What We Saw At Night (243 Pages)

Jacquelyn Mitchard has entered the world of YA literature! Remember her book The Deep End of the Ocean? It was a grabber (and gripper!). In this book, she creates a world for three teens who have an unusual disease: Xeroderma Pigmentosum. This disease is difficult to deal with as it is a severe allergy to the sun!. People with it can die if exposed to sunlight. Kids are schooled online, and all of the usual day time activities must be accomplished at night.  High school students Allie, Rob, and Juliet form a bond while dealing with the disease. Juliet is definitely a "free spirit" who wants to live each day (night) as though it was her last. She becomes adept at Parkour, a sport/stunt of leaping from tall buildings. The other two teens join her in learning this "sport." It's dangerous if performed during the day, but even more so when performed at night! During the reading of this book, the reader is introduced to some potentially evil adults, and real plot twists. Both boys and girls will enjoy this read and may even want to do some research on both the disease and the "sport".

Crown of Midnight (418 Pages)

This is the second book in this series by Sarah Maas. The first, Throne of Glass, has been deemed Best Book by Kirkus Review, Amazon, YALSA, and an MTV Hollywood Crush Best YA Novel Nominee. And this book is just as good as the first one. Assassin Celaena continues her job working for the evil king in order to claim her freedom. Her relationship with Chaol becomes romantic and her relationship with the crown prince changes to one of friendship. Readers discover that she has not carried out killing for the king, rather brings back proof of kills from bodies that have died as a result of illness while giving the accused a chance to leave the area. In spite of the 418 pages, the book is a fast read and Maas does an excellent job of moving the reader from scene to scene. The absolutely worse thing about this read, is that it's over, and now I need to wait until next summer for the next book in the series. UGH!

The Moon and More ( 435 Pages)

This is another winner from Sarah Dessen. Emaline and Luke had been "going together" for all of high school. They live in a small beach town where Emaline's family owned an upscale beach house rental business. She worked there for much of her free time, as did her sister. Emaline lives with her mother, her sisters and her step father whom she adores. Her father has been absent for years, shortly after Emaline's mother became pregnant in high school.  Enter Theo, a slick New Yorker working for a well known documentary producer. AND, enter Emaline's father and young step brother who she has never met.  Emaline and her step brother become fast friends as her relationship with Luke is tested with Theo putting on a full court press to snag her. Theo knows how to provide romantic events and Emaline becomes smitten by his attention. Girls who have read other books by Sarah Dessen will enjoy this one as well. Even if a girl has never read a Dessen book, she will enjoy reading this one.