One young adult from the Kitsap (WA) Regional Library YA Book Group loved Tamara Ireland Stone’s Every Last Word so much, she had to write her review in capital letters to come close to capturing her enthusiasm for it. When an experimental weight loss product causes its users to lose all of self-control, the protagonist must figure out how to survive in Emmy Laybourne’s horrific Sweet. And, a young adult reviewer tackles A Thousand Miles to Freedom, an vivid autobiography about a young North Korean girl trying to escape her country’s regime. BAKER, Chandler. Alive. Disney-Hyperion. June 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781484706831. Gr 9 Up–Stella’s life was turned upside down because of her heart transplant. Now, she's never going to be the same. Never able to swim again, and living with a horrible scar running the length of her torso, Stella returns to high school after the transplant. Enter: hot new guy, Levi. Stella and Levi are instantly dating, much to her friend's dislike, but life goes on. Until, mysterious pains rack her body every day, exactly at 5:08. What does it mean? Stella has become a part of something much more sinister, without realizing it. Of course, Levi is literally at the heart of it. This is the story of Stella's heart. Before reading the book, or even getting to the main climax, you think that the heart on the cover is sort of a goofy, teen-related sketch of a heart; the kind girls doodle in their writing notebooks over a guy. Even the subtitle [His heart is in the wrong place] suggests something like this, like a girl or boy falling in love with the wrong person. After reading the book, you realize what that subtitle means, literally. I have to say, I can appreciate the almost ironic, sarcastic nature of the cover in comparison to the plot, but I think a slightly more creepy yet romantic cover that shows a foreshadowing of Levi's true nature would have been much more interesting. I loved the plot of this book. Nearly the entire time, the author had me thinking this was just another teen romance about an outcast, broken girl and a hot guy that end up perfectly in love. How wrong I was. I really was taken by a joyful surprise when Levi's past came to life. The supernatural twist was well played. This book wasn't very disappointing. In fact, I really enjoyed reading it. One thing I really detest about some books is that they drag on and on in the middle. This book did the exact opposite. Well done! The only thing I have to comment on is how naive Stella was in the beginning. She was the stereotypical girl in love, not seeing anything. Yet, I really think that is what the book really played out well.—Kalea C., 14 CIOCCA, Gina. Last Year's Mistake. S. & S. June 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781481432238. Gr 8 Up–Before: Kelsey and David became best friends right before their freshman year and they were inseparable. Until the night everyone thought of her as the school joke which crumbled everything, including the friendship she had with David. When Kelsey’s parents decided to move, she couldn't have been happier, and she leaves her past behind. Except she would have to lose David. After: Now it's Kelsey’s senior year and she is popular and has a new group of friends and a hot new boyfriend. She thinks her life is perfect, until David moves to town and shakes her whole life up. The more time she spends with David the more she actually realizes she never let him go. I was not disappointed with the book for any reason. The book has many parts during which you are biting your nails because you are just waiting something to happen. I think this book is a great book and has many things you can relate to in high school.–Cassie B., 12 KIM, Eunsun. A Thousand Miles to Freedom. St. Martin's. July 2015. Tr $24.99. ISBN 9781250064646. Gr 8 Up –A Thousand Miles to Freedom is the story of a brutally long journey to a foreign land, where, perhaps, a young North Korean girl could build a future without fear. I liked the cover a lot. I feel that Eunsun Kim's expression was perfect. However, I feel the cover could have benefited from a little more color, mostly because it is hard to get teens to read an autobiography and some more color would attract more attention. The characters of this book were especially compelling. This may be true for all autobiographies because the characters are actually real, but, even so, they felt especially true. The way Kim wrote about them allowed for a lot of soul to show, even for the ones that were briefly touched upon. The only thing difficult about this book was when there was a repeating theme. For instance, Kim repeatedly says she is not very religious. She also repeats her gratitude towards South Korea's welcome, which makes it seem like she is afraid to sound ungrateful (which she certainly does not). This style makes this wonderful book sound a little too much like an essay, rather than a full book. —Juliette S., 13 LAYBOURNE, Emmy. Sweet. Feiwel & Friends. June 