Funeral Crashing Mysteries #1-3

(This is for a series; Brief thoughts follow the 3 book descriptions and star ratings.)

Adventures in Funeral Crashing by Milda Harris
Published June 16, 2011

About the Book

Sixteen year old Kait Lenox has a reputation as the weird girl in her high school, mostly because of her ex-best friend turned mean popular girl, Ariel, but maybe it has a little to do with the fact that Kait has a hobby crashing funerals. At one of these, Kait is outted by the most popular guy in school, Ethan Ripley. Yet, instead of humiliating her for all the world to see, he asks for her help, and Kait finds herself entangled in a murder mystery. Not only is the thrill of the mystery exciting, but more importantly Ethan knows her name! A little sleuthing is well worth that!

My Rating

4 out of 5 Stars on Goodreads

Adventures of a Graveyard Girl by Milda Harris
Published April 23, 2012

About the Book

Kait Lenox is back! It's Homecoming Dance time and Kait is excited. It's her first dance with a date and that date is none other than one of the hottest, most popular guys in her school, Ethan Ripley! For once Kait doesn't feel like a funeral crashing weird girl and it's the most perfect romantic evening ever...at least until a girl gets murdered in the high school bathroom. Rumors fly, panic ensues, and Kait can't help herself, she assigns herself to the case!

My Rating

4 out 5 Stars on Goodreads

Adventures in Murder Chasing by Milda Harris
Published September 14, 2013

About the Book

Kait Lenox is officially Ethan Ripley's girlfriend and she might even be kinda sorta becoming non enemies with her ex-bff Ariel Walker. Everything is going great! That is until Kait stumbles across another suspicious death at her favorite coffee shop, Wired. Not able to help herself, Kait sets out to investigate! 

Suddenly Kait's problems go from whether or not she should say the L-word to Ethan to fears that the murder she's investigating might not be murder at all. Should Kait follow her gut or is she just chasing murders?

My Rating

4 out of 5 Stars on Goodreads

Thoughts on the Series

I came across the first book in this series on a daily email I get that has free and inexpensive e-books that are available.  I pretty regularly download free or cheap e-books, but I often don't get around to reading them, as I really love and prefer real books.  I decided to read some of the e-books recently, though, and I started with this one.  I adored it, so I quickly bought the other two for really reasonable prices (like $2-3 each or so, the first was free).  The description I had read said the books were for fans of Nancy Drew and Veronica Mars, which intrigued me.  I feel like that was a great way to describe them, as Kait will certainly appeal to fans of those other teen sleuths.  These books a really cute, fun, easy reads, and they will keep you interested in finding out where the story will go.  I highly recommend them for anyone looking for cute, light reads.  They are great for tween readers of YA too, as there's nothing too inappropriate or anything in them.  

Blind

Blind by Rachel DeWoskin
Published August 7, 2014

About the Book

When Emma Sasha Silver loses her eyesight in a nightmare accident, she must relearn everything from walking across the street to recognizing her own sisters to imagining colors. One of seven children, Emma used to be the invisible kid, but now it seems everyone is watching her. And just as she's about to start high school and try to recover her friendships and former life, one of her classmates is found dead in an apparent suicide. Fifteen and blind, Emma has to untangle what happened and why - in order to see for herself what makes life worth living.

Unflinching in its portrayal of Emma's darkest days, yet full of hope and humor, Rachel DeWoskin's brilliant Blind is one of those rare books that utterly absorbs the listener into the life and experience of another.

My Rating

4 out of 5 Stars on Goodreads

From what I recall, I gave this 4 stars, but 3.5 would have been preferred if half-stars could be given.  I liked the book, but it seems like the book dragged on in many places; better editing was needed.  I appreciate books that have characters with some sort of diversity, though, as there aren't many.  I can't say I have come across many with a blind main character, and reading about the experiences of people with disabilities or different experiences than their own is important for teens, in my opinion, so this one gets kudos from me for that.

Trouble

Trouble by Non Pratt
Published June 10, 2014

About the Book

In this dazzling debut novel, a pregnant teen learns the meaning of friendship—from the boy who pretends to be her baby’s father.

When the entire high school finds out that Hannah Shepard is pregnant via her ex-best friend, she has a full-on meltdown in her backyard. The one witness (besides the rest of the world): Aaron Tyler, a transfer student and the only boy who doesn’t seem to want to get into Hannah’s pants. Confused and scared, Hannah needs someone to be on her side. Wishing to make up for his own past mistakes, Aaron does the unthinkable and offers to pretend to be the father of Hannah’s unborn baby. Even more unbelievable, Hannah hears herself saying “yes.”

Told in alternating perspectives between Hannah and Aaron, Trouble is the story of two teenagers helping each other to move forward in the wake of tragedy and devastating choices. As you read about their year of loss, regret, and hope, you’ll remember your first, real best friend—and how they were like a first love.

My Rating

4 out of 5 Stars on Goodreads

I remember really liking this one overall but having issues with the ending.  If I remember correctly, it seemed to end abruptly, and that's a peeve of mine.  Other than that, it was really good, and I liked the characters a lot.

So so very behind!

I am so behind on posting what I have been reading!  I have had a busy semester with my first in grad school.  I've been reading here and there when I can, but I haven't had the time to get reviews up.  Some of the books I can't remember details well enough to post a decent review of them now, so I am going to work on just getting very basic reviews up that will provide the cover art, the about the book, and the rating I gave the books on GoodReads.  If I remember anything specific to share that I liked or didn't like, I will be sure to include it.  My semester will be done this coming weekend, and I hope to read LOTS over my month or so break for the winter holidays.  I hope to post some real reviews for those, as I have lots of great books saved up to read then.