Recommendations for Jen (Page Turners)

This post is for a Jennifer. She knows who she is. Jen is looking for a few good books to help reach her Goodreads reading challenge goal for 2015.

Audiobooks are a good way to wrack up some books. Also, many of the old classics are quick. I recently read Frankenstein, Animal House, and The Great Gatsby via audiobook. I think they are all under 200 pages. 

Below are mini-reviews from previous posts of mine for books that I have really liked that were "page- turners" for me. Sorry if the links no longer work. And apparently, sometimes I BOLD the title, sometimes I bold the author, and sometimes I bold both… I think you can figure out what's going on.

"I continue to LOVE LOVE LOVE The Ascendance Trilogy novels by Jennifer Nielson. I think I expressed my disagreement that these are "middle grade" books when I posted about the first one. Again, I have no idea how these things are decided. This one had less torture, so maybe it's for elementary kids!! Adventure, fun, and oh so many feels. Also, it makes me realize that as much as the romance, kissy kissy stuff annoys me in books, I totally miss it when it's missing... of course, I think the kids in this book are 14... so, there really is no rush to the sucking face scene, I guess.

I am Princess X by Cherie Priest. I really liked the book. It's about a pair of best friends, one of whole is presumably killed and the other who is obsessed with the idea that her friend may well be alive. It was just suspenseful enough to keep you guessing. This is an excellent example of incorporating graphic novel elements.

Pretty is by Maggie Mitchell: This book's summary was interesting, as is the idea for the story. Two adult women revisit the two month period when they were kidnapped and held in the woods. I actually really liked the view of the girls and their connection to the time and the man over the course of their lives. It had a few too many layers (a movie, based on a book, based on the story of the girls from one perspective with the view point of the other folks thrown in). The "thriller" stalker part was unnecessary and wrapped up too quickly. And other lines didn't wrap up very satisfactorily at all. The psychology of the unloved/ unlovable post trauma thing was interesting.

Between the Lines by [Jodi Picoult]: She might get a bit of flack on my Twitter TL, but I love Jodi Picoult. I've read several of her novels and think they're each different and interesting. Granted, I have read them all with years in between them, which I think helps with any author. You don't get too keen to their patterns and idiosyncrasies. Anyway, in the now, Delilah is a weird nerd with few friends who is the first to be able to see that the characters in a middle grade adventure book might have minds of their own. It might be all a little predictable and a little convenient and "just how would that work exactly," but that is kind of part of the story. Ms. Picoult wrote this book with her daughter and it is, itself, for younger readers. It's enjoyable and super quick, despite it's 350 pages."