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781250055194. Gr 9 Up –Everyone in the U.S. and the world wants to lose weight. Why wouldn't they? Obesity, after all is the number one cause of death in the U.S. But now, there is a life-changing product by the name of Solu coming into the market. It'll make you lose five percent of your body fat in a week! To start this product off, before it hits markets, a bunch of celebrities, including the one and only Baby Tom Tom, will test it out on a cruise. Laura isn’t a celebrity, in fact, the only reason she is on this cruise is because her friend wants to go, and her friend’s dad got them free tickets. So, why not? On her first day, she comes across the not-so-much-a-baby, Tom Tom, or just Tom. As sparks fly between them something bigger arises. Solu. Passengers act differently, and soon, things go bad. Attacks happen, people are murdered. The people who are addicted can literally smell Solu. They smell it in the metal safes in the kitchen, in the sweat of the people around them. And they want more. How many more will die? And to top it off, is this all a product mistake, or did someone plant Solu on purpose? This was an amazingly horrifying book, in a good way. If you think about it, the plot is slightly stereotypical, but the way the book is written completely blows your mind. You don't think about how the plot is when reading this book, you just want to know what happens next. This book was very detailed, adding to the suspense and overall horror story. I haven't read many teen horror stories, but this is by far one of the best (and creepiest) books I've ever read. I loved it. It kept this scary theme, all the while addressing something that is very currently an issue. Weight loss. Now, what is truly scary is think of this, thousands of people in the U.S. want to lose weight, and if a product like Solu came out they would use it. This book is scarily close to the truth. It also brings in a hint of romance, which just adds to the overall plot. This book is like the Titanic without the sappy romance and with one of the best teen horror stories I've ever read. I love this book!—Kalea C., 14 STONE, Tamara Ireland. Every Last Word. Disney-Hyperion. June 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781484705278. Gr 8 Up –IT WAS SO AMAZINGLY PERFECT!!!!!!! THIS BOOK IS SO AMAZING BEYOND BELIEF. I'M SORRY FOR ALL YOU CONTROL FREAKS WHO MAY BE READING THIS AND GOING NUTS BECAUSE THIS IS IN ALL CAPS, BUT I WANTED THIS REVIEW TO BE SEEN BY ALL, AND SO THAT I COULD GIVE YOU THIS ONE LAST MESSAGE: I DARE YOU TO READ THIS BOOK WITHOUT FLIPPING AT THE TWIST ENDING.        IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK YET I REALLY THINK YOU SHOULD BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME AND AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND I'M SORRY FOR MY LACK OF GRAMMAR I'M JUST SO VERY HAPPY THAT I GOT THE AMAZING EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE TO READ THIS. The story is so beautiful that I would love to just sit down and have a coffee with the person this book is based on. And if I could, I would sit down with the main character. Samantha, a sophomore in high school, was diagnosed with OCD at age 11 and has been on meds ever since. Keeping a secret this big from her popular friends is harder than it looks, with Sam's mind trying to find a way to start the spiral of horrible thoughts she just can't turn off. Then she meets Caroline, a school outcast who shows Samantha her poet's corner, a place where you can write without being interrupted, cry without being judged, and be in an environment that will keep you from losing yourself. It's a place where Sam needs to slow down, think, and understand. Her life begins to take new shape, with her avoiding her old popular buddies while she falls for the hot guitar-playing guy named AJ, which is the same guy she teased nonstop in fourth grade and made him switch schools. But beware, this book has a twist ending so crucial and unexpected, that you may find yourself crying and hurting for the main character beyond control. I know I did. OH. MY. GOSH. This book was THE story of my life. A doctor hasn't certified that I have OCD, but I do feel exactly like Samantha, the main character, at times. That made it much more scary. I thought when picking this book up "Well my name is Samantha, maybe it'll be a good book, I don't know let's just try it out" but after finishing it, I think my life has changed forever. This book is guaranteed to become the next Fault in Our Stars. It has everything: A twisty ending, character conflicts so heartbreaking you wish you loved the book a little less so you could put it down and read something else; romance, poetry; it’s so heartbreaking and humorous at the same time you'll want to DIE, and the most serious, most correct sequence for life. If this book hadn't been certified fiction, I would have lived the rest of my life out thinking it was real. No joke. I love this book so much, and I don't often say that about books.—Sam G., 14