Far from the Tree-  By FAR the better book!
Krystal:
Luckily I was able to download this as an audiobook right away and loved listening to the story develop. Perhaps I should say the ‘stories’ as three siblings, given up at birth, find their way to each other and discover how their ‘stories’ intertwine while learning about each other.
There are so many facets to these young people and their struggles, which I feel the plot addresses adequately, and they were not the typical struggles I find in YA fiction.
Karen:
I found the characters to be relatable and realistic. I loved how the events unfolded through the eyes of the three characters. Just enough foreshadowing to keep the reader’s interest. I love how the author, in the acknowledgments, ends with “I am endlessly grateful that they chose me to tell their story, and I hope they’re doing well, wherever they may be”!

#Murdertrending -
Krystal:
I was so excited to get to choose this as our first read and as I sat waiting to choose our first books,  I was ready to wrestle it away from others!
How deceiving a book can be… but this deception will encourage kids read it at the very least.
The idea of Social Media and a Murder will certainly attract many young readers (look at the hashtag...instant appeal), yet I could not push forth past the first few chapters. I could not connect with the character(s) and felt that the plot was just too ‘out there’ to have any true connections or compassion with.
However, I did enjoy the unexpected- edge if your seat suspense of never knowing when the characters might be murdered, the book just didn’t have enough to sustain my interest. Perhaps it was the vivid description of the decapitation that really ruined it for me?!?
Karen:
I hate to say this, but I just could not get through this book. The concept, characters and events did little to hold my interest. I really tried to read it, but it just did nothing for me.
Rachel:
I read the back of the book and thought it was an interesting concept. I was hoping for Hunger Games meets Big Brother but sadly it was not. I read the first chapter and was not impressed. We all know “don't judge a book by its cover,” or in this case, the first chapter so I read on. It was work to get through. The characters were not of interest to me. Dee, the main character, was not even a driving force to continue reading. Although I liked the idea of the book the plot fell flat. Considering that the plot involves countless gruesome murders that’s quite a feat. I finished the book simply because I thought it had to get better. It did not! At one point I actually thought that this is more like a Scooby Doo episode than a young adult novel. Not a fan of this book at all!!