Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Leaving Paradise

by Simone Elkeles

Maggie Armstrong had a crush on her best friend’s twin brother, Caleb Becker.  That is until one night,  at a party, Caleb hit Maggie with his car and left her broken in the street.  It’s a year later and Caleb is being released from juvenile detention, convicted of a hit and run while driving drunk.  Maggie has spent the past year in recovery from a devastating leg injury that has left her scarred, with a severe limp, and an outcast.  Caleb is returning home, hoping to find that nothing has changed.  His family, however, is falling apart at the seams.  His girlfriend has moved on to his best friend, and  one moment his friends treat him like he’s the same old Caleb and the next like he’s trash.  Both Maggie and Caleb have lost everything.  Their friends and families have changed because of the accident and no one will ever look at the two of them as they did before.

Maggie and Caleb are keeping secrets about that night, however, secrets that could change everything.  Told in alternating chapters, Leaving Paradise, is a fast and emotion filled read.  It’s not a cry out loud book, but there is a strong undertone of emotion that takes you on a ride.  You feel the anger in both Maggie and Caleb, but you also feel the hopelessness and frustration of each situation.  Yes, there is a romance here, but it’s not the center of the book and it is added in at just the right places.  Though the ending was not what I expected, I was definitely left satisfied.  You’ll love the characters of Maggie and Caleb and feel empowered by how each overcame other peoples’ perceptions of them and in turn became stronger in their own selves.

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay is an intense and emotional read. Parts of it almost rip your heart out. Mia finds herself in a situation where she has to decide to whether to stay and return to a life that will forever leave a gaping hole in her soul or to leave it all- never confronting the horribleness.

Mia is a 17 year old musician- a cellist, who might just get into to Julliard- which happens to be across the country from her family and her amazing boyfriend, Shooting Star lead singer, Adam. Music weaves itself into all different parts of Mia's life- it's what brought her punk rock parents together and it’s what drew Adam to her- when they were seemingly opposite. Throughout the book Mia reflects back on her life and dwells in her memories with her parents, younger brother Teddy, Adam, her tough as nails best friend Kim, gram and gramps. As the heart monitor beeps and a machine helps her breath Mia has to make up her mind- to stay or to go

-Reviewed by Renee, Teen Outreach Librarian

Need a beach read?

Planning on a vacation this summer and want to get a good beach read?  Click here for a list of summer romance novels for teens.  What will you find on this list: novels that center on a character's summer romance that you should be able to breeze through in a day or two (hopefully while getting some sun on a beautiful beach!).  Guys: be sure to check out this list, too.  These easy to read books may just give you some inside information on how to have the perfect summer romance with a special girl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Abandon

by Meg Cabot

If you want a book that you won't be able to put down, then pick up Abandon. Cabot has based this novel on the Greek myth of Persephone, and it is really cool how she is able to translate it to modern times. This first novel in a planned series centers on Pierce who had a NDE, or near death experience, at 15.  Since then, her grades have suffered, she can’t concentrate very well, and her parents are getting a divorce.  Now, at 17, Pierce and her mom have moved to Isla Huesos, her mother’s hometown, and Pierce is starting over at a new school.
 
Pierce has only been to Isla Huesos once before, as a young girl attending her grandfather’s funeral, and she will always remember the young man in black she met in the cemetery.  Later, she met him again in the Underworld when she died…  Upon returning to the island, Pierce is drawn to the cemetery where she once again encounters the young man in black who has not changed or aged.  Pierce has had trouble believing that what happened to her when she died was actually real, but seeing John in the flesh begins to unravel her reality and also puts her in danger.

Without giving too much away, this is definitely a book for those who like to read about forbidden love.  Check out the book trailer for Abandon below, and also click here to find Abandon at the Library.

 

posted by Colleen, Teen Services Librarian

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

“It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure.”  In 95 days seventeen year old Lena is scheduled to have the procedure, which ensure she will never become infected with amor deliria nervosa or love, the deadliest of all diseases. After her procedure she’ll be paired with a boy whom the evaluators have chosen for her.  She won’t have to worry about love affecting her mind so she cannot think clearly, or rationally.  After the procedure she will be safe and free from any pain that love might have brought her.  Except- one day when Lena and her best friend Hana are up for their evaluations, Lena sees a boy.  Their eyes meet for a moment and then everything changes.  A whole other version of the world she lives in is revealed to her because of this boy and her best friend Hana. Lena finds herself making choices that may seem irrational and she’s definitely not thinking clearly.  Where do Lena’s choices lead her? Delirium by Lauren Oliver will infect you once you start reading it and you will find it very hard to put down.  Your stomach will flutter with anticipation of what’s coming next and you might even find yourself falling in love with it.  It’s  quite contagious. 

Keep up to date with author Lauren Oliver here : http://www.laurenoliverbooks.com/

-Renee N., Teen Outreach Librarian