A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was an awful sad read/ I loved the narrator, Oliver Wyman but there was no redemption in this novel, frustrating, dismal, and no positivity...I wanted to like Jude but Yanagihara made sure the reader was flumoxed by Jude's life and choices. Such a waste, therapy would have helped Jude and his many friends would have helped but Jude was such a damaged character, no one was able to rescue him.

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Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many thanks to my niece Casey Ciocca, for this awesome audiobook/podcast recommendation. Ronan Farrow's narration was totally mesmerizing, his research was thorough, and the way he captures the world of NBC news, sexual abuse, lies, intimidation, power, money, status, and the long haul to report and help the women who were raped, abused, threatened in order to silence them and keep their tormentors free to plunder other women. A must read/listen to!

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Muted by Tami Charles

Muted by Tami Charles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great, compelling read---a novel in verse fiercely telling the story of three girls who love singing, harmonize together, and dream of escaping to the music world, singing, becoming famous and staying together----oh this does not happen! Denver and her friends Shak and Dali are 17 yrs old when they see their fave artist, Merc Ellis would be coming to their area, and decide they will make themselves heard, seen and astound Merc. As they get his eye and go back stage, all three are beguiled---what happens is that smooth Merc shows his true self and starts to isolate them---Dali and Denver if they do see it, allow themselves to be swooning over his attention and ignore the warning signals---but Shak does not and she is the first to go. Denver and Dali slip off and become Merc's proteges---but do they really? This is a must read, I could not stop turning the pages and I loved Charles' language in telling this cautionary tale. Going back and forth in time, my fear for Dali and Denver was heightened with each page I turned as they allowed themselves to go deeper and deepper into this den of horror. A must read!

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Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic

Dark Horses: A Novel by Susan Mihalic
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow, just Wow! Mihalic's debut was stunning, gripping, terrifying! Roan is only 15 years old when this novel begins but she has the maturity and tenacity of an adult; a much older, time worn woman. Being raised by totally normal looking parents; they are a scary dysfunctional family with few redeeming qualities. Her mother is an alcoholic, a beauty who no longer models, hates her husband and daughter because she feels they chose each other and not her. Poor Roan does not know why her mother can't love her; she even told her about the abuse from her father and it fell on deaf ears. Roan has been lashed to her father since she was a child; he controls her every movement. She is an award winning equestrian (just like her father) but there are strings attached, and in order to survive Roan places aspects of her life in boxes in order to deal. As she grew up the abuse continued and with it threats--her father killed her dog, threatens to take away beloved horses, and punishes her when she falters. Add to this a high school friend who becomes someone special and life becomes filled with more and more secrets threatening to explode. But Roan has been groomed by the best, her father and along the way she has learned to become skilled in deception and as her life with her father collides with Will Howard, Roan tries desperately to live with her father's expectations and her interest in this new boy's attentions. I could not stop turning the pages while I was entranced by the world Mihalic created of the beauty of farms, horses, and competition. I rooted for Roan and hoped her resilience forged from her father's demands would help her find her way to a life she deserved. A must read about family dynamics, sexual abuse, and the power of love. Highly recommended!

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The Unbreakable Child by Kim Michele Richardson

The Unbreakable Child by Kim Michele Richardson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG, what a book; Kim and her sisters' go from a drug addicted mother to the St. Thomas / Saint Vincent Orphan Asylum in Kentucky where she endures a decade of beatings, torture, and spewed invective from nuns and priests. When her sister implores Kim to enter a lawsuit against this orphanage and those in power who abused 40 children. While I admired this courage from Kim, she also shortchanged herself by ignoring those who asked her to consider counseling. Maybe writing the books was her counseling but with her supportive husband and their enduring love I know Kim would find some solace. The way she shut down during the questioning by the lawyers during the deposition was enough evidence that she was not thinking correctly, counseling would have helped her---but Kim has decided to go this alone. A must read but tormenting, and life destroying for those 40 orphans, readers will be up ended with the evil that lived in those poor childrens' lives during the 1960s.

