Another YA Review Postcard From Molly, Our Teenage Reviewer

Before I Fall
What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Molly writes: "Before I Fall was expertly written, wonderfully descriptive, and completely unique. The book showed extreme sacrifice, and it had a sense of finality to it, though when I finished I was close to tears, I felt fulfillment. Reading through this book was an unforgettable adventure, and when the words came to a stop I knew it was the end, yet I still flipped past the last page to see if the story went on. It was almost unbearably sad, and yet it made me want to understand the world. This book is a life lesson, and maybe a lesson for something more than that."

Shifty
Fifteen-year-old Shifty knows all about moving around and next to nothing about where he came from. When he's assigned to a new foster home and family, he tries hard to keep cool and stay out of trouble. But it seems like the more he tries to do the right thing, the more trouble he finds. As Shifty navigates a series of messy summer adventures, he struggles to find a balance between the street-wise spirit that has helped him survive and his longing for a place to call home. Lynne E. Hazen has created a fast-paced, page-turning plot full of surprises and warmth.

Molly says: "This book was truly heartbreaking, and yet it was a wonderful adventure. Hazen's book was fast paced, and I got pulled in right from the start. This meaningful story has an air of reality to it and I can hardly begin to explain the emotions that were packed in between the pages of this book. Every word was somehow breathtaking when put together, and I know this book will mean a lot to almost anyone who takes the time to read it."

The Poison Diaries
In the right dose, everything is a poison. Even love . . .

Jessamine Luxton has lived all her sixteen years in an isolated cottage near Alnwick Castle, with little company apart from the plants in her garden. Her father, Thomas, a feared and respected apothecary, has taught her much about the incredible powers of plants: that even the most innocent-looking weed can cure -- or kill.

When Jessamine begins to fall in love with a mysterious boy who claims to communicate with plants, she is drawn into the dangerous world of the poison garden in a way she never could have imagined . . .

Molly tells us: "The way this book was written struck me as highly knowledgeable, and it was a joy to read. Wood's book is touching, wildly suspenseful, and I was on the edge of my seat from the middle to the last page, it was wonderful! It was a soft, meaningful story, a whole new world for my imagination to wander in! Anyone who reads this book will find something for them within it's pages, should it be at the wonderfully surprising ending, or right at the beginning."