I really enjoyed this story. I cried about it more than once. 

Tony has a pretty good life (minus his relationship with his father) but he finds himself drawn to Eli, a quiet boy who is often picked on. As they grow closer, they start to deal with a mysterious force in the woods, one that attaches itself to Tony as well. I enjoyed it. The Maine setting is not a real town, but it didn't bother me, the way it can. There were a few parts where I thought things changed around quickly, but the story flows well otherwise. I like that the chapters alternate between Tony and Eli's perspectives, with each author taking a chapter so the styles are slightly different. 

This story is magical realism and fairy tale like, and the chapters fly by. I love how the chapters from all the different perspectives flesh out the world and reveal the story. Hunter Yee and Luna Chang's family despise each other, for reasons the kids don't entirely understand (and are eventually revealed through the parental view chapters). The two are drawn to each other and don't entirely understand why. All is revealed through time. I didn't want to stop reading. An excellent book. 

Bailey had a best friend, Vanessa. They were each other's worlds. Then, one snowy Alaskan night, Vanessa's car slips off the road and she dies. The road is nowhere near her house though. Why was she there? The question haunts Bailey, and she uses a partially developed app from her mother to create a fake Vanessa, using texts, emails, social media and such. She hopes the app can tell her the truth about what happened that night.

I thought this book was good about grieving. It used weeks to make Bailey feel better at all, and there were lots of flashes forward and back. I guessed the twist kind of early on, but I still enjoyed it. The app felt like something that is just out of reach. I visited Alaska this summer and I thought it reflected Alaska well (and I don't read a lot of books set in Alaska). 

Matteo wants to be a musician, although he feels pressure to become a doctor like his parents. One night, he sees his classmate Chela murder a man, and then he discovered that he has been initiated to a god without his knowledge. It's not just any god, it's one of the three patron saints of his lost homeland, and supposedly when the three saints each have an initiate, the island will rise again. His Tia tells him not to trust anyone. The text is a lovely mix of English, Spanish, Ladino, Hebrew, and I'm sure I'm missing some. It feels like a multicultural place where lots of traditions mix and intermingle. I enjoyed this a lot. 

This was an interesting book is that it was about people with wings who were organized by bird species. It's clear that the Crows did something in the past, although unclear what exactly they did. Eagles are at the top, and everyone goes down from there, with Crows and Sparrows at the bottom. One Crow is allowed into a fancy school, and it's never explained why (although this is book one). Gangs are called murders, and one Crow is trying so hard to avoid one, but he ends up having to join. It's interesting. 

This was less zany than the other Henry books I have read, and I missed that. It's reminiscent of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" but with teens in a motel that's like a maze. It's not bad, it's an enjoyable read. It just wasn't what I was expecting. 

Xingyin is the daughter of the Moon Goddess, and they live in isolation on the moon. When Xingyin accidentally releases her magic, she ends up fleeing the moon and living in exile in the Celestial Kingdom. Xingyin learns a lot about relationships and friendship and love in this beautifully written Chinese-inspired fantasy. I loved all the twists and turns except one, although looking back, I should have expected it. This book would definitely be a great contender for the Alex Award.

I liked this story about what you need versus what you want.