Since You’ve Been Gone
By: Morgan Matson
This book is a 2015 nominee for YALSA’s Teen Top Ten award.
Sloane and Emily are an unlikely pair of best friends. Sloane is outgoing and adventurous while Emily is quiet, shy and, well, non-adventurous. Right before what was supposed to be an epic summer, Sloane disappears. She and her family are just gone without a trace. She leaves a note for Emily, however, which includes a list of thirteen things that Sloane wants Emily to do that summer. Things that Emily wouldn’t do in a million years. Some aren’t so bad like apple picking at night. But then she also wants to her kiss a stranger and go skinny-dipping. After some soul-searching, Emily is determined to finish the list.
This is a great story about breaking out of your shell, doing things that make you uncomfortable but surviving the experience and being a stronger person for it. It has some great characters with a little romance thrown in to make things interesting.
Review By: Jackie Humphrey