Float Plan

I adored this book! I read it in one day. The characters were charming, quirky, and realistic. They were battling demons and weren't always the nicest to each other - but honestly - it was refreshing to see characters be so REAL.  Anna's fiancé tragically committed suicide nearly a year prior. Not only did his life end that day - so did Annas. She's been stuck inside her grief unable to cope for months. When she gets a reminder on her phone about a trip they were supposed to take together; Anna decides to be reckless and take the boat and do the trip on their sailboat solo. After one night of she realizes there is no way she can do all the island hopping by herself - she already almost crashed the sailboat in 12 hours and she still has over a month to go. She finds Keane, an experienced Irish sailor, willing to help her for free, in return for a trip to Puerto Rico. He's adrift in life as well - having lost his leg in an accident a few years prior. Once a sought after sailor - now he's reduced for begging for piddly little jobs to scrape by because most don't trust that he is able enough. At first Anna is still consumed by grief but soon she and Keane start making new memories; sunsets at sea, dolphins, weathering storms, and even finding a stray dog. Together they learn that even though the future may not be certain - the future looks a lot better when they're together. Utterly charming. A great story filled with unforgettable characters. You'll be rooting for them the whole way!

The House We Grew Up In

Jewell, Lisa. The House We Grew Up In. 11 CDs. unabridged. 13 hrs 26 min. 2019. Dreamscape Media. ISBN 9781974979806. 

On the outside they were perfect. The Birds were a "perfect" tight knit family, had a "perfect home", and were a "perfect" nightmare. Four siblings: serious Meg, whimsical Beth, and adorable twins Rory and Rhys find themselves flung apart after a tragedy drives a wedge into their family one unsuspecting Easter afternoon. The House We Grew Up In is weaved together through multiple timelines and a series of emails from their mother that lead up to yet another unbearable family tragedy, the death of their mother, Lorelei. Their beautiful, complicated, frustrating mother has died and now it's up to her children to clean up her mess. Literally speaking, the mess of their childhood home. Lorelei was a hoarder and her inability to let things go only intensified after that Easter Sunday tragedy. Now the children must dig deep into the mess, finding family secrets that have been buried for far too long. Brilliantly narrated by Karina Fernandez who breathes life into the flawed, tragic, and clever siblings; shining especially bright as their mother Lorelei. Deeply compelling, bold, and impossible to put down; this book will make readers fell better about their own family lives but still be thankful to have met the Birds. Another amazing book of family tragedy and triumph from bestselling author, Lisa Jewell.  - Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN

The Bell Jar

Wow.... What a profoundly beautiful and haunting book. The prose, emotions, and imagery are out of this world; it's truly a groundbreaking rally cry for mental health and feminism. I'm disappointed that it took me this long in my life to get around to reading such a classic, but I do get a sick sort of satisfaction that I'm reading this book at pretty much the same age as Plath was when she committed suicide. I'm sad she never saw this book published, although the notoriety of her suicide I'm sure helped propel this book even further since "The Bell Jar" dealt with depression and suicide. I feel like this book is a right of passage for young women. It's like "Catcher in the Rye." This book captured depression so completely and realistically, that it is honestly is making me a little depressed right now. "The Bell Jar" centers on a 19 year old college girl who seemingly has it all; she's in New York after having won a fantastic magazine award with twelve other young ladies and even though she has nothing bringing her down, she can't even bear to be complacent. Her depression grows more enveloping until her only solution is to try to get rid of it completely, by killing herself. Wow. A heavy, depressing, important read.

The Astonishing Color of After

Heart wrenching, and unique; this young adult novel that explores suicide, cultural identity, self-expression, art, and love is a slam dunk. Leigh's mother suffered from depression her whole life but managed to tough through the pain, until one day she couldn't. Leigh who had been so focused on her art and her crush on her best-friend is blindsided and heart broken by her mother's suicide. In the week's following her mother's death; a large red bird visits her in the night and gives her gifts. At first she thinks she is hallucinating, but soon she realizes that the gifts and the feathers left behind are truly real in the daylight. Leigh becomes convinced that the bird is her mother and her mother is telling her to go to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents (whom Leigh has never met) and to uncover some tough truths. This teen novel is equal parts beautiful, artistic, and magical. Leigh's journey part real, part magical; and alternates between her current reality, her past, and memories of her family. A powerful read.

