Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It felt like an adventure, but it wasn’t so fast-paced that my anxiety was through the roof. It was well-written and beautifully thought-out.

After losing his web design job during the Great Recession, Clay Jannon enters into an old and mysterious bookstore searching for a job. At Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, Clay works the overnight shift, which brings only a few very eccentric customers who only check out books from a certain section. As Clay gets to know the store and the owner a bit more, he discovers that there is much more than reading happening at this bookstore. Clay is thrust into a world of secret societies, age-old mysteries, and the battle between technology and books.

Again, I really really liked this book. The story line was engaging and thought-provoking. I’ve been thinking a lot about the intersection of books and technology and this book brought up a variety of thoughts and issues on how to bring those two seemingly different things together. Definitely worth a read.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I’ve been having trouble in the past week or two finding motivation to read, which is embarrassing and hard for me to say because reading is my thing. Maybe it’s because real life has been so busy, but I think a huge part of it is that I haven’t been connecting with books that I’ve been reading. So I decided that maybe it’s a good idea for me to reread books that I love but haven’t written about yet. So here we are with book one of the “Get Michelle to Love Reading Again” Initiative: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

Cath’s entire world revolves around Simon Snow, a fictional series created by Gemma T Leslie (think Harry Potter but darker). Cath and her twin sister, Wren, grew up loving the books, constantly rereading them, talking about them on online forums, and writing incredible amounts of fan fiction dedicated to Simon Snow. However, as they enter into college, Wren decides she needs to branch out more, leaving Cath behind with only the fandom to keep her company.  We see Cath struggle through freshman year of college, including difficult classes, problems with her dad at home, and a tough roommate who has a “boyfriend” that is always hanging around. Through it all, we’re rooting for Cath to realize she too can be happy. Guess you’ll have to read it to see if that happens!

I really love Fangirl a lot. It’s incredibly well written – Rainbow Rowell really knows just how to transport you into someone’s mind. When Cath was experiencing all those awkward freshman year moments, it felt like I was reliving that tough time as well. It was nice to know I wasn’t alone in the suffering! I love that there are excerpts of both the “real” Simon Snow series and of Cath’s fan fiction in this novel. It was nice to have those little breaks in reality. I’d love to read full length versions of both those things!

This is 100% YA fiction and it is wonderful. Worth a read if you’ve ever gotten so entrenched in a fandom that there’s no end in sight – haven’t we all been there?

The Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie

The Matched trilogy is a classic dystopian YA novel in which life is absolutely “perfect” because the Society plans and chooses everything for their citizens, including their life partners. When Cassia is matched with her best friend, Xander, it seems as though her future will be ideal. However, when she checks her Match data card later and sees another boy’s face, she begins to doubt the Society and the future they have planned for her. This trilogy follows the stories of Cassia, Xander, and Ky, the mysterious boy on the data card, as they grapple with questions of love, survival, and choice.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this trilogy. At times, the story lines could be a bit convoluted, but overall this was well-written. The romance aspect is definitely a key element to this series, but I enjoyed it and thought that the dynamics between the characters were especially engaging. I really enjoy reading dystopian novels because they really push me to think about the future I’m headed towards. Although I would not call this an intellectual novel, this book definitely made me think more about control and perfection within society and that’s always a good thing.

Bottom line: If you’re a fan of The Hunger Games/Divergent Series, try this trilogy.

The Lunar Chronicles (Books 1-4) by Marissa Meyer

This series is one that you just won’t be able to put down. I reread them all in less than a week, every spare moment I had was spent on my nook reading, even though I already knew what was going to happen. These books are just that good.

Book one is called Cinder – a play on the fairy tale Cinderella, where our main character (Cinder) is a cyborg mechanic who lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters in New Beijing. A plague outbreak, a visit from the prince, and a crazed queen on the Moon throw Cinder into the midst of what might turn out to be an intergalactic (I love that word) war.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: cyborgs and moon queens – sounds a little too sci-fi for my tastes. I promise you that this book gives you the perfect dose of futuristic sci-fi action mixed with an incredibly intriguing plot line and wrapped up with just enough romance to make you feel that special spark. It’s a book for anyone who loves YA dystopian-esque or action novels. It’s awesome.

Scarlet and Cress are the subsequent novels in the series, both of which focus on another character mentioned in the previous books. These novels show a distinct progression in time, meaning it is not the same story told from three different viewpoints. I don’t want to give a lot away, so I won’t go into detail about them here, but feel free to ask me any questions you may have about them in the comments!

Fairest is the fourth book in the series, which gives us the back story of Queen Levana, a central character in all of the other novels. It’s a short story, less than 200 pages, but necessary to read in order to fully grasp how Levana came to be. It also gives you a great insight into the central character of the fifth and final novel called Winter.

All I can say is that these novels will keep you captivated and I cannot wait for Fall 2015, when the final book comes out!

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

I love YA books. I love YA books. I love YA books. Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld is no exception. I loved this book. I’ve enjoyed Scott Westerfeld’s books in the past, especially the Uglies series, so I was really excited to read Afterworlds.

I cannot stress how clever and interesting the layout of this novel is. It is split into two distinct yet related worlds. In some chapters, we learn the story of Darcy Patel, a young novelist who moves to New York City after her first book gets picked to be published. In others, we are able to read Darcy’s novel, aptly named Afterworlds, which follows a teenager named Lizzie who narrowly survives a terrorist attack and learns she has the ability to drift between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

Scott Westerfeld’s brilliance shines in Afterworlds. I was equally excited to read the parts with Darcy as I was with Lizzie, which isn’t always the case when I read split story novels. I could not put this book down and when I finished, all I could think was “I hope there’s a sequel.”

Definitely worth a read if you are a fan of YA fiction, good books, a little bit of paranormal activity, and the lives of writers.