Reading Challenge Update: June 13th

So, I've read more books in the YALSA Best of the Best Reading Challenge. However, in re-reading the rules, I realized that I accidentally cheated:

Books must be read/listened to (both begun and finished) within the challenge time period. If you’ve already read/listened to a title, you must re-read/listen to it for it to count.

When I first reported on this project, I reported that I had already read five books. Well guess what? I read those before the contest started. Whoops. So, my countdowns have been five books off this whole time. It doesn't really matter, since I will definitely reach my goal of 25 books anyway. Here's what I read since my last check-in:

How to Save a Life
by Sara Zarr
view in catalog
Jaina Rating: A+
After the traumatic death of her father, Jill's mother makes an impulsive decision to adopt a baby from Mandy, a pregnant teenager, who comes to live with the family prior to her delivery. This might be one of the best teen books I've ever read. Told in alternating chapters between Jill and Mandy, both characters are relatable and well developed. The story is heartbreaking and presents a realistic depiction of grief. I would highly recommend this to anybody who has lost a loved one, or who is trying to understand the grieving process of somebody who has. I'm not saying this book is depressing- I would describe it as insightful and hopeful.

Page by Paige
by Laura Lee Gulledge
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Jaina Rating: C+
This graphic novel follows the life of a young artist as she develops both her artistic style and her personality upon starting high school in New York City. The art in this book is great and some of the characters are really fun, but I just couldn't get into the main character or the story, which is all about the personal growth of the main character. I would recommend it to developing artists, but am not really excited about the book otherwise.

Texas Gothic
by Rosemary Clement-Moore
view in catalog
Jaina Rating: B
Amy, the "normal" one in a family of witches, tries to hide her connection to a ghost who is terrorizing the community. I was really looking forward to reading this book and I wanted to like it a lot more than I did. However, I couldn't help comparing it to Chime - which I adored - since that book is also about witches and ghosts. I also found the romance between the main characters to be cheesy and distracting. There were a lot of good things here, but they just didn't quite add up for me.

This brings my *new* grand total to 21 books. That means I have to read 4 more by the end of the month. Not a major setback, considering that I'm in the middle of two others right now. I'll check back again soon!