Love and Other Train Wrecks by Leah Konen

 On a recommendation from my daughter I opened this book. I have read, The Romantics by Konen, which I enjoyed. Konen's teens are multi-layered and their reactions to unforeseen situations are unformulaic. When I read YA fiction, especially romantic fiction, the characters often take the road most traveled and easiest. Not so with Konen's books, at least the two I've read. And the ending is not neatly tied up in a bow with all the conflict eased and erased by the last page. At the same time it's not a depressing read or unhopeful. It's real. 

Ammy (like Sammy without the S) and Noah are on a train in New York state. A snow storm hits, the train is delayed, and they decided to band together to get to their destinations sooner than the stalled train promises. Within 24 hours together they have a life time of experiences and emotions and each has some hard decisions in front of them. 

Young adult fiction, romance, realistic fiction, New York State, trains

Recommend: Yes

The Mariposa Hotel: A Tangerine Street Romance: a Novel in Three Parts by Heather B. Moore, Julie Wright, and Melanie Jacobson

 This is the third book in this series and I have to admit it was disappointing. The other two had plots that were believable and characters that were realistic and I enjoyed the intertwining of characters and places. This one seemed as if the writing was a bit rushed and things were either not resolved or wrapped up too neatly. The three stories seemed to focus more on kissing than storyline. 

There is one more book in this series and I'm on the fence whether to read it or not. They are short stories so I don't have to invest a lot of time to find out if this last book is more of the same. 

Fiction, romance, beach life

Recommend: maybe

Wyoming Wild by Sarah M. Eden

 I've read several of Sarah Eden's historical romances and enjoyed them all. I've been missing Wyoming lately so this one was an obvious choice for me to read. It was just published in March so I was excited to see my library here had a copy. 

I didn't realize until I was reading it that it is the third book in the Savage Wells series. I had read the first one, The Sheriffs of Savage Wells a while ago and remembered liking it. Wyoming Wild has the same characters from that first book, but they are now only supporting characters. This book focuses on US Marshal, John Hawking, and his efforts to bring peace to the small fictional town of Sand Creek, Wyoming, which is run by a corrupt sheriff and his cronies. The sheriff's daughter, Liesl, knows of her father's wicked ways and would like nothing better than a safer and calmer life for her and her mother. But her father is a man without scruples and will stop at nothing to keep his hold on Sand Creek and it's inhabitants. 

Historical fiction, romance, western fiction, crime fighting

Recommend: Yes. 

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde

 Has the Rumpelstiltskin story ever bothered you? There are so many problems with this fairy tale which is full of bad parenting, short sighted royalty, inept magical people, and foolish girls. This book addresses all the problems in 6 short stories. I read this book aloud to my kids and we had fun voting for our favorite version. Vivian Vande Velde recognized the problem and wrote 6 different ways to solve all the questions. 

Short story, fantasy, fairy tale

Recommend: Yes. 

Beauty Reborn by Elizabeth Lowham

I love fairy tale retellings. Always have. Especially Beauty and the Beast versions. I realize the original story has disturbing attributes and themes. Yet, the retellings seem to eliminate these troublesome tropes. This was an interesting view on this familiar tale. I liked how Beauty took choices that were her own, not forced, or manipulated by anyone, Beast or otherwise. I liked how the author illustrated well that emotions, such as jealousy, infiltrate thoughts and actions to the point of harming oneself. And I'm a sucker for endings that give birth to hope and happiness amid troubles and trials and that joy can be a part of it all. 

Young adult fiction, fantasy, fairy tales

Recommend: Yes

 

Eyes of the Forest by April Henry

Here in Missouri there are book awards given each year. One of them is called the Truman Award after Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, who was born in Missouri. I often browse the award shelf to see if any of the nominees look interesting. This one is one of the current year's nominees for the Truman Award. 

Bridget is invested in a fantasy series of books called Swords and Shadows. So much so that she is the author's research assistant, even though she is a teenager. She keeps all the places, names, and objects in a database so that all the books have continuity. The last book in the series is long overdue and the author seems to have stalled out. Some fans of the series take this as a personal affront and take matters into their own hands to force him to finish the final installment. Bridget senses something is wrong and may be his only hope for rescue. 

This book read quickly and I enjoyed it. The plot moves well and the characters are authentic. 

Young Adult fiction, fantasy, writers

Recommend: Yes

23 Minutes by Vivian Vande Velde

 I picked up this book from one of my very favorite authors, Vivian Vande Velde. Zoe, age 15 and a half,  has an unusual ability to travel back in time for exactly 23 minutes. There are restrictions. No one remembers the previous 23 minutes but her and she can't take anything back in time with her. Once time starts to replay she only has those 23 minutes to decide to replay them again. Once she hits 24 minutes then she has to wait another 23 minutes before going back in time another 23 minutes. AND she can only repeat the same 23 minutes 10 times. Got all that?! To make matters worse the repeated 23 minutes usually turn out worse. She has usually used this only when she has had embarrassing moments or wanted to impress a guy. This time, however, the stakes are a bit higher. 

This is a young adult book and has some violence as the crime scene is described. 

Science Fiction, time travel, crime, action

Recommend: Sometimes