Kat with a K

Books for January and February

I was in a horribly reading slump for most of February, so this list is pretty pathetic. But hey, March is going better so far . . .

High Five by Janet Evanovich
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 292
Rating: 3.8
The Stephanie Plum books are good for when you need a little brain candy that requires absolutely no thought. Like, say, when you're starting a new job. So this was perfect for what I needed in early January. The mysteries aren't really all that mysterious, but it's a fun series. I'm already getting a little sick of the Morelli vs. Ranger back and forth, though.

Mia and Bravo, Mia! by Laurence Yep
Genre: Juvenile
Pages: 130 each
Rating: 4.5
I was a faithful American Girls Collection reader and collector as a kid, but hadn't read any of the new books about contemporary girls. I was pleasantly surprised by these. Yep is a good writer, and Mia and her family were likable but interesting characters. Mia is an ice skater but has less money and isn't as cool as the other skaters at the rink, and the books are all about hard work and family and finding your own dream, but in a mostly non-preachy way. Highly recommended.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Genre: Young adult
Pages: 288
Rating: 4.7
Clay gets a set of cassette tapes in the mail; they are the story of his classmate Hannah who has recently committed suicide. The tapes are going to thirteen different people, all of whom played a role in Hannah's decisions. Clay spends a night driving around town listening to the tapes, and with him the reader discovers layers of secrets. The writing is powerful and the story is compelling. A must-read for YA fans.

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Genre: Young adult
Pages: 422
Rating: 4.8
Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors, and she certainly doesn't disappoint with this one. 17-year-old Ruby is abandoned by her mother and sent to live with Cora, the older sister she barely knows. After years of living a marginal existence with her addict mother, Ruby has to learn to trust people and become part of Cora's world. She has some help from Nate, the boy next door who is hiding his own secrets, and is wonderfully but believably appealing, as Dessen's male leads tend to be. Cora's husband Jamie is a great secondary character as well.