Contemporary – Page 25 – Jill's Book Blog

Review: Blame It on the Mistletoe

Title: Blame It on the Mistletoe
Author: Beth Garrod
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: November 2, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Tweet Cute meets the movie The Holiday in this funny holiday rom-com where two very different girls swap lives for a Christmas adventure.
Elle is a social medial star with the #DreamLife…or so it seems. Determined to shake up her content and gain new followers, she’s on a mission: can she find a British fan to swap with for Christmas?
Holly loves everything about Christmas. But after a mortifying mistletoe disaster with her ex, her perfect plans unravel like a bad Christmas sweater. Can Holly save the holidays when she switches places with favorite social media influencer?
Elle gets more than she bargained for when she meets the cute boy from across the street. And Holly wasn’t expecting Elle to have a handsome twin brother. This holiday is full of surprises.

Review:

Elle is a teenage influencer who wants to grow her social media followers to 30,000 by the end of the year. She decides to do a holiday swap with a fan in Britain to change up her content for the holidays. Holly is obsessed with Christmas in her small British town of Little Marsh. She’s getting over a tough breakup, and finds comfort watching her favourite influencer on social media. When Elle announces that she wants to trade places with a British fan for Christmas, Holly decides she has to live out her dream Christmas in New York City. Luckily, Elle and Holly have a family connection, so trading places is easy. However, they didn’t expect to find romance during their holidays: Elle with Holly’s cute friend and Holly with Elle’s twin brother.

This story was a fun look at social media and the lengths that influencers will go to to get followers. This was an extreme tactic, switching places with a fan, but it was an interesting technique. Elle also had to deal with trolls and fake people on social media, so it also showed the dangers that teens and any influencers can face online.

Holly’s narrative began this story, and her voice reminded me of the Georgia Nicolson books that I loved when I was a kid. She was quirky and funny. However, she lost this humourous outlook throughout the story as things became more serious. I would have loved to have more of that funny narrative voice.

One thing that I didn’t understand is the cover. I didn’t count this against my rating for the author, because I know it wasn’t completely her decision, but I’m not sure why there was only one male and one female character on the cover when the story was mainly about two girls and two different couples. It always bothers me when the cover doesn’t match the book. It would have made more sense to have both the main characters on the cover.

Blame It on the Mistletoe is a cute YA rom com.

Review: The Holiday Switch

Title: The Holiday Switch
Author: Tif Marcelo
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Underlined
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A paperback original romance about a bookish Filipino-American girl who crosses paths with the innkeeper’s aggravating nephew–but when they accidentally switch phones, their newly discovered secrets draw them together.
Lila Castro is ready to take on her last winter break of high school. The snow is plentiful, the mood is full of holiday cheer, and she’s earning extra cash working at the cozy local inn. But her perfect holiday plans crash to a halt when her boss’s frustratingly cute nephew, Teddy Veracruz, becomes her coworker. When they accidentally switch phones one afternoon, they both realize they’ve been hiding things from each other. Will their secrets–and a dash of holiday spirit–bring them closer to love?
Underlined is a line of totally addictive romance, thriller, and horror paperback original titles coming to you fast and furious each month. Enjoy everything you want to read the way you want to read it.

Review:

Lila Castro lives in the small town of Holly, New York, which is always festive. She’s looking forward to working extra hours during the winter break at the gift shop where she works so that she can save money for college next year. However, the extra hours she planned to work are taken over by her boss’s nephew, Teddy Veracruz, who is visiting for the holidays. Teddy doesn’t want to follow the rules they’ve always had at the shop, so Lila becomes frustrated while training him. Then one day, they end up switching phones by accident. Lila and Teddy each discover a secret the other is keeping while they have each other’s phone. Now they have to work together so that they don’t expose their secrets, while possibly finding a holiday romance along the way.

