Stronger than You Know by Jolene Perry

" 'I'M JOY, THE GIRL WHO'S BEEN BROKEN. I'LL PROBABLY ALWAYS BE BROKEN.
Joy's fifteen. Her normal life just began three months ago. Before that was another life that she doesn' like to remember. When the police came, it was supposed to be all over.
But now, living with her aunt and uncle in this new family where everyone tries to understand, it's not over. Joy's got a whole list of reasons why she's crazy-- the panic attacks, the meds she's on, and the hard-to-breathe feeling she gets when she has to talk to someone new. Somehow it's even harder when the person is nice.
Yet hope has a way of taking hold, and Joy just might find a way to hold on . . ." (book jacket summary)

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Wow. When I picked Stronger than You Know off the shelf I could not have imagined how amazing the book would be. The first few pages of Jolene Perry's book drew me in and I could not put it down. I believe that Joy's hidden inner strength is present from the first pages of the book. For 15 years, Joy lived with her abusive mother and endless parade of other adults who did NOTHING to help the young girl, Joy had the strength to survive and open up when finally questioned.

I'm going to give this book 4 fireflies for the following reasons:

• Stronger the You Know is the kind of book that will stick with your for awhile. I finished reading this book on New Year's Eve and I couldn't help but think about it the next couple of days. 
• Joy's struggle to acclimate to her new reality is exactly what it should be -- a struggle. Fifteen years of abuse and neglect won't go away in the blink of an eye.
• The struggle of Joy's extended family is beautifully portrayed with each member of the family trying to find ways to interact with Joy and not cause her to panic.
• The relationship between Joy and her Uncle Rob is probably my favorite relationship of the entire book. From Joy's wariness and Uncle Rob's protective instincts it's a beautiful relationship.

Bait by Alex Sanchez

In this new novel by Alex Sanchez, we are introduced to Diego MacMann, a troubled teenage boy who is meeting his new probation officer for the first time-- right before his court date. Besides having a temper, Diego appears to be a model student, a hard worker and great big brother. But Diego is hiding a few secrets underneath his anger. With the help of Mr. Vidas, his probation officer, Diego begins to deal with the source of his anger and begins to allow himself to trust and rely on other people.

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I have read some of Alex Sanchez's other books and must say that with this one, once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I felt myself falling into Diego's despair at points and understanding his anger at others. With each page I turned, I felt myself wanting to wrap Diego up in the hug I felt he desperately needed at the time.

I have to admit, I didn't like some of the things the mother in the book put Diego through. I didn't like the way the mother constantly lied to make things seem better instead of actually dealing with the truth. I felt that she needed to grow up and deal with things instead of placing the blame elsewhere.

All in all, I must say I really liked this book. I really liked the growth Diego had to accomplish in the book and I really liked the way Alex Sanchez used the ocean and sharks throughout the novel.