Shine by Lauren Myracle

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Guys, I survived reading my first young-adult book as an adult! No English teachers or professors pelted me with stones and no one called me out in the middle of the street! Whew.

Anyway, Shine details the story of sixteen-year-old Cat and the hate crime against her former best friend Patrick. Cat stopped talking to Patrick – along with everyone else at her high school – after an incident involving another boy two years ago. But when Patrick is found brutally beaten to the point of comatose and the police blame it on out-of-town college students, Cat sets out to uncover the truth. On her journey she confronts small town gossip, dangerous drugs, a college boy named Jason, and a startling discovery concerning Patrick’s near-fatal encounter.

Lauren Myracle writes a mystery with Shine.

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Cover via Goodreads. ARC provided by Goodreads and Riverhead Books.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

A brother torn from his sister by a cruel twist of fate at only seven years of age. A caretaker drawn into the life of his enigmatic employer, a recluse with a large amount of riches. A repressed daughter who dates her mother’s old flame, setting inevitable consequences into motion. In his new 400-page novel, And The Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini does not tell the story one of character, of two characters, or of three – he delves into several generations. He takes apart the threads that tie us together and examines each string, sifting through the tapestry to find our souls.

Family. Hosseini’s narrative travels around the world in And the Mountains Echoed, from Afghanistan to France to the United States to the Greek island Tinos. Despite the broad scope of the story, there’s one theme that brings it all together: family.

Prodigy by Marie Lu

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

The sequel to Legend, Prodigy picks up on June and Day’s journey after escaping from the clutches of the Republic. Their mission should be clear: kill the new Elector and avenge their fallen family members. June and Day join the Patriots, a group of rebels, to fight for what they’ve lost – but what happens when the new Elector isn’t as bad as his father? Suddenly their plans don’t seem full proof anymore… if they even were to start with.

Contrary to the majority of book bloggers, I tend to enjoy the second book in a series more than the first. Prodigy is no exception.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

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Rating: 4/5 stars.

Astrid Jones sends her love to strangers. She gives it away to passengers in the sky, because that’s the only way she’ll be free. Her demanding, over-controlling mother talks at her, her dad does crack, and her sister worries too much about her reputation to be of any help. Living in a small town has its downsides, and Astrid realizes just how damaging those downsides are when she finds herself falling in love – with a girl.

In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner

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Rating: 4/5 stars.

As a senior in high school, it scares me that I didn’t know how to properly pronounce “Khmer Rogue” before reading this book. Even worse was my ignorance of Cambodia’s history in the late 1970′s – the genocide that took place serves as a lesser-known Holocaust, the horrors these people endured similar to that of the Jews.

In the Shadow of the Banyan follows seven-year-old Raami as she witnesses the communist regime take everything away from her.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Things I need to find out about my future partner before I marry him: 1) If he can get rid of bugs for me, 2) If he’s a super crazy psychopath who will kill me in my sleep.

Gone Girl starts out as a simple story about Nick and Amy Dunne, the average married couple gearing up for their fifth anniversary. Conflict arises when Amy goes missing and the media accuses Nick of kidnapping and murdering her. The investigation takes a turn for the worse when clues are found that implicate certain individuals and reveal ugly truths about others. As the story progresses it turns out that our average husband and wife may be more twisted than we imagined…

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

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Rating: 4/5 stars.

How ironic that I would read The Poisonwood Bible immediately after publishing a blog post defending the merits of YA books. One individual commented about how literary fiction takes themes/motifs/messages and pushes them to the edge. I can see that with Barbara Kingsolver’s work.

Yes, the book preaches about anti-Westernization and the plights of religion.

The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt

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Rating: 4/5 stars.

From a psychological standpoint, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion earns five stars. The book loses some of its appeal when Jonathan Haidt veers into political philosophy, however – especially when he raises the biased question “why are religious people better neighbors and citizens?”

Let me backtrack. The Righteous Mind is split into three sections. The first focuses on how intuitions come first and are followed by strategic reasoning, the second shows that there are six moral foundations (Care/Harm, Fairness/Cheating, Liberty/Oppression, Loyalty/Betrayal, Authority/Subversion, and Sanctity/Degradation), and the third hones in on the belief that morality binds and blinds. By the end each part made sense in relation to one another and came together to pack a strong moral philosophy punch. Though the book had some dense sections – like the history and biology of moral philosophy – Haidt included interesting scenarios, research, and anecdotes to alleviate the doldrums.

Draggon Slippers by Jessica Day George

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Creel doesn’t particularly care for her aunt – and Creel’s aunt doesn’t particularly care for her, either, considering that she tries to sell Creel to a dragon. After Creel’s parents passed away she had no choice but to reside with her aunt. But when her extended family runs into financial problems, Creel is sent to face a dragon in hopes of getting a dashing – and wealthy – knight to save her. Things take a more interesting turn when Creel walks away with a blue pair of slippers and a dream of owning a seamstress shop. She embarks on a journey that includes myriad magical things: handsome princes, annoying princesses, and dangerous dragons.

My friend got this for me as a belated Christmas gift. While its intended for younger readers, I still enjoyed Creel’s tale of heroism and adventure – it’s crazy to think about how this is acclaimed children/YA fantasy author Jessica Day George’s first book.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

Cover via Goodreads.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

In one of my college essay drafts I made a metaphor comparing myself to Jane Eyre; I liked it, but I don’t think my AP English Language teacher appreciated my line that went “one day, I will find my Mr. Rochester too.” I just loved Jane Eyre. Out of all of the classics I’ve read, it probably possesses the protagonist I relate to the most. I suppose it’s fitting then that the first retelling I read is one of, you guessed it, Jane Eyre.

Gemma is an orphan. First her parents passed away, then her caring uncle did as well, leaving her with her cruel aunt and teasing cousins. Yew House is a home that isn’t a home, and Gemma feels wonderful when sent to Claypoole, a private school far from her remaining family. But the faculty treats her like a servant and does not reward her outstanding academics. Once again Gemma is glad to move on once the school closes, taking a job as an au pair on the Orkney Islands. There she meets Mr. Sinclair, a rich, successful businessman who tests her ability to stay true to herself.

Margot Livesey retells Jane Eyre fantastically in The Flight of Gemma Hardy in regard to setting and basic plot.