Into the Water

Suspenseful, riveting, and unique. The ending was a little anti-climactic, with a twist the reader could easily sniff out, but it was still a fun, morbid read. Told from multiple narrators, a manuscript, and some flashbacks, Into the Water, tells the story of Nell Abbot's fall? suicide? into the drowning pool where many other women before her have entered the water depths never to re-emerge. The narrator includes her estranged sister, her 15 year old daughter, the mother of a girl who also died in the drowning pool, some cops, a psychic and some other characters. Full of twists and turns this reads fast all the way up to the lackluster conclusion. Still a good read despite that though.

Thirteen Reasons Why

Powerful, depressing, and eye opening. A must read for teens and adults alike. Thirteen Reasons Why tells the story of a teen that has made the decision to end her life and the bacstory as to how she reached that conclusion. She records several cassettes, and on each side she elaborates on a different reason as to why her life is no longer worth living. There are thirteen reasons and thirteen people that lead her on her self-destructive path and everyone listed must listen to the tapes and see how their actions (or lack thereof) played a part. The story is told through the perspective of Clay Jensen. When he receives the tapes in the mail one day, he has no idea what they are about. But as he starts listening to them he is overcome with horror, revulsion, and sadness. He could have done soo much more, he should have seen the signs, been a better person. Clay can only imagine how the other people on the tape feel. They are all implicit in one way or another. Hannah doesn't make the tapes to needlessly inflect pain on these people, she wants them to understand that their actions and words have far greater impact then they can ever imagine. Some of them she wants exposed or hurt, but others she wants to change, to become better people. An enlightening book on suicide, depressing but heartfelt.

Mortal Danger

I really like the premise of this book. It's like Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" mixed with high school drama aimed at teens. Edie is an unattractive, overweight girl who has been bullied to her breaking point, just as she is about to leap from a bridge to put an end to her suffering a hand reaches out to stop her. One of the most attractive men Edie has ever seen stops her suicide mission with an offer; live and she will be granted three wishes. Of course though there are strings attached. She will have to repay the favors somehow in her life. She accepts the offer so she can wreak revenge on the classmates that made her life a living hell. She becomes beautiful and confident and just as she thinks her life can't get any better Edie realizes just how over her head she really is. Shadowy forces watch her, taunt her, harm people she loves. Now she is a pawn in the game of the immortals. Can she rely on smoking hott, Kian, to be on her side when the shit really starts to get crazy? Who knew revenge could be so complicated?

Overall, I liked it, I'm anxious to see where the next book goes. I think I like it so much because I can relate with Edie. Not that I hate my life or want to end it, but I can understand wanting to be pretty and well liked it. Who wouldn't?

A thought provoking book for teens looking for a new series.

Reconstructing Amelia

Holy cow Batman! This book was impossible to put down!!! It was a great mystery/thriller that kept me guessing and turning pages. In turns of suspense and pacing, it reminded me a lot of "Gone Girl." I literally can't even recommend this book enough. It was great!

The story opens up with Kate getting a call from her daughter's fancy prep school saying that Amelia had been caught cheating and needed to be picked up immediately. This sets off warning bells in Kate's mind because she knows her daughter would never do such a thing, she's super smart and practically an angel! Once she arrives at school though, the unthinkable has happened. Amelia is found dead on the concrete, supposedly from committing suicide by jumping from the roof. Something isn't quite adding up, her daughter wasn't impulsive and had been a very happy teen. As Kate pours through her daughters emails, texts, and facebook she begins to see a whole new side to her daughter and her "suicide" seems very very fishy.

A must read for fans of suspense or "Gone Girl."

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

LOVED this book, after reading the amazing "Silver Lining's Playbook" I knew I would have to read everything else Matthew Quick published and damn I'm glad I did. Quick makes his debut in the young adult genre with one hell of a bang. Literally, this book is fantastic!

Leonard Peacock's birthday should be a special, instead today is the day that he will kill himself and his former best friend. Tired of being an outsider for too long and dealing with internal turmoil, Leonard sees this as the only way out. In this witty, saddening, heartbreaking, and darkly humorous novel, the reader gets amazing insight to how complicated the human psyche is and just how much it can withstand before it snaps.

Filled with unforgettable, wildly unique characters and a witty narrator, this book will have you racing to the end. Impossible to put down. A DEFINITE must read!