or trying to figure out how to kiss, her voice comes across as real, honest, and funny. Readers will be able to connect with Jordan, who will take them on an emotional ride full of laughs and tears.

Even though the story features football, at the heart of the story is fun, flirty romance. However, the story isn’t just about love; it is also about overcoming obstacles and never giving up. Jordan isn’t afraid of standing up for what she believes in and she is willing to reach for her dream, even if it seems unattainable. The strong character development and interwoven football plays make Catching Jordan an excellent read for mature readers. Although the story appeals to sports fans, anyone who wants to read a fabulously fun story should pick up Catching Jordan.

Sexual Content

  • Henry speaks about a cheerleader saying, “I’d never fool around with Kristen—I have standards, you know.”
  • While joking around with some of the players, Henry says, “We’re a package deal.” JJ responds jokingly, saying, “That’s ‘cause all you ever think about is your package.” Just after this joke, JJ starts kissing Lacey, a cheerleader. They “start kissing as if winning the state championship depends on it.”
  • Jordan thinks about how she’s never had a boyfriend or even been kissed when her “friends are off hooking up with cheerleaders.”
  • Jordan asks why Henry is so confused about who he wants to date. He says, “I dunno. . . the sex is okay. . .” She asks him, “Why do you keep sleeping with girls you aren’t dating?”
  • Jordan says that JJ owed her because she covered for him once when “he’d been making out with Lacey and had lost track of time.” Later, Lacey asks Jordan if JJ has mentioned her. Jordan thinks to herself, “You mean, besides to tell me you guys slept together in the back of your mom’s car last night?”
  • Mike’s best friend Jake makes an inappropriate joke, saying, “I can teach you math in bed, Jordan. You know, I’ll add the bed, you subtract the clothes, you divide the legs, and I’ll multiply.” Later, Jake makes another comment saying, “Damn, Jordan. You should play tight end because your ass is wound tighter than a baseball.”
  • After Jordan tells her brother Mike about crushing on Ty, he says, “You might get hungry for his hunk of man meat.”
  • Jordan spends extra time getting ready in the morning to impress Ty. She wears lace underwear saying, “Provided they stay the hell out of my butt crack, they might make me feel sexier later on today.” Speaking of her bra, she says, “It shows off my boobs.”
  • Ty tells Jordan about the night he spent with Henry and some girls. “Henry and Marie made out for, like, an hour. . . Pretty soon I’m the only person still wearing clothes.” He does not describe anything that happened.
  • JJ asks where the fake baby that Jordan and Henry are taking care of for school is, and she replies, “He’s with his father, who’s probably sleeping with Marie Baird right now.” JJ says, “She’s a damn nice piece of ass.” Jordan responds, “Don’t be such a pig.”
  • Jordan is dared to jump in the lake in her underwear. She does, and Ty follows suit and jumps in with her in only his underwear. They start to kiss and become physical. “He drags his hands across my stomach, dipping a fingertip into my belly button, and I feel his mouth on my shoulder. . . I inch my fingertips across his shoulders and elbows as I move my mouth to his throat. . . I shiver when he runs a finger across my bare stomach, right above the elastic of my boy shorts, before exploring my body with his lips.” The scene lasts two pages.
  • Two girls talk badly about Jordan in the bathroom, upset and confused about why Ty would want to be with Jordan instead of them. They say, “Maybe he just wants to screw her because she’s a virgin.” They go on to say, “Maybe she’s a slut.”
  • Jordan is nervous that people will think badly of her when they find out she and Ty are dating. She tells Henry she’s afraid people will call her a “slut.” He responds saying, “Of course not. . . because I think you have to sleep with more than one person, possibly several, to be considered a slut.”
  • Jordan and Ty sleep together. It does not go into any detail. “And I just have to have him. Every bit of him. Now. . . A little while later, we’re still clinging to each other under the covers.”
  • Jordan talks to JJ about how she feels conflicted about dating Ty when she doesn’t know if she loves him. JJ says, “Hey, if the sex is good, what else do you need, eh?” She replies, “Well, um, I bet sex might be better if you’re actually in love.”
  • Jordan and Henry finally decide to become girlfriend and boyfriend. They make out in their hotel room, but don’t do anything else. The scene is not detailed. “We make out for what seems like hours, pausing only for cookies and champagne.”

Violence

  • Jordan gets sacked during a football practice. “I fly backward, slamming to the ground, my head rattling around inside my helmet. Ow.”
  • Jordan says that last year after a game, “JJ punched a guy from Northgate High for grabbing my butt after a game. ‘Show Woods some respect! Or I’ll kick your ass.’”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Henry and Carter go to a party. The next morning Henry texts Jordan saying, “Carter got trashed and made out with the freshman from lunch.”
  • A cheerleader brings drinks to a hangout at Jordan’s house. “‘Who wants a drink?’ Lacey asks, pulling these lame piña colada wine coolers out of her bag and passing them out to the other girls.”
  • Jordan and Henry drink champagne the night they finally become official. They are underage. “He opens his wallet and pulls out a fake ID, showing it off for me.”

