The members of the Kitsap (WA) Regional Library YA Book Group have dived into summer reading in full force. Check out their thoughts on David Levithan’s sequel to Every Day and upcoming horror and realistic fiction titles. CHUPECO, Rin. The Suffering. Sourcebooks. Sept. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781492629832. Gr 9 Up–Okiku and Tark return to Japan in this sequel to The Girl from the Well (Sourcebooks, 2014), this time to investigate the so-called Hell's Gate in the legendary village of Aitou and the American ghost hunters who have gone missing in search of it. But deep in the Aokigahara forest, things are darker than they initially appear, and the unquiet spirits of ghostly brides signal that Aitou and its Hell's Gate are far from fictional. There really wasn't a chance that I couldn't love this book. It's like an unholy alliance of Corpse Party, Another, and Misao, with maybe a little bit of Higurashi thrown in there for fun. The Suffering is perfect for those into indie Japanese horror games, Japanese ghost stories and folklore, or just a really good, creepy story for late on a summer night when everything is quiet except for the sound of insects outside. I loved the plot and tone of this book, and how it managed to be an even better follow-up to the already great The Girl from the Well. The previous book was much more a mystery-horror mix with an overdramatic climax, but The Suffering was altogether more scary and subtle, even with ghost chase scenes and introducing an evil undead onmyoji into the mix. The plotline of discovering the dark secrets behind the legendary village of Aitou had me on the edge of my seat, and this creepy situation helped me grow to love the main characters Okiku and Tark even more than I already did. There are so many little strands to the main plot, and the plot shifts, turns, and develops from "find Kagura" to "put the ghost brides of Aitou to rest" to "save Okiku and hope Okiku can save me too." Even with all these pieces, the story flows beautifully. I was not disappointed with the book for anything major, although I do believe that the final confrontation with Mikage could have been extended, simply for maximum drama and horror. It felt a little tame for a novel starring an exorcist in training and a vengeful onryo taking down dark magic and murderers. In addition, I was also a bit disappointed with how Hotoke's diary was handled. I tend to love it when horror novels/games/shows/movies use the diary in fragments trope, because it essentially teaches the protagonists vital information if they find the relevant diary section only moments before it becomes necessary for survival. Also, it can allow characters to get in way over their heads before they even realize what's happening, an effective and creepy horror trope. However, Okiku and Tark had the diary from the beginning, allowing them to be very prepared, and taking away some potential terror. It would be hard to imagine a better follow-up to The Girl from the Well, because this one provided tears, chills, and "oh god, I'm so scared I think I'm going to puke" moments. What more could you ask for from a horror novel starring a psychic and an onryo?—Ella W., 15 COYLE, Katie. Vivian Apple Needs a Miracle. HMH. Sept. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780544390423. Gr 9 Up–If you enjoyed Vivian Apple at the End of the World (HMH, 2015), I highly recommend the second one. I really wanted to find out how Vivian found Peter, and then Peter's character really intrigued me. I loved the writing style as well, and I think Vivian is a very empowering character. I liked the first one a lot better, but this one was still great!—Lauren W., 14 EMOND, Stephen. Bright Lights, Dark Nights. Roaring Brook. Aug. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781626722064. Gr 7 Up–This is an absolutely wonderful book with an intense plot, colorful characters, and three completely different settings brought to life with eloquent language. Bright Lights, Dark Nights is an absolute must for any teen's summer reading list. The most compelling aspect of this story was the intense storyline. One moment, I thought this story had taken a turn for the worst, but the next it was salvaged in an either sweet or romantic way that was always unexpected yet enjoyable for readers. There was absolutely no disappointment whatsoever. The characters completely enveloped me into the story. If that wasn't enough already, the writer's lush writing style transported me to a different setting alongside the characters. I completely devoured this book in a day.—Libby C., 13 FALKNER, Brian. Battlesaurus: Rampage at Waterloo. Farrar. July 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780374300753. Gr 5–8–Napoleon escapes from an island he is forced to live on after he lost a big war. After he escapes, he starts another war, but this time he has a secret weapon and will use it to dominate. But there is one boy standing in his path. I like the cover because it is unique and it pops out to me. Seeing a soldier riding on top of a dinosaur with a flint lock pistol is very interesting and hooks readers, in my opinion. It did reflect the contents of the book by showing how Napoleon rises back up again and has a new weapon with him that has the power to destroy the enemy. I really loved how they mixed the book with different time periods and it was fascinating seeing how these two historic time periods came together to form a new world. I am a history geek, so this was a great part of the book. I wished there was more detail of how Napoleon escaped and I wish there wasn't a lot of jumping around between places because it was harder to understand than most books, but it was still an amazing book. I can't wait for the second book to come out even though the first book hasn't even come out yet. I really recommend it!!!