Review: Being Friends With Boys by Terra Elan McVoy

Being Friends With Boys by Terra Elan McVoy
Simon Pulse, 361 Pages
US Release Date: May 1, 2012
Challenges: Local Library Challenge, YA Contemporary Challenge, Completely Contemporary Challenge

Charlotte and Oliver have been friends forever. She knows that he, Abe, and Trip consider her to be one of the guys, and she likes it that way. She likes being the friend who keeps them all together. Likes offering a girl's perspective on their love lives. Likes being the behind-the-scenes wordsmith who writes all the lyrics for the boys' band. Char has a house full of stepsisters and a past full of backstabbing (female) ex-best friends, so for her, being friends with boys is refreshingly drama-free...until it isn't any more.

When a new boy enters the scene and makes Char feel like, well, a total girl...and two of her other friends have a falling out that may or may not be related to one of them deciding he possibly wants to be more than friends with Char...being friends with all these boys suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.
--------------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

Even your misery was compelling.

No matter how hard I try to get out of the contemporary world of YA literature, I can’t deny that it’s the place I feel most at home in. Every time I read a contemp after a string of Dystopian/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Thriller/whatever, I just get that overwhelming sense of “yes. This is where I belong.”

Being Friends With Boys reinforces that feeling of belonging. Perfectly.

I’ve never read any of Terra’s books before but I can assure you that after this, I definitely will check out her others! Her writing is so genuine and quietly strong, she really knows how to build characters that could walk past me on the street any second. The voices of each character are distinct, and each personality is crystal clear.

Initially, I wanted to read this book because it sounded similar to my own life. I do have girl friends, but growing up, I was definitely ‘one of the guys.’ I hung out with my brother and all his friends (still do) and always had a ton of guy friends. The dynamic is just different, you know? I don’t mean anything bad towards female friends, I love my girls and would be lost without their friendship and willingness to dissect every little glance and touch and not-saying-but-he-said-it-with-his-eyes moment. But guys are different, and sometimes it’s nice to enter into their world.

Being Friends With Boys is pretty spot on regarding how girls are friends with guys. How usually it’s drama free and easier, but one tiny little change and it will make it a mass of complications. My life is nothing like Charlotte's, and none of my guy friends are like the boys in this novel; but I felt like I was seeing my own relationships with guys on the pages. How some just have that deep, underlying understanding that can’t be questioned. How some are so comfortable and close you sometimes have to look away because you see him too clearly. How some are just innately complicated. How some start as more, and then get fuzzy with where it goes. How some friendships are just friendships. How some are better left at friendship. All of those were found in this novel, just as I’ve found them in my own life, and I loved every minute of it.

Also, all these boys? I've never been so in love, so mad, and so emotional towards so many characters at once! I felt just as invested as Charlotte, like it was me going through the fights or listening to music or hashing out songs and lyrics or having his arm slung around my shoulders. It definitely got a bit difficult to track at times, and the opening pages had so many different boy names in them I had to reread it just to figure out the relationships. But each boy is so unique and fun in their own way, making me all angsty towards them. While I had a suspicion from the very beginning how it would all play out, I was kept guessing the finer details until almost the end.

I was pleasantly surprised at the family aspect, too. While not a large part of the novel, I enjoyed that it's a functional, solid family unit of a blended family. So many books portray step-families as evil or misunderstood or terrible, and this was entirely refreshing to see it working. Giving sisters to Charlotte was also a brilliant way to counteract all the boys in her life, and my heart crumbled a bit when Jilly left to go back to college after Thanksgiving Break.

Charlotte is also a really strong character, and I appreciate that Terra let her be an independent girl among all these guys. She wasn't clingy or fussy or slutty or trampy towards them; she just was. She knew who she was; she just wasn't sure who she was with each of the guys. She's pretty fierce all on her own, with the perfect amount of teen indecision and doubt mixed in. With the exception of grades (I can't stand the idea of missing an assignment!), I'm fairly certain I could be Charlotte. Or at least, I hope!

Being Friends With Boys is the perfect contemporary YA novel, with tons of lovable characters, a great story, and fun little twists and surprises. If you want to fall in love and find some great friendships, pick this one up.

4.5 Stars

Review: Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (ARC)

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
Bloomsbury Childrens, 224 Pages
Expected US Release Date: June 19, 2012
Format: eARC / ARC*
Source: NetGalley & Kimberly Sabatini (thank you NetGalley & Bloomsbury, and Kim!)

