LitBit Speaks

Ryan, Harley and Miles are very different people--the swimmer, the rebel and the nerd. All they've ever had in common is Isaac, their shared best friend. When Isaac dies unexpectedly, the three boys must come to terms with their grief and the impact Isaac had on each of their lives. In his absence, Ryan, Harley and Miles discover things about one another they never saw before, and realize there may be more tying them together than just Isaac. This is a novel about loss and about finding human connection in the wake of tragedy. The Sidekicks  is a novel told through three points of view: Ryan, Harley, and Miles. All three boys had Isaac in common, but as they move through the loss of their friend, they realize they might actually have more in common than they previously thought. Ryan's narrative was probably my favourite of the three, mostly because I could relate to him the most, particularly in the sexuality department. I liked that Ryan wasn't entirely a fan of I...

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion. When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands. But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope. I am usually wary of trilogies. Perhaps I always will be. But in this particular instance at least, I was pleasantly surprised. While I know this format can be intimida...

In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity, and imagination, Brendan Wenzel shows us the many lives of one cat, and how perspective shapes what we see. When you see a cat, what do you see? What can I say? I think this book is absolutely marvellous. It's a truly stunning debut (yes, a debut!!!) I had no idea what to expect when I first saw the cover reveal earlier this year, and when I got my first glimpse at a Chronicle Books event, I was floored.  Each spread utilizes a unique style of art and perspective in order to show the differences in how various other animals see  the cat. Wenzel's illustrations and text encourage young readers to think more consciously about perspective and how differently things can be understood depending on context and underlying biases. This book is much more than it may appear on the surface! Highly Recommended (NOTE: This review is from an Advance Reading Copy - Out Aug. 30, 2016)

Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really? Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed. That is until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way. When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other -- and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more. I love a good love story, and I love a good love story that has straight people and gay people and all sorts of friendships. This book covers those bases, and very wonderfully. Mark's relati...

Kate O'Brien's whole life has been a series of setbacks--some more sinister than others. But she's determined to change that. She's book smart. She's street-smart. And she's also a masterful liar.  As the scholarship student at the elite Waverly School in NYC, Kate has her work cut out for her: her plan is to climb the social ranks and land a spot at Yale. She's already found her "people" among the senior class "it" girls--specifically in the cosseted, mega-wealthy yet deeply damaged Olivia Sumner. As for Olivia, she considers Kate the best friend she's always needed, the sister she never had. When the handsome and whip-smart Mark Redkin joins the Waverly administration as head of fundraising, he immediately charms his way into the faculty and students' lives--especially Olivia's, although she doesn't share what's going on. It becomes increasingly obvious that Redkin poses a threat to Kate, too, in a way she can'...

We are seventeen and shattered and still dancing. We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know… Jonah never thought a girl like Vivi would come along. Vivi didn’t know Jonah would light up her world. Neither of them expected a summer like this…a summer that would rewrite their futures. In an unflinching story about new love, old wounds, and forces beyond our control, two teens find that when you collide with the right person at just the right time, it will change you forever. I must admit that I received this book a long time ago and only just got to it, and now that I've read it, I can't believe I didn't start it WAY sooner! Lord is an incredibly talented writer, building up a nuanced and complicated love story that also handles mental illness with great sensitivity. Though a number of novels so far this year (2016) seem to feature teens who have stopped taking anti-depressants or anti-psychotics, Vivi is a particularly well-constr...

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace. He and his fellow outcast friends must try to make it through their senior year of high school without letting the small-town culture destroy their creative spirits and sense of self. Graduation will lead to new beginnings for Lydia, whose edgy fashion blog is her ticket out of their rural Tennessee town. And Travis is content where he is thanks to his obsession with an epic book series and the fangirl turning his reality into real-life fantasy. Their diverging paths could mean the end of their friendship. But not before Dill confronts his dark legacy to attempt to find a way into the light of a future worth living. At ALA Midwinter this year, I picked up this book from the Penguin booth. The cover intrigued me, ...