Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

Jacket Art Copyright: The Heads of State

Inside jacket summary:

"Here's what Sam knows: There was a party. There was a fight. The next morning, Sam's best friend is dead. All he left Sam was a playlist and a note, saying that he took his own life. But what Sam doesn't know is: why? To figure out what happened, Sam must rely on the playlist and his own memory. But the more he listens, the more he realizes that his memory isn't as reliable as he thought."

Based off the jacket, you really expect the story to center around the significance of this playlist Hayden leaves Sam before committing suicide. Very disappointingly, it really doesn't. The chapter names are songs on the playlist and while they are mentioned briefly at the beginning of the chapter, there is no real significance to the playlist in the story. So while some very cool songs are picked, there is no real meaning there and seems to be just a selling point for the book. Lame. 

There is no answer to why Hayden killed himself, which I understand the author choice in not answering that for Sam or any of the other characters, because ultimately with suicide one can't really ever know for sure. That being said, the author never really explained why Hayden kept something a secret from Sam. We are told that Sam and Hayden are more like brothers. Despite Hayden's awful parents and brother, he is able to find escape by being at Sam's house where he liked it more. Nothing that Hayden was facing really gives you the sense that he lead the worst life, especially when he had Sam. 

That wasn't the worst offense by the author. In the end, the author throws in the character of Astrid, who is a "friend" of Hayden, unbeknownst to Sam. After Hayden's death, Sam's search for answers really then just turn into a romance with Astrid. Which ultimately doesn't work out because Sam finds something out about Astrid that he simply can forgive. There was just way too many things and characters that just didn't do anything for the story which a shame. The premise of learning about your best friend through a playlist is interesting and is why I picked up this book, but don't be fool.

my rating: C-

A.B.

Althea & Oliver by Cristina Moracho

Al and Ollie have been friends since childhood.  Ollie's father is gone, Al's mother is gone.  They have both been quirky kids.  Now in high school things are changing.  Oliver has come down with a brain/sleeping disorder that sends him into sleep for several weeks at a time.  He partially awakens to do things like, eat, pee, embarrassing things, sexual things that he does not remember.  Althea has come to feel a deep romantic love for Oliver that he does not feel.  He goes into a medical study at a New York City hospital for his disorder.  She goes into a tail spin with him unavailable.  She dates around, she smokes, she does a little drinking, she punches out a classmate and gets expelled from school.  Desperately hoping for Ollie she lies to her father about where she is going and vanishes into New York City from North Carolina, hoping to see Ollie, hoping to get him to profess his love.  Instead, he is sleeping when she arrives, she ends up in a houseful of underemployed college drop outs, vegans, who feed the hungry in central park each day, who live very non traditionally, who help Althea see a different future, one with Ollie only as a friend, possibly having grown out of his disorder, possibly on medication to help him.  So, in the end the two once inseparable friends are growing up and growing apart.  Neither knows where the future will take them.  They are saddened and looking to the future.  The course of true love did not run smoothly in this quite interesting book.  I just have two comments,  there is a lot of "language" in this story.  I tend to weary of those words.  The writing style is quite different, switching from first, second, third person narrative frequently, took me a little getting used to.  Hope it doesn't turn off the teens its a good story.   JDW 2/18

Flawed by Kate Avelynn

Flawed is a dark but moving book. It doesn't shy away from the scary reality of abuse and possessiveness under the guise of protection. It's gritty and for every moment of hope, there's a moment of despair that keeps you going to the end.

Sarah O'Brien has always depended on her brother James to save her from her abusive father. He would always step in and protect her with the promise that he'd keep her safe as long as she'd never leave him. She's always been able to keep that secret, but things are starting to change in her world. The summer before senior year, she finally has a chance with her long-time crush, Sam, who just happens to be James's best friend. She thought that since they were friends, James would approve, but his possessiveness pushes forward as he forbids her to see Sam. She struggles with what to do because she knows that if James finds out she's with Sam, he'll kill him, but she can't deny how safe and wonderful she feels when she's with Sam. He gives her hope for a future and an escape from this horrible world she's lived most of her life. Any hope for the future, however, means hurting James and breaking her promise. Her choice gets even more difficult as James starts to spiral out of control and nothing seems safe anymore. 

