Books and Sensibility

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Contemporary YA

The Dream Theives by Maggie Stiefvater

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  • Release Date: September 17th 2013
  • Pages: 448 Pages
  • Genre: Gothic/Magic Realism/Supernatural/ Paranormal ???
  • Publisher: Scholastic

Synopsis: Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

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Book Review: Where The Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller

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  • Release Date: September 24th 2013
  • Pages: 352
  • Genre: Contemporary/ Social Issues
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury

Synopsis: As a child from her large and loving family, and on the run with her mom for more than ten years, Callie has only the barest idea of what normal life might be like. She’s never had a home, never gone to school, and has gotten most of her meals from laundromat vending machines. Her dreams are haunted by memories she’d like to forget completely. But when Callie’s mom is finally arrested for kidnapping her, and Callie’s real dad whisks her back to what would have been her life, in a small town in Florida, Callie must find a way to leave the past behind. She must learn to be part of a family. And she must believe that love–even with someone who seems an improbable choice–is more than just a possibility.

Kidnapped by her mother as a child, 17-year-old Callie has spent her entire life on the run. When her mother is finally arrested, Callie is returned to a father she never knew in the close-knit Greek-American tourist town of Tarpon Hills, Florida. But for a girl who spent most of her life on her own joining this loving Greek family is more of a struggle than a happy reunion.…

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Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Bullen Coutts

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  • Release Date: September 17th 2013
  • Genre: Contemporary
  • Publisher : FSG (Macmillan)
  • Pages : 384

Synopsis : The world is living in the shadow of oncoming disaster. An asteroid is set to strike the earth in just one week’s time; catastrophe is unavoidable. The question isn’t how to save the world—the question is, what to do with the time that’s left? Against this stark backdrop, three island teens wrestle with intertwining stories of love, friendship and family—all with the ultimate stakes at hand. 

 I think most of the criticism of this book comes from the misconception that this novel is a full on dystopian. When I started Tumble & Fall I got what I expected;  a contemporary with some pre-apocalyptic undertones. Even with that said,  this book doesn’t hit a lot of high notes for me. 

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The Beginning of Everything (Severed Heads, Broken Hearts in the UK) by Robyn Schneider

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  • Publisher : Katherine Tegen Books
  • Release Date : August 27th 2013
  • Pages : 352

Synopsis: Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

The Beginning of Everything tells the story of Ezra Faulkner, the popular high school tennis star with the perfect senior year in front of him. But it all falls to pieces in a moment when Ezra is hit by a car and left walking with a cane. Now, his girlfriend has left him, he doesn’t know how to relate to his friends and has resigned to spending his senior year alone. Then he is taken in by his neighbor, Toby, and along with a few quirky debate team members  Ezra grows in ways he never expected….

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Book Review : If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

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  • Release Date : August 20th 2013  
  • Genre : Literary Fiction
  • Publisher : Algonquin For Young Readers
  • Pages : 256

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were six. They’ve shared stolen kisses and romantic promises. But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls in love—Sahar and Nasrin could be beaten, imprisoned, even executed if their relationship came to light.
So they carry on in secret—until Nasrin’s parents announce that they’ve arranged for her marriage. Nasrin tries to persuade Sahar that they can go on as they have been, only now with new comforts provided by the decent, well-to-do doctor Nasrin will marry. But Sahar dreams of loving Nasrin exclusively—and openly.

If You Could Be Mine is not only the debut novel of Sarah Farizan but also the first YA release for   Algonquin’s newest imprint, Algonquin BooksFor Young Readers.

Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend Nasarin most of her life and will do anything to be with her, but the romantic relationship between the two girls is forbidden by law.  Sahar’s only chance to be with the one she loves is to have a government-approved sexual reassignment surgery to fix her “illness.”

Without context this might sound like speculative fiction,  but this is the reality of modern day men and woman living in Iran. A little background; the act of homosexuality is illegal in Iran and  even punishable by death, however the government will help pay for sexual reassignment surgery to cure their “illness”, but the lives of  transsexuals is far from easy. …

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The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

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  • Release Date: August 20th 2013
  • Publisher: Amulet Books (Abrams)
  • Pages: 336
  • Genre: Contemporary

Synopsis: For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now . . . not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?

It’s all ending for Wren Gray…

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