Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

This book is different than I was expecting it to be... in a good way!  I could really connect with the main character, Auden, which makes reading the book all the more fun.  I also loved how all the characters in the book had their own stories, that they weren't just there as fillers.  This was a cute book with drama at every turn! I recommend this book to fans of Sarah Dessen's other novels, fans of Stephanie Perkins, and fans of YA romance novels.

Summary (from GoodReads):
It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.

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For more info, visit the author's website.

I'll definitely be reading more of Sarah Dessen's novels!

~thespectacularbookworm  

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

I really, really liked this book. At first I was unsure of it, but by the end I was dying for the sequel. The plotline is very original, and I loved the main characters Todd and Viola--you didn't really see into them at first, you didn't really know their story, but you soon learn more about them and I liked how the author did that. He kept you on the edge of your seat--this book is really fast-paced and it's just a really good dark dystopian fiction. I recommend it to fans of The Hunger Games, or if you want to get hooked on another YA series!

Summary (from GoodReads):
Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

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This book was a great way to start the year! 
Hopefully, 2013 will be full of spectacular books.

~thespectacularbookworm