Review: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Title: I Was Here
Author: Gayle Forman
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Release Date: 1 February, 2014
Source: Simon & Schuster via NetGalley and Bookworld
Goodreads

From the bestselling author of If I Stay - this summer's YA blockbuster film.
This characteristically powerful novel follows eighteen-year-old Cody Reynolds in the months following her best friend's shocking suicide.

As Cody numbly searches for answers as to why Meg took her own life, she begins a journey of self-discovery which takes her to a terrifying precipice, and forces her to question not only her relationship with the Meg she thought she knew, but her own understanding of life, love, death and forgiveness.

A phenomenally moving story, I Was Here explores the sadly all-too-familar issue of suicide and self-harm, addressing it in an authentic way with sensitivity and honesty.

Review by Nara

So...I got back from Europe to THIS.

The Search for the Panacea is my version of a Stacking the Shelves meme.

So, I got back from Europe to a crapload of packages! Not that I'm complaining haha. To be honest, it's probably not as many books as some of you guys would have gotten in that time lol.

Anyway, inside those packages were these books (plus a couple more that I forgot to include in the photo):

Review: Top Ten Clues You're Clueless by Liz Czukas

Title: Top Ten Clues You're Clueless
Author: Liz Czukas
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Source: HarperTeen via Edelweiss
Goodreads

Top Five Things That Are Ruining Chloe’s Day

5) Working the 6:30 a.m. shift at GoodFoods Market

4) Crashing a cart into a customer’s car right in front of her snarky coworker Sammi

3) Trying to rock the “drowned rat” look after being caught in a snowstorm

2) Making zero progress with her crush, Tyson (see #3)

1) Being accused—along with her fellow teenage employees—of stealing upwards of $10,000

Chloe would rather be anywhere than locked in work jail (aka the break room) with five of her coworkers . . . even if one of them is Tyson. But if they can band together to clear their names, what looks like a total disaster might just make Chloe’s list of Top Ten Best Moments.

Review by Nara

Review: Stray by Elissa Sussman

Title: Stray
Author: Elissa Sussman
Genre: Young Adult, High Fantasy
Source: Greenwillow via Edelweiss
Goodreads

I am grateful for my father, who keeps me good and sweet. I am grateful for my mother, who keeps her own heart guarded and safe. I am grateful for my adviser, who keeps me protected. I am grateful for the Path, which keeps me pure. Ever after.

Princess Aislynn has long dreamed about attending her Introduction Ball, about dancing with the handsome suitors her adviser has chosen for her, about meeting her true love and starting her happily ever after.

When the night of the ball finally arrives and Nerine Academy is awash with roses and royalty, Aislynn wants nothing more than to dance the night away, dutifully following the Path that has been laid out for her. She does not intend to stray.

But try as she might, Aislynn has never quite managed to control the magic that burns within her-magic brought on by wicked, terrible desires that threaten the Path she has vowed to take.

After all, it is wrong to want what you do not need. Isn’t it?

Review by Nara

Review: Captive by Aimee Carter

Title: Captive (The Blackcoat Rebellion #2)
Author: Aimee Carter
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian
Source: Harlequin Australia via NetGalley
Goodreads

For the past two months, Kitty Doe's life has been a lie. Forced to impersonate the Prime Minister's niece, her frustration grows as her trust in her fake fiancé cracks, her real boyfriend is forbidden and the Blackcoats keep her in the dark more than ever.

But in the midst of discovering that her role in the Hart family may not be as coincidental as she thought, she's accused of treason and is forced to face her greatest fear: Elsewhere. A prison where no one can escape.

As one shocking revelation leads to the next, Kitty learns the hard way that she can trust no one, not even the people she thought were on her side. With her back against the wall, Kitty wants to believe she'll do whatever it takes to support the rebellion she believes in—but is she prepared to pay the ultimate price?

Review by Nara

Review: Nona and Me by Clare Atkins

Title: Nona and Me
Author: Clare Atkins
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Source: Bookworld
Goodreads

Rosie and Nona are sisters. Yapas.

They are also best friends. It doesn’t matter that Rosie is white and Nona is Aboriginal: their family connections tie them together for life.

Born just five days apart in a remote corner of the Northern Territory, the girls are inseperable, until Nona moves away at the age of nine. By the time she returns, they’re in Year 10 and things have changed. Rosie has lost interest in the community, preferring to hang out in the nearby mining town, where she goes to school with the glamorous Selena, and Selena’s gorgeous older brother Nick.

When a political announcement highlights divisions between the Aboriginal community and the mining town, Rosie is put in a difficult position: will she be forced to choose between her first love and her oldest friend?

Review by Nara

2015 Releases I Am Dying For

Obviously there are a ton of books that I'm looking forward to, but I thought I'd give you a list of some of the ones I'm most anticipating (gah it was so tough narrowing it down). 2015 is promising to be a fantastic year in books (as is every year tbh haha. Such a great time to be a reader of YA novels) and most of the novels listed will be YA.