Review: The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider (ARC)

Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider
Now titled: The Beginning of Everything
Katherine Tegan (an imprint of HarperTeen), 335 pages
US Release Date: August 27, 2013

Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: in one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra’s knee, his athletic career, and his social life.

No longer a front-runner for Homecoming King, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra’s ever met, achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures.

But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: if one’s singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes? 

Robyn Schneider’s The Beginning of Everything is a lyrical, witty, and heart-wrenching novel about how difficult it is to play the part that people expect, and how new beginnings can stem from abrupt and tragic endings.
-------------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

Imaginary prisoners are still prisoners.

I feel like this book is my kindred spirit. I feel like it’s the missing piece of me I’ve always been yearning for, that extension of myself that I hadn’t realized was lost until I found it. Severed Heads, Broken Hearts feels suspiciously like home.

Probably the best word I can think to describe this book is “unexpected.” Not surprising , and nothing was horribly improbable, but there were some very unexpected twists and revelations. They were all done perfectly and with the best treatment, but still: unexpected.

When I say this book is my kindred spirit, it’s because I feel like every single character has elements of me in him or her. Toby, Cassidy, Ezra, absolutely everyone was a little bit of the confidence I have and a lot of the questions and indecision and existential crises I go through daily. I remember all these feelings so well in high school, and even now. There’s so much complexity and depth to each one, and seeing how they all intertwine and affect the other just makes it all the better. The characters are so complementary to each other, I absolutely adore it.

More passages were marked in this book than I have in any other this year. It feels like there’s so much wisdom and guidance in these pages, I feel like there’s so much to learn between the lines. About love. About friendship. About family, and relationships and happiness and accepting a direction you feel forced to go in. Probably the best part about this story as a whole is that it’s about the changes that happen in someone’s life, whether we make them by choice or consciously or without reason. That it’s a story that focuses on living through the changes and tragedies, rather than fighting or resenting.

I also love how cool-nerdy this book is. All the references, the “smart” situations and words, how it’s about the debate team – and yet, all the characters are completely normal as well. They have friends, there’s drama, there’s schoolwork and projects and some family problems and secrets. Sure, it feels a little exaggerated sometimes between the “cliques” and the divide in high school, but it has to be so in a book (and maybe it’s not, I just didn’t experience a high school like this!).

Perhaps my only disappointment? The title change! I guess I get why the title is now The Beginning of Everything, but I absolutely ADORED Severed Heads, Broken Hearts. And it’s just so much more fitting!

Also, this will only be understood by anyone who has already read it: COOPER <3

5 stars

Review: Fan Art by Sarah Tregay (ARC)

Fan Art by Sarah Tregay
Katherine Tegan Books (an imprint of Harper), 368 pages
Expected US Release Date: June 17, 2014
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

When the picture tells the story…

Senior year is almost over, and Jamie Peterson has a big problem. Not college—that’s all set. Not prom—he’ll find a date somehow. No, it’s the worst problem of all: he’s fallen for his best friend.

As much as Jamie tries to keep it under wraps, everyone seems to know where his affections lie, and the giggling girls in art class are determined to help Jamie get together with Mason. But Jamie isn’t sure if that’s what he wants—because as much as Jamie would like to come clean to Mason, what if the truth ruins everything? What if there are no more road trips, taco dinners, or movie nights? Does he dare risk a childhood friendship for romance?

This book is about what happens when a picture reveals what we can’t say, when art is truer than life, and how falling in love is easy, except when it’s not. Fan Art explores the joys and pains of friendship, of pressing boundaries, and how facing our worst fears can sometimes lead us to what we want most.
----------------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

“Does someone not liking you back break your heart?”

I’ve tried to write the beginning of this review so many times, but I can’t decide which element to talk about first since I loved them all so much. I want to tell you all at once how much I adore Jamie and how much I adore Mason and how adorable this book is, filled with the lovely tension of crushes and loves and best friends-but-wanting-more and the complexities of being Out but not really out. I want to say all at once because I simply can’t make the decision what to say first.