Language

  • There is an extreme amount of foul language in this book. Jordan, the main character and narrator, uses “hell” and “shit” regularly.
  • Profanity is used in extreme. Profanity includes: “hell,” “asshole,” “ass,” “badass,” “idiot,” “shit,” “bullshit,” “shitload,” “damn,” “damned,” “fucking,” “fucked,” “fuck,” “bitch,” “whore,” “tool,” “slut,” “man-slut,” “dyke,” and “skank.” For example, someone says, “If I lose my confidence, I’m going to play like shit, and shitty players don’t get offered spots on Division 1 teams like Alabama.”
  • “Oh my God” and “Jesus” are both used as exclamations.
  • One of the cheerleaders and an opposing player both call Jordan a “dyke.”
  • Jordan calls some of the cheerleaders the “local bimbos” and one of them a “floozy.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Jordan is thinking about the cheerleaders’ lack of knowledge about football. “Especially since he’s been spending time with girls who think a Hail Mary is a prayer to Jesus’s mom.”
  • Henry likes to say that Jordan should start “living life like I’m going to hell tomorrow.”
  • Jordan is thinking about Ty and how he is from Texas. “Texans take their football seriously. It’s practically a religion down there.” Later on, she says, “A Texas football player who doesn’t kneel down and pray to the Cowboys every Sunday?”
  • Jordan and Henry remember when they were younger and they went to Carter’s church Halloween bazaar. “It’s been nine years since Carter invited us to that Halloween bazaar at his church. . . all the booths were Bible-themed. The church had converted this long dark hallway into a replica of the inside of a whale’s stomach, so people could experience what it was like for Jonah after he was swallowed.”
  • Jordan plays poorly at a football game while a scout is watching. She says that she will “pray to the football gods to give” her another chance.

by Hannah Neeley

Edenbrooke

Marianne Daventry is a seventeen-year-old girl in 1816 England who finds no pleasure in becoming a proper lady. She loves to be in the country and twirl, but since her mother passed away and her father ran away to France to mourn, she has been stuck in Bath with her grandmother who shows her little affection. When Marianne’s twin sister Cecily invites her to stay in Edenbrooke, the country estate of one of their mother’s childhood friends, Marianne thinks things might just be looking up for her. She is excited to escape boring Bath and bask in the countryside. However, Marianne’s grandmother will only allow her to go to Edenbrooke if Marianne agrees to become a proper lady.

While on her way to Edenbrooke, Marianne has a frightening encounter with a highwayman, who shoots her coachman. She seeks help at an inn, where she meets a mysterious handsome stranger who helps her. The mysterious stranger leaves before Marianne can discover his full name. Edenbrooke may not be her tranquil escape after all, as romance enters her life in a way she never expected, and her sister tries to win the heart of the heir of Edenbrooke. Marianne is forced to decide if her loyalties lie with her sister or with her own heart.

Edenbrooke is a sappy romance much like any of Jane Austen’s classic novels. Although the storyline is very predictable, readers will fall in love with Marianne and her quick wit. Her desire for true friendship and to feel loved by her family makes her character relatable and believable. Even though it is a romance novel, most of the book is about the friendship the characters first develop and how Marianne’s feelings begin to shift from friendship to romance. Because the story is told from first-person point of view, readers become close to Marianne’s thoughts, making her even more relatable.

Because the story is set in 1816, the author uses older difficult words, such as “incorrigible” and “odious.” Although the beginning is a little slow, once the reader gets past the first chapter, they won’t want to put the book down, because they will be intrigued by the mysterious man Marianne meets at the inn and her mixed feelings for him. Readers searching for a pure, heartfelt, romantic story will find what they are looking for in Edenbrooke.