There was great Filipino representation in this holiday story. Lila and her boss, Ms. Velasco, were both Filipino. The star of her favourite holiday movie was also of Filipino descent. I had many Filipino friends while I was growing up, but I didn’t see them represented in North American books or movies, so it was really nice to see this kind of representation in a fun holiday rom com!

I could relate to Lila’s love of books. She organized a free library at the gift shop where she worked and had a secret romance novel blog. There were blog posts throughout the story of her holiday romance novel reviews. They were so cute and relatable as a book reviewer myself!

The Holiday Switch is a fun YA holiday rom com!

Review: The Thirteenth Fairy (Never After #1)

Title: The Thirteenth Fairy (Never After #1)
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: December 1, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Nothing ever happens in Filomena Jefferson-Cho’s sleepy little suburban town of North Pasadena. The sun shines every day, the grass is always a perfect green, and while her progressive school swears there’s no such thing as bullying, she still feels bummed out. But one day, when Filomena is walking home on her own, something strange happens.
Filomena is being followed by Jack Stalker, one of the heroes in the Thirteenth Fairy, a series of books she loves about a brave girl and her ragtag group of friends who save their world from an evil enchantress. She must be dreaming, or still reading a book. But Jack is insistent–he’s real, the stories are real, and Filomena must come with him at once!
Soon, Filomena is thrust into the world of evil fairies and beautiful princesses, sorcerers and slayers, where an evil queen drives her ruthless armies to destroy what is left of the Fairy tribes. To save herself and the kingdom of Westphalia, Filomena must find the truth behind the fairytales and set the world back to rights before the cycle of sleep and destruction begins once more.

Review:

Filomena Jefferson-Cho lives an ordinary life in North Pasadena, but she loves to escape to the world of Never After in her favourite book series. When she gets the disappointing news on the release day that the thirteenth and final book in the series won’t be published, she’s so disappointed. As she walks home, she’s followed by someone who looks like Jack Stalker, the main character in the series. Jack catches up to her and tells her the world of Never After is real and she must go there with him to save it. The world is being taken over by ogres and Filomena has to help Jack and his friend Alistair. Filomena gets to enter her favourite fictional world that is closer to her reality than she can imagine.

As an avid reader since I was a kid, being able to enter my favourite fictional worlds would be a dream come true. It was so fun to read about Filomena being able to enter Never After. There are a few series I would have loved to enter as a kid, so this was such an entertaining premise.

I loved the references to fairy tales throughout the story. There were many fairy tale characters mentioned in passing, such as Goldilocks and the Three Little Pigs. This was a great set up for more books in the series to explore other fairy tale stories.

The Thirteenth Fairy is a fun middle grade fairy tale story!

Review: You’ll Be the Death of Me

Title: You’ll Be the Death of Me
Author: Karen M. McManus
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 30, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Now all they have in common is Carlton High and the beginning of a very bad day.
Type A Ivy lost a student council election to the class clown, and now she has to face the school, humiliated. Heartthrob Mateo is burned out–he’s been working two jobs since his family’s business failed. And outsider Cal just got stood up…. again.
So when Cal pulls into campus late for class and runs into Ivy and Mateo, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn a bad day around. They’ll ditch and go into the city. Just the three of them, like old times. Except they’ve barely left the parking lot before they run out of things to say…
Until they spot another Carlton High student skipping school–and follow him to the scene of his own murder. In one chance move, their day turns from dull to deadly. And it’s about to get worse.
It turns out Ivy, Mateo, and Cal still have some things in common. They all have a connection to the dead kid. And they’re all hiding something.
Now they’re all wondering–could it be that their chance reconnection wasn’t by chance after all?
From the author of One of Us Is Lying comes a brand-new pulse-pounding thriller. It’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with murder when three old friends relive an epic ditch day, and it goes horribly–and fatally–wrong.

Review:

Ivy worked hard to be the top student and was class president for the last three years. That’s why she was shocked to lose the student council election to class clown Brian “Boney” Maloney. It upsets her so much that she decides to skip school on the day after the election results. She runs into her two former best friends: Cal and Mateo. Cal was just stood up for a date again, and Mateo is burned out from working two jobs and being lied to by his cousin. Ivy, Cal, and Mateo decide to skip school, to recreate the first time they met and skipped school years before. However, this time, they come across the body of a student who they’re all connected to. Each of them are suspects, so they spend the day investigating the death and running from everyone else.

This was another fabulous thriller from Karen M. McManus. It was fast paced and thrilling the entire time. It was so hard to put this book down. I needed to know how it ended.

I haven’t read many thrillers lately, because I’ve found them formulaic and easy to figure out. This one has so many shocking twists that kept me reading. I was truly surprised at every twist, especially the big reveals at the end. This was such a well written, suspenseful thriller.

You’ll Be the Death of Me is an amazing new thriller!

Thank you Penguin Random House for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Undercover Book List

Title: The Undercover Book List
Author: Colleen Nelson
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Publisher: Pajama Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

He’s known as the class troublemaker. She’s known as the bookworm. But when every note they send is anonymous, identity is suddenly what they make it.
Between her father’s posting overseas and her best friend Sienna’s move to the other side of the country, seventh grade is looking lonely for Jane MacDonald. But Sienna has left her with one last trick: a hidden message in a library book—the perfect plot to start a secret club and find Jane a new book-loving friend.
Tyson Flamand has problems of his own. Since the fourth grade he’s had a reputation as a bad kid, and there’s no point fighting it when teachers always think the worst. So when he finds an anonymous note in the library looking for a nerdy new friend, he knows he’s the last person in the world it could be meant for. But something makes him answer it anyway, and Tyson finds himself pulled into a secret book club where being hidden may be the first step to being truly seen.
With the insight of a veteran middle-school teacher, Colleen Nelson, author of the award-winning Harvey Comes Home and Sadia, weaves together two stories of identity, expectation, and the courage to challenge both. As their paths move ever closer, Jane and Tyson both discover their own self-reliance and their ability to overcome obstacles that seemed insurmountable.

Review:

When Jane’s best friend moves away, she leaves Jane a book scavenger hunt to find a new friend who loves to read as much as she does. There was a note left in the book Liar and Spy, with the start of the Undercover Book Club for Jane to start with someone else. Tyson sees Jane with the note, and decides to play along with the secret book club to play a trick on Jane. However, when he starts reading the books she suggests, he realizes that he actually likes to read. Jane tries to solve the mystery of who’s leaving notes for her in the Undercover Book Club, while Tyson tries to adopt a more serious attitude towards school and reading.

In this book, the kids compete in a Kid Lit Quiz, which is a trivia competition about books. I don’t think that was around when I was a kid, but I would have loved it. I haven’t read many of the books mentioned in this story and I’m curious to read them now. I loved that the book club and quiz in this story turned Tyson, a reluctant reader, into a book lover. Whenever someone tells me they don’t like reading, I just say that they haven’t found the right book yet. That was true for Tyson in this story.

This story had two narratives, a first person narrative from Jane and a third person narrative about Tyson. It wasn’t obvious to me why Jane told her own perspective while Tyson’s narrative had a third person narrator. Jane had a more complex storyline, so maybe that’s why, but I’m curious why they didn’t have the same kind of narrator.

The Undercover Book Club is a fun middle grade story!

Thank you Pajama Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour Review: Meet Me in London (Meet Me #1)

Title: Meet Me in London (Meet Me #1)
Author: Georgia Toffolo
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: HQN Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 28, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fans of Josie Silver’s One Day in December and Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze will adore watching Victoria and Oliver’s pretend engagement dissolve as their very real chemistry threatens to upend all their carefully laid-out secrets. Set against the most charming London backdrop, Meet Me in London is an irrisistable seasonal treat!
What do you do when your fake engagement starts to feel too real…
Aspiring clothes designer Victoria Scott spends her days working in a bar in Chelsea and her evenings designing vintage clothes, dreaming of one day opening her own boutique. But these aspirations are under threat from the new department store opening at the end of her road. She needs a Christmas miracle, but one is not forthcoming.
Oliver Russell’s Christmas is not looking very festive right now. His family’s new London department store opening is behind schedule, and on top of that his interfering, if well-meaning, mother is pressing him to introduce his girlfriend to her over the holidays—a girlfriend who does not exist. He needs a diversion…something to keep his mother from meddling while he focuses on the business.
When Oliver meets Victoria, he offers a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend at the opening of his store and he will provide an opportunity for Victoria to showcase her designs. But what starts as a business arrangement soon becomes something more tempting as the fake relationship starts to feel very real. But when secrets in Victoria’s past are exposed, will Oliver walk away, or will they both follow their hearts and find what neither knew they were looking for…?

Review:

Victoria Scott is an aspiring fashion designer who works in a bar in Chelsea. She’s worried that her neighbourhood will be under threat from the big department store moving onto the street. Oliver Russell is the CEO of that department store. When he meets Victoria, he realizes she can help solve his major problem: she can pretend to be his fiancé at their opening night so his mother will stop asking him about his nonexistent girlfriend. Victoria agrees when Oliver offers to showcase some of her designs at the opening of the store. However, things get more complicated when they start to fall in love. Victoria has to keep the secrets of her past, which would ruin any possibility of a relationship with Oliver.

This was a fun holiday romance. I was rooting for Victoria and Oliver the whole time. Though they had many differences in their lives, they had powerful chemistry. There were some serious moments in this romance. Victoria had been in an accident when she was younger that left her with physical and emotional scars. Oliver also had to deal with his sick father, who could no longer work like he used to.

I would have liked to see more of an explanation of Victoria’s past. Also, Oliver’s family was very present in the story, but Victoria’s wasn’t, though they didn’t live that far away. I also would have liked to see a bigger conclusion or even an epilogue. I’m curious to see what other characters would have thought of the ending.

Meet Me in London is a sweet holiday romance!

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:

Georgia Toffolo is a broadcaster and TV personality. She has been a firm favourite with the public right from the start of her TV debut, Made in Chelsea, all the way to winning over the hearts of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2018.

Georgia turned her eye to fashion and has curated two sell out collections with fashion retailer Shein. An ambassador for many British brands, both large and small, Georgia has also collaborated with Dyson, Baileys, Emma Bridgewater, Great British Racing, Foreo and Malibu amongst many more.

Most recently, Georgia has dived into the world of fiction by publishing her debut novel Meet Me in London with publishing house Mills and Boon. This is the first of an original series of four books following a group of lifelong friends and bringing personal anecdotes to life with humour and charm.

Where to buy:

Have you read Meet Me in London? What did you think of it?

Review: The Matzah Ball

Title: The Matzah Ball
Author: Jean Meltzer
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Mira Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: September 28, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Oy! to the world
Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt is a nice Jewish girl with a shameful secret: she loves Christmas. For a decade she’s hidden her career as a Christmas romance novelist from her family. Her talent has made her a bestseller even as her chronic illness has always kept the kind of love she writes about out of reach.
But when her diversity-conscious publisher insists she write a Hanukkah romance, her well of inspiration suddenly runs dry. Hanukkah’s not magical. It’s not merry. It’s not Christmas. Desperate not to lose her contract, Rachel’s determined to find her muse at the Matzah Ball, a Jewish music celebration on the last night of Hanukkah, even if it means working with her summer camp archenemy—Jacob Greenberg.
Though Rachel and Jacob haven’t seen each other since they were kids, their grudge still glows brighter than a menorah. But as they spend more time together, Rachel finds herself drawn to Hanukkah—and Jacob—in a way she never expected. Maybe this holiday of lights will be the spark she needed to set her heart ablaze.

Review:

Rachel Rubenstein-Goldblatt has a secret career as a bestselling Christmas novel author. She has to keep it a secret because her father is the well-known Rabbi Goldblatt. Rachel also has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which she also keeps a secret because people often think that’s not a real condition. When her publisher decides they want a more diverse, Hanukkah themed story, she has to find inspiration. Jacob Greenberg was Rachel’s boyfriend at camp when they were twelve-years-old, until he broke her heart and humiliated her in front of everyone. Jacob returns to New York to put on the event of the season: The Matzah Ball. Rachel has to find a way to get a ticket to the Matzah Ball to find the inspiration she needs to save her secret writing career.

This was such a fun holiday rom com. I don’t think I’ve ever read a Hanukkah themed rom com, but I loved learning about these traditions. One important theme of the story was shame. Rachel was ashamed of her success as a Christmas novelist because she was Jewish. Christmas brought her joy, and it isn’t shameful to enjoy certain holidays, whether they are part of your religion or not.

Rachel was also ashamed of her illness because of how other people perceive it. Her condition is invisible, which always makes it more difficult for others to believe when they can’t see it for themselves. It’s important to remember that there are invisible diseases and conditions, so people shouldn’t be judged for their symptoms even if they aren’t visible.

The Matzah Ball was a wonderful holiday rom com!

Thank you HCC Frenzy for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Lifetime Passes

Title: Lifetime Passes
Author: Terry Blas, Claudia Aguirre (illustrator)
Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel, Contemporary
Publisher: Abrams
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 23, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this darkly comedic YA graphic novel, a group of teens starts a program to bring senior citizens to a local theme park to take advantage of the unofficial park policy: If someone dies on the property, the rest of their party is given lifetime passes!
Sixteen-year-old Jackie Chavez loves her local amusement park, Kingdom Adventure, maybe more than anything else in the world. The park is all she and her friends Nikki, Daniel, and Berke—although they aren’t always the greatest friends—talk about. Kingdom Adventure is where all Jackie’s best memories are, and it’s where she feels safe and happy. This carries even more weight now that Jackie’s parents have been deported and forced to go back to Mexico, leaving Jackie in the United States with her Tía Gina, who she works with at the Valley Care Living seniors’ home. When Gina tells Jackie that they can’t afford a season pass for next summer, Jackie is crushed. But on her next trip to Kingdom Adventure, she discovers a strictly protected secret: If a member of their party dies at the park, the rest of their group gets free lifetime passes.
Jackie and her friends hatch a plot to bring seniors from Valley Care Living to the park using a fake volunteer program, with the hopes that one of the residents will croak during their visit. The ruse quickly gets its first volunteer—a feisty resident named Phyllis.
What starts off as a macabre plan turns into a revelation for Jackie as Phyllis and the other seniors reveal their own complex histories and connections to Kingdom Adventure, as well as some tough-to-swallow truths about Jackie, her friends, and their future.
With artist Claudia Aguirre, Terry Blas has crafted a graphic novel that is dark and deeply moving. This book is Cocoon meets Heathers—a twisted satire about a magical land and the people who love it, even to the point of obsession. Jackie’s summer is about to turn into a wild ride filled with gallows humor, friendship, and fun—or is it?

Review:

Sixteen-year-old Jessica Chavez loved going to the local amusement park, Kingdom Adventure, but her aunt tells her that at the end of the summer, she won’t be able to afford to renew her season pass. Jessica and her friends heard a rumor that if someone dies while at the park, the rest of the party with that guest receives lifetime passes to the park. They decide to bring the elderly people who live in the facility where Jessica’s aunt works, in the hopes that they will die while at the park. Jackie ends up becoming friends with Phyllis, a woman who always wants to go to the park. Phyllis and the other seniors share their stories with these teens, and open their eyes to the similarities of their histories.

This story had a dark premise, but I can believe that teens would think this was a good idea. Many of Jessica’s friends were ignorant and rude, only wanting to get lifetime passes for themselves, but not actually caring about the elderly people they brought to the park. One of these teens ended up having an ironic ending, so they didn’t win in the end.