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Craving (Steel Brothers Saga, #1) by Helen Hardt

Craving by Helen Hardt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first Helen Hardt book, recommended by a friend (you know who you are) because she knows I like romances. Talon is a tortured adult because of what happened to him as a child. He is broken and has not been able to move on; his brothers (only know part of the story) and his sister, Marjorie, have lived with Talon's issues. It is when Jade, Marjorie's best friend, is jilted at the altar and Marj begs her to come live on their ranch that things get interesting. Talon is a puzzle, doesn't talk much, but when jade can't sleep her first night at the ranch and decides to visit the kitchen she finds Talon staring at a glass of water. What happens next is explosive and continues without any of the family knowing. Talon's all consuming kiss hooks both Jade and Talon. This begins the story of these two strangers finding solace in each other. There is also Talon's back story that is seen through flashbacks, tough to read and mysterious in many ways.

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Parachutes by Kelly Yang

Parachutes by Kelly Yang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a read; Kelly Yang as done it again! Her middle grade debut, Front Desk, was a winner and so is Parachutes. Telling the story of life in a high school in California that encourages students from China to get a leg up for college by going to high school in the U.S. Once they come, these "parachutes" are hosted by families. Dani, a Filipino American girl who is a scholarship student tutors and cleans houses to help her mother make ends meet. Her mom decides to host a student from Shanghai, Claire, who is rich, and privileged. Close to 500 pages, there is a lot going on in this important read. Dani and Claire are house mates only and travel in different crowds and many things happen to thwart their friendship. I loved Dani's debate qualities and Claire's search for friends. Many high school issues and family problems are dealt with as well as friendship, exploitation, and the importance of speaking up! Teens will relate to these girls, their lives, interests, and drama. Especially important is the author's notes and how she spoke up and was NOT heard! A must read!!!

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Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes

Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nikki Grimes life encapsulated in this fierce novel in verse was awful and beautiful because her words made this book so compelling. I can't imagine the life she endured, yet she survived and this book speaks to traumatized kids and how they manage to survive and thrive because Nikki Grimes is one such person and author who brings her life to YA readers and oh what a life it was! A must read, haunting and real.

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Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books for the advance reader copy Sadie by Courtney Summers in exchange for an honest review. Summers’ Some Girls Are and Cracked Up To Be were always being passed around and constantly checked out by students. Sadie is a compelling, tense novel detailing Sadie’s self-hatred for failing to keep her sister safe. After her sister, Mattie, is murdered, the reader follows this tense mystery from Sadie’s point-of-view and through a podcast, The Girls, narrated by famed journalist, West McCray, as he searches for Sadie. I could not put this book down; Sadie’s life is hell; her mother is drug addicted and derelict. Sadie has a severe stutter and suffers from abuse; I rooted for her as she used her wits to follow clues. Mattie was the center of Sadie’s life and when her mother takes off; Sadie takes over the care of her little sister. With the police no help, and an absent mother, will Sadie find her sister’s murderer? Will McCray find Sadie? Courtney Summers has written an explosive, riveting novel.

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Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is just one example why I love the 2018 HUB Reading Challenge Challenge!!! This book is a Morris Award winner and one I might have missed but I loved it so much, I might have to read it again or listen to it- this is definitely a favorite. I read so many books and I am crushed by the horrors of violence, abuse, negativity, mean girls...but this debut author really knows how to write about the dysfunction that is Kiko's life (and teens will definitely relate) from an abusive mom, to a father who has a new family that has replaced Kiko's to remote brothers Kiko doesn't know how to talk to---this created the stifling isolation and socially awkwardness that is Kiko's life. Bowman's writing takes the reader into Kiko's head and heart and shows repeatedly how she is stunted by fear but Bowman also gives Kiko hope that she pins on her best friend, getting into art school, and then re-finding her childhood friend. I loved how her best friend tells her to grow lady balls in a note as she goes of to early admittance to college. This begins Kiko's challenging, growing self-awareness that she needs to depend on herself to change and grow... and by going out to California with Jamie to visit art schools, meeting famous painter who becomes her mentor, trying constantly to be STRONG, that the real Kiko begins to emerge. Some people have said that Jamie is too perfect but I think Bowman nailed it when she crafted him- when Kiko and Jamie were growing up (back then life was GOOD) they got each other, were best friends, and totally enjoyed each other. Now fast forward to running into him at a party---he is still the Jamie she knew and loved - but she is fractured and not the friend he remembered but like Adam rescues Julian in A List of Cages by Robin Roe, so Jamie rescues Kiko, but Kiko will complete the journey with her lady balls, while Jamie, always understanding her, will wait and understand. I loved this book so much!!!

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