On My Bookshelf (1)

(Originally by The Story Siren, as "In My Mailbox.") On My Bookshelf is a new meme that I'm starting to share what books I bought from the store, won, or rented at the library. These will most likely be my next reads so keep your eyes open for their reviews!

Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz (Ever since seeing the book trailer for this, I've been excited to get my hands on a copy! I bought it at my nearest bookstore yesterday. Can't wait to read/review it.)

Amazon summary: Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary. Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. She's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help--but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.

Every Time A Rainbow Dies by Rita Williams-garcia (I had never heard of this book/author until I entered Black Eyed Susan's LLM giveaway! I chose this book from her prize list, and just recently got it in the mail. Can't wait to read and review it soon!)

Amazon summary: Both Thulani and his girlfriend Ysa have an isolating spiritual wound. Ever since his mother suddenly returned to their Jamaican home to die four years ago, Thulani, 16, has withdrawn from the brother and sister-in-law who have raised him and who want to "man him up." Thulani spends long hours on the roof of their brownstone alone with his beloved doves, and school is to him "simply the sitting place." One day he hears a scream and looks over the parapet to see a young woman being raped in the alley below. He rescues her, covers her nakedness, and takes her home, although she fights him every step of the way. Later, fascinated by her proud rejection and grace, he begins to seek her out and follow her in her colorful clothes. "Every time you step out," he tells her, "a rainbow must die." At first she rejects him angrily because he has seen her shamed, but then she shares her name, Ysa, and her fierce ambition to become a textile designer. Little by little they begin to reach out (and then pull back again), to comfort and strengthen each other, and, finally, in a bittersweet ending, "to let go when it was time to let go."