SST Guest Post - Jenn Bennett's Top 5 YA Contemporary Reads

The Anatomical Shape Of A Heart

Author: Jenn Bennett

Release Date: November 3rd, 2015

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends 

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary

Pages: 304

Artist Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she's spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Leonardo da Vinci’s footsteps, she's ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down.

Jack is charming, wildly attractive . . . and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is—and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in Beatrix’s own family’s closet tear them apart?

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Guest

Jenn Benn's Top 5 Favorite Contemporaries

and of course I haven't read any of them. Shame on you Tika, shame on you.

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If you guys aren't familiar with who Jenn Bennett is . . . where the hell have you been? Under a rock? In bikini bottom chilling with Spongebob? * Snaps Fingers * wake up people, WAKE UP! Anywho, Jenn is the author of a number of titles, her recent being my most anticipated read right now, The Anatomical Shape Of A Heart, (Night Owls for my international folks.) Sooooo many people have been raving about this book, and when I first seen my girl Kelly from Divabooknerd's review for it last month of so, I knew that I had to have it. Thank goodness she's an amazing friend, because she gifted it to me, and I'll be reading and reviewing it next week! Now for the Sunday Street Team, I have a guest post featuring Jenn, showcasing her top 5 favorite young adult contemporary reads!

Let's dive in shall we?

Favorite Young Adult Contemporaries

I read every day, all kinds of books. Historical romance, low fantasy, mystery, thrillers, time travel—and lots and lots of young adult. If I had to pick my top five YA books… well, I’d do what I just did, right now, and bang my head on my desk, because there are far too many to distill into a short list. And then I’d just randomly choose these five, which are my current fave teen contemporary reads:

5. Lola And The Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins (2011)

To be honest, I’ve read Anna and the French Kiss at least five times. It’s my go-to comfort read. I adore the hero in that book and the Paris setting. HOWEVER, I love the character Lola more than sliced bread. I want Lola to be happy, so whatever Lola wants, I want her to have. And she wants the nice, geeky boy, and that makes me doubly happy. Also, this book is set in San Francisco, like The Anatomical Shape of a Heart—win! Thirdly, I recently met Stephanie Perkins in Dallas at a book convention and she told me my dress was pretty. I almost fainted. (Authors are fangirls, too.)

I've read Anna & The French Kiss and because it was too fluffy for my tastes, (Anna was annoying as well) I wasn't very motivated to continue on to the next two books. Maybe now I'll reconsider . . . maybe.

4. My Life Next Door - Huntley Fitzpatrick (2012)

Funny, engaging, sexy, and real. This is a summer romance between the lonely daughter of a single mom and the neighboring boy, whose family is big and loud and sprawling. I did a lot swooning and laughing during this one.

My Life Next Door has been sitting on my Kindle waiting to be read since December 26, 2014. Yep, I'm shameful.

3. Dangerous Girls - Abigail Hass - (2013)

A compelling thriller about a group of teens who go on holiday in Aruba. When one of the girls is brutally murdered, her best friend is accused of the killing and arrested. Jailed in a foreign country, as her friends and the media turn against her, she has to defend herself. I could not put this down. It was so scary, so twisty. Even until the last sentence, I didn’t know for certain who the murderer was… just WOW.

When it comes to YA thrillers, I'm always skeptical and a little hesitant to pick them up. But this does sound pretty good.

2. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - E Lockhart (2008)

I grew up in a working-class family, so sometimes I like to read books about wealthy private schools—to see what I missed, I suppose. Privilege aside, the narrator is smart and genuine enough to make me want to follow her as she stages a rebellion against a decades-old male-dominated secret society.

I honestly didn't know E Lockhart had another title besides We Were Liars, which happens to be one of my favorite books.

1. I'll Give You The Sun - Jandy Nelson (2014)

Lush, stream-of-conscious narrative soars through this tale of grief told from the point of views of twins, male and female. Like The Anatomical Shape of a Heart, this book is also about artists (both the twins and their mother). This book warmed me and crushed me, then warmed me all over again. I love it from the top of my head to my toes. It is, simply, beautiful.

This book is always raved about so much in the blogging community, so I just may have to pick this up!

So there you have it guys, Jenn's list of her favorite YA contemps. 
Have you guys read any of these titles? If so, which ones, and what did you think about them?

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Never Never By Brianna R Shrum -- Top 5 Favorite Quotes (SST)

Never Never | Brianna R Shrum
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 368
Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling

James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.

When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.
But grow up he does. And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.

This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan.
Except one.

If you guys don't know about Never Never by Brianna R Shrum, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? It's a retelling of our favorite classic tale Peter Pan, told in such an interesting way. In this story, the perspective is told from James, who gives a fresh look as to who he was before he became the infamous Captain Hook. As apart of my Sunday Street Team post, I'll be showcasing 5 of my favorite quotes from Never Never, allowing you guys a little sneak peak as to what's to come. If the synopsis has grabbed your attention and you can't wait to read about James and that rusty ass hook, or Peter Pan in all his yeast-infection-yogo-pants glory, make sure you pre-order in time for it's September 22nd release!

" To die, thought the lost boy in place of the captain, will be an awfully big adventure. "

" I love you James Hook. Her body melted against his, yielding to him, and he gave himself completely over to her. He was totally consumed by her, enraptured by the feel, the taste, the beauty of her. And when she let out a small sound of pain, he brought his lips to her ear and kissed her gently until she relaxed against him and they moved together. "

Because surprisingly, things get a little steamy & who doesn't like . . . ya know . . . steam.

" James knew that he was readying himself to kill a child. A child that deserved nothing less than death, but a child nonetheless. Like Peter had killed the child in him so long ago. "

Now, now boys, settle down.

" His jaw dropped, and his eyes flew open. There, hundreds of feet beneath him, was a vast jungle, twinkling with life, dotted with little oasis here and there. There was a blue lagoon and a sea at it's edge, occupied by a large and wicked pirate ship, one that from this distance, he could barely make out- but it gave him a faint tickling in his chest. "

 ' Is it- is this, is this it? '
' Yes James. This is it. This is Neverland. '

Neverland sounds pretty damn intriguing huh?

" I could kill you now Peter Pan. I could kill you now and not a soul will hear you. You stole my life from me. I could do it. "

I really like when Hook is angry . .

So those are my top 5 favorite quotes from Never Never by Brianna R Shrum! Have any of you read or plan on reading this title?