Mini Monday (2): Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

I'm back with another Mini Monday. I'm just so much more likely to post if I keep myself on some kind of weekly feature schedule. For my second Mini Monday while I clean out my drafts, I have a mini review of Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski.

Goodreads Synopsis

We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming.

Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same. So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

Thoughts

I thought that I was going to love this book. I was so excited to read it. So maybe this is partially my fault because I had such expectations for this book to be fun and exciting, but I feel like this story really let me down. It had such an interesting premise. What if a whole high school class could hear what others were thinking?

I think my main issue is that the idea wasn't explored deeply enough. I thought we would get more conspiracy theory-esque thoughts. However, what was mostly offered was thoughts on how to use this newfound ability to read minds to...get a boyfriend, and the whole thing was a mess with how many narrators we had going on throughout the story. 

This is VERY much a YA book. The thoughts are juvenile, because the characters are. Sometimes these thoughts were very eye-roll inducing to me. I would not recommend this book to anybody who feels like they may be beginning to age out of the YA genre.

Mini Monday: Sunshine Is Forever by Kyle T. Cowan

I've realized that I have a LOT of drafts from years ago. Most of them are short reviews that I never actually got around to posting. To get them out of my drafts and into posts that I can share with you, I've decided that on Mondays I am going to post one until my drafts are cleaned out. Without further ado, welcome to my first Mini Monday!

Sunshine is Forever by Kyle T. Cowan

Goodreads Synopsis

After a life-changing decision, Hunter decides that he can’t go on…

…which lands him in Camp Sunshine, a rehab center for depressed teens. Hunter is determined to keep everyone there out of his head, especially his therapist. But when he meets Corin, a beautiful, mysterious, and confident fellow camper, all Hunter wants to do is open up to her, despite the fact that he’s been warned Corin is bad news.

When Corin devises a plan for them to break out of the camp, Hunter is faced with the ultimate choice — will he run from the traumatic incident he’s tried so hard to escape, or will he learn that his mistakes have landed him right where he’s meant to be?

Sunshine is Forever captures the heartbreaking spirit of The Fault in Our Stars, the humor of Orange is the New Black, and the angst of Catcher in the Rye.

Thoughts

I struggled a little to get through this book. The author tackled the very difficult subject matter of depression and suicide, and I would love to say that it was handled well, but a lot of the time, the writing was repetitive, and the story became boring to me at times.

One aspect that I did enjoy was the intimate relationship in this book. It could be described as insta love, but I didn’t mind it. To me it felt like two teenagers clinging to each other while they struggled to navigate their lives and mental health. I think it’s fair to say that they probably would have found a way to cling to anything that may have made them feel some kind of escape from their personal darkness, and I think that that is a feeling that a lot of people can resonate with.

Overall, I did not feel captivated in any way by this story, even though I did enjoy the relationship dynamics occasionally. I wouldn’t say I definitely don’t recommend this book, but it definitely wasn’t for me.

Quick Review: The Ingenue by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Title: The Ingenue

Author: Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication date: December 6, 2022

Goodreads Synopsis

My Dark Vanessa meets The Queen's Gambit in this new novel of suspense about the bonds of family, the limits of talent, the risks of ambition, and the rewards of revenge.

When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother's unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother's will bequeathed the Elf House to a man that Saskia shares a complicated history with, she is forced to reexamine her own past--and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life--for answers. Can she find a way to claim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried, or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her?

Set against a post #MeToo landscape, The Ingenue delves into mother-daughter relationships, the expectations of talent, the stories we tell ourselves, and what happens when the things that once made you special are taken from you. Moving between Saskia's childhood and the present day, this dark, contemporary fairy tale pulses with desire, longing, and uncertainty, as it builds to its spectacular, shocking climax.

Quick Thoughts

I really enjoyed this novel. For the second time, Kapelke-Dale has delivered a wonderfully haunting contemporary story that I couldn't get enough of. I loved reading the way Saskia's story unfolded both in her present life, and the way she's still intertwined with her past, like all of us are, even if she's tried to shake it. 

It took a little while for the story to get going and really hook me, but just like in Kapelke-Dale's previous novel, The Ballerinas, the story unfolded like a movie in my head, and I was invested from the start all the way to the climax. 

Overall, I am so glad that I got the chance to read Ingenue and I just know I will be eagerly awaiting the author's next work.

