Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge

What an unusual, creepy horror story.  I think that kids who like scary stories will enjoy this one.  As the story begins, thirteen year old Triss has awakened in bed, not remembering what happened to her.  She is told that she fell into the water but she has little to no memory of that.  Why is her appetite suddenly insatiable and why are dolls looking at and talking to her?  As she yearns to find out what is going on, more and more secrets are revealed and they are really creepy.  I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman

This is such a lovely story.  Fredrik Backman manages to create curmudgeony, yet entirely likeable characters.  Britt-Marie is a character from the author's second book, My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry.  At age 63 she is a neat freak and has been told for years, by her cheating husband, who she finally just left, that she is socially awkward.  She manages to get a job running a recreation center in a small, dying town called Borg, where she makes the acquaintance of a woman in a wheelchair known only as Somebody,  the children of the town who play soccer, and Sven, the town's policeman.  I absolutely love the story and the writing and I highly recommend this book and look forward to future books by this author.  I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

The Far End of Happy by Kathryn Craft

This is such a very sad story.  It is a story of a suicide and a marriage gone south and the family secrets hidden on both sides of the family.  Based on a true story, it rings true and sad.  I received this book free to review from Netgalley.  It is on a difficult topic and is tough to review, but is well written and I do recommend it.

The Revealed by Jessica Hickam

In this dystopian young adult romance/thriller, Lily's father is one of two men running to be the first president of the United States after the war.  Lily, however is being stalked by a mysterious group called the Revealed who kidnap eighteen year olds.  Lily is eighteen and has been receiving notes from the Revealed.  She knows they are after her and even being confined to her parent's estate won't save her, so she is determined to get away and live her own life.  Then she meets Kai again, who she knew when she was younger and she finds out that many things she believed were true are not.  This is a fun paranormal thriller/romance for teens.  I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Relentless (The Hero Agenda #2) by Tera Lynn Childs, Tracy Deebs

I really liked this second book in the Hero Agenda series.  Kenna and her mix of superhero and villain buddies find out that Rex is even eviler than they had suspected, if that is possible, and they are out to stop him and rescue all the heroes and villains whose minds he is controlling.  Kenna learns more about her powers and together, their team hopes to be unstoppable.  I like that she is a strong female character.  The book is a fun read.  I look forward to the next book in the series.  I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

Ryden is a teenage father.  His girlfriend, Meg, had cancer and died during childbirth and Ryden is raising their daughter.  He lives with his mother, who is supportive, but who is making him be responsible for his own child.  He is working at a grocery store in the evenings and still wants to be on the school soccer team his senior year.  When Meg's sister gives him a journal that Meg left behind for her, he is certain that there are two more journals to find, one for Meg's friend Alan, and one for himself and he is determined to find them.  He struggles with trying to go back to his normal life while still being a father.  He meets a girl at work who he likes, but does not tell her about his daughter.  The book portrays teen fatherhood in a realistic way.  I received this book free to review from Netgalley.

Laughing At My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw

Shane is brutally honest as he tells about his life in what he hopes to be a humorous way.  He explains how his parents treated him like a normal kid as much as possible and about the humorous situations he got into when he was little and about how he tried to fit in at school without seeming too different.  I think that many people find his story inspiring.  The book is in the teen section at our library and I think it should really be for high school and older because the topics in the book include sex and some other topics that many parents might not want middle school age kids reading about.  I received this book free to review from Netgalley.