All the Rage by Courtney Summers

Romy Grey's life has been hell since she was raped by the sheriff's son: No one believes her, she's a target for bullies, and her whole family's reputation is as gutter trash.

Carefully, she's kept her diner job separate from everything else - it's out of town, and her coworkers are mostly from the next town over. She's even noticed the flirtatious friendship offered by the cute cook, Leon. But then, her two carefully separated worlds collide and everything gets jumbled - she almost loses her job, she's blacked out a critical night, an ex-friend is missing, and she can't explain the push-pull of her reactions to Leon. And who would believe her, even if she could explain?

I loved this book's dramatic pacing and the twisting alliances of the mystery. It's a realistic look at the tangle of high school relationships and the angry crush of unpopularity, where it's not always pretty or tidy. What a good book and a great thought-provoking novel.

The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond

One day on the beach in San Francisco, a six-year-old child disappears. Her watcher, the father's fiance and our narrator, looks away from Emma for a moment, and the girl simply vanishes.

Abby spends every moment of the next months trying to remember, trying to find a clue, and trying to find Emma. When hope is lost, Abby soldiers on. When Jake gives up and holds a funeral, Abby attends but then continues looking. But in constantly searching for Emma is Abby losing herself?

This book is agonizing at times - Abby really does lose it for a while. Her continual looping of the city, the count of days missing, the fliers and the questions all wear you down as a reader until it's easy to see the claustrophobic emotions of losing a child.

I listened to the audiobook version read by Carrington MacDuffie, and I sometimes found it hard to listen to - it's a heartbreaking scenario. But I also understand that dragging you through Abby's hell (and every parent's nightmare) makes the emotional journey more real to us as readers.

In the end, I enjoyed the book, which was recommended to me by members of our book discussion. They each raved about the writing and the story. And you do certainly learn a bit about memory, photography, and surfing through Abby's quest!