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Title: The Ballerinas

Author: Rachel Kapelke-Dale

Expected publication date:  December 7, 2020

Publishing company: St. Martin's Press

Pages: 302

*This is an adult novel and contains explicit scenes

Introduction

Told in dual timelines, The Ballerinas is a story about three girls-- ballerinas Delphine, Margaux, and Lindsay--and the people they were as students in the fictional Paris Opera Ballet, and the women they have become, without even realizing they were becoming them.

"You start out as potential energy and then you fall."

"You start out as perfect and you become something else."

Cover

This cover is stunning. Every time I look at it I can't help but think about how beautiful it is.

Writing

I loved the writing. It flowed beautifully for me and I could see the scenes that the author was painting vividly in my head. It's been a long time since I felt like I could see a book and all its scenes play like a movie in my mind but from beginning to end, this one unfolded so easily in my mind like a film.

I also want to say that I did not see the plot twists coming, I only just barely realized what was going to happen in the end a few pages before it really happened, so I'd say that the twists thrown in to surprise the reader were very successful.

Dual Timeline

I think the dual timeline between the past and the present was executed perfectly. It was the perfect way to see a great deal of character development in all three of the ballerinas without having to trudge fully through all the events that shaped them, which I sometimes feel bogs down the flow of books. I think the author did a great job of knowing when to switch back to the past/present to keep the reader interested in both of the timelines all the time. Neither of the timelines ever ran dry or felt forced or boring to read. 

Characters

I loved all the characters so much. They were so fleshed out and developed and so deeply flawed in all the right ways. I couldn't get enough of them.

Conclusion

I loved this book so much. The writing, the characters, the plot, it was all phenomenal. It has been a long time since I've been as engrossed in a book as much as I was with this one, and I can confidentially say that this has been my favourite read of 2021. I haven't read any other works of this author but if they're anywhere near as enchanting as this, I'm ready to devour anything that she's ever written.

As the official Goodreads synopsis says, fans Dare Me, Black Swan, and Luckiest Girl Alive will most likely enjoy this book. I also think that if you enjoyed Tiny Pretty Things, this could be the book for you.

Meet Me At The Summit by Mandi Lynn

Title:  Meet me at the Summit

Author: Mandi Lynn

Expected publication date: August 31, 2021

Publisher: Stone Ridge Books 

Pages: 275

Introduction

Marly Price lost her parents in a car accident 9 months ago, and since then, she's just been going through the motions. She's getting through it, but every day feels the same as the last. When she's presented with the opportunity to travel across the US in a renovated VW bus, she knows she should do it. The old her, the person she was before her parents died, would have jumped at the opportunity. To travel again, to enjoy hiking again, to enjoy photography again. Those are all things Marly wants. But after everything that's happened, will Marly be able to find passion in the things that she used to love again?

Pacing

The pacing starts off very slow as Marly is being convinced by her family to take the bus on the road trip, but as it starts to take off, it quickly becomes very repetitive. The order of events for nearly the entire book is driving --> hiking --> Marly having a panic attack on the top of a mountain-->  Marly taking photos --> Marly struggling to sleep --> repeat. Dylan, the romantic interest quickly finds his place in the cycle when he starts to calm Marly's panic attacks, but that quickly grows repetitive in nature as well. Because of this cycle, I found myself having to take a lot of breaks from reading to avoid getting bored with the story.

Romance 

I was disappointed in Marly and Dylan's romance. They knew very little little about each other and there doesn't seem to be much of substance backing their feelings for each other, so it was hard for me to care about them.

Marly

Marly was just an average protagonist. The grief she felt about her parents dying was interesting to read about but I feel like she read a little younger than a nineteen year old. I think the most prominent example of Marly reading a little younger than she was intended to be was when she actually considered staying with Dylan in Colorado instead of finishing her trip so that she could make sure she kept his interest. It felt very childish to me and she didn't really get much better throughout the course of the book. I don't think she grew very much as a character with the exception of maybe the last 25 pages or so.

General Character Thoughts

I feel like at best, the characters were average, and at worst, a little forgettable. I especially feel this way about Dylan and Lori. They both had essentially no personality. Dylan enjoyed hiking, which is necessary, but we get enough of the hiking obsession with Marly. Lori felt a little bit excitable most of the time, but she just felt like the bubbly happy token character there to balance out Marly. Mostly, they both felt like they were both only there for Marly's development rather than having personalities on their own.

Conclusion

Overall, this book was only okay. The repetitive nature really bogged it down for me and since I wasn't really into the romance, even the cutesy scenes that served to break the routine a little bit didn't interest me very much. There does look to be a second book coming, so the story will continue, and I would consider giving it a chance in hopes to see a little bit more character development.

