Xiang has lived a sheltered life in a village, but she wants more. Her mother seems to live a life of her own choosing, so why can't she? Her mother seems determined to make her marry and live a safe life. Xiang meets Anh, who steals Xiang's pendant and discovers part of a treasure map to the lost treasure of Zheng Shi. Soon Anh's crew is racing others for the challenge of finding the treasure.

I liked this book enough. It's about someone coming out of their shell and discovering who they really are. I don't know the story of Treasure Island well enough to know how closely it sticks to the book. On it's own, I enjoyed it as a look at a pirate culture I don't know as well and a coming of age story.

This debut novel is a study in grief, how we process (or deny) it, with a twist of vampires. In this universe, vampires are probably real. My heart broke for Victoria, and I honestly sort of read it at a surface level because I didn't want to think about it happening to my own father at all. I had to suspend a little bit of disbelief (would my parents let me take a trip just out of high school alone with a friend? not sure). Henry also is more forgiving then I would have thought possible, but I admit I haven't gone through this level of grief so if I revisit this when I do, I might relate more.

This is a heart-tugging story of two girls--best friends, and now connected by a horrible act. Quinn's brother, Parker, brought a gun to school and shot Cora's sister, Mabel. It's ten months later, and both girls are still struggling. Quinn thinks they can figure out the secret to time travel, but she'll need Cora's help, which will be hard because they aren't speaking. Can they change the past?

This book just tugs at your heart over and over again. The author's note at the end is quite good.

I really loved this story about Mandy, who has almost nothing in common with her mom, Starfire. Mandy doesn't want to go to college, and is tired of everyone asking her about superheroes. She just wants to be seen for who she is. I really liked it. One doesn't really need to know anything about Starfire to understand the story. Also, I love that Mandy's weight and sexuality are not problems. They just are there.

Mei is trying to stay focused on her life at the logging camp and her growing feelings for her friend. She tells stories of Auntie Po, a Paul Bunyan-like character, to inspire the children and herself. She starts to see Auntie Po in real life though, and Auntie Po slowly helps Mei work through life when the Chinese Exclusion Act is passed and racism comes to the forefront. It's a great historical fiction work.

The romantic comedy I didn't know I needed. Scottie is a basketball player whose girlfriend broke up with her a few months ago. She's sort of lost herself, and after a particularly stressful game she accidentally backs up into Irene, the head cheerleader's, car. Circumstances lead to them deciding to fake date, but what if they accidentally catch real feelings?

So cute and full of all the things you love about romantic comedies. I would like to be Honey-Belle. Thinking of my local Maine readers, I could see a lot of them relating to the rivalry between Grandma Earl and Candlewick. So fun.

Plants respond to Briseis. She tries her best to control this ability, but sometimes she just can't help it. They perk up when she's around. She lives with her moms about their flower shop in Brooklyn and things aren't going great. Rent is going up, friends are drifting away. Then, she is contacted by a real estate lawyer that her birth mother's sister has left her a house in Rhinebeck, NY. They go to check it out, and it's a big ol' house with lots of secrets. The town has potential friendships, so maybe it could be all good. Then, people just start showing up at the house. What's up with that?

Bayron has given us a good story about plants, traditional medicines, uncovering history and myth, and more. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, so you'll want to be ready for the second part of the duology coming out in summer 2022.

Leyh writes a story about three mermaids who accidentally turn themselves into humans, can't figure out how to turn back, and start to learn how to be humans until they can become mermaids again. It's cute, and I liked it, but I didn't love it.

Natalia survived a house fire as a young child, and she still lives with the guilt and the trauma, although she's finally started getting some help from a therapist. A hike in the woods near Portland Oregon turns nightmare when wildfires spread. Now Natalia and nine other random people will need to stick together to hopefully leave the forest...alive.

Quick short chapters with something happening on every page.

Miller does a good job of laying out the reason for doing free-choice reading as the basis for your work, and how to make it work with a sixth grade curriculum in Texas. I have been trying something like it with my summer reading program, and it hasn't quite taken off yet, but I'm going to keep trying!