Review: A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano (ARC)

A Curious Tale of the In-Between (Pram #1) by Lauren DeStefano
Bloomsbury, 240 Pages
Expected US Release Date: September 1, 2015
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

Pram Bellamy is special—she can talk to ghosts. She doesn’t have too many friends amongst the living, but that’s all right. She has her books, she has her aunts, and she has her best friend, the ghostly Felix.

Then Pram meets Clarence, a boy from school who has also lost a parent and is looking for answers. Together they arrive at the door of the mysterious Lady Savant, who promises to help. But this spiritualist knows the true nature of Pram’s power, and what she has planned is more terrifying than any ghost.

Lauren DeStefano is beloved by critics and readers alike, and her middle grade debut is lyrical, evocative and not to be missed.
-------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

Saying it aloud was an admission as well. No wonder she'd grown up in a house where nobody said they loved anyone; what a terrible pain that word caused.

If someone asked me to describe the perfect Middle Grade book, I would probably reference A Curious Tale of the In-Between now. I’m not sure what I would have said before (this is excluding Harry Potter of course, because that’s just all ages), but I can certainly tell you now that everything you’re looking for is probably found in this little book.

I’m not even a big “spooky” story lover. And it’s not like A Curious Tale was terrifying or nightmare inducing – it was just the right amount of spooky and creepy with adolescent curiosity and innocence. I thought DeStefano handled that weird middle-time of being a kid and learning there are bigger, sometimes better and definitely sometimes worse, things in life. It’s a very strange transitional stage, and she did fantastically well not only representing it, but also maneuvering through the Big Life Things and cutesy childhood moments.

Lauren DeStefano’s YA books always have this fantastic storytelling creativity to them. They’re original and unique but entirely relatable and human – and she’s carried this into her MG story as well. I never went through seeing ghosts as a kid, but I still felt like I could have been Pram in so many parts of this story. Her curiosity, her strangeness, her sadness and big heart and emotions…they were all so real to me and felt like it was a part of me, too.

I absolutely love love loved Clarence and Felix. If I were in High School English classes, I would have had so much fun analyzing them and who they represent to Pram and her stages in life – but this is a review, not a report, and I won’t. But trust that they are enjoyable from a literary analytics view, and just as characters from a reader. Both were unique and loveable in their own ways, and I wish I had them as friends when I was younger, too.

A Curious Tale of the In-Between was an adorable read, but also one I feel like is important to the Middle Grade book roster. It represents that time in life where you’re growing from a kid into a teenager and struggling to find your identity within your family, within your friends, and within yourself – and it represents it entirely well. The story is evocative and enjoyable, strong and so, so original. I highly recommend reading it.

4.5 stars

Review: All We Have Is Now by Lisa Schroeder (ARC)

All We Have Is Now by Lisa Schroeder
Scholastic, 272 Pages
Expected US Release Date: July 28, 2015
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

What do you do with your last day on earth?

Just over twenty-four hours are left until an asteroid strikes North America, and for Emerson and everyone else who didn't leave, the world will end. But Emerson's world already ended when she ran away from home. Since then, she has lived on the streets, relying on her wits and on her friend Vince to help her find places to sleep and food to eat.

The city's quieter now that most people are gone, and no one seems to know what to do as the end approaches. But then Emerson and Vince meet Carl, who tells them he has been granting people's wishes -- and gives them his wallet full of money.

Suddenly, this last day seems full of possibility. Emerson and Vince can grant a lot of wishes in one last day -- maybe even their own.
--------------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

"…time has this magical ability to change things. Just because something was true then doesn't mean it's true today."

What do you think you would do if you knew a huge asteroid was going to hit North America? Would you leave? Do you think you'd try to outrun it, even though you know it will alter life as you know it? Or would you stay and live out the last of your days as you wished?

Quite honestly, I don't know what I would have done. I'm nowhere near Emerson and Vince's situation, nor was I as a teenager…but I think I would have stayed. There's something about an unknown that seems doomed versus a doomed comfort, and I would be one of those to try and make the most of the last certain days. At least...I like to think I would.

Moving along. This book guys...it made me think, and it made me hope, and it made me sad, and ultimately, it made me feel a whole range of emotions--and it was so, so good. I love the idea of spending your last hours/days/moments trying to grant wishes and do good, and it was such a fun premise to the plot. The variety of people Emerson and Vince meet are this ridiculously amazing mix of interesting and tragic, and I really felt such a distinct sense of personality from each of them. It was a pleasure meeting all of them on the page.