Mini-Review: Everyone Dies Famous In A Small Town by Bonnie Sue Hitchcock

Title: Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town

Author: Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Publication Date: April 20, 2021

Publisher: Random House

Pages: 208

Goodreads Synopsis

A lyrical and heartfelt collection by an award-winning writer that connects the lives of young people from small towns in Alaska and the American west. Each story is unique, yet universal.

In this book, the impact of wildfire, a wayward priest, or a mysterious disappearance ricochet across communities, threading through stories. Here, ordinary actions such as ice skating or going to church reveal hidden truths. One choice threatens a lifelong friendship. Siblings save each other. Rescue and second chances are possible, and so is revenge.

On the surface, it seems that nothing ever happens in these towns. But Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock shows that underneath that surface, teenagers' lives blaze with fury, with secrets, and with love so strong it burns a path to the future.

Quick Thoughts

I loved this book. If you're looking for a book to get you out of a reading slump, I think this book might be the one to go to. Being a collection of short stories, I think there's something for everybody in here. I love how the author intertwined the stories in the end while still keeping them largely independent of each other. The writing was beautiful and I feel that the author was very successful in creating different plots and atmospheres to immerse the reader into. 

Synclair by Rachel Gold

Title: Synclair

Author: Rachel Gold

Publication date: November 17, 2020

Publisher: Bella Books

Pages: 212

Special thanks to Netgalley and Bella Books for granting me access to this title in exchange for an honest review!

This review is just a collection of quick thoughts as I don't feel like I have enough to say to format it as a full review!

Goodreads Synopsis

The summer before her senior year, Emma Synclair decides to find her true love: either a girl or God. Since she has a crush on her best friend―and on her best friend’s girlfriend―Synclair figures she’ll have better luck with God.

Which God? How will she know? Wicca, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity? Her atheist parents are out of the country for three months, so Synclair has the space to try some religions in peace.

Or so she thinks, until her friends decide that her house is the party house―that is: the dinner party house! How can she tell them no? She sneaks away to start her spiritual quest, but runs into her childhood friend Avery. Who grew up to be hot. And is also into girls. Is her true love Avery or God? Can she have both or is that the path to neither? Synclair vows to find out.

Quick Thoughts

I thought this book was okay. I liked all the characters and I loved that they displayed so much diversity, both with LGBTQ+ aspects and with various health issues/disabilities. It was wonderful to read a book with so much representation.

This book deals heavily with religious themes, and many different religious views are discussed. This is mentioned in the synopsis, but I want to emphasize that the religious themes are a huge part of the book, and not something that is simply mentioned a few times, so if directly exploring religious themes doesn't sound like your cup of tea, I would skip this book.

My only gripe with this book is that some of the events that take place feel a little ridiculous, like when Synclair falls into a pit and all of the events around that, or the very dramatic hail storm. At some points, it reads a little bit like fanfiction.

Overall, I think that this book was alright. If the subject matter appeals to you and you're okay with a little dramatics, you may enjoy this read. 

The Poppy and the Rose by Ashlee Cowles

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Poppy and the Rose

Author:  Ashlee Cowles

Publication Date: October 6, 2020

Publisher: Owl Hollow

Pages: 266 (epub.)

Introduction (Goodreads synopsis)

1912: Ava Knight, a teen heiress, boards the Titanic to escape the shadow of her unstable mother and to fulfill her dream of becoming a photographer in New York. During the journey she meets three people who will change her life: a handsome sailor, a soldier in the secret Black Hand society that will trigger World War I, and a woman with clairvoyant abilities. When disaster strikes the ship, family betrayals come to light.

2010: When Taylor Romano arrives in Oxford for a summer journalism program, something feels off. Not only is she greeted by a young, Rolls Royce-driving chauffeur, but he invites her to tea with Lady Mae Knight of Meadowbrook Manor, an old house with a cursed history going back to the days of Henry VIII. Lady Knight seems to know a strange amount about Taylor and her family problems, but before Taylor can learn more, the elderly woman dies, leaving as the only clue an old diary. With the help of the diary, a brooding chauffeur, and some historical sleuthing, Taylor must uncover the link between Ava’s past and her own….

Quick Thoughts

I feel like I took a chance on this book because I don't often read books that tell a story across time, but I am so glad that I took that chance. This book was fantastic. The storytelling was wonderful and I liked all of the characters. 

