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2015 Lists
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Janice's List ~ 2015
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2. The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy - by Kate HattemerGenre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Setting: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Published: 2014
Narrator: Ethan Andrezejczak
Date Completed: January 3, 2015
Rating: *** 1/2
Summary: When a Reality TV show chooses arts HS, Selwyn Academy, for its setting, a group of students, inspired by the life and works of poet, Ezra Pound, devise a plan to sabotage the show and its creators.
3. Lead by Kylie ScottGenre: NA/Adult Contemporary Fiction
Setting: Portland, Oregon
Narrator: Lena
Date Completed: January 7, 2015
Rating: *** (should be 2 1/2, but I like the other two books in the series so much, I gave it 3)
Summary:
Book 3 of Stage Dive Series (Lick, Play)
Badboy, Lead Singer of Stage Dive, Jimmy Ferris, meets his match with his new Assistant/Sobriety Companion, Lena.
4. Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan HydeGenre: YA. LGBT
Setting: New York
Narrator: Elle
Date Completed: January 10, 2015
Rating: ***
Summary:
16 year old, Elle, is abandoned by her mother and forced to live on her own. She begins to develops feelings for her older next door neighbor, Frank, and then soon finds out he is transgendered.
5. What We Hide by Marthe JocelynGenre: Historical YA (1960's-70's)
Setting: A Boarding School in England
Narrator: Various, including Jenny, Roobie, Oona, Brenda, Luke, Penelope, Kirsten, Percy
Date Completed: January 15, 2015
Rating ***
Summary: Differing stories from a variety of students attending Illington Hall, a Prep School in England. Despite their close friendships & relationships, each has his/her own secret he/she is hiding from the others.
6. All the Bright Places by Jennifer NivenGenre: Contemporary YA
Setting: Indiana
Narrators: Theodore Finch & Violet Markey
Date Completed: January 17, 2015
Rating: *****
Summary: Finch & Violet meet on the ledge of their high schools bell tower, each on the verge of jumping for his/her own reason. What follows is a beautiful and heartbreaking story of friendship, love, loss & moving on.
7. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrGenre: Historical Fiction
Protagonists: Marie-Laure LeBlanc & Werner Pfennig
Date Completed: January 20, 2015
Rating: *****
Summary: Story of a young German soldier, Werner Pfennig, who has a gift for wiring and constructing radios and a blind French girl, Marie-Laure LeBlanc, living in World World II era France and how their lives parallel, intersect and ultimately converge.
8. Living with Jackie Chan by Jo KnowlesGenre: Contemporary YA
Protagonist: Josh
Date Completed: January 28, 2015
Rating: ***
Summary: After getting a girl pregnant from a one night stand, high school Senior, Josh, goes to live with his eccentric Uncle, Larry, to cope with the guilt.
9. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura HillenbrandGenre: Biography
Date Completed: January 31, 2015
Rating: ****
Summary: Story of Louis Zampirini, High school, track star and one time Olympic runner who joined the Air Corps during World War II. When his plane was shot down, he survived 47 days on a raft before being captured by and held in a Japanese POW camp.
10. Bibliotopia: Or, Mr. Gilbar's Book of Books & Catch-All of Literary Facts & Curiosities compiled by Steven GilbrarGenre: Non-fiction
Date Completed: February 4, 2015
Rating: ***
Summary: The title pretty much says it all: Book of Book & Catch-All of Literary Facts & Curiosities.
11. Wallbanger by Alice ClaytonGenre: Romance
Setting: San Francisco, CA
Date Completed: February 4, 2015
Protagonist/Narrator: Caroline Reynolds
Rating: *** 1/2
Summary:
Upon moving into her new apartment, Caroline finds herself being awoken by the late night "activities" of her next door neighbor, Simon, and his "harem" of overnight guests. Finally, having lost enough sleep, Caroline confronts him... but soon finds herself befriending and eventually falling for her noisy neighbor.
12. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan SantatGenre: Children's/Picture Book
Date Completed: February 4, 2015
Characters: Beekle, Alice
Rating: **** 1/2
Summary:
Winner if the Caldecott Medal for outstanding illustrations.
The story of Beekle, an imaginary friend, waiting for his friend to dream him up. Tired of waiting, he sets out in his own, finding adventure and finding Alice.
13. Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned" by Lena DunhamGenre: Memoir
Date Completed: February 6
Audiobook narrated by Lena Dunham
Rating: **
Summary:
Self-indulgent, highly irritating and wholly unbelievable memoir of the creator of the Emmy Award winning HBO show, Girls.
14. The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David HutchinsonGenre: Contemporary Young Adult Fiction
Setting: Florida
Published: 2015
Narrator: Andrew Brawley
Rating: *** 1/2
Summary:
After losing his entire family in a car accident, 17 year-old, Andrew Brawley, moves into the hospital where they died, befriending staff, patients and the new burn victim, Rusty, who was just admitted to the ICU.
15. I Was Here by Gayle FormanGenre: Contemporary YA
Setting: Washington
Narrator: Cody Reynolds
Rating: ***
Summary:
Cody Reynolds' best friend, Meg Garcia, commits suicide, leaving behind a note and her laptop. Cody does some digging and discovers there was more to Meg than she ever knew and more to her suicide than she previously thought.
16. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy NelsonGenre: YA
Setting: Lost Cove, CA
Alternate Narrators: Twins Noah & Jude
Published: 2014
Completed: February 13
Rating: ****
Summary: Twins, Noah & Jude are extremely close. At age 13, Noah is the shy closeted one and Jude is the daring, outgoing one. By age 16, the two are no longer close, barely speaking in fact, and their roles have reversed. Told from alternating perspectives, Noah at age 13-14 and Jude at age 16, they each learn there is more to the other than they had ever known. Printz Award winner.
17. My Name Is Jason. Mine Too.: Our Story. Our Way. by Jason Reynolds and Jason GriffinGenre: Graphic Novel
Completed: February 13, 2015
Rating: ***
Summary:
Two friends and roommates, both named Jason. One an artist, one a writer. One black, one white. Jason Reynold's poetry and Jason Griffin's artwork weave their story.
18. Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee AlexanderGenre: YA Contemporary
Published: 2014
Narrator: Charlie Hanson
Completed: February 14, 2015
Rating: *** 1/2
Summary:
HS Senior and valedictorian, Charlie Hanson, is falling for his sister's best friend, Charlotte "Charley" Finch, an artist, who is also the sister of his English teacher. Just as their love begins to blossom, Charlie learns some devastating news about Charlotte and he realizes that being smart doesn't mean knowing everything.
19. Jack & Louisa: Act 1 by Andrew Keenen-Bolger & Kate WetherheadGenre: Tween/YA
Published: 2015
Setting: New York & Shaker Heights, OH
Alternate Narrators: Jack Goodrich & Louisa Benning
Completed: February 19, 2015
Rating: *****
Summary:
Child actor/Broadway performer, Jack Goodrich, moves with is family from NY to Shaker Heights, Ohio, after getting fired from his show when his voice changed. Jack's family winds up moving two doors away from Louisa Benning, self proclaimeed MTN (musical theatre nerd). When the local community theatre decides to produce Into the Woods as its next show, Louisa tries to convince Jack to forget about NY and make his triumphant return to the stage.
20. Ella by Mallory KasdanGenre: Picture Book
Setting: The Local Hotel (NYC)
Narrator: Ella - Age 6
Completed: February 25, 2014
Rating: ****
Summary:
Ella, a six-year old urban girl, lives in the Local Hotel, where she is cared for by her tattooed "Manny". She explores the hotel, having fun, causing hijinks and just being her normal self. Modern retelling of Eloise .
