Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Book Trailer 01:

Counting by 7's
Author Holly Goldberg Sloan
Cover Design by Mina Chung
Copyright 2013
ISBN 978-0-8037-3855-3
[Fic]--dc23
Reading Level 5.6 ATOS
Lexile Value 770L
Teaching/Learning Tools: http://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=35892&a=1

Being orphaned as a baby is something Willow doesn't remember; being orphaned again at twelve, is something she will never forget.

Willow Chance is someone I would want to know, to have as my friend.  She is a genius-- really, she is.  She is intelligent beyond her years, but she is also forced to grow beyond her years and learn to choose her own path.  She has faced disappointment, loneliness and immeasurable grief.

Willow had been adopted by amazing and loving parents and her life was full. . . until a medical supply truck, ran a red light, and took everything away from her.  This is a story of courage, endings and new beginnings.  It is about the love of family-- the family we choose to call our own and those who choose to love us.
Mrs. Flores

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author Laini Taylor
Cover Design by Alison Imprey
Copyright 2011
ISBN 978-0-316-13402-6
[Fic]--dc22
Reading Level 5.8 UG
Lexile Value 850L
Teaching/Learning Tools on Author's Blog:  http://www.lainitaylor.com/p/books.html
California Young Reader Medal Nominee for 2014-2015

Author's BookTrailer 01

Author's BookTrailer 02

Critique:
"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love.  It did not end well (Taylor, introduction page)."
Seventeen year old Karou will draw you in with her numerous adventures and internal emptiness. She will impress you as a heroine and have you reading into the night to find out where her next travels will take her.  As a reader you will "see" the pages of Karou's sketchbook come alive and you will climb into them to follow her to the underworld and beyond.
Mrs. Flores  

"It's to Taylor's great credit that evil incarnate and its love match in Daughter of Smoke and Bone are such imaginative interpretations and that the worlds in which this romance unfolds are likewise so unique: Telling a tale this apocryphal requires serious outside-the-box plot work to pull off. Taylor manages her self-imposed challenge with aplomb."
-The Los Angeles Times