Week Eleven 2015 (March 12 through March 18)

50. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

• Standalone
• Young Adult
• Contemporary
• Female main character–Lennie
• Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life – and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey’s boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie’s own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they’re the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can’t collide without the whole wide world exploding.

Just as good as I was expecting. 

Verdict: Can’t wait for I’ll Give You the Sun

 

51. Zodiac by Romina Russell

• Zodiac; Book 1
• Young Adult
• Science-Fiction; High Fantasy
• Female main character–Rho
• At the dawn of time, there were 13 Houses in the Zodiac Galaxy. Now only 12 remain….Rhoma Grace is a 16-year-old student from House Cancer with an unusual way of reading the stars. While her classmates use measurements to make accurate astrological predictions, Rho can’t solve for ‘x’ to save her life—so instead, she looks up at the night sky and makes up stories.When a violent blast strikes the moons of Cancer, sending its ocean planet off-kilter and killing thousands of citizens—including its beloved Guardian—Rho is more surprised than anyone when she is named the House’s new leader. But, a true Cancerian who loves her home fiercely and will protect her people no matter what, Rho accepts.

  Then, when more Houses fall victim to freak weather catastrophes, Rho starts seeing a pattern in the stars. She suspects Ophiuchus—the exiled 13th Guardian of Zodiac legend—has returned to exact his revenge across the Galaxy. Now Rho—along with Hysan Dax, a young envoy from House Libra, and Mathias, her guide and a member of her Royal Guard—must travel through the Zodiac to warn the other Guardians.

  But who will believe anything this young novice says? Whom can Rho trust in a universe defined by differences? And how can she convince twelve worlds to unite as one Zodiac?

The thing about this is that I didn’t really get into it until about 2/3rds of the way through and of course then I got really really into it. Ugh. 

Verdict: Need Book Two

 

Book of the Week: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

 

❤ Rae