In The Darkness, I Imagine Light

SPOILER ALERT
This review is of the final book in the Shatter Me series, and is mainly for those who have read or are familiar with the five previous books (and 4 novellas), or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Imagine Me~
Shatter Me
Book 6
By Tahereh Mafi
Amazon ~ Powell's

Juliette Ferrars.

Ella Sommers.

Which is the truth and which is the lie?

Now that Ella knows who Juliette is and what she was created for, things have only become more complicated. As she struggles to understand the past that haunts her and looks to a future more uncertain than ever, the lines between right and wrong—between Ella and Juliette—blur. And with old enemies looming, her destiny may not be her own to control.

The day of reckoning for the Reestablishment is coming. But she may not get to choose what side she fights on.


We all thought this was going to be a trilogy, then it turned into two. I already went through an ending once, am I ready to hang up the series for good? Yes and no...

The Memory Thief Who Backstabbed the Shadows

~The Memory Thief~
By Lauren Mansy
Amazon ~ Powell's

In the city of Craewick, memories reign. The power-obsessed ruler of the city, Madame, has cultivated a society in which memories are currency, citizens are divided by ability, and Gifted individuals can take memories from others through touch as they please.

Seventeen-year-old Etta Lark is desperate to live outside of the corrupt culture, but grapples with the guilt of an accident that has left her mother bedridden in the city’s asylum. When Madame threatens to put her mother up for auction, a Craewick practice in which a “criminal's" memories are sold to the highest bidder before being killed, Etta will do whatever it takes to save her. Even if it means rejoining the Shadows, the rebel group she swore off in the wake of the accident years earlier.

To prove her allegiance to the Shadows and rescue her mother, Etta must steal a memorized map of the Maze, a formidable prison created by the bloodthirsty ruler of a neighboring Realm. So she sets out on a journey in which she faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and, above all, her own past in order to set things right in her world.


Definitely hesitant to start this one, what with my grandmother grappling with dementia, but since trying to skirt around the topic resulted in being blindsided by the last two books I read containing dying grandmothers (one who also had dementia), I figured maybe I'm better off diving straight into a story knowing that it deals with lost memories. It turned out I didn't feel much of anything...

Unending Self-Discovery in Alter Ego

Alter Ego
By Caramel Column Inc.

"Who am I?"

This game is for those who want to analyze their personality, those with an interest in literature, philosophy, or psychology, and those who are continuously searching for themselves.

Tap whispers to gather EGO. Use the EGO you have gathered to progress in the story and take personality tests. Use what you learn in the game to see yourself in a new light.
There are multiple endings based on the choices you make. Your interpretation changes the nature of the in-game world.

"This is our story: yours, and mine."

Some Choose Hot Dogs, Some Have Hot Dogs Thrust Upon Them

~Hot Dog Girl~
By Jennifer Dugan
Amazon ~ Powell's

Elouise (Lou) Parker is determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her life. There are just a few things standing in her way:

* She's landed a job at Magic Castle Playland
. . . as a giant dancing hot dog.

* Her crush, the dreamy Diving Pirate Nick, already has a girlfriend, who is literally the Princess of the park. But Lou's never liked anyone, guy or otherwise, this much before, and now she wants a chance at her own happily ever after.

* Her best friend, Seeley, the carousel operator, who's always been up for anything, suddenly isn't when it comes to Lou's quest to set her up with the perfect girl or Lou's scheme to get close to Nick.

* And it turns out that this will be their last summer at Magic Castle Playland—ever—unless she can find a way to stop it from closing.

Jennifer Dugan's sparkling debut coming-of-age queer romance stars a princess, a pirate, a hot dog, and a carousel operator who find love—and themselves—in unexpected people and unforgettable places.


I have no idea how this book got onto my radar. I think it might have been from one of my library's Teen Reads emails—maybe one of the LGBTQ+ lists—but it must have been some time ago because it isn't in my junkbox anymore. But after reading a horror story with elements that hit a little too close to home, I knew I needed something fluffier to escape into. And fluff I got.