This is a powerful book that reminds people that bad things happen and there isn't always a happy ending. No matter what Sarah chooses to do, someone is going to get hurt, a fact that constantly pulls her in different directions. You can't help but want to see Sarah come out on top, but you understand the struggles that keep weighing her down. You feel for James who is facing his own demons. He understands his role as Sarah's protector, but since that has been his whole life, his role as her brother starts to blur. On top of that, there's the reality that maybe people aren't as different as their enemy as they would hope. Either way, you want to see these characters overcome their struggles, but the reality is that it's not as easy as one would hope.

I really enjoyed this novel. It draws you in emotionally and then shocks you at the end. This book is real and doesn't sugar coat anything. It was a great read.
MMK

He Said, She Said by Kwame Alexander

This novel is told through alternating narrators. The first narrator is Omar "T-Diddy" Smalls. He's the football MVP - all around hot stuff playa with the ego to match. The second narrator is Claudia Clarke who is headed for Harvard and not the least bit interested in someone like Omar. When he sees her at a party "looking like Beyonce" he gets it in his head that he has to have her. After everyone tells him she won't give him the time of day, he makes a bet that he'll walk away with her panties. Of course she wants nothing to do with him, not when she has far more important things to deal with, like the fact that teen pregnancy is running the school and the school board is laying off teachers, closing the school library, and cutting their arts fund. T-Diddy gets it in his head that he can woo Claudia by picking up her cause and leads the school in a silent protest against that school board's actions. With him leading, the whole school gets involved and Claudia begins to think he might not be as bad as she thought. At the same time, T-Diddy starts to fall for her in ways he's never felt for girls before. However, when his past starts to catch up with him, his relationship with Claudia is put to the test.

This novel is told through African-American characters, so at times the dialect takes getting used to (I'm not entirely sure what "ish" means or "woadie," but it doesn't detract from the story). For the vast majority of the novel I did not like Omar "T-Diddy." Even when he started to change and lose the ego, his attitude and motivation rubbed me the wrong way. Even Claudia seemed to easily swayed by his ways for being such a smart woman. Maybe, though, it was just a cultural thing that I couldn't connect with. Despite my dislike for the characters, this is a powerful story about standing up for what you think is right and using the civil rights history to change the world today. It is about changing your ways, and how one person can make you a better person. This book has the power to be inspirational.
MMK

Second Chance Summer by by Morgan Matson

This chick lit. This is a "beach read." This is similar to Nicholas Spark's book The Last Song, though with more plot and well rounded characters. I do not usually enjoy books like this. But, this is engaging. Taylor's brother Warren calls it the best of times, the worst of times for one of the many classic novels he has read. And, it was. Taylor's family has not been back to their summer cabin in the Poconos for five years. That summer ended badly for Taylor. Now her father is dying from cancer and wants to spend one last summer as a family, doing family things at the lake. Taylor is dreading the summer, she never apologized to the people she hurt. Big brother Warren has better things to do than hang around the cabin all summer. This is one reason the family had been renting out the cabin for the past years. Little sister Gelsey, doesn't know anyone, doesn't make friends well, just wants to dance. And so the summer begins, tentatively at first, then better and better as old friendships are renewed, Warren has his first real date, Gelsey makes a first real best friend, and sadly father slips away but leaves behind uplifting letters to all his kids to open upon high school graduation, college graduation, other special events over the years. And he also leaves behind his belief that his kids are alright, even though imperfect. This was well worth the read, and it doesn't take too long either. JDW 5/14

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Here's how Vera Dietz describes herself. I am motherless, and in the last year I lost my best friend twice, fell in love with a guy I shouldn't have (twice), got beat up by a skinhead Nazi, and had things thrown at me, including beer cans, money, and dog shit. (page 261) Her mother left her and her father several years previously. Her father is stoic, silent, rather strict, recovering alcoholic. Her best friend who first dumped her, then tried to win her back, then died is haunting her. There is something she needs to do, for him and herself, tell the truth about several events. It will clear his name and stop a couple of not so great goings on. And so Vera tells her story of her senior year, the struggle with grief and anger, the experience with alcohol, the bullying and also looks back on how it all came to be. Vera is a strong female who works her bumby way through everything and her father is ultimately supportive and caring even though he has a tough time showing it. I wish like crazy that Charlie could have lived, that the disaster hadn't happened, that Jenny Flick could have been punished for what she did. But then this story could not have been. Readers who like Alex Flinn will likely enjoy this story. I did.