It's been another few weeks since my last Friday Reads post, and I have read some doozies since then! So in honor of these wonderful books that I can't help but tell everyone to pick up, here are some recommendations.
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
In this book, sixth-grader Felicity Pickle and her mom and little sister move to the town of Midnight Gulch, Tennessee—a place that used to be full of magic, but now only has hints of it left. Felicity is used to life on the road, always moving with her mom's whims, but in Midnight Gulch, she starts to plant roots and imagine what it would feel like to have a real home.
How did I love A Snicker of Magic? Let me count the ways. I loved the character of Felicity—her dreams and her insecurities, her quirks and her courage. I loved Felicity's relationship with her family. I loved the magical town of Midnight Gulch, and its amazing cast of oddball characters. I loved Jonah, Felicity's new friend who plays a small part in keeping the town's magic alive. And I loved Natalie's way with words—not just how Felicity sees them and collects them, but also how they danced across the pages of the book. A Snicker of Magic is positively spindiddly, and I want everyone to read it.
The Edge of Falling by Rebecca Serle
I enjoyed Rebecca Serle's first book, When You Were Mine (a modern-day retelling of Romeo & Juliet from Rosaline's point of view), so I was excited for her second novel to come out. I bought The Edge of Falling on the day it released, after I heard Rebecca read an excerpt as part of the NYC Teen Author Festival—and I finished it within 24 hours. That should tell you a little about this book's page-turner status!
When the story starts, Upper East Side high school student Caggie is reeling from two big events that happened in the past year: her younger sister's death, and an incident where she saved a fellow student on a Manhattan rooftop a few months later. She's spent the summer before her senior year barely seeing anyone, has recently broken up with her boyfriend, Trevor, and is dealing with a brittle mother and a father who's away on business more than he's home. Then she meets Astor, a new kid who seems to understand the darkness she's feeling inside. But not everything is as it seems… If you want a fast-paced but still thoughtful and compelling story about grief, guilt, and the way life can spiral away from you faster than you notice it happening, pick up this book.
The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles
This is a bit of a cheat because I'm still finishing The Lost Planet—but I am loving it enough that I can't imagine not wanting to recommend it when I'm done! I've mentioned this book before, because Rachel is a fellow YA Buccaneer, and it definitely hasn't disappointed me. For starters, it's zipping along at an amazing pace—from planet to planet, from plot twist to plot twist. Plus, it has aliens, spaceships, androids, possibly evil military personnel, and, oh yeah, a main character who woke up with no memory of who he is and is trying desperately to find out. I don't want to give anything more away, because half of the fun is following the twists and turns. That said, if you're into science fiction, or if you know a kid who is, buy this book.
That's all for now on the book front! Have you read anything awesome lately? Tell me about it in the comments!
~Kathryn