Sexual Content

  • Marianne’s cousin, Mr. Kellet, is known for being promiscuous. “Nothing put Grandmother in a sour mood as surely as hearing about the latest scandal involving her heir. He was a rake and a scoundrel and had gambled away all of his own money while waiting to inherit Grandmother’s sizeable fortune.”
  • Marianne often compares herself to her sister Cecily, who is much more flirtatious than she is. She thinks her sister, “flirted easily with gentlemen.”
  • Mr. Whittles, a middle-aged man who is rather repulsive, tries to court Marianne. When she is leaving for Edenbrooke, “he grabbed my hand and lifted it to his mouth. The kiss he bestowed on my hand was so wet it actually left a mark on my glove.”
  • Philip often flirts with Marianne and makes her blush. His flirting consists mainly of friendly teasing and playful compliments. On the night they first meet, Philip tells Marianne, “‘I don’t think I have ever met a lady like you, Miss Marianne Daventry, and I would feel very sorry to forget anything about this evening.’ I suddenly could not breathe. My blush spread to my ears, and I knew, deep in my bones, that I was no match for this man, not with my games or my confidence or my wit.”
  • After telling Philip how her mother passed away, part of Marianne, “wanted to lean into the cool glass of the window, away from him, and the rest of me wanted to lean against him, into his warmth.”
  • Marianne and Philip stare into each other’s eyes, and it seems as if they are going to kiss. “His eyes were persuading me that I wanted that something. They were inviting me closer, drawing me closer, convincing me to learn, to fall, to dive into their blue depths and never resurface.” The moment is interrupted when Philip’s uncle walks in because Philip always makes a point to leave the door open when he and Marianne are alone.
  • Philip brushes Marianne’s hair out of her face, “his fingers brushing my cheek and neck in a surprisingly intimate gesture. My heart skittered at his touch, a blush rising to my cheeks.”
  • Marianne has a sudden desire to kiss Philip. “He grinned wickedly. To my astonishment, I suddenly had the strongest urge to kiss those lips, wicked or not.”
  • Philip lets Marianne use his jacket as a pillow when she naps outside. When she thanks him, he flirtatiously says, “You are welcome to use my pillow any time.” She scolds him for being inappropriate.
  • Marianne goes to a far part of the estate to be alone. When she returns, Philip is waiting for her at the horse’s stall, concerned. He asks her if she cares for him. He puts his hand on the wall above her shoulder. “Without thinking, I put my hand on his chest, meaning to push him away. But as soon as I touched him, I froze . . . It took all of my concentration not to slide my hands up his chest, over his shoulders, around his neck, not to curl my fingers into his hair, not to pull his head down to mine . . .” Marianne tells him she cares for him only as a friend and host.
  • Philip teaches Marianne how to write a love letter. He writes, “Where is your compassion when I need it most? Open your eyes, love, and see what is right before you: that I am not merely a friend, but a man, deeply, desperately in love with you.” It is later revealed that Philip was writing about Marianne, in hopes that she will realize his feelings for her.
  • Cecily and Marianne run into Mr. Kellet in town. When Marianne asks why Cecily flirted with him knowing his scandalous reputation, Cecily says it’s because “rakes are the best kissers.” She implies that she has had experience kissing “rakes.”
  • Cecily thinks flirting is perfectly fine, even within a marriage. “Everyone knows it is perfectly acceptable for a lady to flirt,” Cecily said. “As long as she is discreet. And her husband will appreciate having the same freedom.”
  • Marianne talks to Rachel, Philip’s sister-in-law, who says her father would not approve of what her husband and Philip will do on their future trip. She says she tries not to know what they do, and all Marianne, “could think was that the only reason a woman would not want to know what her husband was doing was if he was doing something improper.” Marianne later learns that Philip and his brother are going on a trip to buy racehorses, not to do anything scandalous.
  • Marianne and Philip dance at a ball. “When he touched my waist, he did not rest his hand passively and lightly. Rather, he pulled me toward him, his hand pressing on the small of my back, so that in a step I was so close I could feel him breathe. . . I could not believe I had ever danced this way without realizing how intimate it was.”
  • Cecily tells Marianne that Mr. Kellet kissed her, without details. Marianne is shocked, then she, “remembered that Philip was off seeking the same type of pleasure.” Philip is actually buying horses.
  • Rachel reads a letter from her husband to Marianne. “Philip has fallen in love with a real beauty, with nice legs and beautiful lines. He thinks the price is too dear, but I would not be surprised if he brings her home in the end.” Marianne thinks the description is of a woman, but it is of a horse.
  • Mr. Beaufort, Mr. Whittles’s nephew, proposes to Marianne. She refuses, and “he took my hand and pressed his lips to it.”
  • Mr. Beaufort kidnaps Marianne because he knows of the fortune she will inherit. Marianne thinks, “No one would want me if I passed the night with Mr. Beaufort, no matter what he did or did not do to me.”
  • Mr. Beaufort forcibly kisses Marianne. “He grabbed me around the waist, pulled me to him, and pressed his mouth against mine.”
  • Mr. Beaufort forcibly kisses Marianne again. Marianne, “twisted and turned in his grip, but he only held me tighter and pressed his vile lips against mine.”
  • Philip and Marianne kiss. The scene lasts for two and a half pages, although most of it is dialogue. Neither can understand how the other didn’t know of their feelings. “His lips were firm and insistent, gentle and caressing. His fingers threaded in my hair, holding my head exactly how he wanted it while he kissed me one way, then another, until I trembled in his arms…His arms surrounded me, pulling me close, holding me as if I was infinitely precious.”
  • In the same scene, Philip wipes Marianne’s “tears, and he kissed me again, and again, and whispered things too sublime to repeat, until I was thoroughly convinced, he was madly in love with me, Marianne Daventry, a girl with no great figure, too many freckles, and a propensity for twirling. And then I knew I had met my match.”
  • Philip and Marianne kiss one more time, though not in great detail. “He caught his breath, and then I felt his lips curl up into his wicked grin. It was delicious.”

