Book picks similar to
Love is a UFO by Ken Spillman
family
ya
romance
childrens-and-ya
Schizo
Nic Sheff - 2014
Miles is the ultimate unreliable narrator—a teen recovering from a schizophrenic breakdown who believes he is getting better . . . when in reality he is growing worse. Driven to the point of obsession to find his missing younger brother, Teddy, and wrapped up in a romance that may or may not be the real thing, Miles is forever chasing shadows. As Miles feels his world closing around him, he struggles to keep it open, but what you think you know about his world is actually a blur of gray, and the sharp focus of reality proves startling. Written by the New York Times bestselling author of Tweak, Schizo is the fascinating, and ultimately quite hopeful, story of one teen's downward spiral into mental illness as he chases the clues to a missing brother. Perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and It’s Kind of a Funny Story.
Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am
Harry Mazer - 2012
Haunted by memories of 9/11, he makes the decision to enlist in the army--with devastating consequences. Somehow nobody ever thought Ben would be one of the soldiers affected, but after his convoy gets caught in an explosion, Ben is in a coma for two months. When he wakes up, he doesn't know where he is, and he doesn't remember anything about his old life. His family and friends mourn what they see as a loss, but Ben perseveres. Although he will never be the person he once was, this is the story of his struggle and transformation.
Ten Things I Hate About Me
Randa Abdel-Fattah - 2006
. . and learning to accept yourself and your culture.At school I'm Aussie-blonde Jamie -- one of the crowd. At home I'm Muslim Jamilah -- driven mad by my Stone Age dad. I should win an Oscar for my acting skills. But I can't keep it up for much longer...Jamie just wants to fit in. She doesn't want to be seen as a stereotypical Muslim girl, so she does everything possible to hide that part of herself. Even if it means pushing her friends away because she's afraid to let them know her dad forbids her from hanging out with boys or that she secretly loves to play the darabuka (Arabic drums).
You Have Seven Messages
Stewart Lewis - 2011
Luna, her father, and her little brother, Tile, are still struggling with grief. When Luna goes to clean out her mother's old studio, she's stunned to find her mom's cell phone there—charged and holding seven unheard messages. As Luna begins to listen to them, she learns more about her mother's life than she ever wanted to know . . . and she comes to realize that the tidy tale she's been told about her mother's death may not be the whole truth.
Rose's Choice
Chrissie Bradshaw - 2020
When the spirited coalminer’s daughter discovers a family secret, she makes a choice that overshadows her teenage years. Rose tries to make the most of post-war opportunities but family tragedy pulls her back to a life in the colliery rows. She relinquishes her bright future for domestic duties because her family comes first. Will family ties get in the way of her dreams?Readers love Chrissie Bradshaw's books“I was captivated from the start and wanted to keep on reading and reading. The author knows how to fill this book to the brim with emotions…in my opinion this was a very fluently written work of art.” Els Ebraert B for Book Review“Chrissie has a lovely writing style that is full of warmth and charm. Her description was seamless and instantly drew me in. The storyline flowed perfect;y, it was tender and engagingwhich made for a compelling and addictive read.’ Dash fan“I was waiting patiently for the second novel by Chrissie Bradshaw and it was certainly worth the wait. Another novel packed with great characters and stories.” Blue“ A really enjoyable story that flows naturally. Lovely characters and descriptions.Highly recommend.” AnneMarie Brear -saga writer“As always her writing was well researched and the storylines so believable…’'I knew, as soon as i started taking to the characters, I was hooked' Poppy“...lovely storyline and likeable characters. It will make you laugh and cry in equal measure. This is a very accomplished debut novel. I am really looking forward to her next book.” - Book literati“This is a very well written story and the characters are so well rounded that you really feel for themand hope that everything will turn out right for them all.”Mick859
Christmas Shorts 2020
Kathi Daley - 2020
These single chapter shorts run between 25 – 30 pages each and take place over a one to two day period.A Christmas HauntingHaunting by the SeaFaced with a life altering decision, Amanda is visited by the ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Of course in this case, all three ghosts are played by alter ego Alyson, who has a vested interest in ensuring that the decision Amanda makes will be the one which will allow them both to live their happily ever after.Hunt for ChristmasA Sand and Sea MysteryIt’s just a week until Christmas and things are slow at Pope Investigations. Lani is having a hard time finding the Christmas spirit until Kekoa brings her one final case before they break for the holiday. It seems that a woman wants to hire Pope Investigations to find an angel tree topper that was mistakenly donated to the local church for their yard sale five years prior. The tree topper, was a gift to the woman’s grandmother when she fled Germany nearly eighty years ago. At first Lani is conflicted about taking on the nearly impossible case until she realizes a mystery such as this might very well provide the distraction she needs from tangled emotions relating to the oh so sexy cowboy she tried to forget but can’t seem to live without.Legacy in ParadiseTj Jensen MysteryWith Christmas just around the corner Tj is faced with the task of finding the perfect gift for her rich husband who already has everything. After a bit of thought she comes up with the idea of a scrapbook chronicling the Collins Family history. Kyle hadn’t known he was a Collins until after the last Collins living in America had died and left him his entire estate. Being the sort of guy who’s all about roots and family, Tj realizes that a gift of family really might turn out to be the best gift of all.
