Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face by Paul Acampora

Zachary and his dad move to Falls, Connecticut, to start over after Zachary's mom left.

Life in Falls, Connecticut is very different. First, they live in a house and not a trailer. Everyone knows everyone else. And then there's Rachel Spinelli. Rachel, her dad, and her brother Teddy live across the street and Rachel wants to make sure Teddy is treated nicely by Zachary and his dad. Teddy is "special" and Rachel doesn't want Zachary being mean to him. Zachary is actually happy to be friends with them both.

Nothing happens the way he expects, even when his mom shows up.

A times funny, heart-wrenching, and always enjoyable, this is a realistic story of a high school freshman settling into a new start. Highly enjoyable.

As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott

Ava has no memory of her life. She wakes up in a strange bed, a strange home, a strange world. All she knows is...nothing. Not even her name.


Memories start to return, but not easily, and they do not belong in the world she's living in. She doesn't remember Jane, the woman who says she's her mother. She doesn't remember her friends--well, she does, but not the same as they appear now.


There's a guy she does think is familiar--Morgan. Ava knows him better than she knows herself. He is the catalyst to bringing back her memories of another world, another time, and another place entirely.


Morgan, however, doesn't belong in this new world and risks fading away completely to find Ava and get her back.


By the time the story ended, I was enjoying it. Getting there took some time...the story is confusing from the first page. Ava is also confused for most of the story, so you're just right there along with her. An interesting premise though.

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Chloe can see dead people. Or rather...their ghosts. When they realize she can see them, they do anything to get her attention--even making themselves as frightening as possible. She freaks out at school one day and gets herself sent to Lyle House.

Chloe's aunt is the reason she goes to Lyle House instead of any other home. But everything there is strange. Her roommate Liz is sent away. The staff seem to be waiting for her to do something supernatural as well. When she gets locked in the crawl space under the house, it creates stunning results--she wakes up the dead. Literally.

With the help of Simon and Derek, foster brothers who also have supernatural secrets, Chloe knows they must escape.

Not a bad start to this supernatural series. Chloe has a clear voice, most of the time.

Misfit by Jon Skovron

Jael Thompson has a huge secret. Her mother, who died when she was a baby, was a demon. Her father, an ex-priest, moves them around constantly, to protect Jael from forces that would try to either kill her or use her for evil purposes.

When Jael turns 16, her dad gives her a necklace he promised he would. With that gift, everything changes. Her dad doesn't want to tell her anything, but before long, he has to. Her demon half is making itself known. She can't control her emotions and the demon who killed her mother is now after her.

The story starts a little slow, but that's only the first chapter. Flashbacks and memories surface through the book. Lots of dialogue, action, and a little romance round out this supernatural story. There's some mythology as well.