Violence

  • Marianne’s carriage is stopped by a highwayman. He shoots her coachman. “A loud shot erupted the silence. I jumped, startled. A man cried out, and the carriage jerked forward, then stopped again.” Marianne’s coachman’s wound is not described in great detail. Marianne, “felt a sticky wetness on his shoulder. He had been shot.”
  • The highwayman tries to force Marianne out of the carriage. “He gripped my ankle, then twisted hard. A pain shot up my leg. I fell on the floor of the carriage, face down, and was pulled backward.” He is unsuccessful at pulling Marianne out because her maid shoots at him. It is not told whether she hits the highwayman or not, but he leaves.
  • Marianne tells how her mother died in a horseback riding accident. She tells Philip how her mother, “would take any jump fearlessly, no matter how high it looked. . . My father found her. I am sure you can imagine the rest easily enough.”
  • Marianne’s maid says that Marianne’s grandmother, “threatened to cut out my tongue and eat it for breakfast” if she told Marianne that it was her grandmother’s idea for her to go to Edenbrooke. Marianne jokes that “she would not have eaten it for breakfast. You know she only eats meat at dinner.”
  • Mr. Beaufort convinces Marianne that he has kidnapped her maid in order to make her come willingly with him. He threatens her that she wouldn’t, “want her to be hurt the way your coachman was hurt, do you?” He didn’t actually have her maid.
  • In her effort to escape Mr. Beaufort, Marianne convinces him to close his eyes and, “held the penknife to his throat, and called on my courage. I found it lacking. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stab him like this.” She has him open his eyes and, “pressed the knife into his skin until it drew blood.” Later, she “stabbed blindly at his hands.”
  • Marianne shoots at Mr. Beaufort with his pistol but misses.
  • Philip duels Mr. Beaufort to protect Marianne’s honor. “Philip looked perfectly in control, his sword bending the skin of Mr. Beaufort’s neck without piercing it.”
  • Marianne asks Philip not to kill Mr. Beaufort. Instead, Philip gives Mr. Beaufort’s face a cut with his sword, “from his chin, through his lips, to the side of his nose.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Mr. Beaufort drinks when he kidnaps Marianne. “He poured himself three glasses, and at the end of the third glass, he set it down clumsily on the table.” Marianne thinks it is wine at first, but she later realizes he is drinking brandy.

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

The One

As Maxon’s Selection has been narrowed down to the final four girls, competition between the girls is tight. America has noticed her growing love for Maxon, and her jealousy grows as she watches the other girls get closer to the man she loves. The King, however, will do anything to make sure Maxon doesn’t choose America, since she is from a lower caste, and the king can’t manipulate her. The King has started pressuring her to leave the Selection. Plus, America’s previous love, Aspen, has started working as a castle guard, and his presence threatens to unravel the progress Maxon and America have made in their relationship.

As the Selection wears on, rebels against the monarchy are becoming restless and threaten to overthrow the kingdom along with the caste system. Members of the Northern Rebels sneak into the castle and ask for Maxon and America. The rebels strike a deal with them on the promise that if the caste system is ended once Maxon becomes king, the Northern rebels will keep the Southern, more violent and ruthless rebels, at bay. Can Maxon and America trust the rebels? Or will the rebels overthrow the monarchy before the Selection even ends?

Readers will be kept on the edge of their seats in this final installment of the Selection series. The book’s twists and turns will help to drive the plot as America and Maxon make their way to the end of the Selection. This third and final book of the series picks up in excitement and romance that was lacking in the second book, The Elite. Though this book is very entertaining, readers will want to have read the previous two books of the series to understand the dynamic characters, the competition between the girls, and the Selection process as a whole.

America is once again shown as the headstrong, powerful woman that was introduced in the first book of the series. Entertaining characters from the previous books will make their appearances, along with new, well-developed characters that add excitement and more diversity to the plot. Themes of friendship, family, and standing up for oneself are seen throughout the story and will help to encourage readers to stand up for what they believe in. With the book’s heavy focus on America’s family and friends’ love and support, readers will recognize that with the support of their own friends and family, they can do anything.

The One has many surprises and a satisfying conclusion. Readers will want to have the first book of Cass’s continuation of the Selection series, The Heir, on hand.  The Heir jumps 20 years into the future, where readers learn more about Maxon, America, and their children.

Language

  • Damn is used twice.
  • Darn is used once. When he proposes, Maxon states that he’s had the ring for a long time and, “I’ve been sleeping with that darn thing under my pillow.”
  • After there is a misunderstanding of whether or not America has seen Maxon without his shirt on, Celeste is upset and yells, “‘You slut!’”
  • Hell is used three times.
  • The king threatens Maxon, saying that he will force America to go home. The king says to America, “I’ll give you some time to find out where you stand. If you won’t do this, then rules be damned, I’ll be kicking you out by Christmas Day.”
  • Maxon describes himself as being “an absolute ass.”

