When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I listened to the audio version of the sweet, young adult romance.

Dimple and Rishi are likeable characters who are both children of Indian parents. Rishi is traditional while Dimple fights hard to live her life as an American teenager. When they meet at a summer camp preceding their freshman years of college free he believes he's meeting the woman his parents have arranged for him to marry, and she has no idea about her family's plans of matrimony for her.

The story is sappy and predictable in parts but it is a nice love story with a satisfying ending. My favorite part of the story was getting to know the Indian culture a little bit better.

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Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What is it to be someone with OCD? What is it to be a friend to someone with OCD? To love someone with OCD? Turtles All The Way Down gives a glimpse of what it's like to be all of these things.

This book is the typical John Green Formula. (Quirky characters, precocious teenagers, BFF who is funny and pushy and has the best lines of dialogue, parents who instill a lot of trust in their kid.) It wasn't my favorite John Green but it wasn't a bad read either.

There's a mystery and an adventure or two along the way but this is mostly character driven.

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A Strange Companion by Lisa Manterfield
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kat is a student at university but she doesn't get back home much. Her boyfriend, Gabe, died unexpectedly nearly two years ago so it's hard for her to go back and face all of the memories that come from being where the two of them shared their lives together. When her brother brings home his adopted daughter Kat finds herself back home for a few weeks. The strange thing is she feels a connection to her new niece, Mai, and thinks she could be Gabe reincarnated.

Yes, I said reincarnated but don't give up yet!

This is a story of a young girl learning to handle her grief rather than a paranormal adventure story. Readers who have lost anyone in their lives should find some comfort in Kat's story. There's more than one way to handle the death of a loved one and Lisa Manterfield shows that it's not always going to be graceful.

I enjoyed the characters in this story. Kat's family were interesting and added depth to this story. I may have teared up a time or two, but this won't be a book to sob over.

My reading of this book was really enhanced by Once Upon A Book Club. If you've never heard of them be sure to check them out here. They include gifts (but don't open them until the correct page number!) that really make the story come to life. It's such a cool, unique reading experience and I recommend you give it a whirl!

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The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing this copy to me. The following is my honest review.

Good book for gamers, young adult fans, readers nostalgic for the 80s, or readers looking for an easy read that's hard to put down. There are quite a few laughs along the way.

I could be critical of a few things in the book, but the story sucked me in and let me forget any minor complaint that may have come up. There were a couple of twists that I wasn't expecting. The characters are memorable, and I would like to read about them in a sequel.

I wanted to pass this book on to my young teenager, since the main characters are close to his age (and I'm fairly sure he'd love it). I hesitate because of some of the language, discussions of sex, and certain actions of the characters. It's not awful for the right young reader, but parents should be aware of what's in here before giving it to an impressionable kid.

What did you think? Would you let your teen read this book? Add your comments below!

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