Vince and Emerson themselves are a cute duo, and a sweet, sort of tragic story in itself. They really worked well together, especially in this tentatively-built safety zone of their friendship, and I enjoyed watching them go through their emotions together and with each other.

I do have to say, the "cult"/"revolutionist"/"skeptic" portion was a little...odd. Interesting! But odd. and I wasn't sure how I felt about it within the plot...it kind of felt device-y? I'm having a hard time explaining what I mean, especially without being spoilery. Just know that I found it a little strange.

All We Have Is Now is a wonderful YA book about our last days and what we find important in. There's elements of love and friendship and family, and I thought it had a wonderful message of doing what we can while we have the life and the time to do it. Highly recommend.

4 stars

Review: Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway (ARC)

Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway
Harper Teen, 352 pages
US Release Date: Today! June 23, 2015
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

Readers who love Sarah Dessen will tear through these pages with hearts in throats as Emmy and Oliver struggle to face the messy, confusing consequences of Oliver’s father’s crime. Full of romance, coming-of-age emotion, and heartache, these two equally compelling characters create an unforgettable story.
--------------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

"Sometimes love isn't something you say, it's something you do," he finally said. "Or, I don't know, at least that's what it seems like."

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Robin Benway on a multitude of occasions and getting to hear her speak at events. She’s warm and friendly, hilariously endearing and so real and cheerful to be around. I look forward to any event I can make with her.

And I have to say, Emmy & Oliver possesses all the same charm that Robin herself does. Sure, it’s a bit depressing—and actually, pretty scary to think about, at its premise—but there’s such heart and humor in this that I couldn’t help but fall in love with the story.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to be Emmy. Or Oliver. Oliver broke my heart over and over again, simply because what he’s gone through is unfathomable. It is terrible and horrible and no child should ever go through that—except once you read more about it, and understand the motives, why it happened…it shatters you all over again to realise you can kind of understand the father’s way of thought. I’m in no way endorsing kidnapping your child of course (seriously.), but…I mean. Love makes you do crazy things, you know?

Oliver is so fantastic, by the way. His personality, who he has developed into in his circumstance…he’s just crafted so well. He’s not perfect, but he’s beautifully broken and wonderfully written. His friendship with Emmy is adorable at the beginning and tenuous in the middle, but it is always something precious and on the verge. I can’t think of a friendship-that’s-almost-more that I’ve loved as much in any of my recent reads.

Emmy is wonderful as well, in her own little hopeful way. She’s sweet how she’s hung onto Ollie and helps him regain who he was; but at the same time, lets him become whoever he was in the 10 years it had been. The way she and Oliver left each was just cruel (in the best way possible, of course), and it made me yearn for her and them that much more. I loved her humor and fierce friendship with all of the characters, and I’d be pretty happy to have someone like her in my life.

Honestly, I don’t have much to complain with in Emmy & Oliver! I loved the two best friends and would love to have more of them (spin offs, maybe? Maybe!), and I liked the family elements in this. Sometimes I thought it was a bit extreme how the parents each acted, but within the circumstances they are given…it actually makes sense. I can’t say I’d act differently, really.

Emmy & Oliver represents heartfelt characters and what it means to be able to love someone no matter what has happened. It’s an exhibit of the heart and the capacity it can allow others to have within it, and I find it a privilege to have these characters and this writing in my life.

4.5 stars

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (ARC)

A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1 by Sarah J. Maas
Bloomsbury, 416 Pages
Expected US Release Date: May 5, 2015
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!
----------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

Rhysand stared at me long enough that I faced him. “Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don’t feel anything at all.”

If you’ve ever read a Sarah J. Maas novel (and that should be ALL OF YOU), then you know how incredibly hard it is to write a review for it. There’s just SO MUCH for you to say! The characters, the setting, the world, the action, the intrigue…Sarah is such a master in storytelling and world creation, and how does someone possibly comment all they want to without using all the words in the world?!

Somewhere I completely missed that this book was a blend of Beauty & the Beast, and about 50 pages in I was like heeeeeeeeey…this is starting to sound familiar! So, chalk me up to being an idiot – but it was definitely a pleasant surprise! Beauty & the Beast is one of my favourite tales, and this was a fantastic retelling. It stuck pretty true to the lore and enhanced the parts that definitely had room for it.

