Fiction and YA With Snap Judgments

Fiction

Down River by John Hart. Snap Judgment from cover: Someone from an antebellum house in the South drowns in the river. Jacket flap: Hard luck kid Adam a tough childhood and was acquitted of murder. Exiled for years he returns and clashes with his family and the rest of the town. When some murders start guess who gets blamed.

Escape From Amsterdam by Barrie Sherwood. Snap Judgment from cover: Hip Japanese girl in Europe has exciting and violent adventures and boyfriend dies. Jacket flap: Idle student Aozora has debts to a loan shark but just inherited some dough. He has to travel to southern Japan to find his sister Mai - enslaved by the Yakuza - at the Amsterdam amusement park to get the money.

Without a Backwood Glance by Kate Veitch. Snap Judgment from cover: Mother dies while out swimming with daughter. Daughter wracked with guilt for years until a childhood friend helps her heal. Jacket flap: Christmas Eve 1967 and the four McDonald children await their mother's return. She never returns and forty years later a chance encounter brings one of the kids face to face with the mom. while their died slides deeper into dementia.

Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. Snap Judgment from cover: Boy grows up on a farm with his dog and has family dramas. Jacket flap: Edgar grows up on a farm in Northern Wisconsin. Turmoil arrives with his Uncle Claude. When Edgar's father dies Edgar tries to prove Claude is to blame. Edgar flees for the woods with three dogs. [Hamlet?]

The Abduction by Mark Gimenez. Snap Judgment from cover: Woman goes missing in the woods. Was she kidnapped? Is she alive? Jacket flap: Internet billionaire John is only half watching his 10 year old daughter Gracie's soccer game. Gracie is kidnapped by a fake uncle and the family posts a $25 million reward. He disappearance is related to a government conspiracy and her estranged, drunken grandfather.


Young Adult
I usually do not list Young Adult but the pile is here next to me.

Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt.

Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante.

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr.

Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation by M.T. Anderson.

Airhead by Meg Cabot.