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.

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.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

“My mother and father held hands.

I wonder what that was like, to hold someone’s hand.

I bet you could sometimes find all of the mysteries in the universe

in someone’s hand.”

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe tells a story about Dante, an angry, loner teenage boy who meets Dante, another loner, but also a know-it-all teenage boy. When they first meet each other at a swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as they spend the whole summer together, they discover that they share a special kind of friendship—the kind of friendship that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And through their friendship, Ari and Dante will learn the truth and secrets about themselves, and about the kind of people they want to be.