The Similars

The Similars
by Rebecca Hanover

From the publisher:
"A New York Times Bestseller!

Don't miss the series debut that readers are calling Gossip Girl meets The Umbrella Academy, set in an elite boarding school, where secret societies rule, nothing is as it seems, and the genetic copies of attending students have just joined the Junior class...

This fall, six new students are joining the junior class at the elite Darkwood Academy. But they aren't your regular over-achieving teens. They're DNA duplicates, and these "similars" are joining the class alongside their originals.

The Similars are all anyone can talk about. Who are they? What are the odds that all of them would be Darkwood students? And who is the madman who broke the law to create them? Emmaline Chance could care less. Her best friend, Oliver, died over the summer and it's all she can do to get through each day without him. Then she comes face-to-heartbreaking-face with Levi, Oliver's exact DNA copy and one of the Similars.

Emma wants nothing to do with the Similars, but she keeps getting pulled deeper into their world. She can't escape the dark truths about them or her prestigious school. No one can be trusted, not even the boy she is falling for with Oliver's face.

This exhilarating and riveting debut by Rebecca Hanover is the next obsession for readers who devoured Two Can Keep a Secret, One of Us Is Lying, Scythe, and Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful."

The plot of this book was pretty fascinating and the characters were likable, but there was something about the writing that was off putting for me. And there is a pretty obvious political statement going on throughout the book which, for some reason, always irritates me in a young adult novel. However, I don't think middle schoolers will mind or even notice. All they will care about is the exciting story, the boarding school setting (my students LOVE boarding school settings!), and the romance. There are several twists that will keep them reading and the end will have them yelling for more! Luckily the second book has now come out so they won't have to wait. Is it the best book I have ever read? Nope. But I will be recommending it to certain students that I'm sure will love it.

Areas of concern:
*A small handful of cuss words.
* A few kisses and talk of wanting to spend the night but deciding it wasn't the time.
* Possibly just the idea of cloning.

Suggested Ages:

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 14+

School Library Journal - Grades 8+

Love, Life and the List

Love, Life and the List
by Kasie West

From the publisher,
"Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings Abby isn’t going to take any chances.

Which is where the list comes in.

Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being. But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems… and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.

This is the first in a set of three standalone books with crossover characters."

I love this author (Kasie West) for middle school students who love romance and like to read up in age. The characters are always upper high school, but she avoids things like bad teenage behavior and graphic making out. They are fun and frothy to read, with romance, humor and heart. That being said, I have noticed that almost all of her contemporary books remind me of other author's books. This one reminded me of Morgan Matson's Since You've Been Gone, which I loved. Kasie and I have had a little slump lately, and although this one wasn't my favorite, it was definitely a step above some of her others that I have read lately. 
Things I liked:
*The main character was snarky and funny.
*A loving, supportive, albeit slightly dysfunctional family unit.
*Cooper and Abby and their friendship.
*The main character experienced a lot of growth throughout the book.
*Deep emotions towards the end that were written so well I felt every emotion right along with Abby.

Things I didn't like:
*Abby and Cooper were amazing as best friends, but I didn't feel any chemistry between them.
*Cooper could be a real jerk. 
*The list played an important role and then just sort of petered out.
*I didn't love the ending and was actually rooting for it to end a completely different way. 

Suggested Ages:

Kirkus Reviews - Ages 12+

School Library Journal - Grades 7+

Since You've Been Gone

Since You've Been Gone
by Morgan Matson

From the publisher:
"It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um...

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go skinny-dipping? Wait...what? "

This was a really fun, sweet book. It came out in 2014 and I never purchased it for my library because I thought it would be a little too old for my middle school students (re: the list with things like skinny dipping , stealing, and kissing strangers). Then I read another review that said it was "too tame", and I thought - perfect! That's what I like and what I get for my middle schoolers who love romance. I'm really glad I saw that and decided to purchase this one. 

I loved the main character, Emily. It was inspiring to see her growth throughout the course of the book. I hope it will be eye opening to some of my middle schoolers who are in kind of toxic friendships where one person is so clearly dominant and the other person feels like they only have an identity because of their friend.

“It just gets hard, always being someone's second choice” 

I was so glad to see Emily come out of her shell, make new friends, have fun adventures and ultimately change her relationship with Sloane. Quite frankly, I was not a huge Sloane fan. I'm glad things were somewhat resolved with their friendship at the end. However, I did love Frank, Collins and Dawn. What an awesome group of friends! I was saddened by something that happened at the end with the group and wish we could have gotten some resolution on that. But I still really liked the book. Here are a couple more of my favorite quotes:

“In a well-ordered universe...camping would take place indoors.” 
(Obviously a kindred spirit!) And:

“Do you not like The Beatles?" Frank asked, sounding shocked. "Do you also not like sunshine and laughter and puppies?” 

Fun, witty, heart-warming and eye-opening are all ways I would describe this book. 

Areas of concern:
*Maybe 2 or 3 mild cuss words.
*Boy and girl sleep in a tent together sharing a pillow. Nothing happens.
*A skinny-dipping scene where towels were (of course) stolen. 
*A couple of heavy-duty kissing scenes. Nothing graphic.

Suggested Ages:

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 12+

School Library Journal - Grades 7+

Open Road Summer

Open Road Summer
by Emery Lord

From the publisher:
"After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own.

Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence.

This summer, Reagan and Lilah will navigate the ups and downs of fame and friendship as they come to see that giving your heart to the right person is always a risk worth taking.

A fresh new voice in contemporary romance, Emery Lord’s gorgeous writing hits all the right notes."

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it as much as the author's other book, The Start of Me and You. I think it is because I never really liked the main character. Even though she improved throughout the book, and even though there were extenuating circumstances for her behaviors, I just never liked her. That always makes it hard for me to really love the book. However, I loved most of the secondary characters, and the plot itself was fun and interesting. 

Areas of concern:
*The main character was trying to become a better person and to improve her life, but there were many references to her past bad behaviors and she would still sneak out to smoke.
*There are multiple uses of all cussing words with the exception of the "f" word.
*The main character's best friend is a country/pop music star and she is caught up in an erroneous sex scandal. 
*Very little adult supervision of these teenagers. 

Suggested Ages:

Booklist - Grades 7-10

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 12+