High and Dry by Sarah Skilton

 

Charlie Dixon is having a run of bad luck.  His girlfriend left him, he's set up when his car is used to transport an overdosing girl to the hospital, and he's being blackmailed.  On top of it all, his childhood friend asks him to throw an upcoming soccer game.  Once Charlie's ex-girlfriend Ellie makes it clear that she doesn't like the person that he's become, he decides to put down the flask and get to the bottom of all of these mysteries. 
  Overall I enjoyed this book, but I have to say that the relationship between Charlie and Ellie can be a little grating.  First loves are all consuming, and this book is true to those feeling, but sometimes it's a little much to take.  Continuing in that vein, most of the relationships in the book feel authentic.  The way Charlie interacts with his friends, parents, and enemies all ring true.  However, there is a strange clique order in Charlie's high school that feels forced.  It's almost like each group, jocks, choir girls, and the debate team operate under mob rules. 
  I enjoyed High and Dry and would have no problem recommending it to any teen that walked into my library.  Every once in a while it's nice to have a young adult mystery that is also realistic and relatable.  This book is set to be released on April 15, 2014.

The Caged Graves by Dianne K. Salerni

Honestly, I picked up this book simply because I was waiting for another to arrive.  I'm so happy I did.  I can't tell you the last time I finished a book in a day.  The gray, dreary, freezing temperatures didn't hurt either, but had it been a sunny day, I most likely would have binge read it anyway.
  Leaving the city life behind, Verity Boone is making her way to Catawissa, Pennsylvania, to reunite with her father and to finally meet her prospective husband, with whom she's only ever communicated to by letter.  After an inauspicious homecoming, Verity makes her way along a dirt road near her home and sees a most disturbing sight; two graves, both padlocked and caged, sitting outside of the cemetery proper.  Even more disturbing, one of the graves belongs to Verity's mother.  In accordance with her virtuous name, Verity sets out to find the truth about why this happened to her mother and ends up getting a lot more than she bargained for. 
  The Caged Graves is inspired by two actual caged graves in the town of Catawissa, Pennsylvania.  While I'm not usually drawn to American historical fiction, I found this book fascinating.  I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great mystery.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

  Leonard Peacock is a kid on the outside looking in.  He has no family, his father is a one-hit wonder musician who took off and headed down to South America, and his mother is a flaky fashion designer who has better things to do than to raise a son.  He has no friends except for his Bogart obsessed, elderly neighbor Walt; Lauren, a home schooled super Christian he barely knows; and Mr. Silverman, a teacher at his school with whom he shares a genuine connection.  This kid is on the edge, and he's about to jump.
  The book opens on Leonard's birthday, and along with the presents he intends to give his "friends", all of whom he's betting won't even know it's his birthday, he's packing his grandfather's P-38 pistol with every intention of shooting his ex-best friend and then himself.
  Author Matthew Quick is the same man that brought us Silver Linings Playbook, and there's no doubt that the book is well written.  Though readers know Leonard's intention for the day, the reader is slowly exposed to the reasons for why this happening.  The way in which the book is written is different, for fiction anyway.  There are multiple footnotes within the text that further explain people and experiences.  I found it a little off putting, but it wasn't terrible.  This book is worth reading.  It's dramatic, timely, and heartbreaking.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

  Out of the Easy is a novel set amidst the backdrop of steamy, sultry 1950's New Orleans (the French Quarter to be exact).  Josie is the daughter of a local prostitute whose years of neglect and mental abuse had Josie striking out on her own at a very young age.  Josie lives on top of the bookshop where she works.  She also cleans the quarter's most famous brothel every morning.  Josie is brilliant, but a victim of circumstance until she concocts a scheme that may just get her Out of the Easy.
  This book is wonderfully vibrant, filled with interesting, believable characters.  It's surprising and hopeful, suspenseful with a great sense of mystery until the very end.  I highly recommend this book for mature young adults and plain old adults alike. 

Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

From the cover and title, I was expecting some froufrou, willowy, Jane Austin chick fest. Surprising then to find - in the first few pages - some raw, gritty imagery set in modern day San Francisco.  An 18 year old orphan is being turned out of onto the street, having been unsuccessfully placed in several unsavory foster homes during her life.  Callous, spiteful, and mean, she begins her life on the outside with nothing but several layers of clothing, a chip on her shoulder, and a prodigious knowledge of flowers and their Victorian meanings. An amazing story unfolds of her life on the street - confronting her tortured past while forging an uncertain future. An unexpected page turner.

The Cutting Room Floor by Dawn Klehr

  The Cutting Room Floor is a suspenseful YA thriller that focuses on two best friends, Desmond and Riley.  Riley is an aspiring actress while Desmond is destined to become a director.  When the book opens we find that Riley has lost her favorite teacher, Ms. Dunn, in a heinous murder.  While navigating through other life struggles, Riley tries to crack the case.  Desmond is her shoulder to cry on but he has an agenda of his own.  There are many twists and turns along the way with a surprisingly realistic ending.
  The chapters alternate between the points of view of Desmond and Riley, with Desmond's chapters frequently opening in film script form.  Some people don't care for the back and forth of alternating points of view, but I didn't find it distracting in this particular story.  At some points I found myself putting the book down because I couldn't take the suspense (the reader knows more than the characters in the book), so if you're looking for something to get your blood pumping in this cold weather try The Cutting Room Floor.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown actually brings fear, death and, most of all, blood back into the vampire genre.  There are no "twinkle in the sunshine" vamps in this book.  Vampirism has spread through the world like the long forgotten bubonic plague.  In response, the government has set up "Coldtowns".  These Coldtowns house the nation's vampires and along with them, those who have been recently infected and those that hope to become immortal. 
  Tana ends up on her way to a Coldtown by pure accident.  After a night of heavy drinking, she wakes in the shower, and as she makes her way out of the bathroom, finds that all of her friends have been brutally slaughtered by a pack of vampires.  Vampires, who more than likely, are still lurking in the basement of the house.  She hears cries from a back bedroom and finds her ex-boyfriend and a very scary vampire bound.  While deciding what to do, the pack of vampires starts to break down the door.  What Tana does next changes her life forever.
  The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is well written, fast paced, and exciting.  Holly Black does a great job bringing the creepy back to YA supernatural fiction - just in time for Halloween.