Cara Bertrand: What I'm Reading

[5 stars = I LOVE THIS BOOK like a kid loves candy and fresh snow]

Authentic. That's the highest compliment I can give when talking about capturing a teen voice. I think this is showing its age in a few spots, but it is an *important* book for very, very good reason.

Panic

by Lauren Oliver

This book will not be for everyone. Its strength is in the characters, except they're all hard to love--and that's why they need love so badly. Her writing is beautiful as ever, except this time it's turned on people and a town that are ...

The Radleys

by Matt Haig

I would not call this a YA book. But I liked it, and I think some YAs would too.

The Lost Sun

by Tessa Gratton

I kind of loved this.

The Book of Blood and Shadow

by Robin Wasserman

The FitzOsbornes at War

by Michelle Cooper

The FitzOsbornes in Exile

by Michelle Cooper

So good. Once you get into the climax, you cannot put this down. Of course, by that time you're so in love with the FitzOsbornes, you wouldn't want to anyway.

The Madman's Daughter

by Megan Shepherd

Star Cursed

by Jessica Spotswood

All Our Yesterdays

by Cristin Terrill

If i could go back in time, I'd give this book to teen me. She really would have liked it.

A Brief History of Montmaray

by Michelle Cooper

Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell

Ugh. So good. Too good. Succeeds in so many ways where other books about writers fail. Actually, that sentence works if I take out 'about writers' too.

Such a Rush

by Jennifer Echols

Reboot

by Amy Tintera

Are you a writer? Read this for a lesson in pacing (particularly for the first half)! Are you everyone else? Read this because it was awesome!

Born Wicked

by Jessica Spotswood

Well, wasn't this good? A+ for voice and Finn Belastra.

The Beautiful and the Cursed

by Page Morgan

What a unique and fascinating mythology + complex and intriguing cast of characters. Really liked this one, especially considering I listened to it haphazardly over the course of a month+. The audio was def well done. The narrator does a...

Time Between Us

by Tamara Ireland Stone

The Waking Dark

by Robin Wasserman

Second compulsively readable book in a row for me! Man, can she write! I think this requires a patient reader--it's a slow burn that builds around a large cast of characters--but I just wanted to keep reading and reading. Though this is ...

Dangerous Girls

by Abigail Haas

HFS. No, seriously, HFS! If unputdownable was a real word, this book would define it. Why aren't more people reading this? The cover is doing it no favors.

The Fiery Heart

by Richelle Mead

Cruel Beauty

by Rosamund Hodge

Painted Boots

by Mechelle Morrison

Just One Year

by Gayle Forman

Just One Day

by Gayle Forman

Loved.

The Field

by Tracy Richardson

Soccer, science, friendship, and romance make this a book any gender and readers from teens to adults could enjoy. Eric Horton is the kind of boy you want your daughter to date.

The Diviners

by Libba Bray

I concluded this one just wasn't for me.

Spellcaster

by Claudia Gray

House of Ivy & Sorrow

by Natalie Whipple

The Dream Thieves

by Maggie Stiefvater

Well. That was a fucking book.

Icons

by Margaret Stohl

Arclight

by Josin L. McQuein

Extremely solid writing. Nothing-like-it concept. I think, however, this is a book where many readers will get lost. It's not always easy to keep up.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

by Rachel Cohn

Library listen. Pretty writing, especially Nick. I liked how unapologetically crass and sexy this was. Which is exactly why many readers are bound to hate it. Have not seen the movie, but the girl is EXACTLY how I pictured Norah. Michael...

Uninvited

by Sophie Jordan

...Fluid writing and frustrating characters, but I did_not_want to put it down.

Valkyrie Rising

by Ingrid Paulson

Smooth prose with some fabulous turns of phrase.

Across the Universe

by Beth Revis

Shadow and Bone

by Leigh Bardugo

World building = amazeballs.

The Elite

by Kiera Cass

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls

by Anton DiSclafani

Beautiful. Sad, but then again not. So much to think about. If you're looking for a character to love, Thea's not going to be your girl.

The Vicious Deep

by Zoraida Córdova

Why aren't more people reading this? L-o-v-e-loved Tristan and the voice is just perf.

Taken

by Erin Bowman

Descendant

by Lesley Livingston

Among Others

by Jo Walton

Among Others ended up being totally brill.

I'm certain there was magic in the fact that I got it through inter-library loan.

5 stars for the way it perfectly captured the essence of being a teen girl and for having the heart of YA.

Biting Bad

by Chloe Neill

Virtuosity

by Jessica Martinez

I enjoyed this one. It was the second teen music prodigy story I read in short order (the first being The Lucy Variations, which was not at all similar except for the music, and which I adored). It's probably safe to say I'm a sucker for...

Out of Nowhere

by Rebecca Phillips

Riley is such a beautifully realized character. You should read this.

Spirit

by Brigid Kemmerer

The Thirteenth Tale

by Diane Setterfield

Lovely and rich. Filled with prose like pictures and a command of nuanced voice. Read to savor.

Starling

by Lesley Livingston

Loved this! It pushed all my favorite buttons and I find her writing both effortless and literate. What I suspected early on was just alluding to the Faerie books before this actually turned out to be more like a spin-off. I've read only...