How to Be Brave by E. Katherine Kottaras

 
How to be Brave is about grief, surviving high school, and doing fun, worthwhile, risky, and dumb things (and those aren't always mutually exclusive). Georgia's mother has recently died from complications due to diabetes brought on by obesity. Georgia has always been the quiet, rule abiding, good girl, just trying to survive high school and avoid the "popular girls" who make fun of her for her weight. Prompted by a note from her mother though Georgia decides to spend her senior year being brave and living life, which she does by making a list of things to do, like cutting class, asking out the boy she's had a crush on forever, and trying pot for the first time - and then many more times. As she crosses items off her list (and some end up leading to questionable decisions that lead to additional pain) she begins to acknowledge how she feels about her mother's death and herself. While there is a romantic component (note the asking out the crush item) it isn't the focus - How to Be Brave is more about friendship and family. The mean girls came off as a bit stereotypical and cut straight from a Disney Chanel movie (they have to say something mean/snotty/snarky almost every time Georgia walks by because how else is the reader going to know to dislike them), but there is a bit of redemption for that in the end. It didn't have quite the same vivaciousness that Dumplin' had, but How to Be Brave shares similar trials and feelings and is an all around enjoyable read (plus it takes place in Chicago, which is always an added bonus for this reader).

Lisa

If you like this book:
 
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy (seriously, it's great)
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
45 Pounds (More or Less) by K.A. Barson
TTYL by Lauren Myracle

Allegiant Official Trailer "Tear Down the Wall"

Check out the newly released trailer!

#FourTris is ready. Are you? Go beyond the wall in this exclusive NEW #Allegiant trailer - in theaters 3/18! https://t.co/Yby9hItB0r

— Allegiant (@Divergent) January 22, 2016

Top Young Adult Fiction Books of 2015

2015 - the year the future in Back to the Future became the past, NASA got some up close pictures of Pluto and found water on Mars, and Bartlett Library went through a hectic, but efficient renovation. Here are the Young Adult Fiction books (popular series have been grouped together) that were loved last year*!

20) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
19) The Giver by Lois Lowry | ebook
18) I'll Give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson
17) The Outsiders by SE Hinton
16) Looking for Alaska by John Green
15) Let it Snow
14) The Eye of Minds by James Dashner 
13) The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
12) We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
11) Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas 
      Series: Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows and prequel The Assassin's Blade

10) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
      ebook 

9) Legend by Marie Lu
    Series: Prodigy, and Champion

8) I Was Here by Gayle Forman

7) Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
    ebook

6) Where She Went by Gayle Forman
    ebook

5) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
    Series: Catching Fire, and Mockingjay

    ebooks

 
4) Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

3) Divergent by Veronica Roth
    Series: Insurgent, Allegiant, and companion volume Four
    ebooks

2) Paper Towns by John Green

1) The Maze Runner by James Dashner
    Series: The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure and prequel The Kill Order

    ebooks

*Books chosen by number of checkouts

The 5th Wave By Rick Yancey

The Others arrived and in four waves decimated the human population.  Now, Cassie Sullivan struggles to survive and to protect her brother during the fifth wave of the invasion.  To stay alone is to survive.  But can humanity survive without trust?  And how do you fight an enemy who could look just like you?  

Fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games will revel in this series by Rick Yancey.  The question of who is your enemy will keep you at the edge of your seat, and the twists and turns will leave you just as suspicious as the main characters.  Why are these foreign invaders here?  What do they want?  And what would happen if humanity was suddenly met with an enemy we simply couldn’t compete with?  

Soon to be a major motion picture, get into this series now before the 2016 release!  

HS

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Ness has created a universe where supernatural apocalypses nearly happen at least once a generation (so basically a place where things like the events of Twilight and City of Bones go on every once and a while). However, Mikey and his friends are not the chosen ones who can save the universe (they aren't even friends with those kids), they're just trying to get through the rest of high school. Mikey and his friends all have normal (though not insignificant) problems they're trying to deal with as they work their way towards graduation and on the fringes there are the "indie kids," trying to stop the immortals from ending the world.

In The Rest of Us Just Live Here each chapter opens with a summary of the supernatural battle going on before jumping into Mikey, Mel, Jared, and Henna's world; where crushes, friendships, and family drama take center stage. Ness does an excellent job of using supernatural novel stereotypes (all the "indie kids" have names like Satchel and Finn), humor, and genuine characters that all have their own issues - even if Mike can't always see - it to create a story that feels familiar and real (even if there are the occasional encounters with zombie deer).

Lisa