Monday, January 18, 2021

The people we choose

 

The people we choose 
by Katelyn Detweiler 
Language: English 
New York : Holiday House, [2021]. 
304 p. : cm. 
ISBN: 9780823446643 ; 0823446646 
Summary: When Calliope Silversmith meets her new neighbor Max, their chemistry is instantaneous, but the revelation of her biological father's identity throws her whole life into disarray. Calliope Silversmith has always had just two friends in her small Pennsylvania town, Ginger and Noah, and she's fine with that. She's never wanted anything more than her best friends, her moms, their house in the woods, and their family-run yoga studio--except maybe knowing who her sperm donor is. Her curiosity has been building for years, and she can finally find out this summer when she turns eighteen. But when Max and his family move into the sad old house across the woods from Calliope, she realizes it's nice to get to know someone new, so nice that she decides to break her no dating rule. The stability of her longtime trio wavers as she and Max start to spend more and more time together. When Calliope finally finds out who her sperm donor is, she learns a truth more shocking and unfathomable than she could have ever dreamed: her donor is Max's father. How is this even possible? As she and Max struggle to redefine their friendship, Calliope realizes that she can turn a horrific situation into something positive by recognizing and accepting that family is both the one we are born into and the one we choose to make. 

Saint Ivy: kind at all costs

 

Saint Ivy: kind at all costs 
by Laurie Morrison 
Language: English 
New York : Amulet Books, 2021. 
336 p. : cm. 
ISBN: 141974125X ; 9781419741258 
Summary: A thoughtful middle-grade novel about caring for others and for yourself––and what it truly means to be kind and vulnerable. Thirteen-year-old Ivy Campbell has always been a good kid: She supports her soccer-star brother, bakes with her nana, and puts her friends’ needs before her own. So of course, Ivy is 100 percent supportive when her mom decides to be a gestational surrogate, carrying and giving birth to her friends’ baby. But when Ivy finds out the surrogacy treatment worked and her mom is pregnant—and has been for weeks—she’s shocked that she’s jealous and worried about what others will think. And most of all, she’s ashamed that she isn’t reacting to this news in the right way. The Ivy way. Ivy is determined to prove to herself that she’s just as unselfish as she’s always believed, and she gets the chance to do that when she receives an anonymous email from someone who needs her help. But the more Ivy dives into helping this anonymous person, the further she gets from the people she loves—and from the person who she wants to be. 

First Day of My Life

 

First Day of My Life 
by Lisa Williamson 
Language: English 
Oxford : David Fickling Books, 2021. 
p. : cm. 
ISBN: 9781788451536 ; 1788451538 
Summary: A brand new YA novel from bestselling, award-winning author Lisa Williamson! A love letter to best friendship, first loves, and unexpected surprises, and a powerful reminder that every day is the first day of the rest of your life. Best friends Frankie and Jojo do everything together - so when Jojo goes missing on GCSE results day, Frankie knows something must be seriously wrong. Then news breaks that a baby has been stolen. When Frankie finally gets a return call from Jojo and hears a crying baby in the background, she can't help but jump to conclusions. She asks her ex-boyfriend Ram to help her track down Jojo but he's less than convinced by her theory. Jojo is the most reliable person he knows - there's got to be another explanation. Right? As the race to find Jojo begins, it becomes clear there are three sides to this story. Friendships are put to the ultimate test as Frankie and Ram are forced to work together to find out the truth - even if that truth destroys everything.