My only small bit of criticism is that the story takes a while to get going, but the slow pace issue is saved by the writing style. The writing was so smooth and full of beautiful lines that I almost didn't mind that the story took awhile for me to get into. 

The settings of both England and the Titanic were described so nicely, and the emotions of the characters felt so authentic that I truly felt like I was inside the story.

The twists at the end were very good, and I was satisfied with the ending as a whole.

Overall, The Poppy and the Rose was a beautifully written and emotional story, that's worth the read despite the slow start. I think I would recommend this book to teens who are maybe slightly older, as the story does cover the sinking of the Titanic. Because of that, I would recommend that those who may be uncomfortable reading about mass death stay away from this book.

Revenge of the Sluts by Natalie Walton

Title: Revenge of the Sluts

Author: Natalie Walton

Expected Publication Date: February 2, 2021

Publisher: Wattpad Books

Pages: 320

Introduction

As a student journalist at her high school, Eden has covered lots of stories, none of them very interesting. She's covered the basic things, like the school's theatre shows and athlete profiles. Nothing big ever hits the Warrior Weekly.

Until something does.

The nude photos of seven students were anonymously sent in an email to the entire school. Eden is determined to get to the bottom of the email. She wants to know who would be so vindictive that they would expose multiple girls, at the risk of getting caught. But her motive is more than just uncovering the story for an article. She wants to uncover the truth and give the girls who were effected a voice, and together, they'll challenge the double standard, no matter what it takes and what rules that they have to break. Justice must be served, no matter what the cost.

Characters

I absolutely loved all the characters. The author did a great job in giving them each their own distinct personality. This is especially evident in the characters of the seven girls who had their nudes leaked. They each have their own separate reactions and ways that they want to handle the situation. They each process the situation differently and I think that's what makes the book so powerful to me. Their reactions feel so real and different from each other, it's almost impossible to not see a little bit of yourself in each of these girls. 

St. Joe's Opposition

I loved that there was an opposition from the school about Eden publishing an article about the leak. I obviously disagree from a personal standpoint, but the opposition was perfectly written. If there was no opposition, I think it would have been unrealistic, so I'm glad that it was included as a conflict.

Eden's Investigation

I usually try to stay away from books that involve a lot of teen detective work, so I will admit that I was a little wary going into this book, but I am so glad I did. Eden's work trying to discover who leaked the nudes didn't feel cheesy, over-the-top, or unrealistic, which I think is my problem with most teen investigations, regardless of the context. But Eden's work felt authentic and something that a real teen would do, and I loved that she had a genuine interest in getting to the bottom of the situation for the sake of the girls involved, not just for an article in a high school newspaper.

Ending

I didn't see the ending coming. I had not thought that the person behind the email could have been the person that it was revealed to be, but the explanation and reveal of the person behind the email made sense, and I was pleased with the ending. For that reason, I am labelling the mystery of the anonymous email a successful one.

I also liked that an epilogue was included, because it provided many details that helped enhance the story and I was satisfied with the way it wrapped everything up.

Conclusion

I loved this book. I loved absolutely everything about it. I loved watching the girls come together. I loved the raw and open emotion. In other reviews, I saw people call this book nothing short of a revolution and I
agree with them. The messages and themes are extremely relevant, and I couldn't get enough of it. I think this book stands a chance of being the best book I have read so far in 2020, and I will definitely be on the lookout of future releases from this author. 

The Castle School (For Troubled Girls) by Alyssa B. Sheimel

Title: Castle School (For Troubled Girls)

Author: Alyssa B. Sheimel

Expected Publication Date: March 2, 2021

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages: 283

Introduction

       Ever since her best friend died, Moira hasn't been the easiest for her parents to handle. When her parents send her to Castle School, Moira knows her parents are at their wits end with her and feels that she is being punished for her bad behavior.

       Whatever her parents reasoning, she finds herself with 11 other "troubled" girls. Each of them weighed down with their own struggles, just as Moira is weighed down with her own grief. Together, and with the help of therapy, the girls work to feel better than they had to feel to land themselves at the strange place that is Castle School.

Setting

       The setting, a mostly secluded castle in Maine, was a great atmosphere. It's a little dreary, and it appears to hold its own secrets. It was perfect for adding mood to the story.

Themes

       This book handles a lot of heavy themes; grief, self harm, disordered eating, etc. and I think the author achieved a perfect balance between heavy scenes where the girl's struggles are discussed, and lighter scenes where you see the girls becoming friends.

