What's New? Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Hop on over there to ogle what other bloggers got this week.

Purchased: I am so thrilled to be rereading this with both my eyes and my ears. I rarely reread books because I just don't have the time. The last book I reread both with my eyes and ears (multiple times) was Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle. 278 p. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, March 29, 2016. 9781481404099.

Unabridged book on 6 compact discs. Narrated by the author. Includes an interview with the author. Simon & Schuster Audio, March 29, 2016. 9781442395008.

Publisher synopsis: From the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Five, Six, Seven, Nate! and Better Nate Than Ever comes a laugh-out-loud sad YA debut that’s a wry and winning testament to the power of old movies and new memories—one unscripted moment at a time.

Quinn Roberts is a sixteen-year-old smart aleck and Hollywood hopeful whose only worry used to be writing convincing dialogue for the movies he made with his sister Annabeth. Of course, that was all before—before Quinn stopped going to school, before his mom started sleeping on the sofa…and before Annabeth was killed in a car accident.

Enter Geoff, Quinn’s best friend who insists it’s time that Quinn came out—at least from hibernation. One haircut later, Geoff drags Quinn to his first college party, where instead of nursing his pain, he meets a guy—a hot one—and falls hard. What follows is an upside-down week in which Quinn begins imagining his future as a screenplay that might actually have a happily-ever-after ending—if, that is, he can finally step back into the starring role of his own life story.

For review:

Breaker by Kat Ellis. 335 p. Running Press Book Publishers, May 24, 2016. 9780762459087.

Publisher synopsis: Kyle Henry has a new name, a new school, and a new life—one without the shadow of the Bonebreaker hanging over him. It's been a year since his serial killer father's execution, and it finally looks like things are turning around for Kyle.

Until he recognizes the girl sitting in the back row in homeroom.

Naomi Steadman is immediately intrigued by Killdeer Academy's newcomer. She does not know he is the son of the man who murdered her mother. What she does know is she and Kyle have a connection with each other—and a spark that Kyle continues to back away from.

Soon after Kyle’s arrival, the death count on campus starts to rise. Someone is set on finishing what the Bonebreaker started, and murdering ghosts from the past may be the only thing that can stop the spree.

Told in alternating viewpoints, Kat Ellis’s tale of mystery and horror is full of broken bonds and new beginnings.

Doreen by Ilana Manaster. 333 p. Running Press Book Publisher, May 10 2016. 

Publisher synopsis: A modern makeover of The Picture of Dorian Gray

When Doreen Gray walks in the vaulted doorway of elite Chandler Academy, she is a sad, disastrous mess of acne, frizzy hair, and low self-esteem. Heidi Whelan, social-climber turned queen bee, takes one look and knows she has found her new protégé. Heidi gets her bookworm roommate Biz Gibbons-Brown to take a picture of Doreen and work her Photoshop magic. The result? A stunning profile pic that looks nothing like the real Doreen.

To the shock of all three, Doreen wakes up the next morning the embodiment of the glossy, digital makeover. Now, in order to maintain her sleek façade, Doreen has to hide her real self and the only hardcopy of the original photo. What will the secret do to her soul? All the while, Heidi is keeping secrets of her own.

That's what's new with me. What's new with you?