If I were to try to boil my review down to 3 words only, I’d go with these:

Fascinating. Because everything Sarah created in this world was so original (even though it is a retelling!) and absolutely creative. In all the action, all the progressive storytelling, it was always interesting and different and filled me with such awe and incredulity that she could create something like this book.

Seductive. And not just in the relationships (though trust me, that is definitely applicable to the relationships, too), but in the entire aura of the writing. The dangerous lore, the spirits and darkness that always has a tinge of sexiness and intrigue…there’s something so deliciously wanting about the entire thing, and it hooks you in and does not let go the entire book.

Heart. This applies in a lot of ways. The heartstrong characters, who endure everything and more for their loved ones or loved land. The hearts that are empty and then filled as we move along in the story. How my heart felt like it was hurting for everyone at various parts, for the hearts that are broken and empty and seemingly incapable of having a capacity at all. There is heart woven throughout this entire book, and it is brilliant and wonderful.

And I mean…that doesn’t include how much I want to talk about the perfect pacing, how Tamlin is so divine and strong and sexy, how Feyre is headstrong but human, how the ending just absolutely blew me away and made me gasp and tear up and clutch at the pages as I furiously flipped through them just wanting to know how it ends!

I really can’t recommend A Court of Thorns and Roses enough. Even me, who usually cannot stand anything faerie, and I definitely don’t like fantasy…this got through to me and blew me away. The writing, the story, absolutely everything ties together to be a completely unique tale of love and the varying lengths we go through for it.

5+ stars

Review: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno (ARC)

99 Days by Katie Cotugno
Balzer + Bray (an imprint of Harper), 384 Pages
Expected US Release Date: April 21, 2015
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything—how I destroyed my relationship with Patrick the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. How I wrecked their whole family. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college, and be done.

Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”

Day 12: Gabe got me to come to this party, and I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me. 
----------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

It occurs to me, not for the first time, that you can never really know what anybody's got hidden in the back of her secret heart.

I really adore Katie Cotugno’s writing. I mean, I know that only means 2 of her books, but if you’ve read them…you get it. (And if you haven’t read them, you need to. NEED TO.)

99 Days probably tops How To Love with me, but that’s really only because I could relate better to this novel. I’m not a teen mother, I don’t care for a child…there were things that I could sympathise with…but 99 Days is a book I can empathise with. Not that I’ve cheated on someone with his brother (!), but the idea of being torn, of temptation and avoidance and being stuck in an uncomfortable place while you wait for life to continue one.

For my fellow Friends fans: WE WERE ON A BREAK!! That is seriously what I wanted to yell so many times I was reading haha.

So, I’m not sure where you stand in terms of a love triangle and cheating and all that nonsense (not that I think anyone should be on the positive side of that…), but there are some people who really can’t stomach reading it. If that’s you, well…go into this book forewarned, ok? I’m of the tribe that’s delightfully sickened by situations like that. Not that I think a girl should hook up with brothers, or cheat, or what have you, but it’s one of those things that I’m horrified and riveted all at once. This is definitely an extreme triangle, but the amazing (and slightly disturbing) thing about it is that a reader can completely understand Molly’s indecision between Patrick and Gabe. I was always leaning towards one, but then things would happen, and serious doubt would creep in. It freaked me out a little, but really speaks to how skilled and amazing Katie Cotugno’s writing and storytelling is.

The slut shaming. Yes, it’s there. Yes, it’s horrible. Yes, it’s terrible to read about and think about and I kind of wanted to break a lot of the girls’ knees in this book. But the way Katie Cotugno wrote the slut shaming into the story was so brilliant. It was almost like a device, like it was a form of the literature to make you feel a certain way towards the characters. And it’s not that I accepted the slut-shaming, but…I was into it, in terms of the story.

I think my only issue was somewhere around the middle or beginning of the end – it felt like it was getting a little slow. I’m not sure if that was just my impatience at wanting to know what was going to happen, but I felt like Molly had flip flopped and exhausted her guilt and jezebel feelings at some points.

But honestly, that was a small issue in the grand scheme of things. The pacing and development of this story was top notch, and I found myself flipping pages almost faster than I could read I was so into knowing what would or could happen.  I found qualities in almost every single character that I could either relate to, happily hate, or want to be—and sometimes a mix of all!