I’ll start at the very beginning, because it is, indeed, a very good place to start. Jamie is just the best main character ever. He is sweet and friendly and open and confused, and I felt like he was immediately my best friend. I loved all his interactions with people, all his thoughts and considerations and doubt. I’m nowhere near Jamie or whatever he finds himself in, but I related to him on almost every level, and it was lovely.

I would never be his best friend though, but that’s because that spot belongs wholeheartedly to Mason. And I support and love them, all the jokes and touches and “I love you, man”s that are and are not said. In fact, I love most of the friendships in this book—even the ones between all the popular jocks, even if I’m not a real fan of those jocks themselves. I really liked Eden and Jamie, since it’s a friendship built on secrets and outsider understanding. I’m not quite a fan of Eden, actually—she’s a little too much for me—but I like what she and Jamie had and become.

Perhaps one of the reasons I loved this book as well is the incorporation of the Gumshoe—I am a journalism girl at heart (and by diploma!) and ran the school newspaper in high school and was Creative director of a non-profit magazine in college (I did the layouts, basically). It was wonderful reliving the memories of planning meetings, going to the printers, finding content, putting everything together…and even the hardships of debating back and forth on when you want a piece in or not. It’s a very hard thing to debate the merit of something for print, especially when it’s something that speaks to you—so I got Jamie. I definitely got him.

Though I do have to say I wasn’t really impressed by most of the poems printed in here. I did like At Night I Dream—but the others weren’t really anything special to me. I did, however, LOVE the comic that started it all, and I can’t wait to see the final version.

I found quite a bit of this story predictable as well, though not in an infuriatingly so way or anything. It was more like…once you read something, you could tell the direction it would go. And while I was more than happy with the way a lot of this works out, sometimes it would have been nice to be thrown off the trail a little bit.

Fan Art was such a fantastic story. I loved the plot and how much fun it was—I feel like it perfectly captured the end of Senior Year so well. The nostalgia of the known and loved for the last 4 years with the terrifying anticipation of what’s to come.  I loved the small road trip, the Senior Ditch Day, the prank, prom, absolutely everything. Everyone should read it, because I promise you’ll find a little bit of yourself in it as well.

4.5 stars

Review: Ashes to Ashes by Melissa Walker (ARC)

Ashes to Ashes (Ashes to Ashes #1) by Melissa Walker
Katherine Tegan (Harper Teen), 356 pages
Expected US Release Date: December 23, 2013
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

When Callie's life is cut short by a tragic accident, she expects to find nothingness, or maybe some version of heaven.

Instead, her spirit travels to the Prism, an ethereal plane populated by the ghosts she thought were fictional. Here she meets a striking and mysterious ghost named Thatcher, who is meant to guide her as she learns to haunt and bring peace to the loved ones she left behind.

However, Callie uncovers a dark secret about the spirit world: The angry souls who always populate ghost stories are real, dangerous, and willing to do whatever it takes to stay on Earth, threatening the existence of everyone she ever cared about.

As she fights to save them, Callie will learn that while it may no longer beat, her heart can still love-and break.
-------------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

…it's such an abstract concept. Reaching out feels so much more natural to me.

There is one main thing that I think a person should know going into reading Ashes To Ashes: this is a duet. There will be a second book! I had absolutely no idea when I read it, I thought it was a standalone—but as I crept closer and closer to the end of the book, I started thinking, “Hmmm…all these questions and still ninety BILLION questions?!” And I remember thinking good heavens there BETTER be a second book, else I’m not even going to bother rating this it infuriates me so much! (Book blogger threats. They’re real.)

So, PHEW on that front. Knowing that, I definitely like this book the more I think about it. When I first closed it, I thought it was a bit odd, and unsatisfying, and that there were too many questions without answers. And while I do still think there weren’t enough answers, it wasn’t enough to put me off from wanting to pick up Book 2.

I’m not a big paranormal person, so I was a bit iffy going into this novel. I haven’t quite figured out my feelings on ghosts and the paranormal happenings in life; and I have even less experience in my books. But I like Melissa Walker, I adore most of her contemporaries that I’ve read and I thought this would be a good way to get into it. And I’m glad to say I gave it a shot!

