Category Archives: Young Adult

“Shuffle, Repeat” is the second book by Jen Klein that I have read. I enjoy her funny and more than slightly sarcastic lead characters who are also quite intelligent and well-read.

In this book, June is just starting her senior year of high school. She is part of the nerdy, smart group and is marking time until she goes to college. For reasons explained later in the book, June can’t drive and, because she and her mother have moved outside of town, her fellow senior Oliver is giving her a ride to school each morning to save her at least an hour of driving time. Oliver is on the football team and is a well-loved jock who is kind to everyone.

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What a wonderful breath of fresh air! This book was a joy to read and to laugh and, yes, to sigh over (inside joke in the book.) I could have tried to read it in one sitting but I really wanted to space it over two days to lengthen the enjoyment of it.

In the story, Willowdean Dickson (aka “Dumplin’” to her mother), is a high school student who is overweight and has an obsession (in a good way) with Dolly Parton. She calls herself fat and seems to be happy in her own skin. That is, until life starts happening to her. Her beloved Aunt Lucy has passed away from a heart attack brought on by obesity (close to 500 pounds) and Willowdean is trying to get over her loss.

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I generally do not read books with a paranormal vein; however, the blurb on “Jillian Cade (Fake) Paranormal Investigator” caught my eye and my attention and I thought I would give the book a try. I’m glad that I did. It is a funny take on high school age paranormal investigators located in Southern California. The girl who runs this operation doesn’t believe in things paranormal – she is in a tight position and so she has to do what she has to do (investigate the so-called paranormal) in order to make ends meet and keep the electricity on.

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I had a lot of fun reading “Trouble is a Friend of Mine.” Trouble is a guy named Philip Digby who suddenly forces his way into Zoe Webster’s life. Zoe has recently moved from New York City to a small town in upstate New York with her mother after her parents divorce.

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I have read quite a few of Sophie Kinsella’s adult novels, so I was happy to see that she has written her first YA book. “Finding Audrey” deals with serious issues in a humorous way – this is something that I have come to expect from Ms. Kinsella’s works.

Having raised three teenagers, I could absolutely relate to each of the children in the Turner family. I might even be able to relate more closely to their Mum (as I recall a few discussions with my son about spending too much time playing computer games.) While I never thought about throwing a computer out the window (probably because our neighbors were too close), I do remember disconnecting them and hiding integral pieces more than once.

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“Alive” is the first Scott Sigler book that I have read. The book is written in first person, present tense which is always a little jarring for me. It seems like a good number of authors are now experimenting with this. It takes me a couple of chapters to get into a story when this is used and this book was no exception. Once I got beyond my initial discomfort, I was able to focus on the story and enjoy it.

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“Boo” is a fairly irreverent view of the hereafter told by thirteen year old Oliver Dalrymple. Boo (as Oliver is known) is writing a diary of his time in the Town, the place he ended up in after he passed away due to his “holey” heart. The diary is written in the form of letters to his mother and father whom he misses dearly.

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