Book Nerds Across America

Book Summary
Nate never imagined that he would be attacked by his best friend, Cam.
Now, Nate is being called to deliver a sworn statement that will get Cam convicted. The problem is, the real story isn’t that easy or convenient—just like Nate and Cam’s friendship. Cam challenged Nate on every level from the day the boys met. He pushed him to break the rules, to dream, and to accept himself. But Nate—armed with a fierce moral code and conflicted by his own beliefs—started to push back. With each push, Nate and Cam moved closer to each other—but also spiraled closer to their breaking points.

Flo's Review
Aww, come here Nate and Cam, and let me hug you both! I was lucky enough to win an annotated copy of this book, and it was the best thing ever. Zack's comments had me laughing most of the time, but he also pointed out a lot of details about the writing that I wonder if I would have noticed were they not pointed out. For example, things are often said 3 times, and that represents the Holy Trinity. I think I would have noticed the triple plays, but I don't know what I would have known why. There are several allegorical settings and phrases as well.

The short chapters in the book were great, because it made me just want to keep reading on. And the scenes. The scenes! I think this is where Zack excels. There is so much emotion, both good and bad, in this scenes that I left every one really feeling something. It makes sense that the individuals scenes are so stand out, because Cam has the kind of memory where he remembers them all. The scenes were across the board as well. Some made me so mad; others so sad; others put a sweet smile on my face with their delicacy.

There were also a few twists with the story that I didn't see coming -- because let's be honest, I never see these things. Mind blown!

I'm really glad I got to experience this story. If you have the chance, I hope you are able to as well.

Mez's Magic (The Lost Rainforest #1) by Eliot Schrefer - publishes January 2, 2018
The Lion King meets Wings of Fire in the magical rainforest kingdom of Caldera in this new middle grade animal fantasy series from New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist Eliot Schrefer.

Caldera has forever been divided into those animals who walk by night and those who walk by day. Nightwalker panthers, like young Mez and her beloved sister, have always feared daywalkers as creatures of myth and legend. Until the eclipse.

Now Mez has discovered that she can cross the Veil and enter the daylight world. Her magical power has unknown depths, but she must rush to discover it after a mysterious stranger arrives at her family’s den, bearing warnings of a reawakened evil.

Saving Caldera means Mez must leave her sister behind and unite an unlikely group of animal friends to unravel an ancient mystery and protect their rainforest home.


Beneath the Haunting Sea by Joanna Ruth Meyer - publishes January 9, 2018
Sixteen-year-old Talia was born to a life of certainty and luxury, destined to become Empress of half the world. But when an ambitious rival seizes power, she and her mother are banished to a nowhere province on the far edge of the Northern Sea.

It is here, in the drafty halls of the Ruen-Dahr, that Talia discovers family secrets, a melancholy boy with a troubling vision of her future, and a relic that holds the power of an ancient Star. On these shores, the eerie melody of the sea is stronger than ever, revealing long-forgotten tales of the Goddess Rahn. The more dark truths that Talia unravels about the gods’ history—and her own—the more the waves call to her, and it may be her destiny to answer.


Smart Cookie by Elly Swartz - publishes January 30, 2018
Frankie knows she’ll be in big trouble if Dad discovers she secretly posted a dating profile for him online. But she’s determined to find him a wife, even if she ends up grounded for life. Frankie wants what she had before Mom died. A family of three. Two is a pair of socks or the wheels on a bicycle or a busy weekend at the B&B where Frankie and Dad live. Three is a family. And Frankie’s is missing a piece.

But Operation Mom is harder to pull off than Frankie expects. None of the Possibles are very momish, the B&B’s guests keep canceling, Frankie’s getting the silent treatment from her once best friend, and there’s a maybe-ghost hanging around. Worst of all, Gram and Dad are definitely hiding secrets of their own. 

If a smart cookie like Frankie wants to save the B&B and find her missing piece, she’s going to have to figure out what secrets are worth keeping and when it’s time to let go.


What books are you most looking forward to in January? Let us know in the comments.