florida – "You Have Your Hands Full!"

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Maureen

Slingshot by Mercedes Helnwein

Book Description

Mercedes Helnwein’s Slingshot is an exciting debut contemporary young adult novel perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell and Mary H. K. Choi

“I didn’t think it was going to be anything like this when I finally fell in love. I thought it was going to be pretty simple. Like, I’d love someone and they’d love me. I thought that’s the way it worked.”

Grace Welles is stuck at a third-tier boarding school in the swamps of Florida, where her method of survival is a strict, self-imposed loneliness. And it works. Her crap attitude keeps people away because without friends, there are fewer to lose.

But when she accidentally saves the new kid, Wade Scholfield, from being beaten up, everything about her precariously balanced loner world collapses and, in order to find her footing again, she has no choice but to discover a completely new way to exist.

Because with Wade around, school rules are optional, weird is okay, and conversations about wormholes can lead to make-out sessions that disrupt any logical stream of thought. Nothing’s perfect, but that’s not the point. When they’re together everything seems uncomplicated in a way that Grace knows is not possible.

Except it is.

So why does Grace crush Wade’s heart into a million pieces?

Acidly funny and compulsive readable, this debut is a story about two people finding each other and then screwing it all up. See also: soulmate, stupidity, sex, friendship, bad poetry, very bad decisions and all the indignities of being in love for the first time.

Posted on August 17, 2020August 16, 2020 by Maureen

Trade Deadline by Avon Gale and Piper Vaughn

Daniel Bellamy, who plays for the Atlanta Venom (the NHL team featured in the first two Hat Trick books) has been given the opportunity to play for the Miami Thunder. They aren’t the best team in the league (they’re closer to the bottom in terms of stats), but the Thunder is his hometown team.

As much as moving back to Miami is a dream come true, Daniel never thought he would reconnect with Micah Kelly, his childhood best friend AND his first kiss. Micah is all grown up and he works at the aquarium, and Daniel is still totally attracted to him.

This book is super cute. First of all, it was low-angst. The biggest stressor in the narrative is Daniel’s adjustment to playing for a new team. It’s clearly not what he was expecting, but he’s determined to make the most of it.

Posted on July 28, 2020July 26, 2020 by Maureen

The Friend Scheme by Cale Dietrich

Matt’s father is the head of an organized crime family, and now that Matt is 17, he’s expected to join the family business. But Matt just wants to be normal and not have to worry about the retaliatory attacks that could come at any moment from their rivals.

And then Matt meets Jason and finds him utterly fascinating. He’s not supposed to have friends outside the “family”, but as their friendship grows closer—and the possibility of something more than friendship emerges—Matt tries not to worry about whether or not the whole thing might be a setup.