The concept of the Prism is pretty interesting to me, I like that we try to help our loved ones get over our death. I found that delightfully satisfying and fulfilling, and I kind of hope that is the real reason ghosts haunt. Not their own unfinished business, but the unfinished business of helping someone else. I loved the personal ghost prisms they each had too, the concept of why they’re built as they are and that it’s an area for them to recharge. Kinda made me wonder what my personal prism would look like (as vaguely morbid as that seems). And I quite enjoy the little bits of humor and puns regarding life/death/having a life in death.

I have to admit that there are still some predictable parts, that I knew why Callie could feel and still had her memories and emotions as a ghost—that seemed pretty easy to figure out, and that definitely influenced how I felt about certain scenes where that affecting things. It took away some surprise to the book, but there were still enough moments for me to overlook that.

I found I really liked most of the characters, too. Carson was a great friend, I loved how into the spirit world she is and how she connects with all that. She was a fantastic friend to Callie, even after she was gone, and I started hoping that my friends were like her. Nick is…well. He was probably my least favourite of the good characters, but I didn’t particularly not like him. He felt mostly incomplete to me, like I was given him as a part to the story without explanation or real connection. Leo was creepy. He was so, so creepy. Written well, and a great character, but like Callie, I would shiver and dread every time he showed up on the page. The entire idea of some ghosts existing who did not want to move out of the Prism and into Solus was dark and scary; and Leo just took it to an extreme. That’s some great writing where I would hate seeing his name on a page.

I am SO FREAKIN’ CURIOUS. Omg. There are so many questions, and I don’t have answers, and omg you guys I NEED THEM. Why was Nick going to…well, you know. What is going on with Carson? Who is H? Why is Thatcher so freakin’ hot and amazing and man aliiiiiiiiive do I want that ghost. The book ended fairly well in terms of leaving you satisfied enough for the book but wanting more.

Last, random thing: I love the title font on the cover. I really, really draw towards the first “Ashes” being different than the last “ashes.” I don’t quite know why, but I know I really loved it.

3.5 stars

Review: Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza (ARC)

Mila 2.0 (Mila 2.0 #1) by Debra Driza
Katherine Tegan Books (an imprint of HarperTeen/HarperCollins), 480 pages
Expected US Release Date: March 12, 2013
Format: Print ARC
Source: Borrowed from friend (thanks Natasha!)
Challenges: Debut Author Challenge

Mila 2.0 is the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence.

Mila was never meant to learn the truth about her identity. She was a girl living with her mother in a small Minnesota town. She was supposed to forget her past —that she was built in a secret computer science lab and programmed to do things real people would never do.

Now she has no choice but to run—from the dangerous operatives who want her terminated because she knows too much and from a mysterious group that wants to capture her alive and unlock her advanced technology. However, what Mila’s becoming is beyond anyone’s imagination, including her own, and it just might save her life.

Mila 2.0 is Debra Driza’s bold debut and the first book in a Bourne Identity–style trilogy that combines heart-pounding action with a riveting exploration of what it really means to be human. Fans of I Am Number Four will love Mila for who she is and what she longs to be—and a cliffhanger ending will leave them breathlessly awaiting the sequel.
------------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

I felt that same tiny flare of hope from before...that same rise of breathless anticipation that maybe, just maybe, I'd come to the wrong conclusion, even though I knew better.

"I'm sorry, Mila."

Three words, I realized with a choked sob. That's all it took for hope to die.

Mila 2.0 is one of those books I went into with reservations, because I had wanted it for SO LONG. I had anticipated it so much, had so much hope and expectation, that I was like there is no possible way for it to live up to what I want it to be. I've known Debra for several months at this point (almost a year!) and I adore her, and I was like "can it be possible that this brilliant woman I know in real life translates to the page too!?" It seems impossible.

Oh, but it is not. She does it fantastically, improbably, and so, so amazingly.

