Birthday/ Meredith Russo/ 288 pages

       Morgan and Eric have been best friends since birth and have become very close over the years. In this novel we see them once a year on their birthday and learn how they have grown. We see the changes they make for themselves in order to become who they truly are while they also learn how much they need each other. 

          This story was so sweet. I feel like it is a must read and be prepared for tears. You grow so attached to these characters and Meredith Russo did such an amazing job at creating such a realistic novel. I absolutely loved this one.

     

     

My Hero Academia Volume 14 - Overhaul / Kohei Horikoshi (Japanese author) / 205 pages / Color in the title

So much has gone on between Volumes 3 and 13 (sorry), So I'm just going to cut to the chase:

Midoriya and Bakugo fight and reveal their thoughts of each other as they do-- the former looks up to the latter for his determination, and the latter is insecure of the former for being approved by All Might more.  They're soon caught, and they both get punished and must miss class time to do "odd jobs" around the school dorms; Midoriya for three days, and Bakugo for four days (since he started the fight).  Each boy gives the other some advice on his Quirk during their punishment.

After Midoriya's punishment ends, not only does he need to catch up in school, but the class also has special guests-- three third-year students who've had personal experience in the professional hero world.  At least one of them, Mirio Togata, proves it in their first drill fight, where none of the first-years, not even Midoriya, were able to beat him-- at least, not without feeling like he or she got pummeled in the gut.  Nevertheless, Togata, originally All Might's to-be successor, becomes curious of Midoriya due to his quick analyzing of opponents as well as why he was chosen as the successor instead.     

                                                         

Meanwhile, the League of Villains invite a criminal who goes by "Overhaul" (the plague doctor guy on the cover) to join them; however, Overhaul declines, pointing out that their never having a structured plan before sending any hit man out on a mission is a major flaw in their system.  He leaves, but he also keeps an opportunity in coming back open while he goes at his own pace on wreaking havoc.

First off, I haven't been able to watch Season 3 the anime adaptation, and I hear this book was the equivalent to the season finale, so now I feel a little more ahead in the story.

Second off, YAY!  MIRIO TOGATA!  I hear so much about this guy from memes-- anyone who has a kid that plays a lot of Fallout would be reminded of its mascot when one sees him-- and he was as plucky and memorable as I thought he would be, but also a lot scarier than I expected.

My Hero Academia Volume 2 - Rage, You D**n Nerd / Kohei Horikoshi / 208 pages

After Midoriya's class, Class 1-A, goes through one or two lessons, they begin an activity not unlike "Capture the Flag", where they are split into ten teams of two at random, and two of each team has to play as "heroes" and "villains" (like, Team A-- Midoriya and his new friend Ochaco Uraraka-- is the "Hero" team, while Team D-- Midoriya's other friend Tenya Iida and rival/childhood "friend" Katsuki Bakugo—is the "Villain" team).  This is to exercise each student's ability to face off villains using their Quirks, or even stepping in the shoes of a villain to know them better for future reference.  Most of the students cooperate with each other as team members and team rivals... except for Bakugo, who only uses this activity as an opportunity to take his anger out on Midoriya by attacking him head-on (but with Midoriya’s new Quirk, that doesn’t go well for him!).

Later on, the class goes on a field trip only to be ambushed by a  gang of villains calling themselves "The League of Villains."  The kids and two teachers get separated all over the place and have to fight whichever villains are closest to them.  Only Iida escapes, and he reports to All Might (who is teaching at U.A.) and the other U.A. teachers what's happening with the class.

Sorry, I forgot to do a review on the last volume, so I'll tie it in with this one too:

Both books were really refreshing considering I have yet to re-watch the anime episodes.  I notice that they, unlike the anime, were a lot faster paced than I had remembered, but that was okay (for me, at least).  They were also both humorous and optimistic while still having plenty of action and even suspense.  The short bios and trivia Horikoshi gives of a character at the end of each chapter are interesting to read-- one would get to hear of his insights and development of them.

I'm aware that this series is not for everyone, but if I could recommend it to anyone anyway, I would.

My Hero Academia Volume 1 - Izuku Midoriya: Origin / Kohei Horikoshi / 192 pages

In this world, 80% of the population has superpowers known as "Quirks", so heroes and villains are battling everywhere!  Izuku Midoriya wants to get into the honorable U.A. High School for young heroes to become just like his role model, All Might-- the greatest superhero of all time.  The only problem with that is that Midoriya is one of the 20% born ordinary, or "Quirkless".  This, along with his determination to reach his dream, leads to a lot of doubt from authority figures and a lot of bullying from his peers.  However, when Midoriya finds himself coming in face-to-face contact with All Might, and then attempts to save a hostage from a public villain when no one else would, All Might is inspired by Midoriya's act and asks him if he would like to have his Quirk, "One for All", passed down to him.  Midoriya accepts but is given the Quirk after 10 months of muscle training with All Might first.  When he is ready for the new year, he and thousands of other kids must first take a test that determines who can be official students at U.A.: fight a giant robot and/or help your peers-- only 1 in 300 would be able to pass.  Saving another peer trapped under a broken piece of robot gives Midoriya enough points to pass; therefore, he gets to be a first-year student at U.A.

