Throne of Glass

 By Sarah J. Maas

18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes before she is brought before the Crown Prince of Adarlan. He presents her with an offer: she must compete for him against 23 other killers, soldiers, and thieves in a contest held at the Royal Palace. If she wins, she becomes the King's Champion, and will serve the kingdom for four years before being granted her freedom. If she loses, she is sent back to the salt mines of Endovier, where she will surely die. Celaena quickly agrees, and begins the journey to the kingdom where she will train for the competition. She finds her lessons with the Captain of the Guard exhilarating and begins to develop an interest in the Crown Prince. But suddenly, one of the contestants in the competition turns up dead. Then another... Celaena's fight for her freedom becomes a fight to survive. Can she find out what's killing the other contestants before it gets to her?

One thing that I really liked about Throne of Glass was Celaena. She was the perfect kick-butt heroine. Another thing that I loved was the action! It's definitely a page turner! I could go on and on with praise for Throne of Glass, but I'll stop here. If you haven't read it yet, it's definitely a must read!

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour

 By Morgan Matson

Amy's world has been shattered. Her father recently died in a car accident that Amy blames herself for. Now her mother has decided to move the broken remains of the Curry family from California to Connecticut, where Amy will spend her senior year of high school. So Amy sets off on the cross-country road trip to Connecticut. Accompanying her is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's friend. Amy hasn't seen him in years and barely remembers him, so she's not excited to be driving across the country with a near stranger.

Along the way, Amy is trying to accept her father's death, and trying to rebuild her own life after the accident.

I really liked how some of the pages in Amy & Roger's Epic Detour consisted of playlists from their road trip or receipts from various places along the way to their destination. I also really want to go on a road trip now!
Also, even though the book talked about heavier subjects like death, it wasn't depressing. Overall, I really liked Amy & Roger's Epic Detour and I would definitely recommend it!

Second Chance Summer

 By Morgan Matson

Taylor has never been super close with her family--they've all got their own activities keeping them busy, but they all get along fine. When Taylor's dad receives shocking news about his health, the family decides to spend his last summer all together at their lake house. For Taylor, never going back to the lake house that she has studiously avoided for five years would be fine by her, but she does it for her dad. 

Being at the lake house forces the family to be together, and they all begin to get to know each other again. Unfortunately for Taylor, it also means that she has the chance of running into her ex-best friend and her first boyfriend, who she hasn't seen since she was twelve, and would rather not see again.

As the summer goes on, and Taylor and her family become more of a family unit, Taylor begins to realize that even though the clock is ticking, sometimes there is just enough time to have another chance--at love, family, and friendship.

Second Chance Summer was great! There was romance, friendship, and it was set in the summer! Sure, it was sad, but the ending was written so it didn't feel so sad. I really liked watching Taylor change over the summer.