Marathon (Jonathan Stride #8) by Brian Freeman

Marathon by Brian Freeman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Number 8 in this series kept me reading with the thrilling plot, old beloved characters and new good/bad characters! Stride is now married to Serena, YAY!!! Maggie has a boyfriend YAY!!! Cat enters a new time in her life all the while the Duluth Marathon is destroyed by a bomber; according to Dawn Basch #noexceptions, who whips the masses into believing a terrorist is responsible and then when Michael M tweets out the wrong bomber's picture, OMG, hold on for a gripping, sad, sometime hateful plot that kept the detectives chasing leads and forming their own hypothesis; I could not put this book down! Highly recommended!

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Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book for the December twitter chat with #2jennsbookclub to be held Thursday 12/14 at 8PM; please join us for what will be a timely and awesome discussion! I have read & loved all of Jason Reynolds' books and Long Way Down takes a hard look at the urban violence that has ensnared black teens & men. Will has been taught the rules of the street by his brother, Shawn. When Shawn is shot dead, Will gets his brother's gun and is on his way to honor the rules. As he descends the elevator with his brother's gun in the back of his pants; Will runs into people/family who have been gunned down and as each ghost/spirit relates the gun violence - there are things Will is compelled to think about- is Riggs really the one who shot Shawn, and "Another thing about the rules They weren't meant to be broken. They were meant for the broken to follow." What will Will do as he talks to the spirits in the elevator? I liked how Will used anagrams to help him figure things - scare=cares, ALIVE=A VEIL, FEEL=FLEE and Reynolds first hand knowledge of this life, these kids, and the failures of those older. I will be reading this again; reluctant readers will be absorbed by this urban fiction tale, and I am definitely going to listen to Jason Reynolds' narration on Audible. Highly recommended!

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Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I re-read this banned book for the September twitter chat with #YearofYA and it was even more powerful with Yummy's no win situation of a life of violence, gang wars, family dysfunction and urban decay.

G. Neri's graphic novel is a winner. He takes the true story of 11 year old Robert "Yummy" Sandifer's shooting of an innocent 14 year old girl, Shavon Dean, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and crafts a gripping tale from the point of view of a boy, Roger, who knew both kids, lived in the same neighborhood, and had a brother in the same gang as Yummy. Roger is an onlooker, part of a close knit family (yet his brother is in the Black Disciple gang too)who went to school with Yummy and Shavon. His story catches the horror of gang life, a forgotten child, Yummy, who suffered at the hands of everyone he knew. Reluctant readers, those who love urban fiction, and all readers should digest this graphic novel. It covers a bleak time in 1994, in a broken down, neighborhood more like a war zone, where no one is safe. You, as the reader, will feel for the 2 sides of Yummy, and be chagrined at the horror of two YOUNG lives lost, for all the wrong reasons.

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Bang by Barry Lyga

Bang by Barry Lyga
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read and loved this heartbreaking book for #yabookchat June 4 at 9pm EST (join our twitter chat). Sebastian was 4 years old when he shot and killed his infant sister- ever since then - he has felt guilty - his mom is always sad, his dad left, and no one talks about it. Ten years later Sebastian is still suffering, has one friend (his family does not like Sebastian for the obvious reason) and he leaves for summer leadership camp. While Sebastian talks/listens to the voice he plots when he will end his life - but with a new girl Annesa moving in - many many things change for Sebastian - he can talk to her, he loves her and her family - will Sebastian's life, and outlook with this new friend change? Another powerful read Right Behind You by Gail Giles will shock you and rock you.

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