Fashionably Fit, Fatally Flawed! returns the reader to Michelle Kirkpatrick as she celebrates Christmas in her quiet hometown of Petersburg during theFashionably Fit, Fatally Flawed! returns the reader to Michelle Kirkpatrick as she celebrates Christmas in her quiet hometown of Petersburg during the winter of 1974. Just before the mother of her friend, Rick, opens her new gym, a mysterious death occurs on one of the gym’s treadmills. When the death is investigated as a murder, Michelle springs into investigative action. As she combs through the list of suspects and clues, she puts herself into the eye of the storm and turns to her old classmate and colleague, Craig, for help solving the mystery.
This story is a solid follow-up to the first book in the Michelle Kirkpatrick mystery series. It introduces a new and unique murder to solve while also further exploring Michelle’s relationships with the men in her life from her father to her best friend, T.J., and the mixed signals that she gets from Craig. This book will hook both new and returning readers as it thoroughly introduces and resolves a brand new conflict while seamlessly leaving open-ended plot elements for future stories.
It’s Audrey Wood and her best friend, and crush, Jason’s, first year of high school, and things get off to a rocky start. Audrey is quirky but secure It’s Audrey Wood and her best friend, and crush, Jason’s, first year of high school, and things get off to a rocky start. Audrey is quirky but secure in herself. Jason is less odd but somehow more of a target, particularly to their class bully, Krak.
As the school year progresses, the bullying becomes increasingly violent, and Audrey brainstorms solutions to combat it. But then Jason lands in the hospital, and Audrey’s gloves come off. With the help of her older brother, Angus, she hatches a plan to teach the bullies a lesson once and for all and save her best friend, and herself, from future torment.
The Bully Solution is a unique and realistic take on high school bullying. It highlights adults’ tendency to turn a blind eye to it and let teens sort things out for themselves despite being ill equipped to do so. It also shows that the classic Afterschool Special solution is naïve and ineffective. While Audrey’s solution may not be the most moral, it is a modern and, overall, successful one.
During the summer between high school and college, Tuesday Mayes’ father takes off for a healing center in an undisclosed location, jeopardizing her cDuring the summer between high school and college, Tuesday Mayes’ father takes off for a healing center in an undisclosed location, jeopardizing her college ambitions as her mother will not cement Tuesday’s enrollment without her dad’s input. In response to this, Tuesday sets off to track down her father and send him home before her college deadline approaches.
She hitches a ride with Cristian Robles, the older brother of her best friend, Rosanna. Cristian suggests they stop at various roadside attractions throughout this wild goose chase. And on this trip, Tuesday reveals why she is so desperate to leave home, develops a newfound respect for the unexplained, and comes to terms with a recent health diagnosis that will inevitably alter her future plans.
Things to See in Arizona is a short but sweet road trip story that explores the relationships between family, friends, and our relationship with ourselves. It seamlessly blends serious themes with a light-hearted perspective and helps to show how we can endure and overcome our personal histories, better understand our ancestral ones, and accept the unknown future ahead.
The Peculiar Case of the Petersburg Professor follows journalism major Michelle Kilpatrick as she seeks out to solve the mystery of her murdered colleThe Peculiar Case of the Petersburg Professor follows journalism major Michelle Kilpatrick as she seeks out to solve the mystery of her murdered college professor. With the help of her best friend, T.J., and her know-it-all class partner, Craig Miller, Michelle opens up a whole can of worms, exposing old town secrets and finding connections between the townspeople that she never knew. But in doing so, she also makes herself one of the prime suspects, and she seeks out to not only find justice for her professor but clear her name as well.
I recommend The Peculiar Case of the Petersburg Professor to any mystery readers looking for a cozy, light academia read, those who want to read a murder mystery minus any intense gore or obscene details, and readers looking for a quick yet detailed read that wraps up neatly at the end.
All Our Faults follows multiple teenage boys who are left reeling after a tragic event and explores how each boy copes with the aftermath of the trageAll Our Faults follows multiple teenage boys who are left reeling after a tragic event and explores how each boy copes with the aftermath of the tragedy. Coming from different backgrounds and carrying different baggage, the decision that these boys make on their own over the summer months puts them on a dangerous trajectory with further tragic consequences.
All Our Faults is a dark drama about teenage boys forced to handle traumatic past and present events without the maturity or guidance needed to help them through it. Told from multiple narrators from different backgrounds, the story is full of intense situations that unfold with nail-biting suspense and a sense of realistic doom full of well-rounded characters and topical, thoroughly explored themes.
Summer's Second is about a boy named Asher Summer who lives in a small town and is digging to get out while life plants him deeper into the soil of hiSummer's Second is about a boy named Asher Summer who lives in a small town and is digging to get out while life plants him deeper into the soil of his hometown. It's a life full of poverty, abuse, and neglect, but there is still hope as Asher hopes to earn a scholarship to college so that he can get away and become successful. But with so much holding him back, that idea feels far fetched.
Summer's Second is the perfect, angsty teenage story for any reader who is going through a lot and wants some company for their misery. It's a heavy tale that's sometimes hard to take, but there is a purpose to all of the torture that the protagonist endures and a hopeful message behind it.
Ellie and Ronnie are two teenage sisters trying to survive a zombie apocalypse – and, incidentally, one of them is a zombie herself. As the two head fEllie and Ronnie are two teenage sisters trying to survive a zombie apocalypse – and, incidentally, one of them is a zombie herself. As the two head for a lab that may hold the key to changing Ronnie back into a human, they encounter a group of survivors living underground. After teaming up with these survivors, they make it to the lab, only to find that the lab is up to some sinister experiments.
The Zombie Protector is a great introductory novel for teens looking to get into zombie stories. It’s tame in the language and gore factor categories, though it still contains the action and suspense of a typical zombie tale. I would have liked to have seen more character development and have seen more of a resolution to the events of the story, but overall, it’s a respectable addition to the zombie genre.
Gregory is excited to babysit his sister, Imogen, on Halloween night because of the chance that it will bring to earn him some money now and in the fuGregory is excited to babysit his sister, Imogen, on Halloween night because of the chance that it will bring to earn him some money now and in the future. But things go horribly wrong when Imogen is taken by a cloaked, hooded creature that emerges from a magical door in their basement. His parents and the police, naturally, do no believe Greg, and after the search for Imogen is called off, he goes looking for a way to get her back. In his search, he finds Trent, an older boy with a similar story, and the two team up to uncover a supernatural conspiracy that has plagued their town for decades, and they work together to get their revenge on the creatures that took their younger siblings.
Reaper is a short, fast-paced read that would suit older middle grade or younger YA horror readers. It draws on very real themes of abduction, distrust, and abandonment, adding some supernatural elements into the mix. Though the story is a bit lacking developmentally, Greg is your typical teen hero, and his bleak situation is one that makes you root for him, and the story is chilling and atmospheric.
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