Moira

       Moira's grief felt very authentic, and her growth throughout her time at the Castle School, with managing and moving forward from her loss, felt perfectly paced. I also liked that the progress was made little by little, it wasn't all crammed into the end to prove that she had grown. You could see the change happen gradually, in small ways, like the way that she was thinking, and in her interactions with the other students. I think that was a very realistic way of showing growth. It doesn't happen completely in revelations, and sometimes, the only way to understand how much you've grown is to look back at the person you were before, and I think this is true for Moira's story.

Romance

       There is a small amount of a cutesy romance in this book, but I love that it's not a central plot point. That being said, I love Moira and Randy, both as individual characters and together.

        I loved that they would care for each other regardless if things turned romantic, the blooming feelings they have for each other seem to be extra to them, not necessary, and I think that's great.

POVs of the Other Girls

Every few chapters, there is a small excerpt, maybe about a page, that is in the POV of one of the other students at Castle School. These excerpts quickly detail the story of what happened to land each girl at Castle School. I really enjoyed these passages and thought they were the perfect length to give a little personal window into the lives of the other "troubled" girls.

Synopsis

The Goodreads synopsis is a little bit misleading. To me, it sounded like where the music was coming from would be more mysterious, but there is no mystery in the book at all, everything is rationally explained right away.

Conclusion

I loved everything about this book. From beginning to end, everything was perfect to me. I finished this book in two days and I already wish there were more of it to read. I came in to this book with high hopes and it was so much better than expected. I would recommend this book to fans of The School For Dangerous Girls. As long as you can handle heavy themes, this book is fantastic. 

Fine by AmyLea Murphy

Title: Fine

Author: AmyLea Murphy

Expected Publication Date: November 17, 2020

Publisher: Self-published

Pages: 195

Trigger warnings: Eating disorders, drug use, mental health struggles.

Introduction

Six years ago, Katie's sister Anna disappeared. Katie was 12 at the time, and Anna was 18. Because Katie was so young when Anna disappeared, there was a lot that she didn't understand. Katie has never truly gotten over the disappearance of Anna, and now that Katie is 18, she feels like she's been in the dark about the details about her sister's case for too long,  and she begins spending time at her local police station, looking through Anna's files. Through evidence and personal items collected in her police file, Katie soon begins to realize that she maybe didn't know Anna as well as she thought she did.

Format

The story is told almost completely through media found in Anna's police file, like diary entries, transcribed interviews, reports, text messages, and emails. I absolutely love when books use elements like this to tell a story. However, these media pieces took up more of the book than I thought. It is the only way that Anna's story is unraveled. Very little of the story takes place in the present, so we don't see very much of Katie's life as it is now. If I had to estimate, I'd say that maybe 30 pages of the book are dedicated to what Katie is doing in her life, besides sifting through police reports.

 Characters

Because most of the story is told through Anna's file and very little of the story is actually focused on Katie, I had a hard time caring about her. We don't learn very much about her personality besides the fact that she harbors a lot of anger, about what happened to her sister and otherwise. 

From the little that we do see of Katie in her personal life, I found her to be annoying. She was written more like a 14-15 year old than an 18 year old. She has very childish tendencies that I wouldn't expect somebody of that age to have, such as almost run her car off the road when she had a passenger that was only trying to help her, lashing out when she's asked about college, or stealing a customer's smoothie when she got fired from her job. In a way, I am sort of glad that most of the book was just sifting through Anna's file at the police station, because Katie is set up to be a very annoying protagonist.

Just as I didn't learn enough about Katie to care about her, I also didn't learn enough about Jack, Katie's neighbor and love interest, to care about him or their budding romance.

Plot

There were some parts of the book that I felt were never actually resolved or fully developed. There were several instances where a falling out was mentioned between Anna and her father, but what the rift was about was never disclosed. Since the falling out apparently played such a big role in her emotional turmoil, I would have liked to have known what actually happened.

Spoilers ahead!

I feel like I was a little bit mislead plot-wise in general. For the entire book, it seems that Katie and her family don't know where Anna is/what happened to her, but when the ending comes, it is apparent that they do know what what happened to her/where she is, but they don't know why she ended up how she did. I understand why it had to be written that way, but because the official synopsis of book seems to allude to a bit more of a mystery, finding out that all the characters knew Anna's fate all along felt a little anticlimactic.

Conclusion

This book was okay, but I probably wouldn't pick it up again due to the lack of character depth and slightly disappointing ending, but it was okay and is suitable if you're just looking for a quick read that has the interesting elements of diary entries, emails, text messages, etc.

