Burning Blue--Reviewed by: Sarah Roberts

                           Think of the most beautiful girl in your grade. Now think about what would happen to the school if the said girl's face was ruined by someone. Well, that's exactly what happened to golden girl; Nicole Castro. 

           It started off as a normal day, but then everything changes with just one squirt from a water bottle filled with acid. Now everyone is left with the simple question of "Why?" The only person willing to figure out this mystery is Jay Nazzaro,a social outcast scarred from public humiliation. I guess having a seizure during a pep rally and later finding it on YouTube makes people think twice about becoming friends with you. So with the help of his trusty computer hacking skills, Jay is on the hunt to find the culprit who led to Nicole's downfall from queen bee, to burned girl. Follow Jay and help find out who is really burning blue.

            

           I thought this book was amazing! I would definitely recommend this to my friends and family. I enjoyed how it was told from Jay's point of view, but had some journal entries that belonged to Nicole. I gave this book a rating of 4 and half stars because although it was well written, I would have liked to perhaps hear the point of view of the person who burned Nicole. Otherwise, this book was a great read and I believe others would enjoy this book immensely. 

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands- reviewed by: Portia Rockers

                                         

Emily Shepard is a 16-year-old girl who lives in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. She's in the middle of her junior year of high school when the power plant has a meltdown. Her parents were both killed during the meltdown, and what's worse is her dad was in charge at the time. Emily is at an evacuation camp with others from her school when she hears that her father is being blamed for the meltdown. Emily, who feels alone and is hurt by the accusations, decides to run away. She's now living on the streets and is comforted by the words of her favorite poet, Emily Dickinson.   

I absolutely loved this book because it was so sad and original. Emily was such a unique character, she was strong and made adult decisions. But, at the same time, I could tell that she was a teenager. A lot of times teenagers are written too mature so that they seem like adults or they are written as so naive that they look like children. I thought Emily had the perfect balance of character traits. The story itself was tragic, and it was something that could happen in the future and has occurred in the past, which is why it was so terrifying. I would recommend this book to everyone I know, it's such a heartbreaking story. Even though the story is not being marketed as YA, I do feel that teens will enjoy this book.