And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Ten strangers are invited to an exclusive island by a mysterious U.N. Owen. One by one the guests start dying just as a certain poem predicts. This U.N. Owen knows all there secrets and is using it against them. The smallest mistake can lead to death. The pasts that the guests are desperately trying to forget seem to be following them everywhere they go. All the remaining guests are starting to panic, which one of them is going to die next and which one has any information about the twisted millionaire?
The plot is incredibly well thought-out. In most mystery novels, the suspect is relatively obvious but definitely not in this one. I was left guessing until the very last second. Unlike most mysteries, the story wraps up well and leaves no questions and loose strings. The ending was heart-stoppingly suspenseful. My favorite part of this novel was the setting. The island provided an excellently scary and suspenseful environment to match the plot.
The characters were each unique but were all connected in the sense that they all committed murder that was untouched by the law. All ten characters were clearly well-thought-out and had interesting backstories that were just as well-planned as the rest of this story. All of the characters could have been the murderer. Although all characters were deep and were constantly changing, the most mysterious one was U.N. Owen. After it was revealed that his name was a play on the word "unknown", I grew extremely excited about finding out who he was.

Full-Ride by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Becca Jones is the daughter of a criminal. She and her mother have decided to leave their old home behind and start fresh in a place where no one knows their past. No one seems to suspect a thing with her mother's careful decisions and her father's lawyer's help. Becca feels almost normal. Of course she doesn't have a Facebook account, cell phone, or the big mansion she used to live in but things could have been worse. She could have had to stay at her old house where everyone was judging her. As she begins to adapt to her new life, she starts to plan for the future. But going to college might dig up her past and Becca isn't sure she wants to risk it.

The overall plot was extremely original and I don't recall reading many thrillers with this kind of theme. I would have liked the ending to be wrapped up better rather than the cliffhanger I was given but other than that, the ending was perfect. The pace of the story was great for the most part but about two-thirds of the way through it got a bit slow and then suddenly in the end the pace picked up instantly.
Becca and her mother seemed to be rather boring and somewhat stale characters in the beginning but slowly began to grow and change. Her father was the most interesting character in the story. This is probably largely due to the fact that everything happened because of his actions. He had a complex personality that was much more difficult to understand than Becca's and her mother's. Becca's friends add a bit of personality into the story but sometimes feel as though they are present purely to add suspense and fill up the plot.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Susie Salmon has died. But no one knows how or who killed her. The only evidence comes when a dog uncovers her elbow. No matter how much her family is trying to deny it, they can't shake of the feeling that maybe Susie is actually gone and never coming back. Soon they begin to accept the truth but not easily. The next thing Susie knows, her entire family is falling apart not to mention all the pain her former friends are in. Lindsey, her little sister, is tired of all the negative attention she's been getting. Her mother is confused as to what she wants in life now. Her father doesn't want to let go of all the memories. And her little brother has no idea as to what's going on. Will both Susie and her family finally move on?

The overall plot was kind of unclear in the beginning. But as the story progressed the main plot seemed to be the journey that everyone close to Susie took after she died. The main theme of the story is rather intense which can make it seem unappealing at times. The tone was also extremely intense at the beginning and even though it started to mild out eventually, the echo remained even after the story was over. Overall, I thought the book was great.
Susie was an average main character. There were times were you forgot about her and the significance of her being the narrator of the story. The secondary characters were the most important and relatable. Some of these characters include Lindsey, Susie's mother, Susie's grandmother, Samuel and Susie's father.

Soccerland by Beth Choat

Flora's life revolves around soccer. It's one of the only things that she enjoys doing. Not only is soccer Flora's dream but it's also her escape. It helps her forget everything stressful going on in her life such as her mother's cancer. The stress of trying to get into the Under-15 U.S.A. Girls' Soccer Team is really getting to Flora. Soon all of her time is spent practicing and practicing to hopefully get into the team. But when disaster strikes, will Flora have the strength and motivation to continue pursuing her dream?

You don't need to understand much about soccer before you read this book. The story explains any important soccer terms. That helps the reader connect to story even if they have no previous about soccer. The ending was realistic and is by far the best part of the book. It wasn't cheesy or impractical but it was honest and motivating. Although it wasn't really a happy ending, it was powerful and optimistic. The ending was also open to the reader to decide how they would like it to end. Overall, this was a very sweet story with an inspiring plot.

Flora is a modern day hero. She is very easy to connect to. Even though she is a very serious soccer player and it is a huge part of her life, her experiences make her relatable to almost anyone. She is determined and knows how to balance her time and energy. She battles stress, pressure and insecurities and overcomes them. Flora grew so much during the story and is worth paying close attention to.

DupliKate by Cherry Cheva

Kate has always been dreaming of going to Yale one day. As Kate knows, getting into Yale isn't easy. So she has been working extra hard everyday. Sometimes five times as much as the other students are but one day it'll all be worth it. But one day when Kate meets her "twin". At first she can't process the thought of how there is someone who looks exactly like her but isn't. But maybe this isn't such a bad idea. Now the real Kate Larson can do half as much work as she used to. But the computer version of Kate might cause some problems in the real Kate's life that no one could have predicted.
The overall idea of a twin version of the main character is not super original but yet it isn't overused either. I would have liked a better description of how Kate actually got a duplicate version of herself because it was a little bit confusing. The ending of the novel was perfect. It wasn't cheesy, lame or predictable. Overall, it was an average book. There were some confusing parts to the story but the other parts that were more relatable and exiting make up for it.
Kate was an above average character. She was determined, thoughtful and had an clever way of thinking. Rina, Kate's double, is kind of the opposite of Kate. She makes the story more humorous and keeps the story going on. Without her, the story wouldn't have anything interesting going on. There are other characters in the story but they aren't as essential to the story.

I've reviewed She's So Money by Cherry Cheva too so click here to see it.