Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

In light of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why and all the controversy surrounding it (I personally LOVED it) I decided to reread the book and I loved it more than the first time around.

Clay arrives home to find 13 recorded tapes from Hannah Baker who has recently committed suicide. Their are 13 reason why she took her life and each person who is "responsible" has their own tape each tape tells their story.

Clay spends the night listening to the tapes and visiting locations of importance. The story unravels each story significant yet woven amongst the others.

This is a compelling read and if you read the anniversary version it has an alternative ending (the original one) that I personally do not care for but you might!

Don't let the haters turn you away from this book. Some will say that this book glamorizes suicide but I respectfully disagree. The characters are well developed and while I might not like all of them -- the imperfections and reality makes them real.

Falling by Jane Green

British born Emma Montague was a New  Yorker living the life but she wanted something quieter and is now setting up residents in West Port, Connecticut.  

Her new landlord is easy on eyes, friendly and had a 6 year old son. Emma finds herself falling for them. Dominic and Emma are total opposites in many facets of life but somehow they work or they seem to be working until ex's and parents enter the picture. Will they work out the kinks?

Expect a roller coaster of emotions and know the "Falling" has many meaning in Green's latest novel.
I love the characters and and was shocked by the final twist.

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

Willow has IO (osteogenesis imperfecta). Willow will never be a "normal" person. Her bones are fragile and something as simple as tossing in bed or bumping into a chair can break a bone. Her older sister Amelia is lost in the shuffle and she's screaming at the top of her lungs but no one can hear her. 

 A simple family vacation to Disney World ends up with Willow in a spica cast and her parents sitting the in the offices of an attorney. The attorney lets it be know that they might have a case against the OB because Willow's IO could have/should have been detected much earlier. 

Charlotte much to the dissatisfaction of her husband decides to sue the OB, who just happens to be her best friend. Charlotte will have to testify that had she knows in advance she would have aborted her daughter. This of course is not factual but bills are mounting and Willow will need more expensive care as she grows older.

Friendships, Marriages and relationships become broken as the "wrongful birth" suit plays out. 

The characters are interesting but my favorite is Amelia. I think she should have her own book! There is a lot of information to be learned from this book. Jodi Picoult has a way of getting you interested and introduced to various topics. 

I am very much of the fence of this novel. I didn't LOVE it but I didn't HATE it either -- but I did like the final twist at the end. The only word I can use to describe it is synchronicity.

Select by Marit Weisenberg

   Select will be released October 3, 2017

Select is destined to be the next but much better “Twilight”.  There are no vampires just humans of a different race who are highly evolved with spectacular talents.

Julia’s is no ordinary girl nor are her family and friends. Julia’s is however lead to believe that she is less than the others within her group. Her father is the “leader” and when she is caught showing off her talents she is punished. Her punishment is to be taken out of her comfort zone and to attend public school but she mustn’t showcase her talents or draw any attention to herself.

Julia’s runs into John at her public school – John whom she had interacted with before and who is suspicious of her and her friends. John and Julia are drawn to one another and despite not being allowed to date outside her circle she finds herself falling for him and him for her.

This book with a lovely cover is full of interesting characters. It starts off a bit slow and you might find yourself confused initially but then … it starts to unravel and everything makes sense. I love the take on a super evolved human race who are still quite “normal”. This is a refreshing and fun new YA novel that will leave you anxious for book 2. 

Presumed Guilty: Casey Anthony: The Inside Story by Jose Baez and Peter Golenbock

Presumed Guilty chronicles the events surrounding the Casey Anthony Case. Baez essentially makes a timeline and discusses a variety of subjects such as the efforts by others to sabotage the case, the evidence and witness brought for on the case and what it was like dealing with the Anthony family and the media.

He discussed the time leading up to the trial, the trial and the after effects of the media on the case. He presents the theory regarding Caylee's death due to drowning and provides information in an attempt to dispel information gathered from other sources.

The book is well written and give a lot of personal insight. It is a fascinating read. There is a lot of information in this book that I don't recall hearing before ....

I am of the opinion that Casey has some knowledge or involvement in the death or her daughter. I firmly believe that the public will never have the truth behind the events of the death but I do believe that they jury did they job they were presented with. One of the things that people don't understand is that as a juror you have set rules that you have to follow and you have to push opinions to the side (as much as possible) and make a choices  based upon the evidence you are given. 

Baez's book is informative and interesting. I don't agree with everything he had to say but it was worth the read.

Most Wanted by Lisa Scottoline

I really struggled to read this and I'm not exactly sure why. There isn't one thing I can pinpoint. I liked the storyline. It was unique and interesting. I had the typical love/hate relationship with a variety of characters and wanted to sink my teeth into this book but I just couldn't.

Most Wanted is about a couple who use a sperm donor to make their yearning for a child possible but a glance of a TV report regarding a serial killer changes a happy moment to one of discord, fear and anxiety. Christine is convinced that the serial killer is the sperm donor and makes it her personal ambition to find out if she is carrying his child.

Then Christine makes it a mission to prove Shay's innocence despite her husband's reservations. This of course leads to a host of other problems. The deeper I got into the storyline the more unrealistic it felt and found myself speed reading to reach the co
nclusion. I can see why it would interest others but it wasn't a fit for me.