Between by Jessica Warman

Title: Between

Author: Jessica Warman

Publication Date: August 2, 2011

Publisher: Walker & Company

Pages: 454

Introduction

On the night of her 18th birthday, Elizabeth "Liz" Valchar dies. Stuck between life and death, she finds her body knocking against her family's boat long before her friends find her. Liz can't remember anything from her life, or her death. Everything has holes. She has no idea how she managed to drown on her 18th birthday, surrounded by her friends. The only way she can figure it out is by waiting for the memories to hit her, and by silently observing her family and friends as they grieve. 

Luckily, she isn't alone. With her in this limbo like state is Alex Berg, a boy who was hit by a car a year prior to Liz's death. They had no connection in life. Liz was popular, and had everything anybody could ever want. Alex was introverted, from a modest family, and spent his school days trying to avoid being bullied. They have no idea why they're together, but slowly, together, they're going to figure out what happened on the nights of their deaths.

Characters

Almost all of the characters are very difficult to like, which is usually what happens when all pf the characters are spoiled rich kids. They are the classic rich kid characters who are all troubled in some way, but I found a lot of their troubles fell a little flat. They are all very real and tough problems, but most of them weren't delved into deep enough for me to really care about them. As a result, a good number of the characters were never very interesting to me, and a couple of them felt completely pointless to the story.

Liz did a lot of growing and maturing throughout the book--a result of seeing herself in her memories--and seeing her grow into a less stuck up version of her was wonderful.

Mystery/Ending

I had predictions about the ending very early on in the book. probably less than halfway through, and when I got to the end, all of my predictions turned out to be right. The ending felt a little predictable to me, and because of this, I wouldn't label it the most effective mystery. However, even though I figured out what was going to happen early on in the book, I still enjoyed reading it as it all unfolded.

Romance

I was very pleased that no romance happened between Alex and Liz. I admit, I really expected that that was what was going to happen when I first started the book, but I think if it did happen, it would have made the story entirely different than what it was and I'm really glad that it didn't go that way.

Conclusion

Despite not truly connecting with many of the supporting characters and essentially figuring out the mystery long before the ending, I did find this book entertaining to read, and I think I will try to read more from Warman. This book does feature a few mature themes, and does depict disordered eating as a large part of Liz's life, so if that is triggering to you, I would stay away from this book.

We Were Restless Things by Cole Nagamatsu

Title: We Were Restless Things

Author: Cole Nagamatsu

Expected Publication: October 6, 2020

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages: 400

Introduction

One summer after the death of teen Link Miller, his friends are left coping with the loss. Coping with the loss of a close friend is hard enough when the passing comes under normal circumstances, but the details surrounding Link's are anything but normal. Link's death was ruled a strange accident, as it was discovered that he had managed to drown in a forest miles away from the nearest body of water.

His friend, Noemi, is the only one that knows the truth. Link drowned in a lake in the forest that only she can find. With this knowledge, coupled with the fact that recently, she's started to receive text messages from a number claiming to be Link, Noemi is finding moving passed her friend's death to be a difficult process.

With the help of her friends, they begin to unravel the mystery surrounding Link's death and in doing so, attempt to move forward together.

Pace

This is a very quiet, and at times, successfully eerie book. It isn't told like a typical teen mystery. There is no dramatic sleuthing. The story is told slowly, and the answer to all the books questions seem to creep up on you, mostly without any over the top dramatic reveals.

This story is told through the points of view of four characters. Three that were Link's friends prior to his death, and one labelled "unknown" I like books that are told through multiple different POVs, but because the story is told through four different ones, the chapters were very short and at times, the change of POV felt unnecessary. 

Characters

I didn't particularly like or dislike any of the characters. Although, sometimes they felt flat and difficult to relate to.

Noemi was an especially difficult character for me to like. She is overbearingly controlling of her friends, and she also had a very quick-tempered attitude that was difficult to get passed. Obviously every character needs to have flaws to feel realistic, but being as controlling and as quick-tempered as she is, I had a hard time believing that she would be able to keep many friends, (Spoiler! I also had a hard time believing that, just based on her attitude alone, all three of the male characters would show romantic interest in her).  

There was some good representation of different sexualities throughout the story, Noemi is asexual, and Amberlyn and Lyle share a few romantic moments together.

I thought that Lyle and Amberlyn were adorable together and I wish that that relationship had played a larger part in the book. In my opinion they were much more interesting than the central relationship in the book.

