She's Not There

 

Thanks to NetGalley, I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of She's Not There by P.J. Parrish.

While this was nowhere near my favorite book, it had a very unique concept. Amelia, Mel, Melia, Mellie, was in an accident. When she awakes in the hospital, she has no memory of how she got there, what happened, or who she even is. Is she married? Does she have kids? What about a dog? How did she get hurt? Then she hears him, she hears a familiar mans voice and realizes she has to get away. She sets out to find herself and start again. She buys a tablet, makes a friend, and starts discovering her life. She winds up in Georgia from Florida. When Mel's husband's boss hires a hit man, she has to leave Georgia. From there she goes to Iowa, where she realizes all of her family lived, but only the Bird remains. The Bird's memories are just as spotty as Mellie's. From there she sets off to find the mysterious "J" in California. Maybe here she can start again. Maybe she can escape the flood of memories coming back to her. Maybe Mel can leave her husband, Alex, behind. Maybe Amelia can forget her near death experience with hit man, Buchanan.  Maybe she can finally become Melia the dancer again.

Although I read this a tad late, She's Not There was set to come out September 8th!

Wonder

August Pullman is a little different. He's not disabled, he's not special needs, he's just different. Fifth grade starts his first ever public school experience. A few weeks before classes start Auggie's mom wants him to go down to the school to get a feel for the layout and meet a few kids. But how do you meet new kids if you don't know what they'll think of you... Three kids were Auggie's tour guides, Julian, Charlotte, and Jack Will. Julian was shockingly rude the entire tour. Charlotte is friendly. And Jack will soon become Auggie's best friend. However, someone starts a game at school called The Plague, which is where if anyone touches August they'll catch his "disease". That's when Summer befriends August at lunch. The school is soon divided because of Julian and August. Who will choose the kind route? What I love about this novel is the different points of view telling the story. There's August, Via (his sister), Summer, Jack, Justin (Via's boyfriend), and Miranda (Via's friend) virtually telling August's story. To me, the ending was hilariously perfect! Especially when August discovers he's getting an award just for being himself! All in all, the main message in this book is so incredible. So tell me: Will you choose kind? 

Wonder is hands down one of the best books I've ever read. I was shocked that this is a children's novel, and even more shocked to learn it's required reading in many schools. If you haven't had a chance to pick up a copy yet, I highly recommend getting one soon!

Looking for the rest of the series?
Auggie & Me (Wonder #2)
We're All Wonders (Wonder storybook)