After successfully escaping her luxury prison of being one of the sister wives of Linden, Rhine thought her life will perfectly fall back into place like a puzzle piece. She finally ran away from her husband whom she did not love, and she now had Gabriel to live with in her new world of freedom. Unfortunately, experiencing only a few days of freedom, Rhine and Gabriel were taken against their will to a broken down carnival where Rhine became the key to getting money of the unpredictable ringmistress there. Rhine and Gabriel were desperate to leave this carnival filled with all kinds of horrors and go to Manhattan to find Rhine’s twin brother. It also seemed to Rhine that Vaughn, Linden’s father, constantly had the ability to be right behind her footsteps all the time. They continuously had to fight obstacles that popped out of nowhere and handle disasters hurled to them repeatedly. Rhine’s vision of a world better than being trapped in her husband’s luxurious home was beginning to crumble, and Rhine knew time was ticking down. Lauren’s sequel to Wither, Fever, had unpredictable events right around every corner forcing the reader to read page after page. This book is fast-paced and ends with a cliffhanger for the readers. - Hamilton Teen Volunteer
In The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight , two teens meet and spend a period of 24 hours together; which leads to an incredible series of events. They share secrets, histories, and family stories. They lose each other and (spoiler alert) find each other again—twice. Statistical Probability shows how being 4 minutes can lead to events that can change two peoples’ life forever, and how through meeting that one special person, you can mend relationships with your estranged father; start a relationship with your soon-to-be stepmother; let go of bad memories of your late father and move forward; and even how, through a wedding and a funeral, two people can find each other and start a relationship that looks like it will last for a while. I saw Statistical Probability in the bookstore a few months ago, and I was initially worried about whether it would live up to my expectations after building it up for weeks, but luckily, this amazing book lived up to and exceeded all hopes I had for it. I absolutely fell in love with Hadley and Oliver and rooted for them and their budding relationship. I hope to read more books by Jennifer E. Smith, and would recommend this to anyone who loves reading a quirky young-adult love story. - Erin (Sunset Teen)
In The Absolute Value of 1, Lily, Noah, and Simon are typical teenage delinquents at a Long Island high school. Family issues and the pressures of growing up complicate their friendships, and each deals with the changes differently. Lily worries that her love of math will challenge her slacker reputation, Noah retreats to his basement to avoid an abusive father, and Simon joins the track team to get healthy and pursue a girlfriend. The characters each narrate the same events but from their own perspectives. A series of misunderstandings, unspoken truths, and angry outbursts claw away at the group. As they drift apart, they struggle to balance emotional wounds with the need to create their own identities. - Amelia (Downtown Teen)