The Forest (Big spoilers!)

I enjoyed the concept of "the forest" as a character/being/entity. It was a very interesting aspect to read, although I wish it had been developed a little further. By the time the main characters get to truly speak to "the forest," I believe that there is only 30 or so more pages left. In my opinion, having the characters speak to "the forest" was the most interesting part of the whole book, so I wish that it could have somehow played a larger part. Squishing all of the true interaction to the end of the book felt a little rushed and I was a slightly disappointed.

Conclusion

This book was pretty good, there were some aspects that missed the mark for me but other parts that made the book worth reading. As a warning, there are brief sexual themes, so I would recommend this book to teens who are a little older and who are looking for a read that is a little contemporary while having some mysterious and eerie moods intertwined in it.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Date Published: December 7th 2007
Publisher: Razor Bill
Pages: 288

Introduction 

       Clay Jenson knows that Hannah Baker is dead, which makes it very eerie when he gets a package of cassette tapes, with Hannah Baker's voice on them, telling stories, revealing secrets. He doesn't want anything to do with the tapes, but her voice tells him that he is the topic of one of the tapes

       Hannah committed suicide, but before she did, she recorded seven tapes. On them are thirteen reasons why.

       Clay is one of the reasons.

Cover

       The cover is very simple and very monochromatic, but I like it.

Story-telling

       Essentially, when you read Thirteen Reasons Why, you're getting two stories. You hear Hannah's through Clay's earphones, and Clay's reaction to the tapes as he wanders through his town listening to them. It's a very suspenseful story, as you wait for Clay's turn to come around, to hear why someone like him ended up the center of one of Hannah's tapes.

        As a warning to people who might be considering picking up this book, I just want to mention that you may find some of the stories Hannah tells a little boring, as they aren't all super excited, but rather realistic, and we all know that not everything we do in out lives is super exciting.

Characters

       I loved all of the characters. They were all very honestly written, they seemed like people who genuinely exist especially the two protagonists.

Clay's tape (spoilers, highlight between the brackets to reveal)

       (Clay's tape, as I expected came late in the novel. Obviously, it wouldn't be much of a suspense novel if Clay was the first person mentioned. I think the author did a great job of placing where Clay's tape comes up. It wasn't too soon, or too late. Either of those options probably would have lowered my opinion of the book. Too soon, and the desire to finish the book would have drastically dropped. There wouldn't have been much to look forward too. Too late, and as well as struggling to get through the book, the ending may have been too abrupt and not talked about enough. Anyway, as I was saying, I think the placing Clay as the ninth reason on the tapes was perfect!)

       As for the reason Clay is on the tapes, I think it worked nicely, even if I think it was slightly predictable, and when I say that, I mean, very slightly predictable because most of me was expecting a huge twist, because Clay is written to be pretty likeable. I was mostly expecting Clay to turn out to be a horrible person so, well played, Jay Asher. I'm very happy with the way that it turned out,, I didn't feel let down at all.)

Conclusion

       I loved this book, and I can't believe it took me this long finally read it. (I'm pretty sure it's been on my shelf since about 2013.) Although I mentioned that some people may find some of the stories a little boring, I loved all of them. This book had me turning pages, not just to find out why Clay is one of Hannah's thirteen reasons, but just to simply unfold Hannah's story, and no part of it disappointed me. I became attached to Hannah and truly felt for her, I felt Clay's uneasiness, Overall, this story was wonderfully written.

        I recommend that all teens read this at some point. Although watch out, this book is a giant Not-suitable-for-family-viewing-viewer-discretion-advised stamp, as the theme of the book is suicide, and it deals with a few sexual themes. So, yes. I think that all teens should read this book, maybe wait until you're slightly older than thirteen or fourteen, This book is valuable, because while raising the issue of suicide and other issues that greatly affect adolescents, it teaches how easily we can impact peo
ple in large ways, even when doing small things.

       Anyway, basically what I'm trying to say in this review can be summed up in about four words: This book. Read it.

Did I Mention I Love you? by Estelle Maskame

Introduction

       Eden isn't the happiest person regarding the fact that she has to spend the summer with her father, the same one that walked out on her and her mom three years ago. For the record, she doesn't plan on spending too much time with her father, she plans on working on her tan in the LA sun and doing all the tourist like things the Golden State has to offer. What she doesn't plan on, is having 3 new step brothers. Jamie, Chase and the oldest brother, Tyler. Another thing she really doesn't plan on is making friends and breaking rules, but the last thing I think she ever thought would happen was that she would end up falling for Tyler, the one person she knows she can never go for.

