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The Last Policeman and Countdown City by Ben H. Winters

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Release Date: January 1, 2012

Pages: 316

Genre:  Adult Mystery

Publisher: Quirk Books

 

 

The story of the first big case for rookie detective Henry Palace could easily be a run of the mill mystery novel. Except in The Last Policeman universe an asteroid, known as Maia, is coming and in six months the planet Earth won’t  exist. They are suddenly  “in a world where the idea of long term consequences had magically disappeared” which also means it’s not the best time to be in law enforcement. But when Palace  suspects foul play during a suicide he strikes out  on his own to solve the murder before time ticks away.

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Jess Joins Bout Of Books !

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The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

 

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We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

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  • Release Date  :  May 13th 2014
  • Genre: Contemporary
  • Pages : 240 
  • Publisher : Delacorte

Okay This is going to be
a hard review to write. One of the reasons I had to read We Were Liars was
because I  kept hearing that this was the
book to read, but you can’t know what it is about. . . you just have to read it.

Honestly, if you
don’t see it coming (which I did but the book made me doubt myself)  I think this book will shock you and have you flipping back and re-reading over and over again.

We Were Liars
centers around   Cadence Sinclair and
the extended Sinclair family. Each summer  he family summers on their private island. Blonde, pretty and
privileged on the outside the Sinclairs seems to have everything, but on the inside  greed,
jealousy and denial threaten to take over.

Something happens on  Cady’s  15th summer at the island that she has no memory of, now two years later she’s going to find out how far the lies go.

This was exactly the type of contemporary novel that works for me because it takes on so many topics. Lockhart explores  race, class, romance and family in a way
that makes you doubt what you know and what you think you know about the characters. 

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Kat Joins Bout of Books / Goal Post

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The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team…

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The Art of Secrets by James Klise

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  • Release Date: April 22nd 2014
  • Genre: Contemporary / Mystery
  • Pages: 272 
  • Publisher: Algonquin For Young Readers

I first heard about The Art of Secrets in January and was instantly intrigued. I really like what Algonquin For Young Readers is doing in terms of diversity and narratives in YA . I’ve also been into art books and non-traditional narratives so this was a perfect fit!

A fire, a painting and secrets are the fuel for The Art of Secrets. The novel opens with a news clipping from The Chicago Tribune about Saba Kahn and her family coming home to find their apartment burned to the ground by an arsonist. The family is quickly showered with generosity from the parents at Saba’s exclusive private school, there is even a charity auction set up. But when a piece of art at the auction is discovered to be worth half a million dollars it is stolen and now everyone is a suspect….

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Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

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  • Release Date: June 11, 2013
  • Pages: 216
  • Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

 

I honestly have no idea how to begin reviewing a book like Charm & Strange. The entire story is told through the often fuzzy lens of an unreliable narrator, so you never really know what is going on. However by the time I got to the end I was  impressed with this debut novel from Stephanie Kuehn. Charm & Strange has to be the most unique YA I’ve read in a long time, it challenges so many of the ideas of what a YA novel can be.…

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