Sexual Content

  • Competition is rising between the girls, and in order to get ahead of one another, they begin to make physical advances towards Maxon. America begins to think about what she’s done with Maxon and is concerned that, “According to the king, the other girls were making advances toward Maxon—physical advances—and he’d said I was far too plain to have a chance of matching them in that department.”
  • America attempts to seduce Maxon by dressing in a revealing dress. After dinner, Maxon comes up to her room to talk. As he comes into her room, “he focused on me, his gaze traveling up my exposed leg.” They sit on America’s bed and talk, as America continues her attempt to seduce him. “Sliding my hands down Maxon’s arms, I guided his fingers to the zipper on the back of my dress, hoping it would be enough.” They talk some more and Maxon eventually leaves the room. The encounter lasts for three pages.
  • After coming up with a plan to make the king like her, America and Maxon kiss. “With an impish grin on his face, he (Maxon) came very close and gave me a long, slow kiss.”
  • In an argument between the girls, America focuses the attention on Celeste by bringing up an encounter where she saw Celeste and Maxon together. America says, “Celeste was half-naked up against him in a hallway!”
  • During an argument between the girls, someone mentions how far they have gone with Maxon physically. Kriss then questions, “We need to clear this up. Who has done what with Maxon?’”
  • As she is recounting the argument with the other girls to Maxon, America explains to Maxon why she mentioned that she had seen Maxon without his shirt on. America states that “‘The girls know I saw you without your shirt on…now they just think we were in the middle of some big make-out fest.’” She continues to explain that, “‘They (the other girls) know I was your first kiss. And I know everything you have and haven’t done with them.’”
  • America walks in on Maxon kissing one of the other girls. America sees “the back of Maxon’s head as Kriss’s hand slid just barely into the neck of his suit. Her hair fell to the side as they kissed, and, for her first, it seemed like it was going really well.”
  • Maxon and America sneak out onto the roof of the castle while it’s raining. “I raised my face to Maxon’s, placing a hand on his cheek, pulling him down for a kiss. His lips, wet, met mine with a brush of heat.” They kiss several times and the kiss is described in detail.
  • Celeste and America discuss Maxon. Celeste says Maxon is “cute. And a great kisser.’”
  • While Maxon and America are in the back of a truck, they “went over a pretty jarring bump, and he grabbed me. I felt our noses brush in the dark, and the urge to kiss him came unexpectedly fast.” Their kissing is described for about a page.
  • America meets a girl named Paige who lives on the streets and makes money through prostitution. Paige explains to America that, “Just this week I found a group of girls. We work together and share all the profits. If you can forget what you’re doing, it’s not so bad. I have to cry afterwards.”
  • Maxon is telling America how he feels about her. Maxon begins to describe his feelings, and “a devilish smirk came to his face. He moved his lips to my ear. ‘I can think of a few other ways to show you how you make me feel,’ he whispered…I trembled as he ran his open lips over a tiny patch of skin, his breath so very tempting.” This encounter lasts for two pages.
  • When Maxon proposes to America, she “laughed in shock and started giving him kisses and giggling between each one.” Their intimacy grows more intense as, Maxon’s “lips traveled down my neck as he loosened his tie, throwing it somewhere near our shoes.” During their encounter, kissing is described in detail and they somewhat undress before stopping. This lasts for three and a half pages.
  • Aspen walks in on Maxon and America sleeping next to each other in bed. Aspen is alarmed and America is embarrassed. Maxon says, “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s not as if we were naked. And it’s bound to happen in the future.”
  • Maxon starts to leave America’s room after talking about their future. Maxon stops as he is leaving and “tackled me (America) on the bed, covering me with kisses.” This scene continues for half a page.
  • Aspen finds America and Maxon sleeping next to each other. Aspen says to America that he, “‘just can’t believe you slept with him.’” However, nothing happened between America and Maxon.
  • Maxon and America kiss after Maxon is shot. Then America “bent to kiss him. It was every kiss we’d ever had, all the uncertainty, all the hope.”
  • After the battle, one of America’s maids, Lucy, goes to find the boy she loves. After finding him in the hospital wing, Lucy “fell into his arms, kissing his face over and over.”
  • Maxon finally gives America a ring after the battle is over. Maxon kisses America, and she “felt my life settle into place.”
  • A girl talks about what the night after Maxon and America get married will be like. She jokes, “‘Wait until tonight.’”

Violence

  • Southern rebels attack them while America and Maxon are outside the castle with their Northern rebel allies for a meeting. The Southern rebels pull guns on them and as they are trying to escape, America is shot in the shoulder. America “looked down, and in the faint glow of a streetlight, I saw something wet coming from a rip in my sleeve. I’d been shot.” The scuffle occurs over three pages.
  • A girl name Paige finds America in an alley after she is shot. Paige explains her story of how she ended up on the streets. Paige said, “Two weeks after Dad died, she (her aunt) started hitting me. I had to sneak food because she said I was getting fat and wouldn’t give me anything to eat.”
  • Southern rebels overrun the castle in an attempt of taking over the monarchy. Many people are injured or killed. America recounts the invasion as she “watched in confusion as a red-marked guard walked up behind Celeste and put a bullet squarely through the back of her head. The screaming and gunfire exploded at once. Guttural shouts of pain filled the room, adding to the cacophony of chairs screeching, bodies hitting walls, and the stampede of people trying to escape as fast as they could in their heels and suits.” This battle lasts for seven pages.
  • During the attack on the castle, Maxon jumps in front of a bullet for America, and it hits him in the chest. America “scurried under the table to find Maxon breathing with great labor, a large red stain growing across his shirt. There was a wound below his left shoulder, and it looked very serious.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • People are drinking alcohol at a Christmas party. America describes her involvement in the party. “As the relatives started getting tipsy on eggnog, I slipped away, not up to pretending to be jolly.”

