Where I Left Her by Amber Garza

 Where I Left Her by Amber Garza - 304 pages

 From the author of When I Was You comes a spine-tingling new thriller about a mother’s worst nightmare come true, when her teenage daughter goes to a sleepover and doesn’t come back.

Whitney had some misgivings when she dropped her increasingly moody teenage daughter, Amelia, off at Lauren’s house. She’d never met the parents, and usually she’d go in, but Amelia clearly wasn’t going to let something so humiliating happen, so instead Whitney waved to her daughter before pulling away from the little house with the roses in front.

But when she goes back the next day, an elderly couple answers the door—Amelia and Lauren aren’t there, and this couple swears they never were, that she’s at the wrong house. As Whitney searches for Amelia, she uncovers a trail of lies her daughter has told her—from the Finsta account to rumors of a secret relationship. Does she really even know this girl she’s raised? And Amelia’s not the only one with secrets. Could Whitney’s own demons have something to do with her daughter’s disappearance, and can Whitney find her before it’s too late?

I had never read this author before, but I really liked her writing style. The main character Whitney (the mom) got on my nerves because she was your typical helicopter parent. However, as the book went on I started relating to her. I honestly thought I had the book predicted until the very last page and then I couldn't pick my jaw up off the floor.  The last page had me in such a shock I am not sure if I liked it or not honestly. On the other hand, the psychological thriller book lover in me would recommend this book to others, but I would also caution that there are triggers with this book that may affect people.

Boomerang by Helene Dunbar

Boomerang by Helene Dunbar - 314 pages

Sean Woodhouse has returned home.  For five years they thought he had been kidnapped.  They didn't know that he had simply run away.  They don't know that he only returned to get his inheritance from his grandparents so that he could save the best friend he's had the past five years.  But Sean didn't know how difficult it was going to be to return and that he would start questioning everything from the past.

This was an interesting book to read.  While it was not a happy book to read, I did enjoy figuring things out as Sean did.  I would definitely recommend this book to teens.

Dreamin' Sun, v. 1 by Ichigo Takano

Dreamin' Sun, v. 1 by Ichigo Takano - 180 pages

When Shimura Kameko runs away, she stumbles upon a strange man in the park.  He offers her a place to live on three conditions.

1.  Tell him the reason she ran away.
2.  Find his house key.
3.  Have a dream and fall in love.

Kameko quickly agrees to these terms and moves into a house that immediately feels like home.


I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.  From the description, I thought it was basically a retelling of Kamisama Kiss.  However, there are a lot of differences between the two -- the biggest being that there is no supernatural element to the story.  I will definitely read the next entry in the series.

Baba Yaga's Assistant by Marika McCoola

Baba Yaga's Assistant by Marika McCoola - 132 pages

Masha runs away from home to become the assistant to witch Baba Yaga.

This graphic novel for kids was pretty good.  The ending was pretty good and natural.  I would definitely recommend this to kids.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton -- 192 pages

According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people: socs and greasers. Ponyboy is a greaser. He's proud to be one, although the socs sure don't make life easy.

Ponyboy lives with his two brothers, Sodapop and Darry, and when he runs away one night, everything turns very sour very quickly. 

I greatly enjoyed listening to this young adult classic. 

Paper Towns by John Green

Paper Towns by John Green - 311 pages

Quentin has been in love with next door neighbor Margo for most of his life.  Then one night she climbs in his bedroom window and takes him along on a night of pranks and revenge.  The next day she disappears.  Quentin follows a string of clues to find the real Margo.

I read this book as part of a book club with some friends.  I must admit that if I didn't have to finish the book for the book club I probably would not have finished reading it.  I found the story to be completely predictable.  Like in most John Green books the characters are very introspective and learn a lot of about themselves throughout the story.  Also like most John Green characters, they are very self-involved and egotistical.  I thought it interesting that the others in the book club were surprised and disappointed by the ending.  I thought it was typical of the way the author ends his books and they way that I wanted it to end.

Paper Towns won the 2009 Edgar Award for best Young Adult Mystery.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
The Grisha, book 1

Alina and Mal have always been together -- as small children in the orphanage and then as draftees in the army.  That all changes when Alina somehow saves everyone by summoning sunlight while trying to cross the Fold.  She is whisked off to become a Grisha.  She is the one who will be able to finally destroy the Fold and end war for her country.
I have been hearing rave reviews about this book for years.  I don't know why I never picked it up until now.  I'm sorry I waited.  This book was great.  I loved it.  Even though there was a lot of intrigue and story going on it was still a very quick read.  I can't wait to read book two.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman - 117 pages

Odd walks away from his village during an incredibly long winter.  While staying at his late father's woodcutting hut in the forest, he meets a fox, a bear and an eagle.  Turns out they are the Norse gods turned into animals by a Frost Giant.  Now Odd must help them retake Asgard.

This was a really quick book to read -- like many of Gaiman's books.  I read it on my lunch break.  It read like a myth with a few of Gaiman's touches thrown in.  This would be a book to hand off to those looking for mythology stories.