Challenges: Debut Author Challenge, Completely Contemporary Challenge, YA Contemporary Challenge

When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.
---------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

I can't tell them the things they really want to know. How it feels to kill someone. It's different for everyone, but I felt a rush of adrenaline. A fleeting triumph. And later, in the night when it was quiet, the guilt hit like a sucker punch. Because, even though he was trying to kill me, I'd taken someone's life. These are things I've tried to leave in Afghanistan. Otherwise, how am I ever going to live with myself?

I'm going to get all this out of the way at the very beginning. And if I say it quick, maybe it'll hurt less. A very close childhood friend was killed in Iraq on December 13, 2005 by a roadside bomb. It wrecked his humvee and killed him and one other in his platoon. He was like a brother to me as a child, and I miss him every day. In college, a boy I was very close with and meant a lot to me was deployed suddenly to Iraq and Afghanistan - he's fine, home and retired from the Army now, but the fear and worry as I watched him leave, endure, and return linger, and the memories don't fade. One of my best friend's brother went through 2 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and returned without his best friend. As I type, I have 3 friends who are currently in Afghanistan, and I worry about them constantly and consistently.

Something Like Normal was not an easy book for me to read because every thought Travis had, every story he recounted and emotion he went through was projected onto someone I know personally. Charlie could have been my childhood friend, Travis could have been my best friend's brother, memories of nights spent in trenches and crappy food are what my friends are going through right now. If you follow me on Twitter, you know I had a hard time. I had to put it down twice because I started crying too hard, getting majorly overwhelmed with sadness and/or emotions. I finally set aside a day where I was ready to break down, have a good cry and fall in love with Travis and the rest of this story.

And let me tell you, all of it was entirely worth it. Beyond worth it.

A few people told me maybe I shouldn't read it if it was wrecking me too much - and I concede that maybe that would have been easier. But I loved the premise, and the fact that I could relate to this so much was a driving reason why I wanted to read it. That's one of the reasons why I love books; to connect, to feel and find myself in every page. There were also a few who told me to try not to get so personally attached to it; to which I say 1) that's also big reason why I read it, and 2) WAY easier said than done. If someone told you his personal account of moving through trenches while bombs were going off behind him, bullets were soaring towards him, and how he experienced auditory silence because of it...that's not something you can just disconnect from.

From strictly a reader's point of view, this book is absolutely amazing. Travis is such a strong character with an even stronger voice that just leaps off the pages. Half the day I think I may run into him at the grocery store he's so real. Harper is equally as strong, the perfect woman to take on Travis and all his issues. I loved their relationship together and how they slowly grow to trust each other and have this amazing give-and-take between them. Each secondary character is also done so well, making you love or hate them for very direct and dimensional reasons. Every person has their own unique and nuanced personality, no matter if it's being discussed the entire book, three chapters, or half a page.

The story itself is also phenomenal; sad and happy and difficult and raw, with real emotions and struggles. Kimberly Sabatini (hi Kim!) said in her review of it on Goodreads that this book had "endless depth and layers," which is just the PERFECT way to describe it. Everything Travis has to deal with just made my insides hurt for him, from family problems to reacclimatizing to "normal" life, to the death of his best friend right in front of his eyes. His PTSD was terrifying and made my heart hurt for him, written so thoroughly and well that I just want to hug every soldier I see in the hopes to ease any lingering effects. Travis's struggle with admitting it and then what to do with his nightmares was so heart wrenching; and I have to say that one of my favourite things was his struggle with it because of how it may affect his career with the Marines. Dealing with it is an emotional issue, but I rarely see the truth of how it would be viewed in the military and with other soldiers mentioned. I quite loved the mention/use of photos within the plot too - a perfect example of how what's photographed and printed about War may not be quite what it's framed to be.

I can't not mention Trish Doller's writing, too - it's so strong and fabulous. There's just the right amount of detail to break your heart or make you fall in love all over again; I seriously had a breakdown reading the line "Rock-paper-scissors was the way we decided everything, and it's only now I realize Charlie almost always thew rock." - because after all we know about Travis, Charlie and their relationship, it just struck me as so wonderfully heartbreaking. How she wrote his life, Travis's thoughts, the memories and struggles...it all feels so REAL. It flows perfectly, and I flew through the pages.

As someone who read this book with so many personal ties, I fell in love, shed tears, and wondered how someone could get everything on the pages so right. Every emotion was spot on, from Travis's mom worrying, to the stress of why someone enlisted, to making life work when someone is gone, to figuring out how to mesh Past Life with Enlisted Life and Future...it's brilliant. While I myself am not in the Marines so my own experiences can only extend so far, I recognize a lot of things told to me from friends, soldiers and others who went through or are going through this. I want to give this book to everyone: military men to know they're not alone, friends with military friends so they know what they may face, anyone who's ever seen a soldier so they can just understand. Even someone who has no ties, no experience, no ANYTHING to do with this should read it, because it's just that beautiful.

