[REVIEW] Be Not Far from Me

title: Be Not Far from Me
author: Mindy McGinnis
narrator: Brittany Pressley
genre: young adult, contemporary
published: March 3rd 2020 by HarperAudio
my copy: audiobook, 7 hrs  48 mins
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

The world is not tame. 

Ashley knows this truth deep in her bones, more at home with trees overhead than a roof. So when she goes hiking in the Smokies with her friends for a night of partying, the falling dark and creaking trees are second nature to her. But people are not tame either. And when Ashley catches her boyfriend with another girl, drunken rage sends her running into the night, stopped only by a nasty fall into a ravine. Morning brings the realization that she's alone - and far off trail. Lost in undisturbed forest and with nothing but the clothes on her back, Ashley must figure out how to survive despite the red streak of infection creeping up her leg.

The world is not tame.

I've been meaning to read a Mindy McGinnis book (because I've been reading good things about her books)!! So when I got a chance to read it during the Scribd Free Reads period, I just had to try one!!

[REVIEW] Love & Gelato

title: Love Gelato (Love & Gelato #1)
author: Jenna Evans Welch
narrator: Rebekkah Ross
genre: young adult, romance
published: August 16, 2016 by Simon & Schuster Audio
my copy: audiobook, 8 hrs 17 mins
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Fully Booked
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

A summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany in this sweeping debut novel filled with romance, mystery, and adventure. 

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home. 

But then Lina is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything Lina knew about her mother, her father—and even herself. 

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more. 

Kirkus Reviews called Love & Gelato “a sure bet for fans of romance fiction,” while VOYA said readers “will find it difficult to put this book down.” Readers are about to discover a new place, a new romance, and a new talent.

fun read but not enough Gelato

I read this because Scribd Free Reads had me picking up books I'm not entirely sure I'll love. But who says no to free YA chick-lit romance? I've been eyeing this one since it came out but I've never been one to read YA contemporaries because I think I already outgrew them. But I enjoyed it this one 😊

[REVIEW] Between Shades of Gray (audio)

title: Between Shades of Gray
author: Ruta Sepetys; Emily Klein (narrator)
genre: young adult, historical fiction
published: March 22, 2011 by Penguin Audio
format: audio, 7 hours and 47 minutes
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
audiobook: Audible | Overdrive | Publisher 
rating: 5 / 5 stars
goodreads

Lithuania, June 1941: Fifteen-year-old Lina is preparing for art school and looking forward to summer. In the dark of night there is a knock at the door and life is forever changed. Soviet secret police arrest Lina, her mother, and her younger brother, tearing their family apart. The three are hauled from their home and thrown into cattle cars, where they soon discover their destination: Siberia. Separated from her father, Lina embeds clues in her drawings and secretly passes them along, hoping they will reach her father's prison camp. In this dramatic and moving story, Lina desperately fights for her life and the lives of those around her. But will love be enough to keep her alive?

Heartbreaking. Unforgettable. Enlightening.

I read Between Shades of Gray years ago. I LOVED it. It's my favorite historical fiction. It's heartbreaking and really brings out a story many do not know about. So when I saw AudioFile had it up for free download as part of SYNC, AudioFile's free summer audiobook program for teens 13+, I HAD to grab it.