Elizabeth Woods. CHOKER

Wow, wow, wow!! I couldn't put this one down. It is so suspenseful that I nearly had to physically force myself not to skip ahead to see what happens next! This is the first book by Elizabeth Woods and I cannot wait to see what she writes next. Now for the summary:

Cara is not having the greatest time in high school. She seems pretty normal by all accounts, but she's bullied by the popular girls. The first glimpse we get into their cruel behavior is when Cara nearly chokes to death on a carrot at lunch. Ethan, the cute guy that Cara has been watching lately, appears behind her in time to do the Heimlich on her to rescue her. This type of event (almost dying) would seem to garner sympathy from most kids. However, the mean girls use this to taunt her for days afterwords by making choking noises and calling her Choker.

Cara begins reminiscing back to fifth grade before she moved away from her best friend Zoe. They did everything together and had so much fun. If only Zoe could be here now to help her through her trouble in school. Later that day Cara is shocked to find Zoe in her bedroom when she gets home. Zoe has run away from home and wants to hide out in Cara's room for a few days. Cara is thrilled and agrees to hide her best friend. After reconnecting with Zoe for a few days, things begin to look up for Cara. She summons more courage to be herself at school and finds her confidence again. She's being invited to parties and flirting with cute boy, Ethan. But just as everything is looking bright for Cara, her enemies start having trouble. Her neighbor, mean girl #2, drowns in her pool. Then another girl goes missing. Surely the arrival of Zoe has nothing to do with all of this, right?

This is suspenseful,  gripping and creepy! You WILL NOT be able to put it down! Elizabeth Woods has written a brilliant first novel. I looked for her website to find out more about her, but she doesn't seem to have one, yet. I will certainly be looking forward to whatever she writes next!

Elizabeth Scott. BETWEEN HERE AND FOREVER

I've adored all of Elizabeth Scott's books. As you can see here, I've reviewed many of them. Some of them hit you over the head with their powerful prose and plot. Others have a quiet strength that builds to an emotional ending. BETWEEN HERE AND FOREVER is in the second category.

It sucks you in right away. Abby's sister Tess is in a coma. Abby has been visiting her every day since the accident. We learn from flashbacks and memories that Tess is the perfect daughter. Abby feels like Tess has always had it easy. She's pretty, smart and always knows how to act. Abby is the complete opposite. She feels pretty unsure of herself and has always been in Tess's shadow.

When a gorgeous guy begins working at the hospital, Abby gets an idea to wake up Tess. Eli had walked into Tess's room to drop something off and when he spoke, her eyes seem to move behind her lids. Surely, it's because she hears his voice, thinks Abby. So, she makes a deal with him to begin visiting her room and talking to her. Abby just knows that she'll wake up after listening to him. Then Eli will fall in love with her and everything will be back to normal.

But as Abby gets to know Eli, she discovers that she likes him. Plus, he's really acting interested in her. Abby's not sure how to handle that because guys never, ever like her when her sister is around. In addition to this inner conflict, Abby begins to discover some things about her sister that contradict her perfect image. She unravels the mystery surrounding her sister while attempting to unravel the mystery of her own trouble with love.

I enjoyed this sweet story of forgiveness, understanding and courage. You'll enjoy Abby's journey and root for her, like I did. Will she learn that she's worthy of love and be brave enough to give away her heart again?

For more about Elizabeth Scott and her fantastic books, go to her website. For more of my reviews of her books, go here for a listing.

Rebecca Stead. FIRST LIGHT

Peter finally gets to see his father as an exploring scientist, rather than just a stuffy professor. His mom and dad have decided to let him come along on a scientific study in Greenland. His dad is a glaciologist and will be studying weather changes on the glaciers. His mom plans to continue writing her book on DNA. Peter is thrilled to leave school for a few months and go on the adventure with his family.

The secrets he uncovers there turn out to be beyond all comprehension. One day he goes exploring and stumbles upon a girl named Thea trying to pry a boy out of a crack in the ice. Peter helps Thea pull him to safety and continues to help her carry him to her “camp.” But what he finds isn’t a camp, but a huge community living underneath the ice in secret. After Peter has amassed a truckload of questions, they hustle him back to the surface refusing to answer any of them. He’s sent on his way and told to keep their secret.

Then when Peter sees his mom doodling a symbol that he saw down in the secret community, more questions come up. What is going on with that place and how is his mother involved?

The author has woven such an amazing story out of so many interesting topics.
There are many aspects of this story that I loved: The sled dogs that work so hard for their people and become members of their families, the science of fireflies, the igloo building, the mitochondrial DNA…I was continually intrigued and entertained! I’m not even going into some of the other cool aspects, so I won’t divulge any spoilers!

I’m floored that this is the author’s first published book. (but not totally surprised, since she just won the Newbery for her second book, which I also loved and reviewed here.) Also, what this author does better than anyone is tie up loose ends. You know how sometimes when you read a book or see a movie and something happened early on & you think “why didn’t they ever explain such & such.. or why did they bring that up & never finish it.” Well, every little thing you’re curious about in the book is neatly explained along the way or at the end. I love that! She did that with her second book too.

There is a really nifty website for this book here. The author's website is here.  I will be FIRST in line for her next book!