Title: Nothing Better Than You
Series: Better than the Movies #1.6
Previous book in this series: Better than the Movies
Author: Lynn Painter
Genre: YA, contemporary romance
Publication date: August 30th 2024
Published by: Simon Teen
Source: Read online
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Synopsis: Experience Wes and Liz’s first kiss from Better Than the Movies from Wes’s point of view!
Title: I'm Glad My Mom Died
Author and Narrator: Jennette McCurdy
Genre: Adult, nonfiction, memoir
Publication date: August 2022
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Source: Borrowed from library
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Synopsis: A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life.
Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what Mom called “calorie restriction,” eating little and weighing herself five times a day. She endured extensive at-home makeovers while Mom chided, “Your eyelashes are invisible, okay? You think Dakota Fanning doesn’t tint hers?” She was even showered by Mom until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, email, and all her income.
In I’m Glad My Mom Died , Jennette recounts all this in unflinching detail—just as she chronicles what happens when the dream finally comes true. Cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly , she is thrust into fame. Though Mom is ecstatic, emailing fan club moderators and getting on a first-name basis with the paparazzi (“Hi Gale!”), Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame, and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction, and a series of unhealthy relationships. These issues only get worse when, soon after taking the lead in the iCarly spinoff Sam & Cat alongside Ariana Grande, her mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and quitting acting, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants.
Told with refreshing candor and dark humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is an inspiring story of resilience, independence, and the joy of shampooing your own hair.
Title: Better Than Before
Crossover prequel novella of: Better Than The Movies | Betting on You
Author: Lynn Painter
Genre: YA, contemporary romance
Publication date: November 2023
Published by: Simon Teen
Source: Read online
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Synopsis: Lynn Painter’s Better Than the Movies collides with Betting on You when, after meeting the annoyingly cute Bailey on his flight, Charlie gets picked at the airport up by his cousin, Wes, who introduces him to his annoyingly cute neighbor, Liz.
Title: Better Than The Prom
Series: Better Than The Movies #1.5
Previous book in this series: Better Than The Movies
Author: Lynn Painter
Genre: YA, contemporary romance
Publication date: August 2022
Published by: Simon Teen
Source: Read online
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Synopsis: Prom night has arrived, and Wes Bennett couldn’t be less excited.
Not only is he not going with Liz, the girl he’s loved his entire life, but Liz is going with Michael, the guy she’s loved her entire life. Talk about a nightmare.
They manage to avoid each other at the event, but every glance he steals of her in that gown, smiling up at her date, feels like a punch to his solar plexus.
But when she’s waiting for him after he ditches the dance, he realizes that nothing about the prom even matters.
Because Liz Buxbaum, in Chuck Taylors and a sweatshirt under the streetlight that shines above their spot, is actually far better than the prom.
Title: Full Tilt
Author: Neal Shusterman
Genre: YA, horror
Publication date: June 2003
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Source: Purchased paperback
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Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Blake and his younger brother, Quinn, are exact opposites. Blake is the responsible member of the family. He constantly has to keep an eye on the fearless Quinn, whose thrill-seeking sometimes goes too far. But the stakes get higher when Blake has to chase Quinn into a bizarre phantom carnival that traps its customers forever.
In order to escape, Blake must survive seven deadly rides by dawn, each of which represents a deep, personal fear -- from a carousel of stampeding animals to a hall of mirrors that changes people into their deformed reflections. Blake ultimately has to face up to a horrible secret from his own past to save himself and his brother -- that is, if the carnival doesn't claim their souls first!
This was the exact opposite of some drugged-out experience. We still had our senses. Our minds were sharp and clear. It was the rest of the world that had gone crazy.
Title: When Lightning Strikes
Series: 1-800-Where-R-You #1
Author: Meg Cabot (as Jenny Carroll)
Genre: YA, paranormal, mystery
Publication date: February 2001
Published by: Simon & Schuster Ltd
Source: Borrowed from library
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Synopsis:
Jess Mastriani has never been what you'd call a typical Midwestern teenager—her extracurricular activities, instead of cheerleading or 4-H, include fist-fights with the football team and month-long stints in detention. A part of Jess would like to be the prom queen her mother has always envisioned her being, but another part is secretly counting the days until she's saved up enough money to buy her own Harley.
Then something happens that guarantees Jess will be one of the in-crowd... at least until her newfound talent ends up getting her dead.
Title: Sleepless
Author: Thomas Fahy
Genre: YA, horror, mystery
Publication date: August 2009
Published by: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Own paperback
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Synopsis:
SOMEONE ELSE WILL DIE SOON she tells herself.
SOMEONE ELSE WILL DIE AND I WILL BE RESPONSIBLE.
