One for the Murphy's:
Well this book definitely didn't make me an angry and bawling mess. Just kidding! It did. One For the Murphy's is basically about a foster girl who's stepdad abused her, and her mom helped out. (Well kinda. Its complicated). Carly is placed with the Murphy family after she recovers. In my (popular?) opinion, the Murphy family is the real life embodiment of the Weasly family. Ok maybe not real life, but realistic fiction version. Anyway, Carly basically becomes a Murphy and life is good. Well guess what. Her mom wants her to come back. (spoiler!) SHE GOES BACK TO HER MOM. HER MOM WHO ABUSED HER. WHAT THE HECK. And Mrs. Murphy has to say goodbye and says she loves her and they probably won't see each other again and I think I lost all of the water in my body reading this book. Read it. Bring Kleenexes.
Before I Fall:
I know I've talked about this in like five other posts, each with a small blurb. And no, I probably won't ever post a full review. But for now, here's another short blurb: Sam is the typical popular, preppy, mean girl. She and her friends Elody, Ally, and Lindsey "run the school." But one day, all four of them get into a horrible car crash, and Sam is frozen in that day. She relives it seven times. Most of the days, she goes to a party. At that party one of the girls her and her friends bullied, Juliet, confronts them then ends up killing herself. And finally, after all these days and the realization of what she's done (and some other stuff, read the book) she sacrifices herself to save Juliet. *ensue sobbing* This book makes me cry every time, but I'll never stop reading it because its just THAT good. I really suggest it, and maybe I will end up writing a review someday, who knows. *shrug*
Stone Fox:
This is one of the first chapter books I ever read. My dad read it to me and my two older siblings. I remember being curled up next to my sister, my dad reading and crying endlessly. I also cried the second time I read it. And the third, fourth, fifth, so on. While rereading this book for this post, I cried. You will cry. Be prepared. Maybe it was all these traumatic experiences that made me forget this book's title. On my notes for this post I wrote, quote: "That wolf book, Stonehenge or something." Well its not called Stonehenge and its not about wolves either. This book is about a young boy named Willy and his Grandfather. His Grandfather is ill, and the pair are about to be evicted from their farm because Grandfather didn't pay the taxes. (This went over my head as a little kid, I thought the man who gave them the notice was just mean.) Willie has to raise $500 for the taxes, so when he sees a dog sled race with that amount for a prize, he and his dog Searchlight enter. But Stone Fox, an Indian who never speaks is entering as well. Stone Fox always wins. The race begins and Willy is in the lead for the first half, but in the second half Stone Fox starts to catch up. The two of them are just one hundred yards from the finish when Searchlight's heart bursts. Willy is crying, I'm crying, Stone Fox is crying (just kidding). Stone Fox draws a line in the snow and takes out a gun and says his only line of the book. "Anyone crosses this line, I shoot." And then: "The town looked on in silence as little Willy, carrying Searchlight, walked the last ten feet and across the finish line." OMG WHY AM I CRYING AGAIN. This book is too much. It only took me about 20 minutes to reread, so I suggest it. Stay hydrated. I suggest a water bottle while reading. Its actually quite surprising that I can cry every time I read it, considering I know the ending. But that just speaks to why Stone Fox is on this list.
Well guys, keep reading and keep crying. Stay warm, and keep in mind as the weather gets colder: winter is the best time to curl up by the fire with some hot chocolate, fuzzy socks, and a book and just turn those pages. I'll keep this post updated as I cry
-Colleen