Smiles To Go

Book #242 (Unique books)
Book #20 in 2014

Smiles To Go

by Jerry Spinelli

"What is stargazer, skateboarder, chess champ, pepperoni pizza eater, older brother, sister hater, best friend, first kisser, science geek, control freak Will Tuppence so afraid of in this great big universe?

Jerry Spinelli knows."

June 3rd to 5th - 3 days - 248 pages 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson (re-read)

Book #19 in 2014

 Will Grayson, Will Grayson

by John Green and David Levithan

 "One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical."

May 20th to 28th - 9 days - 310 pages

Blubber

Book #241 (Unique books)
Book #18 in 2014

 Blubber

by Judy Blume

 "Blubber is a good name for her, the note from Wendy says about Linda. Jill crumples it up and leaves it on the corner of her desk. She doesn't want to think about Linda or her dumb report on the whale just now. Jill wants to think about Halloween.

But Robby grabs the note, and before Linda stops talking it has gone halfway around the room.

That's where it all starts. There's something about Linda that makes a lot of kids in her fifth-grade class want to see how far they can go -- but nobody, least of all Jill, expects the fun to end where it does."

May13th to 17th - 5 days - 153 pages

Forever...

Book #240 (Unique books)
Book #17 in 2014

 Forever...

by Judy Blume

 "Katherine and Michael meet at a New Year's Eve party. They're attracted to each other, they grow to love each other. And once they've decided their love is forever, they make love.

It's the beginning of an intense and exclusive relationship, with a future all planned. Until Katherine's parents insist that she and Michael put their love to the test with a summer apart..."

May 12th - 1 day - 192 pages

Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret.

Book #239 (Unique books)
Book #16 in 2014

 Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret.

by Judy Blume

 "Margaret Simon, almost twelve, has just moved from New York City to the suburbs, and she's anxious to fit in with her new friends. When she's asked to join a secret club she jumps at the chance. But when the girls start talking about boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret starts to wonder if she's normal. There are some things about growing up that are hard for her to talk about, even with her friends. Lucky for Margaret, she's got someone else to confide in... someone who always listens."

May 8th to 11th - 4 days - 149 pages

Notes:

I read this one when I was about 11 and I remember it being really important for me. Rereading it now it reminds me so much of exactly what I was feeling at that age, and it's also made me amazed that I made it through and glad that I am no longer 11.

Deenie

Book #238 (Unique books)
Book #15 in 2014

 Deenie

by Judy Blume

 "When Deenie finds out that she has scoliosis, she’s scared. When she sees the brace for the first time, she wants to scream.

But the words won’t come out. And Deenie, beautiful Deenie, who everyone says should be a model, is stuck wearing a brace from her neck to her hips. For four years—or longer. She never worried about how she looked before—how will she ever face the hard times ahead?"

May 5th to 7th - 3 days - 159 pages


Notes:
Somehow I missed reading this when I was a teenager which is unfortunate because Judy Blume is the best at writing meaningful books for young girls. I am now on a Judy Blume kick.

The Scorch Trials

Book #237 (Unique books)
Book #14 in 2014

 The Scorch Trials

by James Dashner

 "Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.

Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.

There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.

The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.

There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive."

April 30th to May 2nd -  3 days - 360 pages

Notes:

AHHHH 

Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Book #236 (Unique books)
Book #13 in 2014

 Daughter of Smoke & Bone

by Laini Taylor

 "Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?"

April 18th to 27th - 10 days - 418 pages

The Night Bookmobile

Book #235 (Unique books)
Book #12 in 2014

The Night Bookmobile

by Audrey Niffenegger

"First serialised in the Guardian, The Night Bookmobile tells the story of a young woman who one night encounters a mysterious disappearing mobile library that happens to stock every book she has ever read. Seeing her history and her most intimate self in this library, she embarks on a search for the bookmobile. Over time, her search turns into an obsession as she longs to be reunited with her own collection and her memories."

April 17th

Running Out Of Time

Book #234 (Unique books)
Book #11 in 2014

 Running Out Of Time

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

 "Jessie lives with her family in the frontier village of Clifton, Indiana, in 1840 -- or so she believes. When diphtheria strikes the village and the children of Clifton start dying, Jessie's mother reveals a shocking secret -- it's actually 1996, and they are living in a reconstructed village that serves as a tourist site. In the world outside, medicine exists that can cure the dread disease, and Jessie's mother is sending her on a dangerous mission to bring back help.
But beyond the walls of Clifton, Jessie discovers a world even more alien and threatening than she could have imagined, and soon she finds her own life in jeopardy. Can she get help before the children of Clifton, and Jessie herself, run out of time?"

April 16th - 1 day - 184 pages

Notes:

I've been wanting to read this again for a long time. We read it when I was a kid and it was one of those books that stuck with me like Gathering Blue.