If you were to look at my past in books, you'll see one thing in common: contemporary romance. I adore it. I am all about the love stories, the swoon and the emotions and feelings. Something not really there? Action. I don't not like it, I just...I don't gravitate to it at all. Sometimes I think it's hard to read about because I want to see it, sometimes I'm just not feeling it.

Mila 2.0 is 80% action, 20% romance AND I DON'T EVEN GIVE A DAMN I LOVE IT.

This is one action-packed, non-stop book. I swear every other page felt like we were on the run from something, or hiding, or fighting - and the pages that weren't were filled with the delicious tension of waiting for it to happen because you knew it was inevitable. The beginning does start out a little slow (and bitchy - anyone else want to slap Kaylee?!), but power through guys! Trust me that it will pick up, because we have to see the human side to Mila to understand just how difficult it is for her to come to terms that she's actually not one. And even though I do say it's 80% action and movement, the best part is how balanced this entire novel felt. Sure, you're speeding at a million miles a second, but I never felt rushed. I never felt like we were missing important details, and what was given to us is perfect.

I really loved all of Mila's Android capabilities, too - they're so much fun! I loved how she discovered or was told each one, and the part they all played. It was so creative, and her flaw of emotions were brilliant to see. There is one part that I'm not going to spoil, but let's just say we get to see what she's supposed to be versus how she's "too human," and it is fantastic. Such a great additional element to this story.

There's really not much else I can say about Mila 2.0, except this is an amazing debut from an equally amazing writer. You're immediately drawn in, and even though it is a hefty word count (almost 500 pages!), you won't even notice it. You fly through the pages because there's a certain ease to Debra's writing that just connects to you. Seriously, reading this is like watching a movie! There are so many fantastic scenes that have a great tension or emotion or feeling to it, and I can't recommend it enough.

And ok, like I could really do a review without talking about the love interests/boys (even if they are only 20% of the story)! They're not too big of a deal, but the scenes they are in? So good. I can easily fall in love with both of the boys that show up here, especially Lucas. He's got that nerdy scientist hot thing going - at least in my head, anyway haha. Their scenes are short, but meaningful, and I cannot wait to see what part they play in the rest of the trilogy.

5 Stars

Review: Bliss by Kathryn Littlewood (MG)

Bliss (The Bliss Bakery #1) by Kathryn Littlewood
Katherine Tegen Books, 374 Pages
US Release Date:
Challenge: Local Library Challenge

Rosemary Bliss’s family has a secret. It’s the Bliss Cookery Booke—an ancient, leather-bound volume of enchanted recipes like Stone Sleep Snickerdoodles and Singing Gingersnaps. Rose and her siblings are supposed to keep the Cookery Booke under lock and whisk-shaped key while their parents are out of town, but then a mysterious stranger shows up. “Aunt” Lily rides a motorcycle, wears purple sequins, and whips up exotic (but delicious) dishes for dinner. Soon boring, nonmagical recipes feel like life before Aunt Lily—a lot less fun.

So Rose and her siblings experi-ment with just a couple of recipes from the forbidden Cookery Booke.

A few Love Muffins and a few dozen Cookies of Truth couldn’t cause too much trouble . . . could they?

Kathryn Littlewood’s culinary caper blends rich emotional flavor with truly magical wit, yielding one heaping portion of hilarious family adventure.
------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

Thee was a magic in the two of them sitting there as the brilliant orange of the setting sun glimmered through the trees, but it had nothing to do with spells or mason jars. It was the magic of a person's ability to change, to grow, to heal, without the aid of any magic at all.

This is definitely a MG novel for the true middle grade readers. You know how some MG books can transcend age groups, kind of blur with YA books (all 3 of Rick Riordan's series, Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities, etc)? Not this one. It's for the young readers, and unless you have a distinct liking for Middle Grade books, you might want to pass this by.

Lucky for me, I do have an affinity for MG books, so it didn't bother me! I just had to constantly remind myself as I was reading that this is for the younger set, that the main character is young. The writing is fantastic, incredibly easy to read and approachable to a young set. I loved the language in the book, it was that nice balance of being young but still educational with some "big" words being used and explained. It was clever to focus on a family with several varying ages, because it allowed certain elements to be explored further or elaborated on.