Cover

       The cover is cute, standard for a contemporary romance.

Eden

       Eden wasn't really anything super specatacular. She wasn't a bad character and I didn't dislike her, she just doesn't have anything about her that stands out to me.

Tyler

       Tyler was a cool character. I kind of expected the bomb that dropped near the end when it is revealed as to why he has his guard up all the time and hides behind his infamous distractions, but I did enjoy reading about the roller coaster that is his life.

Love story

       I'm not going to say anything about the love that Tyler and Eden have for each other because I don't really think it would mean anything. The point of the story is basically that the love they have is forbidden regardless of the fact that they aren't related. All that aside, I think it was a well written love story.

Ending

       I do, however, have a problem with the ending. I find the author kind of copped out of really dealing with everything that should have been dealt with, but from what I understand, Did I Mention I Love you is part of a trilogy so Maskame has plenty of time to make up for it.

Conclusion

       This book was pretty good. I think once I really sat down, I read it in about 2 days. It's a good book if you're looking for a more serious contemporary romance, and I am interested enough in the characters and plot to read the second book when I can.

What I Tell Myself by Amber Knight

       Quick update: Hey! The new feature I wrote about before will most likely be out this Sunday. Things have been busy, but I'm finally having a quiet weekend. Anyway, just a quick review today!

       Book received from author in exchange for honest review

Published September 29 2015

       Meet Annabella and Cameron. One is noisy, one is not. One loves asking questions about things that the other wants to keep secret. And one can’t help but fall for the other. 

When a new girl shows up at school, Cameron avoids her like he does everyone else. But the new girl has other plans. Plans that involve finding out who the real Cameron White is. 

       I don't often read a ton of short stories (this book is only 35 pages) but I'm glad I read this one. Amber Knight's writing style reminds me slightly of Ellen Hopkins, In the way that the sentences are short and wouldn't really be considered finished. Personally, I like this style, but it's hit and miss. I really wish this was longer, I would love to read and become more attached to the characters.

Righteous by Kim Lehman

Author: Kim Lehman

Author website

Publisher: Lucky Stars Publishing

First published: June 1 2013

Re-release: Feburary 24 2015

 

Introduction

       Righteous is down-right fed up with every aspect of her life. Her mom seems to care more about her messed up boyfriends, that she picks up at the bar, than about her, the only person she confides to about anything is an old lady with Alzheimers. She just wants her senior year to go as smoothly as possible, sick of the predictable, boring hallways of high school. When she lands herself in the principles office on the first day, things aren't off to a great start. Things get worse when she meets Colt Jackson. The boy who may or may not have killed his best friend back where he came from.  All Righteous wants is a smooth senior year, but Colt Jackson looks like he's going to get in the way of that.

Righteous "Ria"

       Righteous wasn't a terrible character, but I found her kind of predictable. She'll get angry at her mom, leave for a few days, have a run in with her principle to tell her to make good decisions, go back home, realize that her mom hasn't changed and the cycle repeats. 

       Righteous doesn't really have any friends, and she doesn't want any. I guess she believes that the easiest way to not get your heart broken is to pretend you don't have one. I can sympathize with that, but just because you don't want friends, doesn't mean you have to blow off every body that talks to you.

Colt

       Colt's story was interesting--the story of if he really did kill his best friend--He was a more interesting than Ria, but I didn't still didn't like him very much. The romance that bloomed between them didn't interest me either. Speaking of the romance that bloomed between them. I think Colt has some kind of Edward Cullen thing going on, with the way that he just conveniently shows up whenever Ria needs help. Or the way that he shows up in the middle of the night when she's sleeping, just to make sure that she's okay, of course.

Cecile   

       Cecile has been trying to become friends with Ria for years, but every single time Cecile tries to make plans with Ria, Ria hits he with the same answer "Can't today. Sorry." Honesty, if I was turned down for years, I would have given up, so props to Cecile for sticking with it.

        I knew from the moment I started this book, from the first moment I knew that the protagonist was named "Righteous", I knew somebody was going to hit her up with a self-righteous b*tch comment. But for Cecile to be the one to do it? I wasn't expecting that. So again, props to Cecile. This time for being my favorite person in this book.

Conclusion.

       In all honestly, I thought that I would enjoy  this book a lot more than I actually did. I didn't really connect well with the characters. Usually I can, but I just didn't with this book. With this book being contemporary, not connecting with the characters is a big problem.