Review: 16 Things I Thought Were True by Janet Gurtler (eARC)

16 Things I Thought Were True by Janet Gurtler
Sourcebooks Fire, 304 pages
Expected US Release Date: March 4, 2014
Format/Source: eARC via NetGalley - thank you!

Heart attacks happen to other people #thingsIthoughtweretrue

When Morgan's mom gets sick, it's hard not to panic. Without her mother, she would have no one—until she finds out the dad who walked out on her as a baby isn't as far away as she thought...

Adam is a stuck-up, uptight jerk #thingsIthoughtweretrue

Now that they have a summer job together, Morgan's getting to know the real Adam, and he's actually pretty sweet...in a nerdy-hot kind of way. He even offers to go with her to find her dad. Road trip, anyone?

5000 Twitter followers are all the friends I need #thingsIthoughtweretrue

With Adam in the back seat, a hyper chatterbox named Amy behind the wheel, and plenty of Cheetos to fuel their trip, Morgan feels ready for anything. She's not expecting a flat tire, a missed ferry, a fake girlfriend...and that these two people she barely knew before the summer started will become the people she can't imagine living without.
-------------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

But remember, if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off it.

I’ve only read one other Janet Gurtler book (review of How I Lost You here!), but I knew even then that she was a force in YA lit. She can tackle so many things, so many emotions with a bravely and raw real approach…reading her books always makes my heart constrict somehow. And 16 Things I Thought Were True was no exception.

First and foremost, I freakin’ love Amy. She comes barging into the book at nonstop and it just takes off from there. She is the perfect supporting character, the perfect new friend, the perfect secondary character that adds and takes away and enhances all the points you want. She has her own personality (does she ever!), and even though she really is loud and candid, she never overtakes Morgan.

I was kind of surprised how much I liked 16 Things I Thought Were True  I don’t really have any first hand knowledge of most of what happens in this book (thank goodness!), but there’s a great amount of emotion that you can relate to. I don’t know what it’s like to have a mother with a heart problem, but I know what it’s like to be scared for her health. While I am thankfully an outsider to the problems, I can feel it all pretty well.

At the same time, what happens…ok. I get it. I don’t want it to have not happened, but I felt like it was a lot to throw into a book so late in the game. There are so many problems and elements of YA novels tossed into this one, I felt a little bit rushed and crammed. Dying mom, absent mom, work drama, viral video, road trip, new love, cancer, lies, tweets, follower goals, ex-best friends…if you can think it, it’s probably somewhere in here. And there were definite moments where the plot was moving fast—almost too fast. Like, 3 sentences would span an entire gammet of emotions. Sometimes I just needed a moment to absorb what was happening.

However, I freakin’ loved so much of all that happens that I was kind of willing to look past it. The road trip was so much fun, and even though quick, it was a fantastically funny and real way to get to know Adam and Amy along with Morgan. I liked the twist with the father and that entire struggle—it was different and not what I expected.

And of course, I have to talk about Adam…I’m not too crazy about him, but he did seem to be pretty real. He wasn’t an immediate Prince Charming, he was kind of a dick for a lot of his parts…but that was kind of appealing. He meshed well with Morgan and the overall tone of the book (I swear I did not mean to call this entire book a dick haha)—it was a good complement to the vibe of the novel, is all. He’s normal, and that in itself is pretty refreshing.

16 Things I Thought Were True tackles a ton of issues (sometimes too many), but so much of it was fun and interesting that I sped through the novel and fell in love a hundred times. I wish to all the bits I have I could be friends with Amy in real life—and while I think the rest of the novel deserves to be read, she is the real reason I will push someone to read this book.

PS. Make sure to check out my blog tour post that features 2 things Janet Gurtler thought were true!

4 Stars

[Blog Tour] Guest Post: 16 Things I Thought Were True by Janet Gurtler (& me!)

16 Things I Thought Were True by Janet Gurtler
Sourcebooks Fire, 304 pages
Expected US Release Date: March 4, 2014

Heart attacks happen to other people #thingsIthoughtweretrue

When Morgan's mom gets sick, it's hard not to panic. Without her mother, she would have no one—until she finds out the dad who walked out on her as a baby isn't as far away as she thought...

Adam is a stuck-up, uptight jerk #thingsIthoughtweretrue

Now that they have a summer job together, Morgan's getting to know the real Adam, and he's actually pretty sweet...in a nerdy-hot kind of way. He even offers to go with her to find her dad. Road trip, anyone?

5000 Twitter followers are all the friends I need #thingsIthoughtweretrue

With Adam in the back seat, a hyper chatterbox named Amy behind the wheel, and plenty of Cheetos to fuel their trip, Morgan feels ready for anything. She's not expecting a flat tire, a missed ferry, a fake girlfriend...and that these two people she barely knew before the summer started will become the people she can't imagine living without.
-------------------------Goodreads Summary

Purchase!

Barnes & Noble | Amazon | IndieBound | TBD

I am so stoked to have Janet Gurtler on my blog today! She is a powerful voice in contemporary YA lit, and I can't wait to read more of her books. In celebration of her new book, 16 Things I Thought Were True (my review will post Friday, and spoiler: so emotional and thought-provoking!), I get to post a couple things that Janet thought was true, and throw in my own things! I cheated and split mine, but I hope you enjoy anyway.

And of course, please do pick up 16 Things when it releases on March 4!

16 Things Janet Gurtler & I Thought Were True

(Or: 2 Things Janet Thought Were True, 8 Things I Thought Were True, and 6 Things I Found Out Were, In Fact, True.)

(I thought that title would be too long.)

(I was right.)

1. I thought Mall Santa’s were Santa’s employees.

2. I thought the Easter Bunny pooped chocolate eggs.

1. James Marsters is British.
Not even lying when I say finding out he isn’t is among one of the top disappointments in my life.
2. Every traffic light was monitored by people.
They manually changed the lights according to the need or car presence, and I thought they were in bad moods when they took awhile to change the lights.
3. Peppermint mochas are only seasonal.
4. Everyone loves and adores the TV show Friends.
Everyone will automatically understand every quote or reference I make.
5. Social media isn't addictive.
6. It’s easy to keep personal and professional life separate.
7. High school attitudes and drama stays in high school.
8. Friendship is forever.
The effects of friendship are forever, and if you’re lucky some are—but friendship itself is unfortunately not.

1. Justin Timberlake really did marry Jessica Biel.

This is an old one that still depresses me to know.

2. White mochas are grossly more unhealthy than a regular mocha.

3. All blue nail polish stains.

ALL.
(Unless you get a good base coat. I recommend CND Stickey.)

4. People expect an immediate response when they text you.

They’ll get immensely offended if you don’t.

5. A heart never really heals.

Sometimes you think it does, and it could be for years, but then you see something, smell something, remember something and you realize your heart has only rebuilt around the hurt.

6. Family doesn't require a blood relation.

Thanks so much for joining my blog, Janet!

Connect with Janet

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Review: How I Lost You by Janet Gurtler (ARC)

How I Lost You by Janet Gurtler
Sourcebooks, 320 Pages
Expected US Release Date: April 23, 2013
Format/Source: Print ARC from Around the World ARC Tours - thank you!
Challenges: SARC, Contemporary Challenge

There are a few things Grace Anderson knows for sure. One is that nothing will ever come between her and her best friend, Kya Kessler. They have a pact. Buds Before Studs. Sisters Before Misters. But in the summer before senior year, life throws out challenges they never expected. And suddenly the person who's always been there starts to need the favor returned. Grace and Kya are forced to question how much a best friend can forgive. And the answer is not what they expected.
----------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

He didn't understand that sometimes circumstances could sprout up a lot of grey. Bad things sometimes tarnished people's souls. Kya had stains. There were some things she couldn't get over. It wasn't always black and white.

Janet Gurtler is one of those YA authors I’ve heard tons about since she has so many books that people I know love, but I’ve never read anything by her! When I had the chance to read How I Lost You, I was really excited heading in – it sounded like a fantastic contemporary, and I couldn’t wait to be introduced to her writing. And now, after? Even though I had a few problems with How I Lost You, I totally get why so many people love her books and I can’t wait to read the rest!

How I Lost You was a strange read for me because even though I can’t connect to any situation at all that Kya and Grace were going through, I totally relate to the emotions and fears that were there. Most readers know what it’s like to make excuses for a friend, to cling to what you were and know you can be even though what you are doesn’t quite measure up. Every instance of friendship and all the struggles in this book were so real, it almost hurt me to see it right there.

In terms of the characters though, I have to say that I really couldn’t stand Kya. I thought she was a terrible person, a terrible friend, and while I know she’s supposed to be, there was absolutely nothing redeeming about her that made me feel an ounce of sympathy. But what I couldn’t stand with Kya, I really loved in Levi! He wasn’t the typical male jock/tough guy out there. He wasn’t wussy or stereotypically sensitive, but there were soft sides to him that really rounded out a fresh character. He was outspoken but still shy, a personality all on his own.

An element I was totally surprised by was James, the third best friend! When you read the synopsis, there’s not an inlking of him existing to Kya and Grace – but I’m really glad he did. It was a bit odd since he didn’t quite fit into their whole “Buds Before Studs” mentality, but I liked the history he gave them. And even though I do think he had a bit of an obvious, formulaic purpose, I still thought he was a great character and much more the friend that Grace deserved.

I have to say, I was surprised at how detailed Janet Gurtler’s writing was! She writes scenes down to the detail, saying line-by-line what is happening. Sometimes it was awesome and really let me feel like I was there in the scene (like at the big dinner); and sometimes it was just too much and all I could think was how little I cared to read about them going through their paintball gear in the trunk. Still, it was interesting, and overall I quite liked that.

Even though there were quite a few elements to How I Lost You that I didn’t quite like, how much I could really feel the story spoke volumes to me. There’s an honesty and a realness that made this completely worthwhile.

3.5 Stars