99 Days is a wonderfully stomach clenching story of a girl and her choices. What led to them, what justifies them, why they may or may not have been for the best in the end. It’s about a summer that can change you and everyone around you, but still remind you of what was originally there.

4.5 stars

Review: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord (ARC)

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
Bloomsbury, 384 pages
Expected US Release Date: March 31, 2015
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for a year, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?

Brimming with heartfelt relationships and authentic high-school dynamics The Start of Me and You proves that it’s never too late for second chances.
-----------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

If you're lucky, relationships--with family or friends or boyfriends--are limitless. There's no maximum on how much you can love each other. The problem is, there's also no limit to how much you can hurt each other.

The Start of Me and You is by far my favourite read of 2014. Because the entire story itself is fun and inventive and interesting. Because everyone in it is entirely relatable and lovable and just a smidge infuriating, in manageable and almost endearing increments. Because I swear it felt like I was reading something with my feelings all over the page. Because Max Watson is my book boyfriend. And that’s all just the beginning!

Emery Lord has got to have the most approachable writing in YA right now. There’s something so open and friendly about her writing (I hope others who have read her books know what I mean, otherwise I sound like a crazy person), it just draws you in and gets you coffee and lets you prop your feet up. I always sink so comfortably and so fast into Emery Lord’s stories, and it completely consumes me.

The Start of Me and You had such an interesting concept of having Paige the “widow” of a high school relationship. So unique, and something that has so many possibilities in terms of follow up. And I mean…I’m a sucker for lists, so her plan of moving on was so perfect and right up my alley.

And maybe this is a weird thing to attach to, but one of my favourite things about The Start of Me and You is how utterly normal it all is. I mean, Paige’s situation is unique…but her friends, her thought process, befriending Ryan and Max, moving through her school year? It’s all perfectly realistic and paced just as any real relationship and friendship would develop, and that definitely made everything seem so much closer to my heart.

Let’s talk Max, because YES PLEASE. I may even love him more than Matt Finch from Open Road Summer! Who know THAT was possible?! Max is seriously the best nerdy awesome guy in the world.  I loved his backstory, his friendship with his cousin, his playfulness and how he exhibited his intelligence without any sort of bragging or condescension. As I get older, I tend to attract to guys who are unabashedly, unashamedly themselves—and Max fits that bill perfectly.

And as much as I did love Max, I have to admit the friendships in this book are amazing and wonderful, too. Which I think Emery just specializes in, because Lilah and Dee’s friendship in Open Road Summer was one of my favourites, too. (I think this means I should be friends with Emery. Is that creepy?) Paige’s girlfriends were the best and reminded me so, so much of my own little crew I keep. Sure, there are pairings within the 4, but it makes sense and they’re still 100% there for the other. It’s a real friendship, with ups and downs and arguments and hugs and support, and I absolutely wish I could be folded in with them.

Paige and Max’s friendship is also something I enjoyed immensely, because it’s so obvious there’s an attraction but there’s also an understanding there, too. They’re thoughtful in regards to each other, and seeing it on the page absolutely squeezed my heart with warmth.

And the thing I particularly attached to was the ending realization of having to come to terms with yourself and be who you are before you can really be with anyone else. I like that Paige is sort of broken, without being absolutely shattered, and that every win for her no matter how small it is really makes a difference in her rebuilding of strength. It’s very much a lesson I’ve been learning, and thought it was displayed so well.

The Start of Me and You is a fantastically written story of a girl struggling to find her way after suffering a loss. It’s got romance and friendship and Quiz Bowl and airplanes and I cannot wait until I can read it over and over again because I will never tire of the relationships found within. Everyone needs to read this book.

5 stars

and airplanes above me sprinkling so many more stars!

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: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson (ARC)

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Simon & Schuster BYR, 449 Pages
US Release Date: May 6, 2014
Format/Souce: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Um…
--------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

I don't think you have to do something so big to be brave. And it's the little things that are harder anyway.

Is there anything Morgan Matson can do wrong? I swear she has it all when it comes to writing. Amazing characters? Check. Growth and development that is both exciting and unpredictable and natural? Check. Friendships that are real and organic? Check. Brilliant boys who function as friends and like-like friends? Check. A wonderful writing style that invites you in and never lets you go? Check, check, and more check.

