Horror meets young adult in this book! I was glued to the pages and actually finished this book in one sitting (yes all 450+ pages). This should be on your next read if you are a horror fan; the ending was my favorite part of this book, so read it all!

I had a weird feeling about this book as soon as one character saw a boy bleeding to death in a field and decided it was appropriate and normal to refer to him as the "beautiful boy." I kept going, and this book was just not entirely what I thought it was going to be. The expectation here would have been that this book was about finding whoever was responsible for hurting Karel, the boy left to die in the field, but that's really not the point at all. This is more a coming of age story about the three children who found him. Matthew is dealing with his new realization that the world has darkness and is unfair, and that sometimes finding answers doesn't bring you the closure you wanted in life. Zoe has just found out that one of her parents is involved in an affair that she can tell no one about, unless she wants to risk breaking apart her family. On the same vein, she's exploring the idea of love figuring out who she wants to be. Duncan, the youngest, has taken the trauma of finding a dying boy in a new direction - he has realization that, being adopted, now is the time for him to seek out his first mother, before something happens to her.

Great book! Today's society glamorizes influencers and this book shows the dark side of what we consider influencing today. I felt connected to the characters. It was a very fast read, and I wish I could read it again for the first time. Highly recommend!

This book is beautifully written. Inspired by a real life phone booth in Japan. It is a story of love and hope after devastating loss and grief. A window into Japanese culture and the terrible loss of the 2011 tsunami. I was living in Texas at the time of the tsunami and on the night of a terrible tornado and hail storm in our town I thought of the people who had endured the tsunami in Japan. I was surprised at the calming effect and hope this story left me with.

This was so fun! I didn't want to put this one down. Told from the perspective's of twins Fern and Rose, the book alternates between Fern living her life and Rose writing in her diary. Fern has a sensory processing disorder, and she relies heavily on her twin sister to help her navigate the world. When Rose confesses that she has found out she has a rare disorder that is making it impossible for her to become pregnant, Fern decides on the perfect thank you present for her sister - she'll just have to get pregnant and have a baby for Rose! Enter Wally, named for his similar appearance to Where's Waldo, the perfect match for Fern. Unfortunately, he's maybe too perfect, and before long Fern finds herself in over her head. Everything about this was just so well done. I loved the different perspectives we got, and how I really felt like I was following along with Fern and putting the pieces of the puzzle together with her. It felt like it took a little bit for the mystery to come into focus, but when things started to become clearer I was enthralled. I'd have loved more time with Fern and Rose. Absolutely lovely!

The Benefits Of Being An Octopus brilliantly captures the story of Zoey, a middle schooler charged with the task of taking care of her three baby siblings. So when a teacher notices her ability to speak up when it matters, Zoey is encouraged to join the debate team. At home, Zoey deals with an overworked mom being verbally abused by her boyfriend. Explaining topics such as gun violence, verbal abuse, and finding friends, The Benefits Of Being An Octopus follows Zoey as she speaks up for the things that matter to her and those she cares about.

Zachary flips through an old library book and is shocked to find that he is inexplicably one of the characters in it. The ensuing search to unravel this mystery takes him through ancient underground libraries, lost cities, magical seas, in stories that transcend Time and Fate. The author writes in a hauntingly poetic style that immediately draws you into this magical world.

Set in a world where Slasher films really did happen, Lynnette is a member of what's known as the "The Final Girls Club." The club is made up of women who meet a very specific criteria - they all were the only survivors of two massacres, and they all killed the person responsible. They meet once a month to support each other and work towards moving on with their lives - until one day one of the members doesn't show up on time. Her monster has come back to kill her. Now, Lynnette is on a race to not only keep herself alive, but to keep the members of her club alive as well. This probably would have worked pretty well as a movie, honestly, but as a book it didn't quite work for me. First, Lynnette as a narrator was awful. She's unreliable from the start, so I found myself utterly distracted the entire book because I was always trying to figure out if I should believe what was happening. I know a lot of books use the unreliable narrator trope now, but it was a difficult sell in this book. I would have much preferred if a different narrator (Heather?) was responsible for telling us what was going on. Or if Lynette's character was tweaked a little. Second, the plot twists were not really plot twists. It was really easy to figure out who was going to be responsible for the killings happening, so that was disappointing. The twists didn't leave me going "oh wow!" so much as "ugh, finally, we got there." My third issue is that it seems like Grad Hendrix either didn't keep track of everything, didn't want to explain everything, or thought that no one would pay attention. For example, at one point a character is mentioned to have a cell phone that they are going to use to keep track of Amber Alerts and to check in with every five hours. Three sentences later, they say that they're going to keep the phone turned off and only have it on for the check in times. How...how are you checking for Amber Alerts? Why did you make a big deal about checking for Amber Alerts, only to then say you're turning the phone off and not getting them anyway? In another scene, Lynnette is dictating a message for someone to send. She claims that it was a difficult process, and that she had to spell out a lot of the words. The example given is using "p as in Paul which is fascinating, because the only words with "p" in her message are purchased, photos, people, and peace. Am I really supposed to believe that someone couldn't spell one of those words without help? Really? I could go on and on, but honestly? I had high hopes for this book. The summary sounded great, and I was really excited to read it. I'm glad I didn't spend money on it. The writing is just not good.

The books centers around Catherine always wondering what would have happened if she had a baby with her teen love. She thinks she missed out on a life of love and happiness, but does not realize the extent of the betrayal by her lover and her friend carried on throughout their marriage. The books drags in the middle with way too much description about the music career of Jimmy and could have had more of a focus on the emotions Jimmy experiences during the loss of his marriage.

Very good story, shows how far bravery can take you. Also demonstrates how judgmental people can be, and why it is bad for society.