What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen

What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 256

Summary: “Don’t even think of leaving… I will find you,” he whispered. “Guaranteed.”

Sara and her mom have a plan to finally escape Sara’s abusive father. But when her mom doesn’t show up as expected, Sara’s terrified. Her father says that she’s on a business trip, but Sara knows he’s lying. Her mom is missing—and her dad had something to do with it.

With each day that passes, Sara’s more on edge. Her friends know that something’s wrong, but she won’t endanger anyone else with her secret. And with her dad growing increasingly violent, Sara must figure out what happened to her mom before it’s too late…for them both.

My Thoughts:  We are introduced to Sara who lives with her mother and father. Her brother committed suicide and she is still trying to pick up the pieces. Her father is very abusive and beats on her mother if she doesn’t follow the rules exactly. He also still talks about and talks to her brother like he is still around telling Sara to tell him to get chores done or what he should/shouldn’t be doing.

The abuse has gone on for years now and one day Sara’s mother tells her to pack a bag and the next day they will be leaving him. Sara wakes up the next day, goes to school, and waits for her mom to pick her up and she never shows up. This sets a lot of thoughts in motion through Sara’s head. She wonders where her mom is and if she went to find a new job and house without her. Is she coming back? When?

Sarah also has two guy friends throughout the novel. They are Alex and Zach. Alex is a classmate who takes an interest in Sara and Zack is her brothers best friend, also her friend. We see her relationship change with both guys over the course of the novel in one way or another.

This book was pretty intense. It was a bit mystery and a bit romance. Her dad was a total psychopath, I know that for sure! I thought she should try to get help from the get go, it just wasn’t right!

I did like the characters, and they kept the book interesting enough for me to finish but What She Left Behind wasn't the right book for me. It was just so-so for me. But obviously a lot of other people will like it and enjoy the plot. It focuses on domestic violence and I guess that is something I don’t really like reading about, haha.

Overall: What She Left Behind was an ok book. It was written nicely, and easy to read. The words flowed nicely. I just didn’t love it. I didn’t find myself very interested in the plot or how things happened in the book.

If you're a fan of family issues or suspenseful books, you’ll probably enjoy this one. This is probably more of a 3.5 rating if I did half cupcakes!

Cover: It does fit the book. I like how the girl is running in the woods around all the tall trees. It’s kind of got a dark feeling to it.

What I'd Give It:

Transcendence by C.J. Omololu

Transcendence by C.J. Omololu
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 336

Summary: When a visit to the Tower of London triggers an overwhelmingly real vision of a beheading that occurred centuries before, Cole Ryan fears she is losing her mind. A mysterious boy, Griffon Hall, comes to her aid, but the intensity of their immediate connection seems to open the floodgate of memories even wider.
As their feelings grow, Griffon reveals their common bond as members of the Akhet—an elite group of people who can remember past lives and use their collected wisdom for the good of the world. But not all Akhet are altruistic, and a rogue is after Cole to avenge their shared past. Now in extreme danger, Cole must piece together clues from many lifetimes. What she finds could ruin her chance at a future with Griffon, but risking his love may be the only way to save them both.
Full of danger, romance, and intrigue, Transcendence breathes new life into a perpetually fascinating question: What would you do with another life to live?

My Thoughts: When I first saw this cover for this,  I thought ohhh how pretty. I never really read the description much before starting it. However, it just was okay for me. I’m not really into the whole reading about reincarnation thing, not that I don’t believe in it (I guess to a certain extent I think its possible) but I just don’t enjoy reading much about it as a plot.

We are introduced to Cole (took me a few minutes to realize if she was a boy or girl) who is on vacation with her sister and father in London. She meets a boy named Griffon and spends a little time with him. She goes home thinking she’ll never see him again. But he turns up in her city. How ironic he’s so close to her. He also explains to her why she is having all these flashbacks. They are memories from her past lives creeping back in.  She is an Akhet. They can remember past lives and memories. Cole is a great cellist, she doesn’t have time for stories or for boys.

As Cole gets to know Griffon better, she starts to understand who she is, and that everyone might not have the best intentions towards her.

I did like Cold and Griffon as characters. I also liked all the other characters, like her mother/father/sister and best friend. Griffon’s mom was also pretty interesting.

I also had a hard time with the flashbacks. I just felt myself not really caring about them or really wanting to know what happened her in previous lives.

If you're a fan of reincarnation/romance you’ll probably enjoy this one quite a bit.

Overall: To me, Transcendence just wasn’t the right book for me. I did enjoy it enough to keep reading, but I didn’t love it.  Once I realized it was about reincarnation it kind of turned my feelings and I wasn’t into it as much. Just not my favorite plot.  I have read a few reincarnation novels, and haven’t found one I just love yet. Still looking!

Transcendence was just okay for me. Probably more of a 3.5 cupcake rating.

Cover: Love it! I could see the characters looking like this, and like the coloring. And also the way her hands are around him. Its a nice looking cover.

