More Books Because All I Do When It's Gray and Rainy is Read

Letters from the Inside by John Marsden – Another epistolary novel. Another novel I never want to think about again.  I can’t in good conscience recommend this to anyone.

If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman – These two novels follow two characters after a life-altering car accident.  The first one is told from the point of view of Mia and the second from the point of view of Adam, her boyfriend.  They are both awesome books, but for what it’s worth, it’s the second one that left me feeling drained and sad and unable to focus on anything else for a day. If you can ignore the last ten pages of the book, Where She Went is absolutely in my top ten novels.  So, what I’m saying is you should read these books.

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie and After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick – Two novels centered around the story of a family.  The first one is told from the POV of the older brother, the second one of the younger brother.  There’s something about Sonnenblick’s writing I completely admire – the use of humor when life is complicated. I want to emulate it in my own life, instead of being so dramatic about everything.  Two very big thumbs up for these books.

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt – zzzzzzzzzzzzz…oh, wait.  This was a free book on my Kindle and it was, um, boring.

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr – This book followed me everywhere I went. I would run from it, hide under my blankets, pretend it didn’t exist, but it did exist. Maybe it was my mood, maybe it was the relentlessly grey skies, but this was one of the saddest books I’ve ever read.  I thought it was hauntingly beautiful.  It was masterful portrayal a complicated relationship between complicated people in complicated circumstances.  (I read this book only because it came up on a search for books similar in style to Sarah Dessen. I would argue that it is unlike anything Sarah Dessen has every written, but I do think it would appeal to Dessen fans.)

Heart on a Chain by Cindy C. Bennett – By page ten of this book, I was attempting to muffle my tears.  When my husband asked me what was wrong, I gestured in the vague direction of my Kindle as I told him it was just so sad. I had just started reading it.  And it got sadder and sadder. It was a realistic portrait of abuse.  It was not a realistic portrait of anything else – the romance, the ramifications of the abuse, the relationship with the other parent – but despite the obvious flaws in, you know, reality, I was moved by this book.  Where were these books when I was young?  I would have been comforted by this book, by the knowledge that there were others going through similar struggles, that there were others who were rootless and confused.  I am not sure if I recommend this book.  I guess I do. It was beautiful.  I’m still thinking about it weeks later.  But bring your tissues and your suspension of disbelief.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne by Kady Cross – Another free download on my Kindle.  Pretty funny and engaging.  I would have purchased the sequel (you win, Amazon!) but it hasn’t been released yet, so I put it on my library request list instead.

The Girl who Could Fly by Victoria Forester – This has been on my list to read for over a year.  I’ll be honest, the reason I didn’t get it was because it was in the children’s section of our local library and I can never find anything in the children’s section of our library (do you hear me downtown library?) and I always go to that section and get frustrated because things are always shelved incorrectly! Anyway, this was actually shelved correctly and it was a good, fast read.  I liked it and I am sure I would have loved it when I was seven or eight.  A great book for young girls just starting their chapter book reading.

Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt – It took me a few chapters to warm up to this book. As a teacher, I hate books that hate on teachers.  But it wasn’t really a book hating on teachers, it was a book loving on teachers. It just takes a while to get there. I wasn’t as crazy about it as I was about The Girl who Could Fly, but it was another good read for a children’s book (I was able to get this one from the teen stacks, so I didn’t have to face the children’s section twice in one trip.)