This week’s winners

@lkmeria “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the Oasis. Wade has devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise of massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win — and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape. @daraabegail “Falling Pieces” by Leddy Harper If only repairing a broken life were easy. This novel is about 17-year-old Bree Jacobs who is forced to endure emotional and physical torment daily at the hands of a violently unstable mother. Bree’s only escape is high school, particularly her history class taught by young, handsome, kind and caring Axel Taylor. Mr. Taylor becomes Bree’s dearest friend, a sympathetic ear and a shoulder to cry on. Soon, their shared affection grows into something greater. But by reaching out to protect her — to mend her broken heart and soothe her wounds — Axel has crossed a dangerous line, resulting in two shattered lives instead of one. Six years later, they will meet again. Bree, still battling the demons that continue to possess her, and Axel, reduced to taking work as a substitute teacher. Once again, he feels compelled to rescue her. But this time, it will be different, because now the yearnings of a loving heart won’t be silenced by suspicious minds. And now there’s more than one life that desperately needs saving.