—Tyler M., 14    JAYNE, Hannah. The Escape. Sourcebooks. July 2015. pap. $9.99. ISBN 9781492616542. Gr 8 Up–This book is about a murder that happened in the middle of the woods: one person died and one lived, but the killer is not done yet. The protagonist gets involved with the murder and now she has become a target. Readers will constantly be asking who is the killer. The only thing that I liked in the book is the scene in the end when Fletcher was hunting Avery and she almost gets hit by the car. Fletcher then pushes her away. I did not really like the plot, and I actually knew that Fletcher killed Adam the whole time because only killers have voices in their heads. Not that scary and I would recommend it for sixth graders.—Sam C., 14 ANOTHER TAKE Avery is part of search and rescue team, and she is the one that finds Fletcher. He is beaten, bloody, and nearly unconscious. Adam is nowhere to be seen. After Fletcher is somewhat recovered, he is questioned by the police about the whereabouts of Adam. But Fletcher has no memory of the incident. All he knows is that someone killed Adam and tried to kill him—but failed. The plot of this book was fantastic. The book had so many twists and cliffhangers it was hard to put it down. Nothing in this book was disappointing.—Lindsay F., 14 LEVITHAN, David. Another Day. Knopf. Aug. 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780385756204. Gr 8 Up–Another Day gives another side of the story in the author’s Every Day (Knopf, 2012). Even if you haven't read the other books, you can enjoy it. This is a companion novel, but it's also its own story. I decided to read this because when I was reading Every Day I was curious about Rhiannon's perspective. I enjoyed reading this because I got a more complete picture of what was going on in the story. I was frustrated by the unclear ending. The last line being, "I want to find A" makes me think that there will be another book or story about Rhiannon chasing after A. I feel like that was unnecessary and that the ending of the book would have been fine if that had not happened. I don't think that there need to be more stories about A/Rhiannon. I understand both points of view after reading this, and I think that a sequel would be gratuitous.–Adelaide M., 13 LLEWELLYN, Tom. Shadow of Seth. Poisoned Pencil. Aug. 2015. Tr $10.95. ISBN 9781929345182. Gr 8 Up–When Seth's mother is murdered and the police don't show any interest in finding the killer, he takes the job upon himself to find the killer. The most compelling aspect of the book was Seth. His dad left him and his mom and then his mom is murdered, and he goes and tries to find his mother’s killer. This book is really powerful. He also isn't rich, and during this hard part of his life, he finds a girl who he falls in love with, which gives him hope. It is an amazingly powerful story and I really recommend it.—Tyler M., 14 PANITCH, Amanda. Damage Done. Random. July 2015. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780553507492. Gr 9 Up–This book is not for the faint of heart. It started out as a good and innocent enough, but then it took some gory turns. The fact that I still didn't know what was going on until the very last chapter, made me keep reading. The beginning was a little less violent, and I stayed with it even though it became incredibly creepy, because I had become invested in the characters. I do recommend this book but only for those who can handle it.—Bayla R., 14 PEARSON, Mary. The Heart of Betrayal. Holt. July 2015. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780805099249. Gr 9 Up–Lia, a Princess of another kingdom, is abducted by an Assassin, previously sent to kill her. She is given to Venda, a barbaric country that killed both her brother and sister-in-law. The cover of the book reflected the “barbaric” feel of Venda, and the character's internal feelings of loneliness; but I believe it doesn't show the security that she found, and her scarlet dress doesn't fit the book (in the book, her dress was made of scraps, on the cover it's made of red lace). I loved the depth of the setting; the fact that the enemy castle and surrounding regions weren’t as different as Lia's was a great viewpoint. It spoke true to the real nature of things. I was disappointed by the character development. In the first book, The Kiss of Deception (Holt, 2014), Lia's character was almost fully developed. In this book, it's like the author started anew and the book showed that. As the story went on, her character grew worse and worse and more self-centered.—Katherine Y., 13 STRATTON, Allan. The Dogs. Sourcebooks. Sept. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781492609384. Gr 7–10–Once Cameron's dad has caught up to them again, it's another move for Cameron and his mother. They've been running since Cameron was eight...and I don't know how old he is now. Cameron has settled down in a small country town, where everyone knows one another. Only this place is full of secrets, and they won't leave him alone. Our story kicks off when Cameron starts seeing, hearing, and talking to things that don't exist, but lead him on a mysterious journey to a murder that may or may not have happened fifty years ago. This is a story of mental illnesses that people refuse to acknowledge, and a mystery that cannot remained unsolved for any longer. There are lots of twists in this book that will keep you guessing until the very last page. The cover was more helpful than I originally thought. It gave me an idea of the farm where Cameron, the main character, lived. It provided a nice visual on the setting where the majority of the book takes place, and is ideally important to the back story and storyline originating around the deaths and suspected murders that occurred in this area relating to the previous owners of the farming property. There wasn't much to be disappointed about in this book. I mean, you didn't get any details on Cameron's previous life, like what happened with his dad and why he has to move houses everywhere with his mom to hide from him, which I found a little irritating. It was also a little slow moving in the beginning, but the plot twists made up for it. What I found really compelling was that the backstory in a murder-mystery-type genre was extremely well-thought out and looped throughout the book. It was fun reading about the current events, and then guessing for myself what would happen, while the events proved my hypothesis wrong. Reading this book was like an Agatha Christie mystery novel on cocaine.—Sam G., 14