Can I tell you how much I love books that focus on family? I feel like there are so few in today's books (I know that's not true, but still) and it was wonderful to see one that allows a true family unit, one that works together and places value on each other. The dynamic between all the siblings and the parents is great, and I really loved seeing them work through problems together. And that Rose wants to stay with her family, loves them and understands how they're a support system? That's definitely something I would want my kid to read and emulate. Her siblings are all great characters with their own distinct set of skills and personality. I loved how Ty was a little bit narcissistic, that Sage was the bratty younger brother but quite brainy, and even little Leigh, small as she is, has a developed personality trait too. And how much do I love that they're all named after herbs?! Rosemary, Thyme, Sage and Parsley.

Rose is a perfect middle grade character, too; she's at that weird time of growing up where she's trying to figure out who she is by herself as well as who she is within the world. She struggles with a blossoming crush who doesn't know her name, wanting to be something but not knowing quite how to get there, and feeling like she's not really being seen. At the same time, you can tell how strong she is and how much potential there is to her; she's dedicated, loyal and fiercely protective of her family. She loves them no matter how much she feels like they overlook her, and I love that. If I had a little girl, I would love for her to befriend Rose.

The recipes and mischief the Bliss family get into are also fantastically fun and magical, and the wording of the recipes is definitely unique - the book has it's own sort of language, but it's easy to understand and follow along. All the trouble and chaos the family creates through their recipes are such an adventure, and I had a lot of fun reading about the problems and finding out how they would try to fix everything. I usually call books like this predictable, but I can safely say that I didn't know what Rose, Ty, Sage, and Leigh would get themselves into next!

There were a few things I didn't like though. While I didn't predict what the Bliss family would do next, I wasn't particularly at the edge of my seat, either. It wasn't the most action packed book - though the action that was there was breathtakingly amusing - and sometimes I felt like the story dragged on a bit. I appreciate the focus on Rose and her growth, but there were a few instances I felt she could have come to conclusions faster. It wouldn't have been outside her character parameters or potential. The use of modern references (Justin Bieber, for one) was also a bit odd to me; the setting and plot of the book feel so magical and otherworldly, having real world references kind of shattered that illusion. It's this fantastically fantastical world where magic in cookies can make people tell the truth, where love exists and bikes are ridden to town squares and breathe of people who tell no lies can be captured in a mason jar...it feels like this great dream world, and then something real would come along and break the spell. Personally, it felt out of place and a bit disappointing that this could be a real town somewhere.

Also, be warned that this is book one of two (I think two anyway, I haven't seen anything about a third one!) - it would have been nice knowing that going in! I wasn't really noticing it for the first half of the book, but as it went on I was definitely thinking, "Hmmm there's only a small chunk of pages left how is this going to wrap up?!" And about 5 pages before it's end I realized OH. Maybe this isn't really the end! and sure enough, there's a book 2. While I do like the ending to this book - it was satisfying and complete while still having a great setup for the next part of the story - I would have liked knowing that heading in. Having a second part doesn't necessarily make Book 1 any worse or difficult, but it did explain the pacing and might have lessened my distraction.

Still, this was a magical story, and sometimes it felt like a fairy tale. I especially liked how the villainess wasn't quite villainous throughout the entire novel; it's brilliant that we find Aunt Lily to actually be kind of likable. I don't blame Ty or Sage for being swept up in her beauty and magnetism, I'm not sure I'd have seen through it either! The subtle little doubts from Rose were great though, and just enough to make you wonder who Aunt Lily really is. It's a great way to make the reader really feel a part of the story.

Though it's not perfect, Bliss is a magical Middle Grade novel filled with some great mischief, better characters and a perfect main character. This is definitely a family and bakery with which I would want to sit in and share a pie.

PS. Isn't it the most magical, delicious looking cover ever?! I wanted to eat so many pastries, cakes, cookies and tarts after finishing this book it was absurd! I'm lucky I don't eat donuts, eclairs, or scones, else I'd have been in some major trouble.

3.5 Stars / 5