I have to say, while I love pretty much all and everything Morgan Matson does, probably the best parts of Since You've Been Gone to me were the small, nuanced details. Like that Frank was called "Frank Porter" through a lot of his introduction into the story. Because we all have or know those people who are just first+last name people, right? It's such a small detail, but it says so much about him. I was immediately given an idea about who he is and how he is viewed by that small thing.

Or the parallel between Collins and Frank's friendship to Sloane and Emily's, regarding an "extra" feeling to the relationship. I can't quite discuss it since it gives away some of the book if I were to go into details, but it was a subtle draw from the story, and it made it so much more whole, so much more like real life to me.

Of course I loved the big things, too. I thought Sloane was a bit strange and had a whole ethereal, hippie vibe to her--which was great. I felt very close to Emily and her character, who was a bit lost and looking. I really loved Frank Porter and Collins, they had such fun personalities and had great Best Dudes vibes and chemistry with each other. I was surprised how much I loved Dawn, too, and how she fit into the story. She came crashing in with tears and a teenage tragedy, and what she turned into was utterly fantastic.

I was really in love with the list, even though I didn't like how Sloane up and left Emily. It was such a fun, creative list, and I liked the ways that Emily fulfilled the items she could. Some were at face value, and others were a little more and a little deeper than I thought they would be--and it was better that way. It takes a lot to surprise someone when we're given a list from the beginning, but again, Morgan doesn't disappoint.

Sloane up-and-leaving Emily was something I didn't like, as mentioned--but I have to say, I understand it. I move around a lot, and I get why it feels easier to do that when you live a transient lifestyle…but I felt like Emily is the kind of girl you realize you can't do that to, and I was a little sad Sloane did. Of course, it fits with the characters and creates the whole story so it's not really a complaint…just a comment.

Since You've Been Gone is a brilliant story about friendship and finding yourself, about defining who you are and digging into what you once were with the people you knew and want to always know. Written with warmth, love, subtlety, and fun, it's a book that climbs quickly to one of my favourites of the year. And you should read it and discover why, too.

5 stars

and lists upon lists more

Review: Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern (ARC)

Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
Harper Teen, 352 pages
Expected US Release Date: June 3, 2014
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

John Green's The Fault in Our Stars meets Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park in this beautifully written, incredibly honest, and emotionally poignant novel. Cammie McGovern's insightful young adult debut is a heartfelt and heartbreaking story about how we can all feel lost until we find someone who loves us because of our faults, not in spite of them.

Born with cerebral palsy, Amy can't walk without a walker, talk without a voice box, or even fully control her facial expressions. Plagued by obsessive-compulsive disorder, Matthew is consumed with repeated thoughts, neurotic rituals, and crippling fear. Both in desperate need of someone to help them reach out to the world, Amy and Matthew are more alike than either ever realized.

When Amy decides to hire student aides to help her in her senior year at Coral Hills High School, these two teens are thrust into each other's lives. As they begin to spend time with each other, what started as a blossoming friendship eventually grows into something neither expected.
---------------------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

I have learned that many people have disabilities they must make their peace with.

There are so many things I can’t say about this book, simply because I feel like there are no words that can accurately describe it. If ever a standout in the YA genre, it is Say What You Will, in almost every aspect.

The obvious way is that it deals with two characters who have their own handicaps: Amy, with her disability, and Matthew, who seems fine but you learn has his own disabilities that cripple him—perhaps not in the same visual way as Amy, but he has them, certainly. And it is astounding to see how they are handled in a young adult book, amongst all the usual drama and stress and emotions of a Senior year.

These characters are also incredibly unique to any book I’ve read. They’re both quite strong, as people and as they are written. Their downfalls and their own handicaps are integrated really well into their personality, and I love that both are much more than their issues. Just as we always hope “cancer books” aren’t just about the cancer, this book is most certainly not just about Amy’s disability.

I want to talk so much about Amy and Matthew, about how they are together and separate, how they really are better with the other…but I really can’t without saying what exactly ails Matthew and how, without saying what exactly they endure. So I’ll have to leave it at this: I’ve never met anyone quite like the two of them, with their quiet, strong demeanors. Who are somehow both closed off and entirely open to new people and things. Who confront being uncomfortable with a resolve I wish I had.

But I can say that this story is beautiful, that this is a friendship built on so much more than days spent together. That it’s written so well, with their words and emails and texts and her Text. That I was caught by surprise in so many instances, both big and small, in big moments and small ones. There is so  much heart and tenderness in these pages, I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to control all the out-of-control beating of my own heart. And I can also mention that I was not impressed with all the parents in this book—not in terms of the writing, that was still great. But the parents themselves and what they do (and didn’t do) in the book make me very crabby when I think of it haha.