The Dead House / Dawn Kurtagich / 448 pages

This book is disturbing.  The book is a collection of evidence - diary entries, transcripts of video clips, interviews with students and a psychologist - surrounding a fire at Elmsbridge school.  The only suspect is a girl with Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personalities) who also died in the fire.  While the book keeps counting down to "The Incident," there are many traumatic incidents that happen before the beginning of the book and during the countdown.  The main character's (Carly/Kaitlyn Johnson) parents died before the beginning of the book.  The main character is checked into a mental hospital of some sort and then sent to Elmsbridge boarding school.  A student goes missing, several students die, the misery is nonstop.  This is reminiscent of Shutter Island in that you can't trust the information from the main character as she devolves into psychosis - or demon possession, depending on the interpretation you prefer.


Amazon states this book is YA.  I personally wouldn't let a child under the age of sixteen read the version I listened to on audiobook. There is apparently an alternate paperback edition for grades 8 and up.  Parents will want to preview this before giving to a child - language, disturbing themes, occult/magic/demon possession, sexual situations, violence.


There is a companion novella The Dead House: Naida.

Everneath / Brodi Ashton / 400 pages

This is the first book of the Everneath trilogy.  16-year-old Nikki Beckett returns home after a 6-month absence.  Everyone assumes she was on drugs or in rehab, but the truth is much darker.  She had been fed on in the Everneath, and barely escaped.  Can she repair the relationships she left behind and forgive her own weakness that led to her disappearance?  Can she find a way to say goodbye again before the tunnels claim her in six months?


Readers of Twilight will appreciate this book, though there are no sparkling vampires.  This author would have been on Team Jacob.  There are elements of the supernatural and romance.  There are also ties to ancient mythologies.

This Is Where It Ends/ Marieke Nijkamp/ 292 pages

This Is Where It Ends is a Young Adult novel written by Marieke Nijkamp.  It was chosen as an Overdrive Big Read.  Set in Alabama, the reader meets various students attending Opportunity High School.  It's the first day of the Spring semester.  A student who has left school is returning.  While some great his return anxiously it is not until he sets foot in the auditorium that the real fear begins.  The book continues to examine the thoughts that cross the minds of key students as they react to brutal actions.  Bit by bit the reader is exposed to the back story that brought about the violent actions carried out by one student.  Written for a young adult audience the book is a light treatment of what makes a school shooter.

Winger / Andrew Smith / 438 pgs

Ryan Dean West is a smart 14 year old who attends a boarding school and plays on the Rugby team.  He has been placed in the dorm for "troublemakers" and get the school's biggest bully as his roommate.  He is also in love with his best friend Annie, who just thinks of him as a little kid.

The novel is a slice-of-life drama following Ryan Dean and his friends through their funny pranks, dating, rivalries & jealousies, and the rough world of boy culture.

The book reminded me of "The Chocolate War" with fewer references to masturbation (although still in there). I remember the interactions between the male students feeling similar to what I was reading in "Winger". The 40 years between book and it looks like some things in human nature do not change.

For Young Adults (ages 13 and up)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower/Stephen Chbosky/213 pages

Charlie is a sensitive, intelligent, troubled outcast who is afraid of starting high school, so he writes letters anonymously to someone he heard was a good listener. Through these letters, Charlie documents his freshman year, although he starts by talking about how his middle school years ended with the suicide of a close friend and how that broke apart his group of friends. So, he's starting high school with no friends and a reputation of being a freak. He eventually makes friends with a group of seniors who introduce him to new things.

This book was made into a movie by the author last year. I would be interested in seeing how this series of letters translates to the big screen. It's a YA selection that deals with teenage angst.

Envy/Gregg Olsen/285 pages

Fifteen-year-old twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan live in the small historic town of Port Gamble, WA. Everyone knows everyone and everyone's business, or so they think. When the town is stunned by their former friend and neighbor's Christmas evening death, the twins work to find out if it was truly accidental or a suicide. When they discover that someone was first flirting with her and then dumping her online, something more evil comes to light.

If the storyline sounds familiar, there is a reason. This is the first in a new series using "ripped-from-the-headlines stories" via Law and Order. The local cyber-bullying case of Megan Meier was the inspiration, although this novel strays away from that story. Olsen is a best-selling adult true crime author trying his hand at Young Adult fiction. He's also added a touch of the paranormal with the characters of the twins. They have a connection and sense that goes beyond the traditional twin-sense. They also have a back story that is slowly being revealed. I'm looking forward to the next book.