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.

All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry

A book review by Madeline Soucie


Judith lives in Roswell Station as an outcast. Four years ago, she and her friend were taken, days apart. Her friend was killed. Judith was held captive, but released after two years, and returned to her home with her tongue cut out. She could talk, but her words were garbled and near impossible to understand. Because of this, her mother told Judith not to speak, ever. Her mother was too ashamed to want Judith to speak, and so she became the mute outcast of the town; everyone knew she existed, but refused to acknowledge her.

Life went on like this for two years until ships were spotted downstream, coming to invade Roswell Station. Judith is now faced with a choice -- keep silent and let people die and her town be taken over, or speak up and face her old captor, the only person who knows how to save the town and more importantly, Judith's family and the boy she loves.

This book is captivating from page one, and I hated having to put it down. It is unlike the historical fiction I have read before and is such a good read! I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good book to read.

Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Berry, J.

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

a book recommendation by Lily Russell

 

A Stolen Life: a memoir by Jaycee Dugard is a true story of a girl who was kidnapped for 18 years. Jaycee had walked out of the house thinking she would be back in a short eight hours to greet her parents and tell them how her day was, but the opposite is true. Jaycee was walking to school when, out of the blue, she was knocked out and thrown into the trunk of a car.

Jaycee rode to the kidnapper, Mr. Garrido’s, house with her head down, refusing to lay her eyes on this terrible man. She was thrown into Garrido’s basement, given little food, or necessities.

Find it: BIO Dugard, Jaycee Lee