Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

A book review by Madeline Soucie

               

   

A good summer book for summer.

    

Taylor Edwards used to spend her summers with her family at their old lake house until five years ago when their lives became too busy. Taylor never thought they'd be back until her father received some bad news and the family goes up to spend one last summer together on the lake.

    

Up at the lake, Taylor is confronted by memories and people from her past like her former best friend and first crush, who she ran away from before leaving for five years.

    

Taylor soon finds that this summer is all about second chances to fix mistakes and make things right with her old friends and family before its too late.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Matson, M.

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

A book review by Madeline Soucie

                 

The first wave knocked out all the lights and electronics. The second wave brought in tsunamis that wiped out the coasts. The third wave brought in disease. In the fourth wave they killed. Now the fifth wave is coming and very few are left.

    

Trust no one. That's what the alien invasion has taught sixteen year old Cassie. The aliens look like humans, so one can't be sure who's alien and who's human. What's left of the world is in chaos. Over seven billion are dead and the survivors are struggling. Cassie is one of those on the run from place to place trying to find some temporary place to rest, always looking over her shoulder.

    

Then she meets Evan Walker -- a mysterious boy who she befriends against her better judgment. Evan may just be the key to finding Cassie's brother.

    

This was a really good page-turner about an alien invasion of a different kind and humanity's fight to overcome the intruders.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Yancey, R.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

A book review by Madeline Soucie

Samantha Kinston has it all -- she's popular and has great friends, a great boyfriend, and she is at the top of the school social ladder. 

February 12th is just another day to go to school with her friends and enjoy life. Or so Sam thought. Then she dies and wakes up to a second chance at life. Then another and another; seven chances actually. Seven redo days, no one else knows about, to change her life and death and to realize little things she never noticed.

Read this page-turning book to find out how Sam chooses to change her life and, in doing so, realizes how much the little things really mean. 

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Oliver, L.

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

A book review by Madeline Soucie

Laurel is just starting high school and her first English assignment is to write a letter to a dead person. She ends up writing to a lot of people- Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, and more. She tells them about high school and her life growing up. How her sister died, and the trouble she has been having with her divorced parents. New friends and crushes and such.

   

As Laurel writes her letters and the year progresses, she slowly starts to come to terms with what happened to her. As she comes to terms, she can finally accept her sister's death. Laurel also accepts that she's not mad at her sister, and can move on and find her own path to discover who she is.

   

In this nice and sweet story the reader is introduced to Laurel through her letters. This is a good book for anyone who liked The Fault in our Stars.

Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Dellaira, A.