A Memoir

Without a Map by Meredith Hall

This is a memoir of a woman who grew up in my hometown in New Hampshire in the 1960's. At 16, Meredith finds herself pregnant and when she can no longer hide it at 5 months along, she is first shunned by her school, her town, and then by her own family. She is forced to give the baby up for adoption and what follows is the painful and difficult path her life then takes.

I always enjoy a Meg Cabot book!

Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

Heather Wells was a teen pop star, burning up the charts, and touring the malls. But at the age of 18, she has already started to fade out. Between losing her record contract and her mother making of with her fortune, Heather is left to make some life changing decisions. She wants to get an education. So, she takes a job at New York College as an Assistant Director in a residence hall. Which does not pay well, but after a 6 month probation, Heather can attend classes for free.

When not one, but two, freshmen girls are found dead in the elevator shaft, the police are quick to rule the deaths an accident, but Heather, following her own hunches, plays PI investigating the truth.

Really fun chick lit/cozy mystery. I liked the main character a lot and look forward to reading the next two books in the series.

Two More Parnormal-ish YA's

Two different YA's for two different types of readers!

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (Dark Powers Book 1)

Chloe Saunders is a quiet and smart high school girl being raised by her aunt and nannies while her father is abroad. She lost her mother as a young girl. She has had experiences in the past of seeing the dead and now, at school, there is a dead and mangled janitor chasing her. Chloe freaks out and is sent to a "residential home" to get better. While there, Chloe's powers seem to heat up and she meets more kids with paranormal powers.

This was a great read. Fast paced and exciting. I can'[t wait to read books 2 and 3. This will be great for some of my older Twilight loving readers.


43 Old Cemetery Road: Dying to Meet You (Book 1) by Kate Klise, Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise

Such a fun book!! Ignatius Grumpley is an old children's book author who hasn't had a hit in decades. He is paid to complete one more book in his popular old series and rents an Old Victorian house in Ghastly, Illinois hoping to beat his writer's block. But once the contract has been signed, Old Iggy soon find outs out the house is already inhabited by a young boy named Seymour, his cat, and a 190 year old ghost named Olive.

This book is written in letter format and has great illustrations, It was a lot of fun and I think some of my reluctant readers will enjoy it.