Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Twins Cath and Wren are heading to college.  Wren told Cath earlier in the summer that she didn't want to be her roommate any longer.  Wren is an extrovert, but Cath is anxiety ridden and into writing fanfiction for the Simon Snow book series (think Harry Potter).  Her roommate seems weird, and her roommate's boyfriend is always around.  Sometimes it's just easier to disappear into the world of Simon Snow.

As Cath learns she can manage without her sister, she also has to come to grips with the fact that her family would be considered dysfunctional.  She uses her writing to help her deal with her insecurity issues and the fact that she really doesn't have any friends. But in reality, her writing starts to help her make friends.  Enter Reagan and Levi.  Reagan is Cath's roommate, and surprise! Levi is not Reagan's boyfriend- anymore.

The magical world of Simon Snow and the world of Cath Avery meld into an enjoyable read.  Issues are addressed that all college students must deal with at one time or another.

Rosie book 2015-2016

45 Pounds More or Less by K. A. Barson

                                            

What do you do if you are in your aunt's wedding and you want to find a dress that flatters you and makes you feel thinner?  Ann wants to lose weight, but weight has been a lifelong struggle for her.  Her mother is a size 6, and eats healthy all the time.  Ann just doesn't have the willpower or the interest to lose weight.  She knows what she needs to do to lose the weight. She has read countless books, watched shows, and even tried infomercial food.

Ann starts to make changes in her lifestyle when she starts working at the Twisted Pretzel and starts earning her own money and meeting new people.  She gains the self-confidence to make positive changes in her life.  She also learns who her friends are- and which so-called friends really are not her friends.  She also realizes that her mother has her own food issues.

Anyone who has ever had food issues will be able to relate to this book. Characters in the book have issues with too much food consumption and too little food consumption.  Children who see us dealing with our food issues can be affected by our behavior, and this is also addressed.

If you feel you don't have food issues and never have, this book will remind to be s little gentler and kinder to those who do.

Rosie book 2015-2016

Throne of Glass by Sarah Maas

Eighteen year old Celaena Sardothien has spent the last year toiling in the salt mines of Endovier.  What was her crime?  She was the best assassin in the land, and she was caught and sentenced to a place where most people do not survive more than a month.

But who is she?  She was found another assassin nearly drowned and frozen when she was eight years old.  He raised her and trained her to be Adarlan's assassin, until one day she is escorted from the mines of Endovier.  She doesn't speak much of her past, but it is clear that there is more that the reader doesn't know.

Celaena is offered a deal by the Crown Prince of Adarlan and the captain of the guard, Chaol Westfall.  If she wins the competition, she becomes the royal assassin, and she will eventually win her freedom.

Once the competition begins, some of the participants start turning up dead.  Celaena knows that something doesn't feel right about all of this, and there is something evil about this kingdom and the ruler.

This book kept my attention, and I have just finished the second book.  Hurry up, MCPL readers, I need Book Three!

Great quotes from the book -
"Libraries were full of ideas - perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons."

"No, I can survive on my own - if given the proper reading material.'

"Names are not important.  It's what lies inside of you that matters."