What I'd Give It:

Sarah Dessen Just Listen Cover Reveal

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Digit: A Girl Named Digit by Annabell Monaghan

Digit: She’s Got Your Number by Annabell Monaghan
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books For Children
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 192


Summary: Farrah Higgins spends most of her time masquerading as normal. A Los Angeles high school senior who left behind her geek self in another school district and calculated a successful formula for disguising her math genius so she can hang with the "in" crowd. "Digit" may be going to MIT in the fall but until then she's blending in at Santa Monica High and trying to be whatever equals "normal.”

But while watching her favourite hit television show she notices seemingly random numbers appear on the bottom of the screen. She quickly discovers a message that she shrugs off until a terrorist attack occurs at JFK airport and she realizes the
numbers directly correlated to the date and location of the bombing. She visits the FBI headquarters to explain what she saw, but she gets the "fruitcake" treatment from a young, hot agent, John Bennett.

Soon she's investigating on her own and being chased by terrorists. The FBI has to fake her kidnapping to free her from the terrorists, and suddenly her senior year has gotten a lot more interesting.

My Thoughts: Awesome plot? Check! Smart chick? Check! Hot FBI agent? Check!

Digit: She's Got Your Number was an amazing special book. It really pulled on my heartstrings and I loved every minute of it.

We're introduced to Digit aka Farrah Higgins whose extremely smart when it comes to numbers. She's a math whiz, she can figure out any kind of equation, number sequence, and anything math related. Genius! One day Digit is watching her favorite show, and numbers flash across the screen. This happens during a few shows so she starts to get suspicious and after an attack on the JFK Airport, she goes to the FBI. She thinks she has figured out a mysterious terrorist attack.

After they brush her off, she starts looking into it herself and winds up in a bit of trouble. On the run from criminals who want to kill her, she must face the FBI again.

Finally, they take her seriously and send her to a safe house, with hot FBI agent John! John is only a few years older than Digit and she finds herself becoming more and more attracted to him. It doesn't hurt that he's always very motivated and doesn't think her fascination with numbers is weird.

John and Digit must figure out what is really going on, who they can trust, and what to do about it. John must keep her safe at all costs.

Digit was adorable! This whole book was so cute! Yes, it had an actual plot and it was interesting but the chemistry between John and Digit was heartwarming and sweet like hot chocolate on a cold winter day. Digit was exactly my type of contemporary romance. If you liked Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols, you'll probably like this one. Or at least this book brought back memories of that book for me. It was such a sweet story!!!

Digit was such a lovable character. Her personality was so alert and she was self conscious about her math abilities, but if anything that made me like and appreciate her more.  And John, awwww swoonworthy!

Overall: Digit was ADORABLE! Its under 200 pages but I wanted it to be longer. I was sad to see the story end because I wanted to keep on reading this novel.

Cover: Love it! Love how her hair is wild, and she's putting her fingers up to her lips like its a secret! Cute cover.

What I'd Give It:

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel And Friends
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 304


Summary: Fourteen kids. One superstore. A million things that go wrong.

A huge store isn’t the worst place to be stranded. There’s food and water, bedding and books. But what if it’s not safe to leave? Emmy Laybourne had us from the get-go with her utterly fresh and fast-paced debut.

Six high school kids (some popular, some not), two eighth graders (one a tech genius), and six little kids are trapped together in a chain superstore. Together they build a refuge for themselves inside, while outside, a series of escalating disasters, beginning with a monster hailstorm and ending with a chemical weapon spill, seems to be tearing the world—as they know it—apart

My Thoughts: This book is definitely not for those who like happy cookie cutter books. There is death, there is sexuality, there are a lot of things.

14 Kids are on the way to school one day when a major hail storm hits. One bus crushes, while another ends up being driven into a superstore. In this superstore, the kids are left to fend for themselves. Granted, they are lucky since they have all the essentials. They have basically everything they could need, since they are in a store. But all they really want are their parents, their nice comfy homes.

The main character is named Dean. He and his little brother Alex are among the kids in the store. These kids range in age from age 5 to seniors in high school.

All the kids set up shelter and live in the store, until people come to rescue them, at least that is the plan. We also meet a few characters who pass by and come in for sanctuary. Major things are happening outside, people are affected by which blood type they have, etc.

I liked all the characters in this novel. They were so complex, each character had their own personality, and we have a lot of personalities from the jock to the nerd to the child. At first it was hard remembering who was who but after awhile, it got easier. We are taken through the novel task by task, ranging from breakfast time to inventorying the store to playing football.

A lot happens in Moment 14, even though at times it seemed to get slow.

Monument 14 was an interesting novel. I can see how it won't be for everyone though. It has some pretty graphic scenes. Crude scenes.

And that cliffhanger, I hope there is another book in the series! I need to know what happens next!

Overall: I really enjoyed this one. I've been reading a lot of dystopias but this one was a little different. It was unique because I haven't read many where the book focuses on kids being left alone, especially in such a good environment, where they have mostly everything they could need.  All in all, I thought it was a good but weird book.

Cover: Like it! It definitely has that dystopian feel to it. The way the kids are just standing there, makes you wonder what the heck is happening.

What I'd Give It: