Riders of the Apocalypse Series

Riders of the Apocalypse by Jackie Kessler
I read this series awhile ago and just reread it. I forgot how  much I enjoyed it. The story is about issues that teenagers face each day but with a twist. It is fast paced, edgy and brutally honest.

Each book and there are 4 in total deals with some tough subjects, here comes the twist, Death decides to make each one of the main characters one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. In the first book, Hunger, 17 year old Lisabeth is Famine. She suffers from anorexia and is given a scale and  rides out to dish out her own idea of justice.The second book, Rage, 16 year old Missy cuts herself to relieve all the rage she feels inside, so Death makes her War. She is armed with a sword and payback is on her mind. The third book, Loss, it is Pestilence. Billy is 15 years old and is his school's punching bad. He is bullied by everyone, armed with a bow Billy gets to exact his vengeance. In the fourth and final book, Breath, Death becomes so depressed that he is thinking about suicide. The other riders must help him find his way, if they don't the world will end.

                                                                         
                              This is only one of the books. They will all leave you breathless.
                                                                         

Reconstructing Amelia

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
I loved this book.The characters are so strong and wicked you can't help but have a love-hate relationship with them. I started reading and didn't stop until I was done. 

Amelia is a 15 year old girl who just wants to fit in at her private school. This leads her to the "Magpies", a club of really mean girls who make her life miserable. Amelia is humiliated and bullied at the hands of the club leader, Zadie, but this is only part of her trouble. She's accused of plagiarizing and gets suspended. Kate, Amelia's mom is dealing with the suspension when she gets a phone call telling her Amelia has committed suicide. Kate is in shock and confused she thought she knew her daughter. Adding to her confusion is a text message she received: Amelia did not jump. The story is told in alternate voices. Amelia tells her story leading up to her death and Kate is in the present. We find out that both had secrets but are they worth dying over?

Eleanor & Park

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Set in Omaha, it follows the doomed love story of Eleanor and Park. It reminded me of a modern day Romeo and Juliet if it were 1986.

Eleanor is the new kid in town. She is poor and  just doesn't fit into her new school. Her home life is tragic to say the least. She lives with her step dad, Richie, who is  a tyrant and abusive. Eleanor's mom just sits back and takes it. Park's life is completely the opposite of Eleanor. He has a loving and supportive family but it is not perfect. Park is half Korean in an all-white school and that comes with its own problems. From the moment they meet Eleanor and Park have a connection, even if they don't know it, the readers do.

Cracked

Cracked by K.M. Walton
Victor is tormented and bullied by Bull and the only way out, or at least as far as Victor is concerned, is to take a bottle of sleeping pills. This lands him in a psychiatric hospital. But Bull has his own problems; he lives with an alcoholic mother and a grandfather who uses him as his own personal punching bag. Bull has had enough of his grandfather's abuse and decides to put an end to it and his grandfather. Both Bull and Victor end up at the same hospital where they are forced to work through their issues.

I really liked this book. You feel for both characters. Victor you feel for from the start and you begin to realize Bull is a true victim of his surroundings. There is no happy ending but there is hope and that is why I liked this book.