My favorite books for January

January is considered the saddest, most depressing month of the year so I decided to read sad, depressing books.As sad as they were all supposed to be they all actually turned out to be uplifting. Enjoy!

The Fault in our Stars
What do you get when you have two young people with terminal cancer who find love but are afraid to explore it because at the end someone is going to be left alone? The book will make you appreciate all the loved ones you have around you and to cherish all the moments even the ones when you wish you could strangle them. Totally worth the read and you will laugh as much as you cry.

Thirteen Reasons Why
There doesn't seem to be a day that goes by when you don't hear about a teenager taking their life due to the hatred they feel at the hands of a bully. Hannah is no different. What is different is she had a plan before she took her own life, she was going to make sure that the people who humiliated her, ignored her, treated her like shit would fully know they have blood on their hands with her suicide. She sets up a series of tapes where she discloses to each of the people involved in her diminished view of herself and what they did to cause it. The tapes are passed from person to person through the mail so every one hears what they all did or didn't do to cause this young girl to take her own life.

Cranked
The novel switches viewpoints between Bull and Victor with every chapter and you slowly begin to see that while on the surface the two boys are very different really their almost the same person. After years of Bull torturing Victor with taunts, name calling and physical abuse at school Victor decides to get away from the world where his family doesn't know he exists and his only physical contact is with a bully. Bull decides to take matters in his own hands in his very dysfunctional family. Both boys end up in a place neither ever imagined.

Shine
Cat's best friend has been beaten to within an inch of his life and it's believed it's a hate crime because he's gay. Going into Cat's world of poverty, drugs and intolerance where her only wish is to find the people who did this to her friend. Touching and thought provoking for sure.

Juliet-A Novel
Now for some love to make us feel better. If you like books that cover parts of history this one is for you. Julie Jacobs travels to Italy to find a buried treasure as that's what her grandmother left her in her will. Once there she is introduced to a mixture of characters who believe still in the feud between the families of Juliet and Romeo. The book flips back and forth into the present and into the days of Romeo and Juliet. A great read.