21. The Rosie Project by Graeme SimsionGenre: Contemporary Fiction
Setting: Australia - with a jaunt to NY
Published: 2013
Nrrator: Don Tillman
Date completed: February 26, 2015
Rating: *** 1/2
Summary:
Don Tillman is looking for a Wife. So far he has been unlucky in that venture. He is scheduled, he is socially awkward, he lacks emotion. He remains wifeless. In order to expedite the process and weed out any “undesirable” candidates, he creates a rather extensive questionnaire to screen them. This is The Wife Project.
Rosie Jarman DOES not fit any of Don's criteria. Rosie Jarman is looking for a father, specifically, her biological father. Don, a professor of Genetics, having already ruled her out as a Wife Project candidate, decides to help Rosie and together they launch The Father Project.
Through their experiment, each begins to have an effect on the other, and a friendship (and possibly more) starts to develop.
22. The Moment of Everything by Shelly KingGenre: Contemporary Fiction
Setting: Mt. View, CA (Silicon Valley)
Published: 2014
Protagopnist: Maggie Dupres
Date completed: March 1, 2015
Rating: ****
Summary:
After losing her tech job to outsourcing, Maggie Dupres, spends most of her time hanging out at Dragonfly, a used bookstore, reading romance novels and avoiding looking for a job. When she joins a book group, whose selection is Lady Chatterley's Lover , Maggie finds an old copy in the store with love letters handwritten in the pages. Henry and Catherine, the authors of the letters, weave a beautiful story of love, wanting what you cant have and appreciating what you do.
23. The Tragic Age by Stephen MetcalfeGenre: YA
Published: March 2015
Protagonist: Billy Kinsey
Setting: California
Date Completed: March 4
Rating: ****
Summary:
Billy Kinsey lives in CA with his parents who have won the lottery. His twin sister, Dorie, died of leukemia when they were 11. He befriends the new student, Willard "Twom" Twomey, and falls in love with his sister's best friend, Gretchen. When their teenage antics turn tragic, Billy must decide how to deal with the repercussions.
24. Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story by David LevithanGenre: YA
Published: March 2015
Setting: Indiana??
Protagonist: Tiny Cooper
Date Read: March 5, 205
Rating: *****
Summary:
This book definitely reads like a broadway script, complete with Author Notes and Stage Directions. It is exactly as you think it is, a hilarious and heartfelt autobiography of Tiny Cooper from his birth (I Was Born This Way) until now (Finale), with special appearances from his lesbian childhood babysitter and the Ghost of Oscar Wilde. Most names have not been changed (to protect the guilty). In between the laughter, the fan kicks and the ex-boyfriend parade, Tiny offers his perspective about coming out (to his parents, his friends and most importantly, himself), being bullied, unrequited love, requited love and jus being happy with who he is.
25. Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay ClarkGenre: YA
Published: March 2015
Narrators: Abram & Juliette
Date Read: March 8
Rating: ***
Summary:
Juliette is on Adderall. Abram is on Paxil. It is only natural that they should meet at CVS. While Juliette and Abram are falling in love, they are also dealing with their respective prescriptions, the repercussions of the affair between Juliette's mother and Abram's father, the car accident that left those same parents dead and the effect all of the above has on them, their surviving parents and their futures.
100+ Books in 2025
Books mentioned in this topic
Finding Mr. Brightside (other topics)Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story (other topics)
The Tragic Age (other topics)
The Moment of Everything (other topics)
The Rosie Project (other topics)
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1. The Truth About Alice - by Jennifer Mathieu
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Setting: Texas
Published: 2014
Alternating narrators: Elaine, Josh, Kelsie, Kurt, Alice
Date completed: January 1, 2015
Rating: *** 1/2
Summary: Rumors spread about a High School Junior, Alice Franklin, sleeping with 2 guys in one night at a party. Bullying and worse ramifications when one of the guys, the school's star quarterback, dies in a car crash a week later.