There was a common theme in this story about kids living without their parents or family. Jessica’s parents were deported to Mexico, so she lived with her aunt. One boy who accompanied them to the park was adopted and wanted to learn more about his Korean heritage. Phyllis was a Holocaust survivor, who left her family behind after moving to the United States. Each of these characters had different circumstances from different time periods, yet they all lost their biological family in some way.

Lifetime Passes is a dark comedic graphic novel.

Thank you Abrams for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: This Winter (Solitaire #0.5)

Title: This Winter (Solitaire #0.5)
Author: Alice Oseman
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ, Novella
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 5, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A short story, based on characters from Solitaire – praised as ‘The Catcher in the Rye for the digital age’ The Times
I used to think that difficult was better than boring, but I know better now…
I’m not going to think about the past few months, about Charlie and me, and all of the sad. I’m going to block it all out. Just for today.
“Happy Christmas, ” I say.
The festive season isn’t always happy for Tori and her brother Charlie. And this year’s going to be harder than most.

Review:

The Spring family is going to have a difficult time at Christmas this year. Charlie has just returned from treatment for an eating disorder. Tori wants to make sure he feels included in the holiday, but everyone else makes a big deal out of it. Meanwhile, their little brother, Oliver, just wants to play Mario Kart. The Spring siblings have to figure out a way to get through this tough holiday.

When I first picked up this book, I didn’t realize it was part of the Heartstopper series. I’ve only read the first graphic novel in that series but I loved it. This edition of the book also included some illustrations of the characters that looked like the graphic novel.

This story had a brief look at mental health and disordered eating in males. Usually in fiction, disordered eating is only portrayed in female characters, though it could happen to anyone. I appreciated this unique look at this disorder.

The difficult holiday that the Spring siblings experienced was so relatable. There are often relatives at holiday events that ask inappropriate questions or make hurtful comments, like they did with Charlie. Sometimes the best thing to do in that situation is to just remove yourself, which is what Charlie had to do.

This Winter is a great Christmas novella!

Other books in the series:

Solitaire

Have you read This Winter? What did you think of it?

Review: White Smoke

Title: White Smoke
Author: Tiffany D. Jackson
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 14, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson!
Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.
The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That’s only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.
But “running from ghosts” is just a metaphor, right?
As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn’t limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.

Review:

Seventeen-year-old Marigold and her family move from their home in California to a Midwestern small town where her mom has accepted a job that includes a free house. The rest of the houses on the street are abandoned, and the neighbours in the area are suspicious of everything. As soon as they arrive, things start going wrong in the house. Doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows appear in hallways and items disappear. Mari’s ten-year-old stepsister starts talking to an imaginary friend in the house, who wants Mari to leave. As the incidents in the house increase and become more dangerous, Mari has to do whatever it takes to save her family.

This story had some heavy subjects that I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t think there would be as many realistic elements as there were. Some of these serious subjects were drug addiction, overdose, and a severe allergic reaction. Though this was a spooky horror, there were a lot of realistic implications to the story.

I really enjoyed this story. I liked that the ending made sense and was logical. The only thing that I would have liked to see was justice at the end. There were many layers of destruction happening in the community, and I would have loved to see the events after the story finished where they got what they deserved.

White Smoke is a thrilling horror story!

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I’m Dreaming of a Wyatt Christmas by Tiffany Schmidt

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New Year’s Kiss by Lee Matthews

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This Is Why We Lie by Gabriella Lepore

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Harvey Comes Home by Colleen Nelson

Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

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Love at First Like by Hannah Orenstein

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer

About the author:

Where to buy:

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A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox

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Hotel Dare by Terry Blas, Claudia Aguirre

Ghosted in L.A., Vol. 1 by Sina Grace, Siobhan Keenan, Cathy Le

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Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Heartstopper, Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman

Other books in the series:

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Review:

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The Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Horrid by Katrina Leno