Ash Reads Stuff

Start Here by Trish Doller Publication Date: August 13th, 2019 Pages:  352 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating:  4 stars Goodreads Synopsis: Two teens go on a life-changing sailing trip as they deal with the grief of losing their best friend in this heartwrenching, hopeful novel from the author of Something Like Normal and In a Perfect World . Willa and Taylor were supposed to spend the summer after high school sailing from Ohio to Key West with their best friend, Finley. But Finley died before graduation, leaving them with a twenty-five-foot sailboat, a list of clues leading them to destinations along the way, and a friendship that’s hanging by a thread. Now, Willa and Taylor have two months and two thousand miles to discover how life works without Finley—and to decide if their own friendship is worth saving. From acclaimed author Trish Doller comes a poignant tale of forgiveness, grief, and the brilliant discoveries we make within our...

Come Find Me  by Megan Miranda Publication Date: January 29th, 2019 Pages: 336 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult  My Goodreads Rating: 3 Stars Goodreads Synopsis: After surviving an infamous family tragedy, sixteen-year-old Kennedy Jones has made it her mission to keep her brother's search through the cosmos alive. But then something disturbs the frequency on his radio telescope--a pattern registering where no signal should transmit. In a neighboring county, seventeen-year-old Nolan Chandler is determined to find out what really happened to his brother, who disappeared the day after Nolan had an eerie premonition. There hasn't been a single lead for two years, until Nolan picks up an odd signal--a pattern coming from his brother's bedroom. Drawn together by these strange signals--and their family tragedies--Kennedy and Nolan search for the origin of the mysterious frequency. But the more they uncover, the more they believe that everything's connected--even th...

Little Do We Know  by Tamara Ireland Stone Publication Date:   June 5th, 2018 Pages: 416 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars Goodreads Synopsis:  Next-door neighbors and ex-best friends Hannah and Emory haven’t spoken in months. Not since the fight—the one where they said things they couldn’t take back. Now, Emory is fine-tuning her UCLA performing arts application and trying to make the most of the months she has left with her boyfriend, Luke, before they head off to separate colleges. Meanwhile, Hannah’s strong faith is shaken when her family’s financial problems come to light, and she finds herself turning to unexpected places—and people—for answers to the difficult questions she’s suddenly facing. No matter how much Hannah and Emory desperately want to bridge the thirty-six steps between their bedroom windows, they can’t. Not anymore. Until their paths cross unexpectedly when, one night, Hannah finds Luke doubled over i...

So, I'm struggling. I'm struggling to find time to read, to find books I like, and to write this post. This year has been a horrible year of reading for me. I don't know if it was the stress of last year's class that kept me from starting the year strong, as it did the year before. (Is that mean, blaming it on my class from last year?) Maybe I just got too busy, I'm not sure! Either way, this is my lowest reading year in a long time. I didn't make my goal last year, and this year I challenged myself to read 75 (!!!) books. Right now I'm at 67 and 89% of my goal. Chances are that I'm not going to read seven books (I'm almost done with one now) by the end of the year, but I'm going to push through with this post, just for you. It was kind of hard to even get through this list because there wasn't anything that I just truly loved and wanted to shout about. This year I started listening to a lot of books, which makes my drives to and from...

I love the opportunity to do a fun Top Ten Tuesday , a weekly feature brought to you by That Artsy Reader Gir l. This week's topic is "Books With With Your Favorite Color in the Title/Cover". Shall we get started?  Bonus with a little blue on the cover and a lot of Blue in the pages:  Here's Chris Evans in some blue shirts for your time. 

I Have Lost My Way  by Gayle Foreman Publication Date: March 27th, 2018 Pages: 304 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 4 stars Goodreads Synopsis: A powerful story of empathy and friendship from the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of If I Stay. Around the time that Freya loses her voice while recording her debut album, Harun is making plans to run away from everyone he has ever loved, and Nathaniel is arriving in New York City with a backpack, a desperate plan, and nothing left to lose. When a fateful accident draws these three strangers together, their secrets start to unravel as they begin to understand that the way out of their own loss might just lie in help­ing the others out of theirs. An emotionally cathartic story of losing love, finding love, and discovering the person you are meant to be, I Have Lost My Way is best­selling author Gayle Forman at her finest. My Review: Sigh. I love Gayle Foreman. She just has a way of pullin...

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley Publication Date: June 6th, 2017 Pages: 273 (hardcover) Genre: Young Adult My Goodreads Rating: 5 stars Goodreads Synopsis: Love lives between the lines. Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came. Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can’t see her future. Henry’s future isn’t looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart. As Henry and Rachel work side by side—surrounded by books, watching love stories unfold, exchanging letters between the pages—they find hope in each other. Because lif...

Well, here we are again. Another year, another list of books. I'd love to start this post off by bragging about all the books I've read this year...but I can't. By current count I'm at 101 books. My Goodreads Reading Challenge is set for 120. It was set for 175. But first it was set at 200. This year was rough, y'all. Still! Out of those 101 books I had some pretty great ones. You might know the drill here. I'll post each book with a mini review and a link to my review of it, if you're into that sort of thing. This book is pure magic. Hatfields and McCoys family rivalry, a love story, wit, sarcasm, and magic.  Far From the Tree  is perfection, in my opinion. If you have siblings, even if you aren't a "young adult", you can relate. It's beautiful.  I just realized I never wrote a review for this lovely story so, fail on my part. I know I recommended Graffiti Moon  a while back and this one is just as good. It's about f...