Henrietta's War, Joyce Dennys

This is a fictionalized series of letters, written by a woman on the homefront in WWII England to a childhood friend serving in the military.  It is hilarious!  I loved the main character's voice.  She includes little illustrations with most of the letters which are also fun.  The author does a great job of balancing the seriousness of the situation - the fear of invasion, the deprivations, the loss - with the quirkiness of normal people stuck in extraordinary circumstances.  Well worth a read.

Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher

This is a book about suicide.  The main character, if you can call her that, leaves behind cassette tapes explaining why she committed suicide, so as the reader, you go through the experience of one of her listeners, hearing her whole story. 

I had mixed feelings about the book.  It did make me think about how important it is to be kind and to be aware of what others around you might be going through. At the same time, the burden of guilt was placed on kids who were mean to her or adults who didn't "do enough" to help her, even though they didn't know what was going on.  The consequences, especially for her family, weren't really dealt with either.  I'm not a huge fan.

Hunger Games

This was so sad! But I have to say that I really enjoyed reading it. There was this political intrigue that was believable. It was well written and had a very Shakespearian feel for me, it reminded me of the end of Hamlet where everyone dies. Brace yourself if you're going to read it though, just know ahead of time it is tragic. I don't think I'll be ready to handle the sequel for a while.

Dark Life

This is by Kat Falls and it is awesome! I just finished and I want to read it again. It is set in the future when global warming has diminished land significantly. It is sort of a mystery about a boy living in a community that is located at the bottom of the ocean and a "topside" girl who is looking for her brother.