The Painting by Charis Cotter

“It was a painting, set in a heavy wooden frame carved into thick swirls. A grassy foreground, a road leading through rocky hills to a lighthouse, and a vast ocean beyond. Something about it seemed familiar.”

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Annie loves painting, her mother wants her to read more books and do better in school. It’s suffice to say that Annie and her mother don’t really see eye to eye. One day Annie finds an old painting of a lighthouse in the attic. She’s instantly drawn to it so she takes it to her room. Her mother on the other hand, wish that painting never leave the attic. Not long after that, Annie’s mother slips into a coma after a car crash accident. Since then strange things begin to happen to Annie. One night, she got sucked into the old painting she found in the attic. Inside that painting she meet a girl who lives in the lighthouse named Claire. Claire relationship with her mother, Maisie, is fraught, just like Annie and her mom. Annie then try to help them mending their relationship while also hoping that somehow it could also help her relationship with her mom and revives her mother from coma, and bring an answer as to why she could travel into the painting and why she is destined to meet Claire.

Warcross by Marie Lu (Warcross #1)

“I’ve never been good at following instructions. I’m a bounty hunter.

And if my bounty’s still out there somewhere, I need to finish this.”

I received a free digital ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All quoted lines have not been corrected and are subject to change.

Ever since her father died, Emika Chen spend her life trying to survive by becoming a bounty hunter. She dropped out of school and take risky jobs of catching criminals by hacking into a virtual reality game called Warcross. People all over the world play this game, and like most of things in the world, there are the dark side of Warcross’ world where some people doing their bad deeds for money. Warcross is created by a 21 years old tech prodigy, Hideo Tanaka when he was only a child.  Desperate to gain money to pay his debt, Emika gambles her life by hacking into an annual Warcross International Tournament to grab some rare items that she can sell to the black market. Unfortunately, her plan is ruin when her identity exposed. Confidence that she will be jailed, Emika is surprised to find that she is being offered to work as Hideo Tanaka’s personal hunter instead. Her job is to go undercover as a contestant to hunt and investigate a hacker who threatens Warcross International Tournament. As her investigation getting deeper, Emika uncovers a sinister plot which could affect more than just Warcross empire, but also the rest of the world.

The Inevitable Collision of Birdie and Bash by Candace Ganger

“There are reasons—many reasons—some particles shouldn’t combine, no matter how curious you are about the outcome. Sometimes things explode; sometimes they dissipate, evaporate, disintegrate. And sometimes they collide and become something so much more than you ever thought they could.”

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sebastian ‘Bash’ Alvarez was only come to a party at a roller skate rink where he works to make sure that his sort-of-best-friend Wild Kyle didn’t do stupid things when he met Birdie Paxton, the ‘Couch Girl’ who shouldn’t be at that party at all. There’s a bit of traction and friction between the two of them, but they got separated before both of them can act on it. Their two worlds collide again when Wild Kyle’s car hit Birdie’s baby bother. Bash was on the passenger seat, Birdie doesn’t know that. Bash also didn’t know that the kid that Kyle hits is Birdie’s brother. The two getting closer when Birdie begin to work at same roller skate rink as Bash. When they begin to really fall for each other, the truth is slowly unfolding and could change their life in a way that both of them won’t be expecting.

Paintbrush by Hannah Bucchin

“We’re a mess, aren’t we?”

“All the best people are messy.”

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Paintbrush tells a story about Mitchell and Josie, two teenagers who live in a communal village along with a lot of other colorful people in the mountain of North Carolina called Indian Paintbrush. Mitchell and Josie used to be best friend, but now they are not as close as they used to be. Josie doesn’t really enjoy going to high school and wish she could spend all her life at Paintbrush, while Mitchell can’t wait to get out of Paintbrush to escape the bizarre noisy community and live a normal life. Luckily for both of them, they’re weeks away from graduating high school. But when Mitchell’s mother makes a scandalous announcement that might rock the peaceful Paintbrush community, and Josie’s younger sister keeps on making bad decisions, the two find themselves leaning on each other for support. Their childhood friendship change into something more as they deal with their families. But as graduation approaches, Josie and Mitchell forced to figure out what exactly their relationship is and which path they will choose in the future.

Caterpillars Can’t Swim by Liane Shaw

“A caterpillar is basically gross and ugly. But then it gets to hang out in a cocoon for a while and ends up changing into a gorgeous butterfly. No one cares if it’s a boy or a girl. It’s just a caterpillar that changed into a butterfly. And it’s okay and right and normal.”

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In Caterpillars Can’t Swim we meet Ryan, a wheelchair-bound 16 years old boy who is also a member of Swim Team in his school. One day he rescues Jack, one of his schoolmate from the water. Ryan keeps Jack’s secret about the water incident and even though both of them doesn’t really like it, their lives become connected. Ryan knows that Jack needs help, and Jack feels since Ryan knows and keep his secret, he can open up a bit to him. Then there’s also Cody, Ryan’s best friend and fellow swim team member who even though a nice kid, doesn’t understand why Ryan would want to hang out with Jack when everyone in their school gossip about Jack’s sexuality. Against Cody’s will and his better judgement, Ryan decides to invite Jack on a trip to Comic Con that he has planned with Cody for a long time. On this trip the three kids will each have the chance to be true to themselves and others, and show whether they are brave enough to go against the stereotypes.

The Cherry Pickers by Gregory C. Randall

“We never know what change does to us,

sometimes it helps and sometimes it hurts, we never know.

I do know this; change will come like spring follows winter.

It will come and we will deal with it.”

I received a free digital copy of this book through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

The Cherry Pickers is a coming of age book about a boy named Howard Smith. Every Summer Howard and his family visit his grandparents house and farm in northern Michigan. Every summer they come just in time to pick cherries in their family orchards alongside the pickers. This summer, Howard and his family will face one eventful Summer like none others, which will shaped Howard and push him to understand better how life works and how much family worth.

City of Saints and Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson (ARC)

“People don’t look for revenge to make them happy.

They do it because they must.”

City of Saints and Thieves tells a story about a girl named Tina, who escaped from Congo with her mom years ago as refuges and begin their new safer life in Sangui City. Unfortunately for them, safe doesn’t last long. Her mother was murdered, shot dead in the middle of the night. Seeking for revenge, Tina spends her life on the street and training as a master thief with local gang, the Goondas. Four years went by, and now her job with the Goondas brings her back to a place where her mother was killed and open a path for Tina to avenged her mother’s death. But revenge is not an easy game to play as the faces from the past starting to haunt her and unravel some dark truths that Tina might not ready to face.

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

“Funny how people move through this world leaving little pieces of their story with the people they meet, for them to carry. Makes you wonder what’d happen if all those people put their puzzle pieces together.”

I win a signed ARC of Goodbye Days from OwlCrate Giveaway on Instagram. Thank you, OwlCrate! OwlCrate is one of the most awesome YA book subscription box, check them out on their website here.

Goodbye Days is the second YA novel by Jeff Zentner. It tells a story about Carver Briggs who lost three of his best friends when he sent a text to one of them right before they were killed in a car crash. Carver can’t stop blaming himself, and neither can one of his best friend’s twin sister and one of his best friend’s dad. Carver might even go to jail because his best friend’s dad is pressuring the district attorney to open a criminal investigation on Carver’s role in that horrible car accident. Fortunately, Carver found an unexpected allies in one of his best friend’s grandmother who asks him to spend a Goodbye Day with her and share their memories and say a proper goodbye. Soon his other best friends’ families are asking for a Goodbye Day with Carver. But their motives might be different than one of his best friends’ grandmother. This is a story about how we handle our grief when we lose someone or someones we love.