Imaginary Friends and Enemies

Most kids had imaginary friends when they were little. Most kids grow out of it. In the creepy and witty Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, Kami Glass never did.

At sixteen, she's learned not to talk to other people about Jared, or to talk out loud to him. But she always knew he was there, the invisible friend in her head. They share everything with each other, joys and sorrows, frustrations and triumphs. But it's not as if she's ever seen him. He is imaginary, after all.

Then the mysterious Lynburns return to her small English village, and she meets the black sheep of the family. A boy who knows an awful lot about her. A boy who seems awfully familiar. A boy named Jared.

As Kami and her friends try to uncover the dark secret of the Lynburns, she also tries to work out what, if anything, she has to fear from Jared. What do you do when your imaginary friend suddenly comes to life . . . and just might be evil?

- Maureen K.

How Long is Your To-Read List?

Perfect timing for this blog post - my favorite topic of finding a good book to read ties in with the challenge of today's Summerquest blog. A few years ago I was lucky enough to have some time to create the mother of all to-read lists from all of those tiny pieces of paper with titles scratched on them that I had been collecting forever. If I were to retire today, I still don't think I could get through the over 1500 titles in my Goodreads to-read pile. One thing I like to do is randomly select a title from that list and see what I think. And boy did I find a winner this time with Emily St. John Mandel's debut novel Last Night in Montreal.