Spiritual Content

  • America prays to God after Maxon is shot. She “pinched my eyes together, begging God to keep him alive.”

Supernatural Content

  • None

by Kate Kucker

I Believe in A Thing Called Love

Desi has a plan for everything. With a plan, anything is possible. That’s how she became the student body president and a soccer star. That’s how she’ll get into Stanford. Desi knows how to plan. She knows how to study. But, when it comes to boys, Desi is a flailure. “Flirt + failure = flailure.”

Desi is a disaster at romance. But when a hot art student moves to her school, Desi decides she wants to capture his attention. After watching Korean dramas, Desi realizes that love is, “like a freaking equation!” Desi is determined to be like the K drama’s unlucky heroine, who always ends up with her true love. Desi follows her, “K Drama steps to True Love,” and goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos. After a boat rescue, love triangle, and staged car crash, will Desi end up in the arms of Luca?

I Believe in A Thing Called Love will capture the reader’s heart from the first chapter. Told from Desi’s point of view, readers will laugh at Desi’s crazy antics, understand her insecurities, and root for her as she goes after the guy of her dreams. Desi wants to control everything, but this smart nerdy girl is hilariously clueless when it comes to boys. Desi isn’t portrayed as a stereotypical smart girl; she also isn’t perfect, and Desi’s imperfections make her even more lovable.

Desi has a strong and warm relationship with her father. Despite the fact that he is a mechanic and often has grease-stained hands, despite his imperfect English, and his love for watching K dramas, Desi is never embarrassed by her father. Desi’s father isn’t just a background character, but a well-developed part of the story. Desi’s father understands her quirks but doesn’t try to change her. The readers will appreciate the scenes with Desi and her father just as much as the failed romance scenes.

I Believe in A Thing Called Love isn’t just a typical teen romance. Through Desi’s experiences, readers will learn valuable lessons. When Desi is afraid that she is acting weird, Luca tells her, “Everyone’s weird, though. If you’re not even a little weird, you are truly weird. In a bad way. Not in the good way.” When Desi thinks about giving up on love, her father tells her, “You cannot control who you love, Desi, but you can always control how hard you fight, okay?” In the end, not all of Desi’s plans work out and despite the pain of failure, Desi knows life can still be good.

Do not pick up I Believe in A Thing Called Love unless you have time to finish the book because once you pick it up, you will not want to put it down. I Believe in A Thing Called Love takes a humorous look at first love and will leave readers with a smile. Desi is a heroine that will not be forgotten easily. The story ends with a list of K dramas that readers may want to watch. And after seeing Desi put the K drama’s love formula to the test, readers may also become hooked on K drama’s themselves.

Sexual Content

  • Desi thinks back to fourth grade when “a boy asked me if I want to look at his ‘special’ books and I told him I wasn’t allowed to look at pornography. Turns out it was comic books and he didn’t even know how boys were made yet. I was the fourth grade perv.”
  • Desi thinks about how Korean romantic comedies are different than in America. One difference is that “in American shows, the leads would barely blink twice before jumping into bed.”
  • Desi tells her friend, “I’m not an experienced seductress who like, has men drinking champagne from her high heels.”
  • Desi’s friend tells her, “I, too, think one should get laid before entering college.”
  • When Desi talks about her crush, a friend says, “I don’t want to see flailure heartbreak. I was hoping it was just you needing to round out your high school years with a good old-fashioned devirginizing.”
  • Desi goes to a “sex party” that was, “fertile ground for hooking up. . . there were rooms for spin the bottle and seven minutes in heaven.” Desi goes into the seven minutes in heaven closet with a friend. They just sit around and look at their phones.
  • Desi wonders, “Was everyone having sex but me? God.”
  • Desi’s friend Fiona is a lesbian, who has dates with a lot of girls. “Girls lined up for Fiona every year. Sometimes it was the classic bad-girl type and they’d make out rebelliously in the hallway at school.” The story talks about how her family reacted when she came out. “Her family eventually recovered, although they still weren’t thrilled with her active love life. I’m pretty sure that would have applied to boyfriends, too, however.”
  • Desi and another girl see Luca kissing a girl.
  • Desi thinks Luca is going to kiss her. “His eyes met mine and suddenly. . . suddenly it felt real . . . This was it. Kiss time. Holy crap. A wave of heat passed between us—the vibrations of our bodies’ atoms and molecules transferring heat. . . And then he blinked.”
  • Luca and Desi kiss. “Lips met mine, soft, a little chapped, and warm. My eyes were open in true K drama heroine fashion.”
  • Desi, “brushed my lips against his. Soft and a bit hesitant. And he kissed me back just as softly, with a little pressure at the very end.”
  • When Luca picks Desi up, he quickly kisses her. “My skin buzzed, every part of me awake and alive.”
  • When Luca finds out he got a scholarship, Desi and he begin jumping around. “Then suddenly we weren’t jumping anymore—just a whole lot of kissing.”
  • Desi and Luca kiss. “He strode over, pulled me into his arms, and kissed me. Not a gentle, sweet kiss—but an urgent one.”

