Falling Together: A Novel by Marisa de los Santos
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off, there were many elements I enjoyed about this book.  There were some amazing character descriptions and the personalities depicted were realistic and believable.  However, at the beginning of the novel, I was expecting a little bit of intrigue, I guess hoping for something a tad darker.

I think Marisa de los Santos is a very talented writer, I just wished that the story had held more suspense.  I also think that it verged on being a tad too saccharine at times.


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Why Smart People Do the Same Dumb Things by Rosalie K. Tatsuguchi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought there were a lot of helpful aspects of this book.  I wished there had been a few more real-life examples of how to implement some of the suggestions.  But overall, it was an interesting read because of the reasoning behind why some people self-sabotage.


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Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Truthfully, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this series.  The final book had enough action to keep me interested, and enough resolution to leave me satisfied.  I wish people appreciated young adult books more.  They should be respected for telling interesting stories and creating believable characters (and yeah, I know there were werewolves in this.)

Anyway, I would definitely recommend reading these three books.  Great storytelling for any age.


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Salvage the Bones: A Novel by Jesmyn Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There were a lot of lovely moments in this book.  I loved the allusions to Greek mythology, and the imagery when Hurricane Katrina hits is amazing.  However, the storyline felt a little slow in parts, especially since the reader knows there is a buildup happening to when the hurricane actually comes.  I almost felt like the climax of the book happened too late.  I would have loved for the action to have happened sooner, thus allowing for more resolution time.  Some of the subject matter is also a little hard to get past--I definitely struggled to get through the dog fight sections.  But overall, Ward has a beautiful way with words and her characters are three-dimensional and believable.


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The Red House: A Novel by Mark Haddon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm definitely a fan of this author (I absolutely loved "The Curious Incident...")  However, it was hard for me to get used to the jilted, jumpy storytelling.  I enjoyed the characters--their voices were distinct and descriptive.  I would have been completely enthralled with this if I was able to keep with each character's POV longer.  The premise was interesting though, and I thought the setting was perfect for exploring the individual's underlying personality traits.  Wouldn't recommend for everyone, since it might be a tad confusing for some people.


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Twelve Clean Pages by Nika Maples

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I found this book to be captivating and inspiring. What makes this memoir fun to read is Maples' humor and insight into what could have been a life-ruining event. Although I am not a religious person, I was not put off by Maples' musings on how her beliefs helped her recover (and I often find myself less than interested in people's spiritual discoveries.) I loved that Maples felt sorry for herself and at times suffered from true hopelessness--these aspects helped the book to stray far from Pollyanna territory. I would definitely recommend this book to others who want to read a true story of courage from someone who used her wit and strength to bring herself back from the brink.

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I Am Forbidden: A Novel by Anouk Markovits

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a completely original story, despite the ubiquity of Holocaust novels. The characters were believable and unique. The style is a little difficult to get used to at first--the sentences are very short and terse. But I loved the setting and the span of time covered during the plot. I'm definitely going to recommend this to others because of the author's gripping storytelling.

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