Sway by Kat Spears

Meet Jesse Alderman also known as Sway. Jesse rules the school. When someone wants something, Jesse is the person to ask because nothing is out of reach for Sway. That is until he is asked to help the football captain get a date with Bridget. As Jesse sets his plan in motion, he begins to realize he is developing feelings for Bridget, her brother, and the man he gets to pretend is his grandfather to impress Bridget. Be prepared for a hilarious read in which you will question how Sway gets away with what he does and if he is capable of true feelings or if it is all part of his game.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Known as the marsh girl, Kya has been on her own since about the age of 10. First her mother walked away. Then each of her siblings left one by one until Kya was all alone with her drunk and abusive father. Shunned by the town for her peculiar ways, Kya survives alone in the marsh until Tate and Chase seek her out. When Chase ends up dead, Kya is the lead suspect. Told in flashbacks, Where the Crawdads Sing is a everything a book should be...It's a love story, a mystery, and tale of self discovery.

Swing by Kwame Alexander

Noah and Walt are two high school students who have been best friends since childhood. Walt's character is an old soul in a teenager's body. He has high hopes and aspirations for his current, teenage life including making the baseball team, which he has been cut from for three years, pursuing a love interest he meets at a thrift store, and implementing his life/love lessons he learns from his cousin and from a podcast. Meanwhile, Noah wants to throw in the towel for baseball and concentrate on his love interest, whom he has loved since childhood, Samantha. 

The friendship between Noah and Walt is extremely endearing, authentic, and special like no other. The boys experience typical teenage drama: heartbreak, social awkwardness, being cool, school, and just life in general. Kwame weaves into the story jazz music by its rhythmic manner that narrates the story. This story really warmed my heart, but then it crushed it in the end and I am still trying to recover from it. I highly recommend this book to all as it brought many smiles and many tears throughout. 

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Claire Scott lives a seemingly perfect life: happily married, financially stable, and seemingly stress-free. However, her past continues to haunt her as her youngest sister was abducted and the case was never resolved. The disappearance of her sister twenty plus years ago is eerily similar to a current day disappearance of another young female, and Claire is determined to find out if there is any connection. Through all this, Claire learns a lot about her family from the past and also her current situation. 

This suspenseful novel kept me interested from page to page. Though there are some intense, graphic, and uncomfortable scenes the author really intensified the story through all the twists and turns of the plot. I highly recommend this book to a more mature audience that can handle a few disturbing situations. 

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Cadence and her family have spent every summer together on their family's private island. They are wealthy, beautiful, and seem to have everything. Cadence, Mirren, Johnny, and Gat, the three cousins and a family friend are inseparable. Everything appears to be perfect until the incident. Cadence can't remember what happened and no one will tell her how she she ended up down by the water alone with no memory. When Cadence returns to the island after missing a summer, she tries to uncover what happened.

I can't comment too much on this one because I do not want to ruin anything. It is definitely at the top of my list of books to recommend. The best I can do is tell you to go read it and avoid any reviews or summaries.

There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake

This month's Book Club selection was There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake. There are so many surprises during this book, and I do not want to ruin any of them. The main character, Shelby lives with her mom and appears to be very sheltered. They rarely speak to anyone, and Shelby's mother has always told her to fear men. When Shelby is hit by a car, her mother's behavior becomes very strange...She pays for the hospital bills in cash, and they flee from home with Shelby's mother explaining that the father Shelby thought was dead actually wants to kill Shelby. Shelby starts to question if everything is truly as it seems or if her mother could be telling lies. While all of this is going on Shelby starts to have several dreams which gives the book a weird turn. Other readers have complained that the book would have been better without the dream sequences. I actually liked the twist and wanted to figure out the connection between Shelby's real world and her dream world.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman

I absolutely loved Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Eleanor is an exceptional woman with zero social skills or fashion sense. Her coworkers make fun of her behind her back and even to her face. She handles this the way she handles everything...with very little emotion. She goes through her days at work by completing her job in a most efficient manner and then heads home to eat pizza and drink a lot of alcohol. She is perfectly content with her uneventful life until Raymond starts to challenge Eleanor, and Eleanor realizes there is more to life than just being fine.