Where She Went
Gayle Forman
In this follow-up to If I Stay, readers learn a lot about where Adam has been and who he has become in the years directly after his (ex-)girlfriend Mia woke up from a coma after an accident that killed her entire family.
Adam “Wilde Man” Wilde is the lead singer and guitar player of the chart-topping Shooting Stars, he has hot model girlfriend Bryn on his arm, and he’s got a steady supply of cigarettes and pills to help calm his nerves and keep his depression and anxiety at bay – most of the time. The one thing he doesn’t have is Mia. Since leaving their hometown in Oregon three years ago for an illustrious Julliard education, she never once looked back and ultimately cut off contact with Adam. And despite his outward success, he hasn’t been the same since this loss of the great love of his life. Until he’s in the NYC with the band and sees that Mia is playing a show at Carnegie Hall. The whirlwind of memories, emotion, secrets, and revelations that follow is breath-taking, exhausting, and oddly refreshing as we watch Mia and Adam reconnect and – in some ways – deconstruct.
Readers might be sucked into this love story even without knowing the back-story, but those who already had their hearts broken and put back together again while reading If I Stay, will cry and cheer alongside old friends.
The Tale of One Bad Rat
Bryan Talbot
We first meet Helen in an Underground Station near Trafalgar Square. We follow her through the streets of London, where she meets a collection of individuals, including Ben, who sets her up with a roof and a few meals. When her beloved pet rat is killed by one of the cats in the makeshift shelter, she decides it’s time for her to keep on moving. She hitchhikes north to England’s Lake District – famous for its calm and its beauty – and by accident winds up being quite literally rescued by a couple who own a pub. (It turns out that Beatrix Potter once stayed at the same pub.) It is in this place that Helen is finally able to begin to come to terms with her past, a story that the reader uncovers through flashbacks along her hard journey.
This is a story of sexual abuse, the battle toward self-acceptance and relinquishment of undeserved guilt. This is the story of “one bad rat,” who overcomes unrelenting struggle and uncovers her self-worth through the support of strong, loving adults. Recommended to all readers — and lovers of Beatrix Potter will find something a little extra-special here as well.
You Against Me
Jenny Downham
Karyn is pressing charges of rape after a bad night at a classmate’s house. Her brother Mikey is out for revenge.
Tom says he didn’t do it; says that she wanted it but then changed her mind in the morning. Ellie is his little sister, set on supporting him and believing in him, no matter what.
It’s a matter of “he said, she said” unless Ellie wasn’t really sleeping the whole night like she said she was. If Ellie heard something, or spoke to Tom that night, or remembers more than what she originally told the police, it might change everything.
If Mikey sets out to teach Tom a lesson, but meets Ellie instead, that might change everything too.
This is a story of mixed-up love, lust, forgiveness, power, and terror. Twists and turns lead all around in a situation where there doesn’t seem to always be a right or wrong; and even if there was, where would each characters’ loyalties lie?
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Katherine Vasilik, A/YA Librarian
J. F. Kennedy Library
Piscataway, NJ
telephone: 732-463-1633 x6
email: kvasilik@piscatawaylibrary.org or kate_thelibrarian@yahoo.com
blog: http://katethelibrarian.blogspot.com
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