Fixing things is Jill Whitaker's favorite hobby. From helping fix cars in her dad's shop to fixing people. When she walks into her house one night she sees her best friend and crush, Sean Addison, close to kissing her mom. The next day her mom leaves with only a sticky note to tell Jill why. Suddenly, the girl who likes to fix things needs fixing herself. When a new mysterious neighbor moves in Jill finds herself growing closer to him, but little does she know he has his own things he needs fixing. Jill learns she can't fix anything or anyone until she fixes herself, which is not an easy task. Along the journey she discovers secrets she has been kept from her whole life, tests her relationships with everyone she loves, and finds out the truth about the night her mom walked out.

Originally, I choose to read this book because it sounded very interesting. While the book starts out extremely slow it finally picks up pace towards the end. However, I enjoy books that constantly keep the reader on the edge of their seats the entire time. "If I Fix You" is a great coming of age story but it is not necessarily the most interesting. Constantly I found myself struggling to pick up the book again after I put it down. While readers who do enjoy a slow paced coming of age novel will absolutely love this book but if your the type of reader who enjoys always being on the edge of your seat this might not be the best book for you.

This book is a really good book that I have read many times. It’s about a girl who lives with Cerebral Palsey and finds a new machine to “talk”. This story is about her frustrations and triumphs that only you can see.

The book, Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech is a rich and wonderful novel. The seemingly simple, yet complex read explores the self-discovery of thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle. While exploring her cultural heritage and past, the main protagonist relays over several dark and tragic events. While these events can make the book depressing at times, they hold valuable lessons and the book doesn't linger on them for too long. Every single character in the book is incredibly developed through the many stories told, and they fit the plot well. Overall, I would recommend this book to older readers and maybe younger ones, as the book is a decent length and pretty intricate.

If you like fast-paced adventures and witty characters... this book is for you. With Dallas, the brother, and his sister, Florida, they have been known as the "trouble twins." Raised as orphans and never suitable for any home, they have just been sent to live with an old couple. Having doubts and questions, Florida and Dallas are scared and nervous about their new home.
Their past homes have put them in dark basements, creepy holes, and not so comfortable beds. Will Florida and Dallas soon come around or will they have to head back to their dreaded orphanage? This fast paced adventure will leave you wanting more and suitable for all ages.
Reviewer Grade: 9th

"Immoral Code" tells the tale of five seniors in high school planning something even bigger than Homecoming. When Bellamy's billionaire father refuses to pay her college tuition at MIT, the gang gathers together to right the wrong, her friend Nari in particular. Under the code name d0l0s, Nari and the rest of Bellamy's friends search for the much needed money- and revenge.

The story's plot circles around a small hiccup in their plan: to get the money, they'll have to sneak into the Foster Inc. building! This story is full of suspense, humor, and 3-dimensional characters each struggling through their own adolescence problems simultaneously. Lillian Clark does a fantastic job of weaving multiple view-points together to tell this memorable tale. I would recommend t it to anyone my age!

*Note: This story does contain a good amount of profanity. Definitely for older readers.* Reviewer Grade: 8

Sweetie Nair is fat. She doesn’t care, but her mom cares. Like, a lot. A lot a lot. Definitely too much. So much that so when Ashish, a hot local boy from a good (and crazy rich!) Indian family tries to date Sweetie, Sweetie’s mom shuts it down. But Sweetie won’t give up without a fight, and so she, Ashish and Ashish’s parents hatch a plan in which the kids will go on four dates. If it works out, they’ll tell Sweetie’s parents. If not, no harm done. Plus, what can happen in four dates? Turns out, a lot.

If you’ve read any of Menon’s other books, this one is completely on brand. I’ve read her other two books, and this one might be my favorite? It’s up there with Dimple, for sure. It’s a funny romantic comedy with endearing, mostly believable characters from a culture that’s different from mine. In addition to reading an adorable book, I get to learn a little bit about Indian Americans. This one has an added element of pointing out our society’s horrible ways of treating fat people. The way a folks react to Sweetie will have you seeing red – but you know it’s unfortunately totally realistic. Luckily, Sweetie is a self-confident young lady, and it was a joy to see her grow throughout the book. Ashish isn’t too bad himself! He has a very believable journey through the course of the book, and was a male lead you could root for even as he made a few terrible decisions.

TLDR: If you’re looking for a light, funny and very swoony read, this one will do it for you. I know it put a smile on my face.

Sandhya Menon is coming to PPLD to be the keynote speaker for Mountain of Authors! Meet her, listen to her give a talk and get a book signed on 27 April at 21c. More information about the event can be found here: https://research.ppld.org/mountainofauthors

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon Pulse for the advance copy, which I received in exchange for an unbiased review. There’s Something About Sweetie will be available for purchase on 14 May – don’t forget to put your copy on hold!

In this amazing story of young Melody, who was born with with Cerebral Palsey (CP), must face the hardships of mean girls and people who underestimate her abilities. You will always be found caught in Melody’s mind. Defiantly a must read.

Wonder by R. J Palacio tells the story of a young boy, Auggie, that was born differently from others. Born with different facial features than others, he has not been able to be a mainstream and average student. After a series of captivating events, he becomes the most popular and inspiring of heroes once he becomes a fifth grader.

Wonder was an extremely unique story that took the point of view from a young boy different from others. The story was original and interesting to the reader based upon the course of events that took place. After Auggie is faced with demeaning names and suggesting he is mentally deficient, goodness becomes the better of this situation. The story becomes uplifting and inspiring. Taking place in many different viewpoints, the dialogue is well written and is able to describe each character with a unique tone of writing/speaking. In addition to the story itself, the book demonstrated morals that each reader could decipher for themselves. However, most prominently, the moral that I found when reading the book was the inner character of everybody is the determination of their personality.

Reviewer Grade: 10

This book follows two teens who have Cystic Fibrosis and are receiving treatment in the same hospital. The girl is fairly strict with her routines, but she slowly falls for the rebellious boy who ignores the doctors’ advice and avoids his medicine. While this book was interesting, especially in regards to the medical aspect, the plot as a whole wasn’t all that unique.

The idea of a forbidden romance, even due to medical conditions, was not terribly exciting. I would not recommend this book for anything other than a quick, cliché romance read. It isn’t too deep and the end is very predictable. I initially chose this book because I thought it would go more in depth into the lives of the main characters lives and explore CF, but the book is almost totally limited to the hospital. I would give it two and a half stars out of five.

Scarlett’s mom is writing a blog and Scarlett seems to be the star – or perhaps victim. All of her embarrassing moments are being shared with the readers and it’s uncomfortable to go to school knowing that her classmates know all of her secrets. Scarlett’s answer is to become boring, but boring is – well – boring. When Scarlett discovers a spectacular kitchen in the house next door, she gives in to temptation and tries it out. In the process, she makes a new friend and discovers the secret ingredient in family and friendships. A fun read that encourages reaching out to others, making friends, and cooking.