LOVE AT FIRST CLICK: ELIZABETH CHANDLER

I feel kind of silly recommending this because it is kind of one dimensional and just a basic and maybe predictable love story. But I really enjoyed it, I honestly couldn't put it down. It has been awhile since I read something uncomplicated and simple that sucked me in like this. 

BOOK BLURB:

I could no longer deny what the heat in my cheeks meant when I was around Flynn. I was falling for my sister's boyfriend.

There's just something about Flynn. Yes, he's a tall, unbelievably gorgeous, dark-haired football player, but . . . he's also sweet and nice and super easy to talk to. It's lucky I'm the photographer for the school paper, because my camera likes Flynn almost as much as I do. Unfortunately for me, so does my sister, and there's no way I can nab Flynn with her in the picture.

But could this be the real thing?

Growing up with a sister that drew boys to her as easily as I seemed to repel them, I related to this book a lot. It is short and clean and would probably mostly enjoyed by a younger audience. But I'm in my thirties and I still liked it. You can read more about it HERE.

IF YOU FIND ME: EMILY MURDOCH

So, out of all the horrible abusive childhood books I have read, this tells the, hands down, worst story I have ever read. How Murdoch manages to tell this story and still have it feel hopeful and full of some joy is seriously a literary miracle. Beautiful poetic prose without feeling too stuffy or just plain too much. An absolutely amazing debut.

BOOK BLURB:

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

This is a pretty clean read, but it has some very mature moments concerning rape, drugs, and parental abuse. Read more about this HERE.

GOLDEN: JESSI KIRBY

As far as I'm concerned Jessi Kirby has just gotten better with each book. I like each of them more than the last. This is a romantic story within a story, and I loved it from the beginning. Sometimes the main character gets too introspective, but overall this is really well thought out and executed nicely. So far, one of the only 2013 YA releases that stand out to me.

BOOK BLURB:

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

Overall a clean read with a few scattered swear words. Read more about it HERE.