Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates

 

Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates - 118 pages

A small number of cameras have the ability to capture ghosts on film. This gift comes at a steep price; the ghosts are resentful and hungry, and the cameras offer them a rare chance to reach their favourite prey… humans.

Jenine didn’t know any of this when she found an abandoned Polaroid camera in a lighthouse. At first she assumes the ghostly shapes in the photos are a glitch or a prank – but then the spirits begin to hunt her down, and she’s forced into a deadly race to free herself from the camera’s curse.

This is a nice, quick, spooky read.  I enjoyed re-reading it!

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs

 

What Lies Between Us by John Marrs - 381 pages

They say every house has its secrets, and the house that Maggie and Nina have shared for so long is no different. Except that these secrets are not buried in the past.

Every other night, Maggie and Nina have dinner together. When they are finished, Nina helps Maggie back to her room in the attic, and into the heavy chain that keeps her there. Because Maggie has done things to Nina that can’t ever be forgiven, and now she is paying the price.

But there are many things about the past that Nina doesn’t know, and Maggie is going to keep it that way—even if it kills her.

Because in this house, the truth is more dangerous than lies.

This book was ok...I found it slow at times.  It was pretty predictable but was still good.  I like the back and forth narrative between Maggie and Nina.  

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (432 Pages)

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible. But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.

Opinion: This teen book is a mixture of romance, realistic fiction and historical fiction. Malinda Lo's writing is gorgeous. She is able to weave in little clues about where the story is going that the reader won't fully pick up on until after finishing the novel. The main character Lily's character development is great. You really get to see her finally be herself by the end of the book even though there are consequences for it. I also loved getting glimpses (POVs) from Lily's family that helps explain their journey in Lily's story. The final ending was also so sweet. 

Ode to a Nobody by Caroline Brooks DuBois

Ode to a Nobody by Caroline Brooks DuBois (304 Pages)

Summary: Before the storm, thirteen-year-old Quinn was happy flying under the radar. She was average. Unremarkable. Always looking for an escape from her house, where her bickering parents fawned over her genius big brother.

Inside our broken home / we didn’t know how broken / the world outside was.

But after the storm, Quinn can’t seem to go back to average. Her friends weren't affected by the tornado in the same way. To them, the storm left behind a playground of abandoned houses and distracted adults. As Quinn struggles to find stability in the tornado’s aftermath, she must choose: between homes, friendships, and versions of herself.

Nothing that was mine / yesterday is mine today.

Told in rich, spectacular verse, Caroline Brooks DuBois crafts a powerful story of redemption as Quinn makes her way from Before to After. There’s nothing average about the world Quinn wakes up to after the storm; maybe there’s nothing average about her, either. This emotional coming-of-age journey for middle grade readers proves that it’s never too late to be the person you want to be.

Opinion: This Truman award nominee is a realistic fiction kids book written in verse. I'm learning that I'm not a big fan of books written in verse. This story fell really flat for me. While at first you wanna just give the main character a hug, I felt her character development was really stale (as well as every other character) by the end of the book. Everything felt like a cliche. Overall, I wasn't a fan of this book. 

Never Saw Me Coming by Tanya Smith

Never Saw Me Coming by Tanya Smith, 432 pages

Shelby from Goodreads: "I was super nervous because it isn’t my normal genre but something about the slight smirk on the cover drew me in. I cried, laughed, had my jaw on the floor, and bit my nails to oblivion."

 

Bicycling With Butterflies by Sara Dykman

Bicycling With Butterflies by Sara Dykman, 280 pages

From the book: “We are told that manicured lawns are beautiful, that we must control nature in order to live with it, but that is a lie. Beauty is the give and take between plants and animals. Beauty is milkweed ripe with exploding purple blooms, feeding the shaggy maned tussock moths and bees and monarchs. How can we possibly judge so much life as unworthy?”

Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old by Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old by Brooke Shields, 240 pages

From Cindy Huskey's GoodReads review: "let’s address the obvious: Brooke Shields is aging like a bottle of top-shelf wine sealed in a vault somewhere (and probably blessed by skincare wizards), so her insights on the struggles of midlife feel a bit, well, aspirational for the rest of us mere mortals."