If I Die Young

When Caelyn Noel was diagnosed with asthma five years ago, it put a damper on things. Now, she’s sixteen and things are finally going her way. She has loving parents, the best friend ever, and the boy she has had a crush on since elementary school has finally noticed her. Then, she collapses in school one day. To her horror, she finds out her heart is failing and she must have a heart transplant to live. Caelyn struggles with her fear of dying and worries of having someone else’s heart. 

If I Die Young is approximately 45,300 words.

If I Die Young is recommended for grade 6 and up

This was such a great short read. I read it in about 3 hours. I bought it on Kindle for 2.99. 

*If you are a "crier" I highly suggest you read with a box of tissues.* 

Caelyn Noel is an ordinary teenager. Maybe not as active as some of her friends, due to asthma, but she still has the usual problems. Getting homework turned in, final exams, breaking up with her boyfriend. All of a sudden Caelyn is faced with some heart wrenching issues. She is in the last stage of heart failure and it has been misdiagnosed her whole life as asthma. Her heart is giving out and she is in desperate need of a new one. 
Her parents don't tell her she is going to need a heart transplant and she keeps asking the Doctor what else can you do. Her parents have asked the Doctor not to mention a heart transplant to her and for some reason he agrees. She knows they are hiding something from her, but never guessed it to be this big of a secret. 
She has a best friend Lindsay, and her parents but everyone else seems to disappear. She is lonely. She wants love. She has normal thoughts that I think every teen has even if not faced with heart failure. What if she dies without having found the love of her life? When she meets Austin Walker, she thinks that maybe she does have chance at love. Has she found her true love? 

"If I Die Young" is a must read for any young adult. It is a sweet yet heart wrenching romance and filled with Caelyn's life as she deals with heart disease and facing death. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. Caelyn's situation is a bit terrifying, a lot for a young girl to go through, yet she soldiers on. I highly suggest you read it for yourself! 

After reading the Kindle version, I purchased it in paperback so that my kids will have it to enjoy when they are older. 

*Spoiler alert* 

There is one part in the story where she is faced with the decision to be put on a machine that breathes for you. I have to say this part really touched me. I balled. She thought this was the end of her. She said her goodbyes right there. But she didn't want to give up. She kept on trucking, not being able to speak. SHE NEVER GAVE UP! She was so close to death. As a parent I think if I ever have to face situations like this. I don't know how I would even begin to cope. She was strong for her parents.

You Are My Only

Emmy Rane is married at nineteen, a mother by twenty. Trapped in a life with a husband she no longer loves, Baby is her only joy. Then one sunny day in September, Emmy takes a few fateful steps away from her baby and returns to find her missing. All that is left behind is a yellow sock.

Fourteen years later, Sophie, a homeschooled, reclusive teenage girl is forced to move frequently and abruptly from place to place, perpetually running from what her mother calls the "No Good." One afternoon, Sophie breaks the rules, ventures out, and meets Joey and his two aunts. It is this loving family that gives Sophie the courage to look into her past. What she discovers changes her world forever. . . .

The riveting stories of Emmy and Sophie—alternating narratives of loss, imprisonment, and freedom regained—escalate with breathless suspense toward an unforgettable climax.

*Thanks To Negalley for giving me the opportunity to review this beautiful story!*

Oh wow! What a read! My words could never begin to describe the beauty and hope this story has. It alternated between two main characters, Emmy and Sophie. The story was just AWEMAZING! The way the author can describe things is stunning. Made me feel like I was right there watching it unfold. I read it out loud to my oldest daughter and the words just flowed off my tongue. My daughter doesn't usually like my style of books but she wanted more of this one as did I. This is not my normal genre of book but I am so glad I read it. This is the first time I have read Beth Kephart and I will for sure be reading her again. I think my only gripe would be I would like to know how Emmy and sophie felt at the end of the story. I would recommend this read. 

Inside The Outside

By the time Timber Marlow is fifteen years old, she has already killed three men. Despite the bloody and violent nature of their deaths, Timber is hardly a murderer, at least not in the traditional sense. She has lived her entire life as a cannibal within a cult tucked away in the San Bernardino Mountains called the Divinity of Feminine Reproach. The Divinity keeps itself isolated from the Outside, which is the mainstream society beyond its invisible borders. When the opportunity presents itself, Timber escapes into the Outside, bearing witness to some dark and unsettling truths about the world around her and the integral role she plays in it. But no matter how long she stays away, Timber finds out the past isn't as far away as she thinks it is. In this debut novel, laced with scenes of horrific violence and uplifting humanity, Martin Lastrapes has written a one-of-a-kind story about love, friendship, sacrifice and cannibalism.

Thanks to Martin Lastrapes for the honor to review this book for him. Also for writing it. I must say this is well deserving of 5 stars. Totally over and beyond what I usually read. LOVED LOVED LOVED it! AMAZING!

When you think about cannibalism, might gross you out but don't let that keep you from reading INSIDE THE OUTSIDE! Very well written. I never got bored or uninterested. I wanted it to keep going. I was sad when I was done reading it, not because the way it ended because I didn't want it to end. 

I totally loved this book. It was hard to read at times imaging what was laid out about cannibalism. Made me cry and laugh. I am not quite sure how to review this book with out giving spoilers. I want more, more of the same twisted story but also more of Martin Lastrapes amazing imagination and his talented writing. The way he can lay a story out I am in awe of. I recommend this read to any adult reader that doesn't have a weak stomach and enjoys a good warped, distorted story.