Review of Mosquitoland-David Arnold

Mim (AKA Mary Iris Malone) has been taken down to a town in Mississippi (that she dubs Mosquitoland) by her father and her new stepmom.  Her mother stays behind in Cleveland but when she learns her mother is sick, she take a coffee can full of cash and hopes on a Greyhound bus, bound for her mother and home.  Along the way, she meets incredible characters, some wonderful and some not, but by the end of her journey, she learns a lot about herself.  When she finally sees her mother again, Mim must rethink her past and her present.  4 Elves-Highly recommended for teens and adults

Review of Red Queen-Victoria Aveyard

This new series has a rich fantasy world peopled by serfs and kings.  The monarchy and the ruling families (the Silver) have incredible super powers and their serfs, the Red, are without.  But thrown into their midst is a heroine who is a Red but has incredible Silver powers.  This causes huge shifts in power and an upstart revolution begins to have hope.  But in this game of power, who can she trust?  4 Elves- Highly recommended for teens and adults who love fantasy

Review of Me & Earl & the Dying Girl-Jesse Andrews

Despite the presence of a dying girl in this book, there is a lot of smart, adolescent humor.  Greg is a loner who tries to get through high school without notice.  His best friend is Earl, who is full of rage because he's extremely short.  The two bond over weird films like Aguirre, Wrath of God and decide to make films equally strange & mysterious.  When a classmate, Rachel, is diagnosed with leukemia, Greg's mother forces him to visit her in the hospital.  Although they have nothing in common, she laughs at his inane jokes and soon he & Earl are sharing their films with her.  The ending is not typical, but the unforgettable characters work their way into your heart.  3 Elves-Recommended for teens

Review of Belzhar-Meg Wolitzer

Jam has lost the love of her life and her parents, unsure what to do with a depressed teen, send her to a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont. She is enrolled in an exclusive class called Special Topics in English, taught by a teacher who will retire when the semester ends.  When the teacher gives her small group of students a vintage journal with instructions to write in it at least twice a week, each student begins to write and finds themselves in a land where their greatest trauma is still in the future.  Jam is with her wonderful British boyfriend before he dies and each time, she finds five pages full of writing when she returns.  As the end of the semester comes to an end and the journal is nearly full, what will happen to the land where the past never changes?  4 Elves - Highly recommended for teens

Review of Zac & Mia-A.J. Betts

If you were a fan of the TV show Red Band Society, you will like this book.  Two teens connect in a cancer ward and must find strength in each other to move forward.  Both characters are believable as their unlikely friendship is forged through extraordinary circumstances.  3 Elves - Recommended for teens and adults

Review of Fairest-Marissa Meyer

A shorter work than others in the Lunar Chronicles series, this is the story of Levana, the queen of Luna.  We find out why she is so cruel and what happened in her life to make her that way.  It's interesting to read her back story, but also the history of both Selene and Winter.  In addition, there is a preview of the last book in the series, Winter. 3 Elves - Recommended for teens and adults

Review of I Was Here-Gayle Forman

Another YA book about teen suicide - an important subject.  This novel is both about the person who committed suicide and mainly about the friends and family she left behind.  Cody's best friend committed suicide, but she didn't have a clue that her friend was even contemplating the action. Cody begins a journey to find out why this happened and discovers an inner strength she didn't know existed.  This is a compelling and important book about depression, friendship, secrets and love.  4 Elves - Highly recommended for teens and adults