A few days after the first time you walk in your sleep, you kill someone. That's how the end begins.
Emma Montgomery has been having gruesome nightmares. Even worse, when she wakes up, she isn't where she was when she fell asleep. And she's not the only one. One by one the students of Saint Opportuna High start having nightmares, and sleepwalking. And the next morning one of their classmates turns up dead.
Something is making them kill in their sleep. Emma and her friends need to band together, to keep themselves awake until they can figure out what's behind the murders--before anyone else dies.
Title: The Offering
Series: The Pledge #3
Previous books in this series: The Pledge (#1) | The Essence (#2)
Author: Kimberly Derting
Genre: YA, dystopian
Publication date: December 31st, 2013
Published by: Kimberly Derting
Source: ARC from publishers for review
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Synopsis:
True love—and world war—is at stake in the conclusion to The Pledge trilogy, a dark and romantic blend of dystopia and fantasy.
Charlie, otherwise known as Queen Charlaina of Ludania, has become comfortable as a leader and a ruler. She’s done admirable work to restore Ludania’s broken communications systems with other Queendoms, and she’s mastered the art of ignoring Sabara, the evil former queen whose Essence is alive within Charlie. Or so she thinks.
When the negotiation of a peace agreement with the Queendom of Astonia goes awry, Charlie receives a brutal message that threatens Ludania, and it seems her only option is to sacrifice herself in exchange for Ludanian freedom.
But things aren’t always as they seem. Charlie is walking into a trap—one set by Sabara, who is determined to reclaim the Queendoms at any cost.
Title: The Essence
Series: The Pledge #2
Previous book in this series: The Pledge
Author: Kimberly Derting
Genre: YA, dystopian
Publication date: January 2013
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry
Source: Borrowed
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Synopsis:
At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness.
Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen—and battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two.
As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.
Title: The Pledge
Series: The Pledge #1
Author: Kimberly Derting
Genre: YA, dystopian
Publication date: November 2011
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry
Source: Borrowed
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Synopsis:
In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.
Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.
Title: Devoured
Author: Amanda Marrone
Genre: YA, paranormal romance, fairy tale retelling
Publication date: September 2009
Published by: Simon Pulse
Source: Borrowed from library
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Synopsis:
Megan’s twin sister Remy died in an accident nine years ago, and she’s been haunting her ever since. Knowing how crazy that sounds, Megan keeps this secret to herself and tries to lead a normal life. But when she takes a summer job at Land of Enchantment to keep an eye on her new boyfriend and his lovesick best friend, Samantha, she meets fellow employee Luke who can see Remy, too. Things get even twistier because Megan’s new friend Ari is sporting a massive crush on Luke, who seems to be developing a massive crush on Megan…making for a love triangle that’s positively possessed.
Megan wants to keep her distance from Luke, but when Remy’s visions get crazy violent; she knows she needs his help. Because someone’s definitely in danger...the only question is who?
Title: Nevermore
Series: Nevermore #1
Author: Kelly Creagh
Genre: YA, paranormal
Publication date: August 2010
Published by: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Source: Borrowed from Library
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Synopsis:
Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.
Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.
As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.
His life depends on it.
Title: Cabel's Story
Series: Dream Catchers #1.1
Books in this series: Wake (#1) | Fade (#2) | Gone (#3)
Author: Lisa McMann
Genre: YA, paranormal
Publication date: 2010
Published by: Simon and Schuster Publishing
Source: own e-book
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Synopsis:
A free online story by Lisa McMann. A companion to the first Dream Catcher novel, Wake, this is Cabel's perspective of the field trip that Janie and he took with their English class.
Title: Gone
Series: Dream Catchers #3
Previous books in this series: Wake (#1) | Fade (#2)
Author: Lisa McMann
Genre: YA, paranormal
Publication date: February 2010
Published by: Simon Pulse
Source: Borrowed from library
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Synopsis:
Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her. She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves—she has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.
Then a stranger enters her life--and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out....
Title: Fade
Series: Dream Catchers #2
Previous book in this series: Wake
Author: Lisa McMann
Genre: YA, paranormal
Publication date: February 2009
Published by: Simon Pulse
Source: Borrowed from library
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Synopsis:
SOME NIGHTMARES NEVER END.
For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.
Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open -- but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabe's shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.
Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability -- and it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd feared....
Title: Wake
Series: Dream Catchers #1
Companion short story: Cabel's Story
Author: Lisa McMann
Genre: YA, paranormal
Publication date: March 2008
Published by: Simon Pulse
Source: Borrowed from the library
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Synopsis:
For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.
She can't tell anybody about what she does they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can’t control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant.