Posting without consulting my reading team....

 

It is a great start to the Smackdown when you get to read two books and you enjoy both.

Terror At Bottle Creek is an adventure story and with the many hurricanes in the news this past fall, it is certainly pertinent to current events happening in our world.  Cort,  a kind teen, who has his own uncertainties about himself saves the day when a series of events goes from bad to worse.  This book read similarly to The Hatchet and you are drawn to cheer for Cort and hope that all ends well.

Holding up the Universe:  High School is difficult to navigate at the best of times.  When you are a teen who cannot recognize faces it can be tremendously challenging.  However, if you are a teen returning to school after several years of home schooling because you couldn't leave your house due to obesity the challenges are equally great.  This story asks the reader to question their presumptions and examine what does it mean to be true to yourself.  Although, I don't know if the teen romance was needed, I did enjoy the characters and the story.

My vote (let's see if I match the other readers in the group) goes to Holding up the Universe.

Maureen