Violence

  • Desi thinks back to first grade when, “I kicked my first crush, Jefferson, in the nuts during taekwondo class, and he had to be taken to the ER.”
  • Luca covers Desi’s mouth so she will be quiet. She, “responded by biting his gloved hand. I tasted rubber. He yelped and let go of me. . .”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • After binge watching television series all weekend long, someone asks Desi, “What! Are you on speed?”
  • When Desi is at home, her dad took, “a sip of beer.”
  • Desi and her friends go to a “sex party” where there is alcohol.
  • Someone asks Desi, “Are you high?”
  • Someone is upset that Desi didn’t want to be her friend. The girl says, “You would never talk to art freaks who smoked pot.”
  • Desi and her friends go to the beach and her friend, “took a swig of beer.”

Language

  • Profanity is used often. Profanity includes ass, bitch, bitchiness, badass, bullshit, crap, dang, damn, douche, f-ing, hell, holy shit, freaking and shit.
  • Pissed, motherf-ing and fuck are all used once.
  • Oh my god, God, Oh Lord, Oh Sweet Jesus, and Jesus are often used as exclamations.
  • Desi thinks, “I might be a flailure in love, but I was the motherf-ing boss of studying.”
  • Someone asks a boy, “Why do you even hang out with a bunch of girls, anyway, you caveman douche.”
  • When someone suggested getting a hummer limo for prom, Fiona says, “I’d rather eat dick.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Learning to Play Gin

Julia James was on top of her game. Her new book 101 Ways to Cheat at Solitaire has sold millions. As the queen of self-help books, she has shown women how to be happy without a man. Julia had no desire to find romance, and she wasn’t prepared for Lance, a gorgeous actor, or the feelings that she had for him.

Suddenly Julia’s books fall off the bestseller list, and her movie star boyfriend moves to L.A. Lost and confused, Julia decides to head to the West Coast to spend some time with her new man. But life in L.A. comes with its own set of complications. Can Julia put her single life behind her and figure out how to win at the game of love?

For maximum enjoyment, readers should read Cheating at Solitaire before picking up Learning to Play Gin because the stories have many of the same characters. The funny, flirty tone does not carry through into the second book of the series. Instead, much of the conflict is internal as Julia tries to figure out how to live her new life. Even though Julia is trying to figure out how to win at love, Lance is absent for most of the book, which leaves the reader wondering why Julia would want to stay with a man more concerned with making movies than making a life with her.

Each chapter starts out with advice on how to play the game of gin; this advice ties into what is going to happen in Julia’s life. The interesting quotes lead the reader to think about the complicated nature of relationships, which is a focus of Learning to Play Gin. The story doesn’t just focus on Julia and Lance, but also shows a divorced couple, a struggling married couple, and a couple who have been happily married for 40 years. The story doesn’t only show the positive, glowing feelings of love that a happy couple feels, but shows how staying in love is often a choice made despite difficult times.

Learning to Play Gin’s slow pace and focus on Julia’s internal conflict makes the story less enjoyable than the first. The ending of the story falls flat because it lacks a clear resolution. Lance appears infrequently in the story, which is a huge disappointment. If you’re looking for a romance with the same fun, flirty tone as Cheating at Solitaire, you may want to leave Learning to Play Gin on the shelf.

Sexual Content

  • While at a party, Julia kisses Lance. As Julia is leaving, “Lance placed one arm on either side of her and leaned down to kiss her good-bye.”
  • Julia and Lance work on their problems. Then, “there was some crying. There was some hugging. And, finally there was a long, sweet kiss.”

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • As Lance is going to an interview, he notices a bartender. Lance “remembered how it felt to trek home with aching feet and beer-soaked clothes.”
  • In order to help Nina get through her first flight, she gets drunk. Julia thinks, “Maybe I should have gotten her drunk and put her on a plane years ago.”
  • At a party, champagne is served. Lance’s agent wants to introduce him to someone who, “is four drinks into a twelve-drink night and history has taught me you want to catch him somewhere between three and seven.”
  • At Thanksgiving dinner, Julia offers her guest tea, which he accepts “looking like a man who’d give his right arm for a gin and tonic.” Another guest can’t understand why Julia doesn’t drink alcohol and wonders if she is pregnant.
  • When a preteen throws a fit, her mother “searched her purse for a silver flask, which she emptied into her iced tea.”

