This is a series where I look at my old Waiting on Wednesday posts and talk about if I actually ever read the book, if I liked it if I did, and if I haven’t, would I or not. That kind of thing. I think it’s interesting to talk about books from back then, and I hope you find it interesting, too.
Since we’re wrapping up 2022, I thought it was time for another one of these!
WoWed February 1st, 2012:
The Night She Disappeared by April Henry
Release date: March 13th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Gabie drives a Mini Cooper. She also works part time as a delivery girl at Pete’s Pizza. One night, Kayla—another delivery girl—goes missing. To her horror, Gabie learns that the supposed kidnapper had asked if the girl in the Mini Cooper was working that night.
Gabie can’t move beyond the fact that Kayla’s fate was really meant for her, and she becomes obsessed with finding Kayla. She teams up with Drew, who also works at Pete’s. Together, they set out to prove that Kayla isn’t dead—and to find her before she is.
Update: I have read another book by April Henry, but I didn’t like it a ton, so I haven’t sought more out by her. I probably should, though. Still interested in this one!
Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris
Release date: April 24th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle’s mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.
And that was before she died… and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth’s destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.
Update: Honestly, this is a pretty cool premise but I feel like it probably wouldn’t live up to my expectations, and I kinda don’t want to seek out a book published in 2012 and then bash it for being a book published in 2012 for no real reason, you know? It just seems mean and pointless.
WoWed February 8th, 2012:
What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen
Release date: May 1st, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Sara and her mom have a plan to finally escape Sara’s abusive father. But when her mom doesn’t show up as expected, Sara’s terrified. Her father says that she’s on a business trip, but Sara knows he’s lying. Her mom is missing—and her dad had something to do with it.
With each day that passes, Sara’s more on edge. Her friends know that something’s wrong, but she won’t endanger anyone else with her secret. And with her dad growing increasingly violent, Sara must figure out what happened to her mom before it’s too late…for them both.
Update: I read this back in April! It was okay. Not amazing. I don’t think my review is actually up yet because I am chaotic and have a backlog going. Look for that soon.
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
Release date: May 8th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): It isn’t easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.
When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.
The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past—and hers?
Update: This just isn’t really something I read much of. I’m really not a big fantasy person. Not for me!
WoWed February 15th, 2012:
Miracle by Elizabeth Scott
Release date: June 5th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Megan is a miracle. At least, that’s what everyone says. Having survived a plane crash that killed everyone else on board, Megan knows she should be grateful just to be alive. But the truth is, she doesn’t feel like a miracle. In fact, she doesn’t feel anything at all. Then memories from the crash start coming back.
Scared and alone, Megan doesn’t know whom to turn to. Her entire community seems unable—or maybe unwilling—to see her as anything but Miracle Megan. Everyone except for Joe, the beautiful boy next door with a tragic past and secrets of his own. All Megan wants is for her life to get back to normal, but the harder she tries to live up to everyone’s expectations, the worse she feels. And this time, she may be falling too fast to be saved.
Update: I actually did read this one!! And I liked it a lot. I remember really liking the writing and it made me want to read more Elizabeth Scott. I’ve only read one since and I didn’t love it, unfortunately, but I’m still optimistic.
All These Lives by Sarah Wylie
Release date: June 5th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Sixteen-year-old Dani is convinced she has nine lives. As a child she twice walked away from situations where she should have died. But Dani’s twin, Jena, isn’t so lucky. She has cancer and might not even be able to keep her one life.
Dani’s father is in denial. Her mother is trying to hold it together and prove everything’s normal. And Jena is wasting away. To cope, Dani sets out to rid herself of all her extra lives. Maybe they’ll be released into the universe and someone who wants to live more than she does will get one. Someone like Jena. But just when Dani finds herself at the breaking point, she’s faced with a startling realization. Maybe she doesn’t have nine lives after all. Maybe she really only ever had one.
Update: This is just another YA contemporary that I don’t have a lot of interest in seeking out. They really just aren’t super my thing.
WoWed February 22nd, 2012:
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
Release date: June 19th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.
Update: See above. Also, I’m really not into military stories. Not my thing at all.
Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel
Release date: June 26th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Callie LeRoux is choking on dust. It seeps through the cracks in the hotel that Callie and her mother run in Kansas. It’s slowly filling her lungs. Callie’s begged her mother to leave their town, like their neighbors have already done, but her mother refuses. She’s waiting for Callie’s long-gone father to return.
Just as the biggest dust storm in history sweeps through the Midwest, Callie discovers her mother’s long-kept secret. Callie’s not just mixed race — she’s half fairy, too. Now, Callie’s fairy kin have found where she’s been hidden, and they’re coming for her. The only person Callie can trust may be Jack, the charming ex-bootlegger she helped break out of jail.
From the despair of the Dust Bowl to the hot jazz of Kansas City, from dance marathons to train yards, to the dangerous beauties of the fairy realm, Sarah Zettel creates a world rooted equally in American history and in magic, where two fairy clans war over a girl marked by prophecy.
Update: This I actually still think sounds cool. I like the setting and the premise sounds interesting. I also would like to read more historical books. I would still read this one.
WoWed February 29th, 2012:
This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers
Release date: June 19th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going.
Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?
Update: I read this!! I did not like it at all! That was really disappointing.
Touched by Cyn Balog
Release date: August 14th, 2012
Summary (from goodreads): Nick Cross always listens to the voice in his head. Because if he doesn’t? Things can go really, really wrong. Like the day he decided to go off script and saved a girl from being run over . . . and let another one drown. Trying to change the future doesn’t work.
But this summer at the Jersey Shore, something’s about to happen that Nick never could have predicted. He meets a girl named Taryn and finds out about the Book of Touch. Now the path that he thought he was on begins to shift . . . and there’s no way to stop things from happening. Or is there?
In a life where there are no surprises, nothing has prepared Nick for what he’s about to discover–or the choice he will be forced to make.
Update: I kind of can’t tell if I would want to read this or not. I really like the cover, but the summary isn’t doing much for me.
Wow, 3/10 is more than we’ve had in a bit!
Have you read any of these? Would you read any of these? What are your thoughts on 2012 YA?
– Laina
Laina Has Too Much Spare Time 