What Comes Next by Rob Buyea

Thea lost her best friend Charlie and a terrible accident during spring break.  She can't even go back and finish 6th grade, so her parents homeschool her.  Her family decides to move to another town to give her a fresh start and her dad decides to get a new dog.  They go to the rescue to pick out a dog and Thea ends up selecting, a little dog with a lazy eye...just like Charlie had.  They name him Jack, or Jack-Jack, or Jackson.  They all call him various versions of the name. :) Thea has gone mute since the accident, but slowly Jack gets her talking again and then she meets her little sister's teacher Ms. Stacey, who helps her out, but also introduces her to Rory.  With all their help, she is able to start living again.

By the end of the book there are so many ties that I didn't see coming.  I just love that it is a window into grief and how people handle things differently.  The little supernatural touch of the dog is just perfect.

 

A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen

 Liza Yang lives in Houston where her mom owns a bakery and her dad owns a restaurant next door.  Liza feels like she is expected to be perfect like her sister, but she feels anything but.  Her mom is CONSTANTLY trying to set her up with a "nice, Taiwanese or Chinese boy", but Liza wants to choose her own boyfriend.  As Liza finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her and dumps him, she meets a boy who steps in  to protect her from his lashing out.  

Liza's mom has an annual baking contest and Liza wants to enter, her mom says no, but she can be a judge.  Little does Liza know her mom is stacking the contestants with all boys!  As Liza is dealing with her mom and her set-ups, she finds people are not always what they seem or what you expect.  

I am NOT a romance book person, but this was actually a fun read.  I would definitely recommend it for my romance readers, but really anyone looking for a fun read.  Great Houston life mentioned and very reminiscent of Jenny Han books!

Frankie and Bug by Gayle Forman

 Bug usually loves the summer because she spends it with her older brother, Danny, on Venice Beach.  This summer, however, her older brother wants to be called Daniel and not have to hang out with her, so her single mother has to find a solution for Bug.  Frankie, an 11 year old boy from Ohio, comes to spend the summer with his uncle, Phillip, who lives in the same building as Bug. As Bug is dealing with feeling betrayed by her brother for pulling away, and resentful that Frankie is here taking away attention from Phillip, she learns about herself and how things are not always what they seem and everyone has problems they are dealing with that you can't always see on the outside.  

Nice book about a girl growing up in the 80's, whose Salvadorian father has passed away, and a single mom whose family has pretty much disowned her.  Frankie is actually a girl, who feels like a boy and is struggling with her identity.  Frankie's dad wants her to get it out of her system, but mom seems supportive and sends her to stay with her gay uncle.  

Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls by Kaela Rivera

 Cece lives in a remote town in the desert, where a few months of the year Criatura's come out and plague the townspeople and can cause death and problems.  When Cece was young she met a criatura, but it didn't harm her and helped her get home.  Because of this Cece isn't sure the legends of the criatura's are all true.  When her older sister is kidnapped by a criatura for his bride, Cece decides to go after her sister and must get her own criatura to help her enter Devil's Alley to rescue her.  As Cece finds Coyote to help her, she hides what she is doing from her parents and the town and finds that everything she thought and was told has been changed in the retelling and she also learns to trust herself and her strength.

I LOVED THIS BOOK.  It was one where I wanted to read to find out what happened, but didn't want it to end.  I hope this author continues Cece's story.  It is so amazing!  I listened to the audio and the narrator was amazing as well.

The Hiddenseek by Nate Cernosek

 Holly and Hector Thorn were playing a game of hide and seek and were never found, so they ended up in a alternate universe called "The Hiddenseek".  There they meet several other children who were also playing hide and seek and never found.  When IT finds you she turns you to stone.  As Holly, Hector and the others try to stay away from It, they begin to discover the history of how and when Hiddenseek was created and they try to fix it so they can get home, but things spiral out of control pretty quickly and it becomes a ticking clock of who will survive and make it out. 

Pretty good book.  Similar to Hide and Seeker, which I read and reviewed, but a little more historical feel to this one.  

Mine by Delilah S. Dawson

 Lily and her family are moving from Colorado to Florida for her dad's job.  Something happened in Colorado, and Lily's parents are always telling her to settle down and not be so dramatic.  As Lily moves into their new house she realizes why they could afford it, a hoarder lived there and it is in pretty bad shape.  As she and her mom begin to clean the house out, weird things happen.  green gook bubbles up out of the toilet, sink and shower and then disappears.  Lily's room  is tossed and messed up, things she knew she put in one place find their way back.  As Lily and a friend begin to investigate the house's history they discover there were deaths there and one little girl who died there is not happy Lily is there.

Super creepy!  Ghosts, danger, and a book that kept me reading.  

Life in the Balance by Jen Petro-Roy

 Veronica loves playing softball and is getting ready to try out for an All-Star League.  After coming home one evening her parents tell her that her mom is an alcoholic and will be going into rehab for several months to get better.  Veronica can't believe it and is ashamed and doesn't tell her best friend because her parents are divorcing so Veronica doesn't want to add anything else.  As if that wasn't enough her dad starts working a second job to pay bills and tells Veronica they may not be able to afford the softball league.  Veronica works on how to make money to play softball and ends up telling another girl at school what is going on with her mom and finds there are others like her with alcoholic parents. 

Veronica is dealing with a LOT.  Seems very real with her anger, frustration, fear, and just typical teenager confusion about finding yourself.  It was an okay book for me.  

Shaking up the House by Yamile Saied Mendez

Ingrid and Winnie Lopez have lived in the White House since they were toddlers.  Their dad is the first latinx president in the office.  As they are getting ready to transition to the new family moving in, they decide to welcome them with a few friendly pranks.  Skylar and Zora Williams are twins whose mom is the first African American Woman president-elect.  Their family will be moving in before the Lopez's move out.  As Ingrid and Winnie pull their first friendly prank, Skylar and Zora take it the wrong way and decide to retaliate.  As the two sets of girls go back and forth with their pranks, neither know the other's intent and things get a little out of control and start to cause a ruckus in the house!

It was okay.  Didn't love it and seemed pretty silly.