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross, 326 pages

Spare yourself the agony and do not pick up this book. It is, by far, the worst book I have read. The main character, Maude Pichon, joins an agency that hires ugly girls as companions to the wealthy to make the upper society women more attractive. She does so after failing to make it on her own in Paris. I can sum up the whole story in three sentences: Girl leaves home because father wants to marry her off to a horrible, older man. Girl moves to Paris to become something more but ends up as an ugly companion to a debutante who doesn't wish to marry. Debutante goes on to be what she wants to be and Girl starts a whole new life being something more than just an ugly companion. That pretty much sums up the whole story.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, 328 pages

It's the 80s (my favorite decade) and high schooler Eleanor has just returned to her very abusive home. Overweight with frizzy hair, poorly dressed Eleanor tries to keep a low profile and ends up facing the horrors of bullying ... at home and at school. She keeps it together by forming an unusual friendship with Park. Park is oriental boy who is very small in stature. He has his own demons to fight but for some reason comes to Eleanor's defense (passively) by offering her the seat next to him on the bus. Every day they ride together to school without a word to each other. Every day Park notices Eleanor watching him read his comics. He starts to share them with her and slowly music is added to the mix and they become friends. Their friendship is a life line for both. As Eleanor opens her world to Park they realize they are much the same in likes as much as their worlds are very different. Park does what he can to save Eleanor from the horrors of home and school. It's such a beautifully written book alternating from both viewpoints that I found often found myself with tears streaming down my face. This is a book every child (and parent) should read and understand what bullying does to a person. Sometimes all we see in kids is the shell... and not what is inside. Such bittersweetness ends this story and I think that it ended exactly as it should have.

Provacative in Pearls by Madeline Hunter

Provacative in Pearls by Madeline Hunter - 345 pages

Verity has been in hiding from Lord Hawkeswell since her wedding day when she ran away and made it looked like she drowned in the river.  Unfortunately, now he has found her.  She is forced out of hiding and into a marriage she has never wanted.  She only married him to keep a family friend out of trouble.  She left him when she discovered that the friend had gone missing at her uncle's hand shortly before the wedding.  Now she must somehow convince her husband to help her find out what has happened to him.
This is the second book in the Rarest Blooms series.  I've previously read the third and fourth books.  While I enjoyed this one, I didn't think it was as interesting as characters as in the other two books.

Somewhere I'll Find You by Lisa Kleypas

Somewhere I'll Find You by Lisa Kleypas - 377 pages

Jessica Wentworth is the most famous actress in London.  Her life is in the public eye.  What no one knows is that she has a secret husband she has never met.  For years Damon Savage has been searching for the wife his parents wed him to when he was a child.  He's surprised to find out it is the actress that has captured his attention.  Now they must decide whether to divorce and go their separate ways or to try to make their marriage a real one.
This was an interesting book.  The idea that two children (ages 3 and 7 years) could be married was horrifying.  While I thought the romance was too quickly introduced between the characters, it was refreshing to see it take more than just a week or two for the happy ending that usually occurs in romance books.

Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas

Worth Any Price - Lisa Kleyas - 388 pages

Nick Gentry has been hired to track down Lord Radnor's runaway fiancee.   Being one of the best runners from Bow Street, he finds her pretty quickly.  The problem is that once he meets Lottie Howard, Nick has no inclination to return her to Lord Radnor.  Instead he convinces her to marry him so he can protect her.  But what started as a marriage of convenience soon turns into something much stronger.
Turns out this is the third and final book in Lisa Kleypas' Bow Street Runners series.  I didn't realize that when I picked it up.  There was a fair amount of back story to some of the characters that it was assumed that you knew before reading the story.  Even though I hadn't read the previous books, it was fairy easy to pick up he story.  I'll definitely go back and read the other books in the series.

Castle Waiting, Vol. 1 by Linda Medley

Castle Waiting, Vol. 1 by Linda Medley - 184 pages

Lady Jain runs away in the middle of the night to try to find Castle Waiting -- a place of safety and refuge for any who finds it.  She is pregnant and gives birth shortly after finding the Castle.  The Castle has only a few people living in it -- a cook and her simple son Simon, the steward who is also a stork, three ladies-in-waiting who have retired, a blacksmith who has no emotions, and a knight who is also a horse.  There are also lots of fairies, sprites, brownies, etc.  Overall, this was a strange story that seemed to more for kids than for adults. 

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn - 371 pages

Jack's completely bored with his tour through Europe.  All they do is go through one dusty museum after another.  So he decides to play hooky one day and try to find the beach.  What he does find is a place surrounded by thick brambles where everyone is asleep.  He also finds a beautiful sleeping girl that he kisses.  Imagine his shock when she wakes up and tells him he's woken her from a 300 year sleep and that he has to marry her.  But that's just the beginning of the story because this isn't the typical Sleeping Beauty retelling where the characters automatically fall in love and everything ends happily ever after.  Instead, they runaway to Florida where they have to deal with Jack's family and the differences in their times.  Plus, the evil witch is still after Princess Talia wanting her revenge.
I really enjoyed this retelling.  It's unusual to find a retelling that actually deals with how the world has changed while the princess slept.  I also liked that it wasn't a romance from the beginning. 

A Highlander Christmas by Janet Chapman

A Highlander Christmas by Janet Chapman - 334 pages

Camry MacKeage quit her job at NASA over six months ago and took a job as a dogsitter and bartender.  It's much less complicated.  But then she meets the runaway teen Fiona and physicist Luke Pascal comes from France to try find a satellite that's fallen out of orbit.  On top of it all, now her family has discovered that she's run away and wants her to come home before the Winter Solstice.
I enjoyed this book a lot.  It was a lot easier to get into the story than Chapman's other book Spellbound Falls.  Even though it is a later book in a series, it was very easy to pick up the story.  It would still definitely be better to read the series in order.

The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick

The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick - 188 pages

Billy packs his bag with a set of clothes and his father's alcohol and takes off.  He's leaving his abusive dad and deadend town.  He's going to head west to find a better place.  What he finds is the town of Bendarat where he lives in an old freight train car, reads at the public library all day, and goes to McDonalds to eat the leftovers on the tables at night.  He also finds Old Bill, an old drunk homeless man he decides to take care of, and Caitlin, the girl working at McDonalds that he falls in love with.
This was a great book.  I really enjoyed it.  As with most good verse novels, the poems are short, filled with emotion, and tells the story simply.  I definitely want to read more of his books.