December 2015-first post by Jason Phinney

ADAM by Ted Dekker-406 pages

In this thriller, a divorced FBI agent named Daniel Clark has been chasing a serial killer known as "Eve" for months and seems no closer to catching him. Daniel's journey to uncovering the truth of "Eve's" identity and taking down the serial killer is a thrilling page-turner. The book is full of twists and turns, as every Dekker novel is, which is what I really enjoy about reading them.

Paper Towns by John Green-336 pages

Quentin Jacobsen has had a crush on the most popular girl in school (Margo Roth Spiegelman) since they were elementary kids and one "night on the town" changes everything for both Quentin (Q) and Margo. Margo disappears after that night and Q goes on a journey trying to solve the mystery of where Margo has gone by finding little clues she has left behind. Green explores high school relationships with peers and parents in this interesting novel, though I would say that The Fault in Our Stars is slightly better.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell-Audiobook, 336 pages in print

Park is a "geek" of asian descent who falls in love with Eleanor who is "full-figured" and is teased by other girls at school because of it. Eleanor's step dad is abusive to her, her siblings, and her mom. The story is about Eleanor and Park's journey to falling in love as teens. In the end, Park drives Eleanor to Minnesota to live with her aunt and uncle to get away from her abusive step dad.

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson-384 pages

I'll Give You the Sun is a quirky, but good novel about twins whose mother dies in a car crash and their different methods of coping with her death. The twin brother is an artist and art is a major theme of the book. It also explores homosexuality and other relationships.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green-Audiobook, 310 pages in print

I did not get into this novel at all. I did not relate to either of the main characters and it was hard for me to finish, but I did. Two Will Graysons, both from the Chicago suburbs meet each other by chance and that is what should be the focus of the novel, but it is not. A large teen from school with one of the Will Graysons named Tiny (who is also gay) is really the focus of the novel. The other Will Grayson ends up falling in love with Tiny. Tiny has had a lot of boyfriends, though and is too much of the focus, as I mentioned earlier.

Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz-368 pages

Ari and Dante are Latino teens in the 1980s. Saenz's novel details their journey to discovering their identities as people of Latino heritage and their relationship with each other and their parents.

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