This is probably the longest review I've ever written, and there are still SO many things I want to say. Every time I try to end it, I think of something else I want to talk about! While I will spare your reading eyes, just trust me when I say this book will take you through one of the rawest, roughest journeys in contemporary YA today - and you will feel so grateful to have experienced it. The story works its way through your heart and soul, leaving little touches everywhere - and I feel so lucky to have it with me.

There will never be enough medals for this book, but the best I can do is stars:

5 Stars / 5

PS. As an aside, I want to thank Trish for being such a wonderful person; she saw the struggle I was having with it on Twitter and was absolutely incredible about it. I mean, she told me to stop reading if it was triggering too many things! Not only does that mean she really understands the subject matter of her book, but you have to be a commendable person at heart to be an author telling a reader not to read her book. Few people have that much care and compassion, and I'm grateful Trish is one of them. Ms. Doller, you have my endless support.

*I was given an eARC from NetGalley, but my iPad decided not to cooperate ~40 pages in. Luckily, almost directly after that the wonderful Kimberly Sabatini had a contest for her ARC and I won - so I finished out the novel from the ARC. Sorry for confusion, but big thanks to Kim, NetGalley and Bloomsbury!

Review: The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
Dutton, 307 pages
US Release Date: February 16, 2012
Challenges: Sophomore Reading Challenge, YA Contemporary Challenge

Colby and Bev have a long-standing pact: graduate, hit the road with Bev's band, and then spend the year wandering around Europe. But moments after the tour kicks off, Bev makes a shocking announcement: she's abandoning their plans - and Colby - to start college in the fall.

But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest, playing in small towns and dingy venues, while roadie- Colby struggles to deal with Bev's already-growing distance and the most important question of all: what's next?

Morris Award–finalist Nina LaCour draws together the beauty and influences of music and art to brilliantly capture a group of friends on the brink of the rest of their lives.
------------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

She stares in wonder at the eggs and toast, and I know how she feels, how everyday things are rare and exciting when they turn up in unfamiliar places.

I really wish The Disenchantments was out when I had graduated high school...or even college, really. It's a brilliant, stunning novel about finishing one thing and trying to figure out the big, all-encompassing question of "What next?".

When I was about halfway through the novel, I tweeted out that The Disenchantments made me want to write again. I've been a trained journalist for 12 years, but I rarely talk about the fact that I'm a writer first and foremost. Not a published author (yet), but I have the dreams; just have yet to finish the story. For reasons too personal for the blog, I haven't written a story in a few years -- I've done NaNoWriMo every year, but it's never a story that I know in my heart is destined to be seen. It's been a very massive, very intimidating writer's block, essentially.

But The Disenchantments made that itch flare, made that deep need to write and create and express through words bubble up in my chest again, and it was absolutely amazing. Because this book is something I would absolutely love to write one day (not exactly, of course!). It's filled with that subtleness that works its way unknowingly into your heart, in that quiet fashion where you don't even realize how much it's striking your soul until there's so much of it it overflows. There's nothing EXPLOSIVELY HUGE or anything that comes from left field here, and it's perfect.

I think what really sold this book for me is how absolutely real it is. There aren't massive emotional swings, or tricks in the plot that are supposed to smack you upside the head: like real life, it's a struggle, a slow chipping away at a problem that opens it up gradually and painfully. It's that moment when you learn of the fissure in the foundation, and all that follows are the slowly and ever-expanding things you finally figure out to realize just how broken and screwed you are.

I can talk about how it's an amazing road trip novel, filled with that perfect journey - both literal and metaphorical - as we watch four friends become closer to who they think they want to be; and I could talk about the music (The Supremes!) and how awesomely well it all comes off the page, from Bev's breathy voice to the irregular drum beats to the feedback of the amps; I could talk about how appropriately and quietly art and all its forms and what it opens up in a life are distributed in the book; I could even talk about how even though it's not the sexiest, hottest or dream-worthy kissy scenes I've ever read, I do think they're absolutely perfect in this book and made me swoon just as hard.  I could talk about all that, because it's all true...

But it's about how well it all comes together, how masterful Nina LaCour ties it all together into this perfect little mini-band tour.  Each character (including Melinda!) is so unique and lovely in their own way, and I have to admit that Colby is possibly the best male POV I've ever read--YA or not. I felt like I was in the van with them, answering those quotes on a slip of paper, wishing I could know what was on Bev's walkman, buying Colby a half an hour in the hot tubs. And not just because I loved them all so much and wanted to be their friends, but because I found a little (or even a lot) of myself in every single character; even though sometimes that hurt, it was the best kind.

5 Stars / 5

(and more if I could!)