Mickey Catalan is a star catcher for her softball team. When she and star pitcher, Carolina, are in a car accident just months before conditioning begins for her final high school season. Determined to be ready, she turns to Oxycontin for support in getting through physical therapy. Suddenly, she has a new group of friends who supply her with more Oxy and when their supply runs dry, they switch to heroin. Her performance on the field has also been affected more by her addiction than by her injury. This is a very dark, graphic portrayal of a girl spiraling into drug addiction. Mickey doesn't believe she's an addict. She'll wean herself off after the season, she keeps telling herself. This story stuck with me after I finished it. I recommend this book, but with a warning about how graphic it is with a shocking twist.
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Beartown is a small dying town in the forests of Sweden. The people of the town are hoping the junior hockey team will win the semi-finals and go on to the finals. Then perhaps, a hockey academy will be built in Beartown, and then shopping centers and a convention center would follow. When the unimaginable happens off the ice, the whole town is affected including its future.
There are a lot of characters in this story from the players, coaches and their families, parents, President and the General Manager of the Beartown Hockey Club, sponsors... All play a role in the story. Some characters you will love, others you will not. I strongly recommend this book to those who are hockey fans and those who like stories about small towns. Josie Moraine is a recent high school graduate who lives in the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1950. She has a tough life as the daughter of a brothel prostitute. She lives above a bookshop owned by author Charlie Marlowe and works at the shop with Charlie's son, Patrick. In the mornings, she cleans Willie Woodley's - uh, place of business. On New Year's Eve, a gentleman from Memphis comes into the book shop to buy two books: a book of poetry by Keats and David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. While purchasing the books, the gentleman encourages Josie to go to college - something she never gave much thought about before. The following day she learns that he had died. This is a fantastic read. There are so many complex characters from Willie, Charlie, Jesse, Patrick, and the oh, so creepy Mr. Lockwell. Josie is such a strong character, although I am certain she would not consider herself that. I recommend this novel to more mature teens and adults. Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes from her beloved aunt who had died of cancer. The first one has $1000 and instructions to get a plane ticket to London. Each envelope has her do something out of her comfort zone but in the process, she gets to know who her aunt was and a bit more about herself.
This was a fun adventure. You had no idea what her aunt is going to have her do next. During her adventure, she meets people who knew her aunt like Richard who works at Harrods, and others like playwright Keith who didn't know her aunt, but goes along for the ride. Ginny has a lot of guts to go on an adventure like this without many supplies or money and she goes through a lot - both good and bad - on this trip, but along the way, she learns some valuable life lessons and grows throughout the story. An enjoyable read. Mariana's father is running for President of the United States. She thinks he'll make a great president, she feels the pressure of being the daughter of a candidate after a disastrous television interview and misinterpreted pictures are released. However, when a class she is in begins to question her father's support of a wealthy businessman who is polluting the water in their state, she begins to question his position.
This was an enjoyable read. Mariana not only has to endure a lot but she learns about herself and starts forming her own opinion on things. This novel in verse tells the story of Camino Rios and Yahaira Rios. Camino lives in the Dominican Republic. Yahaira Rios lives in New York City. Neither knows the other exists until their father is killed in a plane crash and they learn he had two families. This is a beautifully written story about grieving while dealing with another whole bunch of emotions after learning about a father's secret life. Both girls are likeable, strong characters. I saw the movie (also written by Peter Hedges) starring Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio when it came out in 1993 and loved it. I found the characters interesting, so I was excited when in college I had to write a character analysis on one of the characters for my Child Psychology class. Over the years I forgot about the movie until I discovered the book listed on a book list. I had to read it. Gilbert Grape lives in the small town of Endora, Iowa, with his mother, two sisters, and brother. After his father's suicide, life in the Grape family has become - complicated, to say the least. His mother who was once a beauty queen has become morbidly overweight leaving taking care of the family up to Gilbert and his older sister. Amy is obsessed with Elvis and continues to mourn his death. Ellen's focus is on makeup, boys, and Jesus. As for Gilbert, while most of his friends have gone off to college and gotten out of Endora, Gilbert takes care of his younger brother, Arnie, with special needs. He works at a family grocery store that is failing because it can't compete with the huge Walmart-likes store that was built right outside of town. Taking care of his soon-to-be eighteen brother is difficult especially when Arnie decides to climb up the town's water tower. Life in Endora becomes more interesting and more complicated when free-spirited Becky appears in town. The characters shine in this novel. They are all complex characters who are struggling in some way. Reading the last page was like saying good-bye to a good friend. Amy Fields, along with her father and stepmother, board a yacht and were going to travel the world. That is until they are hijacked by Somali pirates. She is told that she is now known only as Hostage Three. During the tense situation, she gets to know one of the terrorists, a young man named Farouz. He tells her of his past and she realizes that she is developing feelings towards this pirate. I liked the plot and Amy's point of view. Her inner conflicts with her emotions towards Farouz as well as with her parents were realistic. I was not impressed with Lake's writing style/ I found his use or non-use of punctuation made it difficult to get into reading the book. Marie Lu tackles the second installment of the DC Icons series. Bruce Wayne's childhood trauma is well known by Batman fans. This story focuses on when he turns eighteen and is about to inherit the family fortune including Wayne Enterprises. The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City focusing on rich businesspeople. Bruce gets into trouble with the law and is sentenced to community service at Arkham Asylum. There he meets Madeleine Wallace, a member of the Nightwalkers. He becomes involved with the case when he is the only person Madeleine speaks to. This was a fun book in the DC Icons series. Teens who are fans of superheroes, especially DC comics will enjoy this novel.
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AuthorMr. Andrusyk is a school librarian at IC Catholic Prep in Elmhurst, Illinois. Past Book RecommendationsClick here to view a listing of Mr. Andrusyk's list of favorite authors, series, fiction, and nonfiction. Archives
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