(Don't You) Forget About Me

by Kate Karyus Quinn

ISBN: 9780062135964

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: June 10th 2014
Number of Pages: 336
Source: Local Library
Goodreads Summary: Welcome to Gardnerville.
A place where no one gets sick. And no one ever dies.

Except...
There’s a price to pay for paradise. Every fourth year, the strange power that fuels the town exacts its payment by infecting teens with deadly urges. In a normal year in Gardnerville, teens might stop talking to their best friends. In a fourth year, they’d kill them.

Four years ago, Skylar’s sister, Piper, was locked away after leading sixteen of her classmates to a watery grave. Since then, Skylar has lived in a numb haze, struggling to forget her past and dull the pain of losing her sister. But the secrets and memories Piper left behind keep taunting Skylar—whispering that the only way to get her sister back is to stop Gardnerville’s murderous cycle once and for all.

My Rating:  

This book had me second-guessing myself at every turn. I kept thinking I knew what Skylar & Piper's secret was, but I turned out to be wrong. This was a very weird book. Some readers are going to love it. I was okay with it myself.

The one complaint I do have is the pacing of this book - it moves soooo slowly. It took me several sittings to finish it (which is a rare thing for me). The characters were intriguing but Skylar got on my nerves - I wanted her to go after Piper or dig deeper for answers! 

What really got me was the ending - talk about twisted! (..this whole book is kinda twisted anyway). With all the revelations you are just like "what?!" and "that makes sense...." and "I DID NOT see that coming!" 

The Half Life of Molly Pierce

by Katrina Leno

ISBN: 9780062231178
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: July 8th 2014
Number of Pages: 240

Source: Local Library

Goodreads Summary: You take it for granted. Waking up. Going to school, talking to your friends. Watching a show on television or reading a book or going out to lunch.

You take for granted going to sleep at night, getting up the next day, and remembering everything that happened to you before you closed your eyes.

You live and you remember.

Me, I live and I forget.

But now—now I am remembering. 

For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she’s missed bits and pieces of her life. Now, she’s figuring out why. Now, she’s remembering her own secrets. And in doing so, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led…and the love that she can’t let go.

The Half Life of Molly Pierce is a suspenseful, evocative psychological mystery about uncovering the secrets of our pasts, facing the unknowns of our futures, and accepting our whole selves.

My Rating:  

This was a good psychological read. If you enjoyed 34 Pieces of You or Pretty Girl-13, this is similar.

Molly is an intriguing character. She wakes up in different places and has no clue how she got there or where the time lost was spent. She also doesn't think people notice her "zoning" out but a few do seem to know what's going on.

One curious thing is that Molly is seeing a therapist after it seems like she mentioned killing herself last year. She doesn't mention her blackouts to him. 

But then she literally runs into a stranger who seems to know her, but he is lying on the pavement dying, 

"'I don't know how you know me,' I say. I choke. 'I don't know who you are.' 'I know,' he says, 'but I had to try.'"- The Half Life of Molly Pierce, 12

Thus starts the thrilling story of Molly and her relationship with the dead boy's brother, Sayer.

I liked all the characters and I guessed Molly's secret pretty quickly - that didn't stop me from reading this book in one sitting (it's also pretty short!) It was a unique perspective and I enjoyed the book.

New Non-Fiction for July!

Here are some new titles in the non-fiction teen section this month!

by Ann Shoket & the
Editors of Seventeen Magazine

Filled with tips and stories from real students, Seventeen Ultimate Guide to College reveals everything a girl needs to know to feel confident on campus and make the next years her best yet. It contains insider secrets she won’t learn from her high school guidance counselor or a college information packet, including:
- How to bond with your roomie
- Navigating the college hookup scene
- Sneaky ways to avoid going broke in college
- Plus a bonus style section on what to wear at every type of school!

by Michael L. Cooper

From colonial times to the modern day, two things have remained constant in American history: the destructive power of fires and the bravery of those who fight them.

Fighting Fire! brings to life ten of the deadliest infernos this nation has ever endured: the great fires of Boston, New York, Chicago, Baltimore, and San Francisco, the disasters of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the General Slocum, and the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, the wildfire of Witch Creek in San Diego County, and the catastrophe of 9/11. Each blaze led to new firefighting techniques and technologies, yet the struggle against fires continues to this day. With historical images and a fast-paced text, this is both an exciting look at firefighting history and a celebration of the human spirit.

by Elizabeth MacLeod

In "Secrets Underground," history buff Elizabeth MacLeod takes readers deep down, down, down below the earth's surface, and introduces them to a completely different world -- sometimes terrifying, often baffling, and always fascinating.

Discover: the Civil War secrets carefully concealed in Organ Cave, West Virginia the top-secret equipment that lies deep below Grand Central Terminal in New York City the network of tunnels in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, that once hid victims of persecution -- and illegal liquor transported by notorious Chicago gangsters how the Aztec city Tenochtitlan, the largest and most powerful city of its time in what is now North America, nearly disappeared without a trace the abandoned ships buried beneath San Francisco that reveal the city's history as a top destination for fortune seekers during the Gold Rush the nuclear shelter the U.S. government kept hidden for decades underneath an exclusive resort in West Virginia called The Greenbrier.

Guiding readers through these fascinating places, MacLeod reveals their long-kept secrets and deftly explains how these lost and hidden subterranean passages, spaces, and caves answer decades-old puzzles, help us understand our own past, and lead us to discover what life was really like in eras gone by.

by Sophie Maletsky

Sticky Fingers is a vibrant, easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to creating amazing projects with the hottest crafting material on the market today duct tape! The book includes tons of photographs alongside directions designed to make creating a wallet and making a bag even easier, while also providing a steady stream of ideas for personalizing and embellishing your duct tape creations. Each project includes icons showing difficulty level and project time, as well as helpful hints, such as how to keep your scissors clean and what to do with end pieces. So grab a roll of duct tape, pick a project, and get started!

I'm Back!

Hey guys, I'm sorry about dropping off the blogging world for a bit. My job won't allow me to post anymore on their computers, and I have been without a computer at home. I will try to keep posting about once a week if I can! I also want to apologize upfront about the formatting on my posts -  I do not have Microsoft Word at home, so I can't format the way I usually do (like the spacing).

Just wanted to give you the update :)