Language

  • Profanity includes: ass, bitch, damn, crap, hell
  • Lance asks his mother, “Why were you a bitch to Julia?”
  • Lance tells his mother that Julia could go home and be “a lot better without the likes of me, but she doesn’t because I’m the greedy bastard that keeps asking her to stay.”
  • Lance’s mom tells her ex-husband, “I was just getting ready to tell our son he’s being a horse’s ass, and I thought you might want to join me.”
  • In an email, Julia’s mother writes, “When little Robbie Matthews came into church he shook the preacher’s hand and said, ‘Oh shit, I forgot my Bible.’”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Nina’s pants split, Julia “said a silent prayer that, at least, Nina had worn underwear.”
  • Julia goes to a coffee shop that is “like church. No one spoke, but people were saying a lot of prayers. . . They were praying for agents and publicists and six-figure deals. There were praying for what she had.”
  • Lance prays, “Dear God, thank you for this wonderful meal. . . Julia felt pretty sure that Lance could have been struck down that very moment for lying to God.”

Cheating at Solitaire

Julia James has made a career of being single. Her self-help books have helped millions learn to be happy without a man. Her fame, fortune, and future all depend on her staying happily single. When her latest book, 101 Ways to Cheat at Solitaire, is about to hit shelves, the unthinkable happens.

A picture of Julia and a gorgeous out-of-work actor hit the papers. The papers speculate the queen of single has finally found a man. Some women think Julia’s hot romance shows that anyone can find a man and happiness. Other women think that Julia has betrayed all single women. As the debate rages on, Julia’s credibility and book sales hit rock bottom. In order to save her reputation and hide from the press, Julia heads to her home in Oklahoma. The only problem is that the hot actor has decided to hide with her.

Cheating at Solitaire is a fast-paced, fun romance that takes a humorous look at falling in love. Julia is a relatable character who worries about her weight, her reputation, and how to stay on top of the game. She hides her many insecurities and has perfected being alone. Julia clearly does not know how to handle having a hot man around. The interaction between Julia and Lance is humorous and heart-warming. Even though the story focuses on their complicated relationship, it doesn’t follow the typical romantic format.

Julia’s family is full of interesting characters who add depth to the story and highlight the importance of supporting family. Although Ally Carter has made her name writing teen fiction, her debut novel Cheating at Solitaire is aimed at adults. Nevertheless, the easy-to-read story is still appropriate for teens who are fans of Ally Carter. Cheating at Solitaire doesn’t have the same intrigue as her teen novels, but for readers looking for a funny, flirty romance the story hits the target.

Sexual Content

  • When a picture of Lance and Julia appears in the newspaper, several people “congratulated him on ‘getting some of that.’”
  • Julia was admiring how Lance looked in a suit when, “like a magnet, her hand was drawn to a piece of nonexistent lint. Her fingers lingered a little longer than she had intended, and Lance suddenly grabbed her wrist. He put his other arm around her waist and pulled her lightly to him. Electric sparks sizzled up and down her spine.”
  • There is a rumor that Julia is pregnant.
  • Lance asks Julia if he can kiss her. She gets upset and leaves.

Violence

  • Lance covers Julia’s mouth so she will stop talking. When he moves his hand away, “she bit—hard. . . Lance moved away from her and studied the red semicircle that surrounded the knuckle on his pinkie.”
  • The paparazzi tried to take a picture of Julia. “. . .the photographers closed in, pinning her with no escape. Desperate, she grabbed a makeup case from the luggage cart and swung it at the offending light. She heard a crash and a crunch like breaking glass. Feeling the rhythm, she swung again and again.”
  • A man shoves Julia against a wall. “She crashed and felt her elbow bang sharply. . .” Lance steps in, and the man leaves.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Lance goes into a restaurant and approaches a woman he does not know. He thinks that he’s “looking at the kind of woman a normal man would probably only approach if he was drunk or on a dare.”
  • Lance and Julia attend a party where “free booze” is served.
  • Myrtle, a neighbor, drinks “judging by the number of whisky bottles Myrtle hauls to the curb on recycling days.” Lance runs into her while she is drunk. “Myrtle was sloshed. She wasn’t stumbling or slurring her words like a cheap, once-in-a-blue-moon drunk. Instead, she had the body control of a full-fledged alcoholic.”
  • A drunk neighbor thinks Lance is a stripper.

Language

  • Profanity is used occasionally. Each word is used once or twice. Profanity includes ass, crap, damn, shit, and hell.
  • A woman tells Julia that her son’s “sorry SOB of a father ran off.”
  • A man calls Julia a bitch.
  • Julia’s aunt “feels like bitching.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Lance is “grateful that God had granted him naturally straight teeth and a better-than-average metabolism.”
  • Julia “said a silent prayer of thanks” that no one noticed her friend wearing the same dress as her.
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