What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Great coming-of-age story! Mclean's parents' divorce made front page news after her mother's affair with the local university's basketball coach. Her father took a job as a consultant moving from town to town trying to save failing restaurants. Disgusted with her mother, Mclean decides to live with her father, much to her mother's dismay. The novel picks up as Mclean and her father are moving to their fourth city in 2 years. As the story unfolds you find that Mclean picks a new persona and identity in each new city as to not become too attached. Before she knows it, the walls she's carefully built begin to crumble as classmates Riley, Deb, and Dave befriend her. She comes to realize she's taken on new identities in each city not only to protect herself, but also because she lost her sense of her own identity with her parents divorce. Before she can figure out who she is, she has to let go of her anger.



Told with honesty and well-rounded characters, this is a great read about what happens to a teen when parents divorce. Mclean is given a realistic voice, and her relationships with her parents and friends are just as realistically complex. This would be a good recommendation for any teen struggling with parental relationships.



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Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Teen beauty queens competing in the "Miss Tenn Dream" pageant are in a plane crash on their way to a tropical island during the contest. Only about a dozen survive the crash and they must devise a survival plan until they are rescued. What develops is a series of laugh out loud episodes as the girls deal with the wilderness. The story is told in alternating sections for each girl and shows the reader what life was like pre-pageant for each girl. Each contestant's background and reasons for entering the pagaent are explored. There are some twists and turns and surprises along the way which I won't spoil, but it was a unique read in a fantastic way.



I would recommend this one for older teens. For the librarians and teachers out there, the book does include discussions of sexuality and gender so just be aware of that before recommending.



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Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I thoroughly enjoyed this read! The first in a series by Katie Kacvinsky this is the story of `17 year old Maddie living in the 2060s in a digitized United States. Desperate for some face-to-face human contact she ventures out to a rare in-person tutoring session after chatting online with a boy from the group. Little does she know how this decision will change her life. She is drawn into the world of the underground revolution against the Digital School which has became mandatory across the country. To make matters even more difficult, Maddie's father happens to lead the Digital School. She now has a choice to make; remain loyal to the Digital School and her father, or join in the revolution to revive the face-to-face world.

Interesting and fun read! Fans of Ally Condie's Matched and Veronica Roth's Divergent will probably like this one. It is a little disturbing to think about how easily the isolated digital world Kacvinsky describes could become a reality. All in a all, a great beginning to a new series from a first-time author. A must-add to a high school or public library collection!



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