Love Like Crazy
Megan Squires - 2014
She’s not waiting on the handsome prince with his white horse to come to her rescue. But even though she’s not waiting on it, that doesn’t stop nineteen-year-old Lincoln Ross from driving straight into her heart with his teal and white campervan and his too tall stature and perpetually goofy grin.It’s difficult to believe in a happily ever after when a happy now is quite hard to find. But Lincoln gives Eppie hope that despite the odds, a true and unconditional love might actually be out there. A revised fairytale. A new kind of love story.But then again, that might just be plain crazy.(Love Like Crazy is an upper YA novel.)
Stolen
Lucy Christopher - 2009
I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him. This is my story. A letter from nowhere.Sixteen-year-old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist—almost.
Going Vintage
Lindsey Leavitt - 2013
Inspired by a list of goals her grandmother made in 1962, Mallory swears off technology and returns to a simpler time (when boyfriends couldn’t cheat with computer avatars). The List:1. Run for pep club secretary2. Host a fancy dinner party/soiree3. Sew a dress for Homecoming4. Find a steady5. Do something dangerousBut simple proves to be crazy-complicated, and the details of the past begin to change Mallory’s present. Add in a too-busy grandmother, a sassy sister, and the cute pep-club president–who just happens to be her ex’s cousin–and soon Mallory begins to wonder if going vintage is going too far.
The Art of Losing
Lizzy Mason - 2019
At a party she discovers her younger sister, Audrey, hooking up with her boyfriend, Mike—and she abandons them both in a rage. When Mike drunkenly attempts to drive Audrey home, he crashes and Audrey ends up in a coma. Now Harley is left with guilt, grief, pain and the undeniable truth that her ex-boyfriend (who is relatively unscathed) has a drinking problem. So it’s a surprise that she finds herself reconnecting with Raf, a neighbor and childhood friend who’s recently out of rehab and still wrestling with his own demons. At first Harley doesn’t want to get too close to him. But as Audrey awakens and slowly recovers, Raf starts to show Harley a path forward that she never would have believed possible—one guided by honesty, forgiveness, and redemption.
Vanishing Girls
Lauren Oliver - 2015
But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it's too late.
Invisible Boys
Holden Sheppard - 2019
Hammer is a footy jock with big AFL dreams, and an even bigger ego. Zeke is a shy over-achiever, never macho enough for his family. But all three boys hide who they really are. When the truth is revealed, will it set them free or blow them apart?Invisible Boys is a raw, confronting YA novel, tackling homosexuality, masculinity, anger and suicide with a nuanced and unique perspective. Set in regional Western Australia, the novel follows three sixteen-year-old boys in the throes of coming to terms with their homosexuality in a town where it is invisible – and so are they. Invisible Boys depicts the complexities and trauma of rural gay identity with painful honesty, devastating consequence and, ultimately, hope.
Better Than Perfect
Melissa Kantor - 2015
A picture-perfect family; a handsome, loving boyfriend; and a foolproof life plan: ace her SATs, get accepted into Harvard early decision, and live happily ever after.But when her dad moves out and her mom loses it, Juliet begins questioning the rules she’s always lived by. And to make everything even more complicated there’s Declan, the gorgeous boy who makes her feel alive and spontaneous—and who’s totally off-limits. Torn between the life she always thought she wanted and one she never knew was possible, Juliet begins to wonder: What if perfect isn't all it’s cracked up to be?
I Was Here
Gayle Forman - 2015
. . they weren’t anymore. When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question. I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.
Mosquitoland
David Arnold - 2015
It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange.After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, Mosquitoland is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.