Charlotte's Library

PODs (Pods #1) by Michelle K. Pickett (Goodreads Author)     Paperback , 312 pages Published June 4th 2013 by Spencer Hill Press    *I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*     Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it's in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it's a balm for the broken soul. After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That's the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find th...

Counting Backwards written by Laura Lascarso Lots of thoughts swimming around about this book right now.  I liked the subject matter and most of how it was dealt with.  I thought the portrayal of mental illness was pretty realistic.  I liked that for once, despite the presence of panic attacks, a specific diagnosis wasn't attached to Taylor's situation--the symptoms were enough to describe her emotional state.  It was also pretty cool to have a novel with a Native American female protagonist (who happens to be from the place I'm living now).  I had a few qualms about the book, many of which stemmed from the triggering environment Taylor finds herself.  I was also kind of annoyed that much of Taylor's recovery seemed to be skipped over, with the focus more on the gardening metaphor than her own journey, although that was lightly touched on.  There didn't seem to be a huge focus on the fact that while Taylor's stay at the inpatient center helped, she sti...