Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert

Very interesting book. Danny Cheng lives in California with his parents, who where both born in China, but emigrated to the US for a "better life". He is a dutiful son, but when he finds a box hidden in the closet full of articles and paper clippings, he starts to question what his parents have told him over the years. And questions why they so abruptly moved from Texas to California when he was younger. 

Danny is a senior, an artist, and had just been accepted into RISD. His parents are very proud. All they want for him is a better life than they have had. This story is written so well. It slowly meters out information that you need to know, in an almost stream of conscience way,  to solve the secrets of Danny's parents and the death of friend Sandra a year earlier. Danny has had best friends Harry and Regina since grade school. But as their senior year is moving to a close, friendships and secrets strain these relationships. 

Very good read, keeps you wondering and wanting more, and has a great ending. 

Almost like a mystery, where you are slowly given hints and clues until the answers is revealed. 

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Does he? Doesn't she? Will she? Won't he? Leah on the Offbeat is the sequel to Love Simon. (Which I have not read) Same characters, just that this one features Leah is an artist, a drummer, and Bi. But she hasn't come out even to her best friend Simon. This story, to me, is basically a romance and if you know me, you know I don't "do" romantic angst well. Does he? Doesn't she? Will she? Won't he? That said the dialog and plot lines seem realistic. It's senior year, relationships and friendships are examined as the friends make big decisions about their lives, their friendships, and their sexuality. Students struggling with their school friendships and their sexuality might find this a relatable book.

LIFE L1K3 by Jay Kristoff

"Grandpa said it's always better to be shot at for who you are than hugged for who your not." -Eve
" Even in our darkest moments, we have a choice." -Rachael
"It doesn't matter who you were. Only who you are." -Lemon
"That's all our memories are, right? The pieces of yesterdays that make us who we are today ." -Lemon
"You know, democracy sounds like a great idea until you spend three minutes with the average voter." Cricket
"It's simple to love someone on the days that are easy. But you find out what your love is made of on the days that are hard." Ezekiel
It was okay to be afraid. You just couldn't let that fear stop you. -Lemon

This book is written by Jay Kristoff the coauthor of the Illuminae Files, which I absolutely love, love, love. This book not so much. It starts out interesting enough, Eva and her Grandpa Silas live in a world that has descended into hell, basically. There has been "the war" and an earthquake and now fighting factions rule different areas of the Grand Ol' Yousay. Eve and Grandpa have their posse of Fresh Lemon (a real live girl-12ish), Cricket, a logika-machine with it's own onboard intelligence, capable of independent action-, and Kaiser, a mechanical dog. So basically they need to survive. Eva does this by fighting in War Dome, a gladiator type setting where old malfunctioning (as in killing humans) robots fight young upstarts like Eve for creds. One of the literary devices in this books is using words from our time and morphing them into other words that we can still understand. credo-credits, Ol' Yousay-old US of A, Kaliforya-California , Zona-Arizona, you get the picture. The author uses that a lot in the beginning, but then sort of forgets about it later in the book, or maybe I just didn't notice.
So here's the plot, someone is after Eve. If I tell you the reason, I would ruin the surprise. So Eve and her motley crew of hangers on slice and dice, slash and bash, roll and whatever across the landscape trying to stay our of the hands of the bad guys, including a mechanical Preacher dressed as a gunslinger. There is a ton of action, so if you like fighting scenes with robots, this book is for you. The book pulled me in at the beginning, but then there was this whole part where they get swallowed by a whale, and have to find their way out. It was totally unnecessary. The only reason I can think of of why it was in there was that there was a reference to Pinnochio earlier in the book. The author almost lost me in this part, it was so inane. But when they finally get out of the whale, they move on to more slicing and dicing, etc.
There are some really good twists in this book, and some great ethical questions, but on the whole I can not recommend it. The writing, for me, was just bad. For example, there was lots of forced dialog,  it seems every time something happened, Lemon Fresh would say something sarcastic, Cricket would say something logical, and the dog would "bark". No kidding this happened enough times the it got irritating. And the author seemed to want to put in every cliche that a science fiction writer could and more.
That said, someone who likes dystopia, may like this. Someone that is into robots and artificial life, may want to dissect it. I don't know, not one of my favorites. And like almost all dystopias these days, it has an ending, sort of.

Girl Made Of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

"The best lies are layered between solid truths..." -Mara

"It's a tangled mess of simple facts, a kaleidoscope of right and wrong. The aftermath--that is what is complicated." -Mara

Mara and Owen are twins, they know each other like they are one. But when Hannah, Mara's friend and Owen's girlfriend, accuses Owen of rape, Mara knows that Hannah isn't lying and Owen isn't telling the whole truth.

Mara's parents rally around Owen, as does his classmates. After all, weren't Hannah and Owen dating and didn't they all ready have sex?

Mara tries to make sense of all the dimensions of this act, and by that she finds her voice, her love, and who she can trust.

This would be an excellent book for students navigating dating, students trying to understand their sexuality, students trying to do what is right under difficult circumstances, and lastly students who may be hiding a secret that has changed their life. 

Gripping and fast read with some interesting twists.

There hasn't been any posts since 2013 on this blog, but now that I am retired I am going to post even though no one will ever read it, guess this is my journaling. It is going to be about books that I have read, mostly Young Adult, but others too.
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
" What is a memory? It's not something you can physically hold, or see, or smell, or taste. It's just nerve impulses jumping between neurons. Sometimes it's a matter of choice. Other times it's self-preservation, or protection." So concludes the main character Leigh Chen Sanders at the end of the book.
Leigh's Mom has killed herself. As Leigh alternates from present happenings to past memories, she delves into what may have caused her Mother's death, why it happened, and also the stained relationship with her best friend Alex. Leigh loves art. It is a way to express her thoughts and emotions. There is a game that Leigh and Alex play, when something happens one of them will say "what color?" to express that emotion. After her Mother dies, Leigh believes that her Mother has come to her through a Red Bird. A box is mysteriously delivered to Leigh that contains pictures and notes that obviously are related to her Mother. To answer questions Leigh and her father go to Taiwan to meet her Mother's parents, who where estranged from Leigh's  Mom. There she has sightings of  the Red Bird and the mysterious Feng , who helps her navigate the language and culture and the memories in Taiwan. In the end, it is about finding the right pieces that make sense to you, so that you can move on.
On the whole I liked the book, I never quite bought into the whole color thing, it just seemed that it was a convenient way to tie in her art and the ending when there is acceptance of her Mother's death. I would recommend it to students that like a little romance and a little mystery to solve. You do have to suspend belief quite a bit, but in the end it works.