Unlike most teenagers, 17-year-old Hayley Kincain's never gone to high school.  She's spent the last 5 years traveling with her dad, a truck driver who prefers life on the road to anything else.  Hayley knows he's trying to outrun the nightmares that have plagued him ever since he returned from a tour of duty in Iraq.  He might be able to fend them off for a few days or weeks, but they always come back.  Always.  No matter how thoroughly he tries to drown his memories in alcohol or forget them with mind-dulling drugs, they're always waiting to beat him up and tear him down.  Hayley watches her dad like a hawk, savoring his good days and fearing the dark ones.  With anxiety attacks coming more and more frequently, she's terrified, not just for her father, but also for herself.

Though Hayley should probably be thrilled with her dad's decision to move back to his childhood home in upstate New York, she's not.  She's scared—scared of going to school, scared of meeting new people, scared of someone discovering her turbulent home life.  Hayley vows not to let anyone get that close.  Not even Finn, the cute boy who obviously wants to get to know her better.  Especially not Finn.  If he knew the truth, he'd run as far away from the Kincains as he could go.

As Andy Kincain's PTSD gets increasingly worse and Hayley's plagued with disturbing flashbacks of her own, she begins to wonder if maybe it's all too much for one teenager to handle.  But what can she do?  How can she save them both?

Laurie Halse Anderson is one of those authors whose books I will always pick up and read.  With novels like Speak and now The Impossible Knife of Memory, she's proved herself to be a skilled, sensitive writer who explores tough issues with a deft, yet delicate hand.  Her people and places come to such vivid life that readers can't help becoming ensnared in their stories.  Anderson's newest novel is no exception.  It's a sharp, compelling tale made even more affecting because it stems from the author's own experience dealing with her father's PTSD.  Powerful and poignant, The Impossible Knife of Memory is not to be missed.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Miles From Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams and A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler)

Grade:

It's hard to express just how fun and satisfying book blogging is for me.  It really is such a good time.  I'm secure enough in my nerdiness to admit that publicly (not that it will surprise any of you).  As much as I love this gig, though, there are parts of my "job" that make me feel stressed, pressured and guilty.  Yes, I'm talking about blog tours.  I've tried cutting back, agreeing to review only the books I'm really, really, really interested in and yet, I still find myself signing up for more tours than I can handle and then having trouble meeting those commitments.  This makes me feel both embarrassed and guilty.  It's not the blog tour coordinators or anyone else making me feel this way—it's me!  I can't control myself.  So, I am officially resigning from participation in blog tours.  In addition, scheduled reviews will no longer be available, except in the special cases described below.  I feel terrible doing this, but I know it will help me remain sane and keep blogging fun.

What's going to happen to the tours for which I've already signed up?  I will honor those engagements to the best of my ability.  However, no new tour stops will be scheduled from here on out.  I'm still interested in reviewing books, of course, but only those that can be evaluated within my own time frame.  If that doesn't work for you, then you'll have to find a different reviewer.  I'm still open to hosting giveaways, author interviews, product reviews (of at least a semi-bookish nature) and cover reveals/tour stops/guest posts for authors with whom I have previously worked or with whom I would like to work.  In addition, I may be open to scheduling an occasional tour stop, but only for books published through a traditional, established publisher (i.e. Harper Collins, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Deseret Book, etc.) or written by authors to whom I've given positive reviews in the past.  Anyone is welcome to email me with questions or queries, just be aware that unless your book meets the above guidelines, I will probably not accept it for review.  

Just to make everything crystal clear, I will no longer be participating in blog tours.  If you run a tour company, you can take my name off your contact list or you can continue querying me.  It's totally up to you. If you are an author, publicist, intern, etc. looking to have a book reviewed in an open time frame, please feel free to query me.  I'll accept or decline requests in the same way I always have—based on how much a book appeals to me.

I hope all this makes sense.  If you have questions or comments, you're always welcome to email me.  I love getting your ideas and feedback, so don't hesitate to communicate with me.

Thank you for understanding!  I really think this decision will help me be a better, more relaxed, more efficient reviewer.  And that's what we all want, right?