This month I read 5 books, bringing my 2017 total to 12.

• The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison – I liked this mystery, though the ending came quickly and without enough detail for me. I really enjoy when an author chooses to tell a story through flashbacks and flashforwards, and when the chapters are from the perspective of different characters. In this book, every chapter was told by the wife or the husband, alternating. While I didn’t like the weak, fake character of Jodi, I really didn’t like how Todd, her philandering husband, treated her or any other woman.
• All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda – This mystery really bothered me as I read it! The story was told backwards and I felt like I hadn’t paid enough attention in the beginning. However, the reality is that the narrator, Nicolette, only learned and revealed pieces of the truth slowly as she told the story, backwards. It was a very interesting plot choice, and I was desperate to get to the end to understand the entire story of how both Corinne and Annaleise disappeared.
• Without Annette by Jane B. Mason – I started this YA book after having dinner with a friend who reads MANY YA books! It was an interesting story about two girls who leave their hometown to attend a private boarding school together, hoping it will positively impact their personal relationship and their lives. The school isn’t exactly what they thought it would be, and Annette gets caught up in being popular while Josie watches her fade away. I liked the authentic characters (Josie, Penn, Roxanne) mixed with the stereotypical high school cliques.
• The Search for Baby Ruby by Susan Shreve – This was a pre-YA kind of book – a mystery for young readers. It was a cute, simple read for me while on spring break. Jess, the youngest sibling, is forced to stay behind to babysit her niece, Ruby, during her sister’s rehearsal dinner. Ruby is kidnapped and Jess is on a mission to find her and save the family from more drama. Whenever I read a mystery where kids are the main characters/ sleuths, I find myself rolling my eyes a lot! This was no different.
• Best Friends for Life by Andrew Norriss – As you can guess, I have a large pile of YA books in my house that I decided to start plowing through while I had some time off! This was a really cute, sweet story, with a very serious lesson about teen suicide. The main character Francis, meets Jessica, and then learns that she is a ghost. Francis ends up befriending two other loner teens, Andi and Rolland, who can also see Jessica. As their friendship develops, they all work to help Jessica figure out how she died, why she is stuck as a ghost, and what her purpose is in their lives. There is no sex or drinking or swearing in this book. It’s a very sweet tale about friendship that also addresses self esteem, bullying, gender stereoytypes, weight issues, and teen suicide. I highly recommend this book to any educators who work with young teens, or to teens themselves, or to parents of teens.