What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

“Sometimes a new perspective is all that is needed to make sense of the world.

KIT: I don’t know why I decide not to sit with Annie and Violet at lunch. It feels like no one here gets what I’m going through. How could they? I don’t even understand.

DAVID: In the 622 days I’ve attended Mapleview High, Kit Lowell is the first person to sit at my lunch table. I mean, I’ve never once sat with someone until now. “So your dad is dead,” I say to Kit, because this is a fact I’ve recently learned about her.

When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?” - taken from Goodreads.com

I absolutely loved this book. Told in an alternating points-of-view between Kit and David, the narrators in the audio version really brought the anguish, anger, and excitement to life. The author's research into Asperger Syndrome made David's actions and personality come to life. Kit is dealing with the accidental death of her father and its impact on the lives of her and her mother was heartbreakingly portrayed. With a slow building, emotional climax, readers will be rooting for Kit and David. A worthwhile read for most everyone.

Visit Julie Buxbaum’s website.

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu (DC Icons book 2)

“Before he was Batman, he was Bruce Wayne. A reckless boy willing to break the rules for a girl who may be his worst enemy.

The Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and Bruce Wayne is next on their list.

One by one, the city's elites are being executed as their mansions' security systems turn against them, trapping them like prey. Meanwhile, Bruce is turning eighteen and about to inherit his family's fortune, not to mention the keys to Wayne Enterprises and all the tech gadgetry his heart could ever desire. But after a run-in with the police, he's forced to do community service at Arkham Asylum, the infamous prison that holds the city's most brutal criminals.

Madeleine Wallace is a brilliant killer . . . and Bruce's only hope.

In Arkham, Bruce meets Madeleine, a brilliant girl with ties to the Nightwalkers. What is she hiding? And why will she speak only to Bruce? Madeleine is the mystery Bruce must unravel. But is he getting her to divulge her secrets, or is he feeding her the information she needs to bring Gotham City to its knees? Bruce will walk the dark line between trust and betrayal as the Nightwalkers circle closer.” - taken from Goodreads.com

Bruce Wayne, orphan, and heir to Wayne Industries, is about to turn eighteen and graduate from high school when he makes a rash decision. Fleeing a charity benefit that he is hosting, Bruce is driving his gift, an Aston Martin outfitted with the latest security features designed by his company. When he comes across a police scene where the suspect will escape, Bruce makes a split second decision to pursue, knowing only his car can keep up.

Even though Bruce helped the police apprehend the suspect, he finds himself in hot water. Sentenced to community service, he serves his hours cleaning at Arkham Asylum, Gotham City's Infamous prison that holds its most dangerous criminals. While on the intensive treatment floor, he meets Madeleine Wallace, a girl his age who has ties to the Nightwalkers, a group of criminals/murderers who drain the bank accounts of Gotham City's wealthy Elite before killing them. Intrigued by her, Bruce is the only person she will talk to.

Falling for the beautiful and mysterious Madeline, Bruce Wayne is determined to find out what she is hiding. But could Madeleine be playing on braces hurt while trying to pump information from him? What happens when she died bulges that Gotham City's newest billionaire is on the night Walkers list? And what happens when Bruce Wayne finds out that he has been played?

Unlike Wonder Woman: Warbringer, it's been a few years since I've seen Batman movie. I went in pretty blind about the story. A great addition to the DC icons series that I enjoyed. Book 3 in the series Catwoman - Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas is out on August 7, 2018.

Visit Marie Lu’s website.