Fans of the Impossible Life

This is the story of 3 broken teenagers. Jeremy, who is just going back to school after an extreme incidence of bullying. Mira, who is just going back to school after a suicide attempt and Sebby, who is not going back to school because he has more problems than one kid should have to experience. Their roads converge and a friendship is born. But it is not the healthiest of friendships. Sebby and Jeremy become involved, Mira is trying to not crawl into bed and stay there and school is not really a safe place for any of their fragile psyches. Jeremy's story is told in first person, Mira's in third and for the first time in a YA book that I have read, Sebby's is told in 2nd person. This book tackles so many issues: chronick fatigue, depression, homosexuality, drug and alcohol abuse, foster care, mixed families, bullying etc. However, underneath it all, it shows that friends can save you when you need it most and that families don't have to look stereotypical to be functional. This book is for a mature reader but I highly recommend it- couldn't put it down ( thanks Joie and Brooklyn for insisting I read it- wish you were still in my class to discuss it with me!) The friends face the impossible social situations that arrive in society (and high school) together and are there for each other when no one else is with understanding and compassion and most importantly- love. I loved reading this book, although I did it with my eyes half closed for fear of what might happen to these interesting characters. I hope you all dream of the impossible life and happy reading my friends!

In the After

Amy was just hanging out at home watching tv when They attacked. They took out most of civilization in a short amount of time. She had to learn to be quiet, and stealthy and how to survive and quickly. Her parents never made it home so she was on her own. Until one day she finds herself in the grocery store and finds a toddler, alone. Amy decides to save the kid and names her Baby. Amy and Baby stay alive for 3 years on their own. They develop their own sign language. They learn to scavenge. They learn to live in the dark and avoid everyone else. But on one of their scavenging trips they meet Amber and take her in. Amber just doesn't get it though, she's too loud, too sloppy and she will get them killed if they aren't careful. Amy doesn't trust her and rightly so. One day a helicopter comes and Amy is sure They will kill them. But much to her surprise, it is humans who saves them and takes them to New Hope- a place free from Them. Unfortunately for Amy, she feels like something is just not right. She keeps pushing the boundaries to get her questions answered. She sneaks into places she shouldn't be. She raises suspicions in people who are in charge. All this leads to a terrible revelation that will rock Amy's world. I really liked this book. It was a fast, easy read. Nothing new, just a twist on an alien story. Are they really aliens? I liked Amy's strength and loyalty to Baby. I will definitely read the sequel. Summer is just about done my friends, so the reading will slow down for a while. Excited to meet my new kids and get them on a path to reading! Happy reading my friends!