Say What You Will is a stunning addition to the YA contemporary world, introducing new characteristics while retaining all the emotions and feelings we crave and love. It is a beautiful story of friendship and love, and friendly love and loving friends. It’s also about confronting and accepting faults and flaws, and learning to not necessarily overcome them, but absorb them into who you are. And that is a fantastic lesson for us all to learn.

5 stars

Review: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski (ARC)

The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski
Farrer, Straus & Giroux (an imprint of MacmillanTeen), 355 pages
US Release Date: March 4, 2014
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. 

Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
-------------------------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

Isn't that what stories do, make real things fake, and fake things real?

I want to tell you that I have no words for this book…but seeing as how this is a review blog, that wouldn’t do much good, would it?

So I’ll amend it to: I have no worthy words for this book. The Winner’s Curse is brilliant and stunning, clever and cunning and sweet and intense. It made me hold my breathe, it made me close pages because I was feeling so much, it made me tear the book back open because I had to keep going. There are surprises everywhere, games and gambling and taking chances, and every single word and moment gets better than the last.

This is about the realest thing I can say: I stopped reading about 70 pages to the end because I had work the next day and needed to sleep. And I kid you not that my body woke me up at 3:30 AM thinking about it and needing to read…so I continued reading, because I could not leave it as I’d done.

I’ll talk about the components first, because that I can handle. There’s society and slaves, high culture and gritty realism. There’s lovely landscape and blood and gore. There is love, and relationships, and friendship at it’s best and most worthy; there is family at every angle, present and lost and lacking and disappointing. Absolutely everything I could ever think I wanted in a book is here at it’s best, with all the elements I never knew would make a novel better but has.

There’s so much depth to this novel. Every single person you meet, plot point you hit, is part of something else, leads to something even thicker and intense than you can originally see. You get buried in the plot and entirely consumed, and I barely remembered to breathe.

That said, the plot is never confusing or convoluted. Everything is there for a purpose, and it all makes sense in its build and movement. It is nicely linear, and it’s like everything you read just enhances the next moment rather than confuses it.

Kestral and Arin are breathtaking characters. They are so strong and so dimensional. And while I loved them individually for having the flaws and weaknesses and strength they do, I was so blown away every time they were together on the page. From the moment Kestral saw him at the slave market to…well. The end. Even when they weren’t at the same location, but thinking of the other or considering the other, I felt their connection. Their chemistry and tension and pure, raw emotion with the other.

Every review I’ve seen tells you to “clear your calendar” or “set aside hours to read this cover to cover” or some other variation, and I clearly echo that advice. This book is un-put-downable. Take it from me, who did put it down…only to have my mind and body wake me up craving to finish it at an ungodly hour. You cannot escape this novel, and nobody in his or her right mind would ever want to.

The Winner’s Curse is filled with tension and trials, fights and fancy parties. There’s even a duel! But what makes this so incredible is how every element is the best it could possibly be by itself, and together make something as beautiful as this tale. If ever a book to be 5 stars, it is The Winner’s Curse: for making your head and heart know they together love something wholeheartedly, but also battle as you find yourself tangled in the curses and games, too.

Read The Winner’s Curse. Just do it.

5 stars

and so many stars worth fighting for

Review: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (eARC)

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Delacorte Press, 240 Pages
Expected US Release Date: May 13, 2014
Format/Source: eGalley via NetGalley - thank you!

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 

Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.
-----------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

What if we could stop being different colors, different backgrounds, and just be in love?

There are so many ways I want to write this review, so many things I want to say and feel need to be said. The first and only things I’ve ever heard about We Were Liars is how brilliant, how amazing it is—and when you open up the eGalley, there’s a whole page about how moving it is but you can’t say much without giving away things.

And that’s the easiest and hardest part.

You really can’t say much about this book without giving away what’s inside. I can tell you the characters are memorable—some not in a good way, but that’s how they are meant to be so it is ok—and I can tell you that the story moves at this fantastically poetic pace. But I can’t tell you how they are Liars, what makes them the Liars, what moves them through the novel, what creates them.

I can tell you that there is an island, and they are a family. Some by blood, others by love. I can tell you that you are reading with mystery, with a cloud over you because you can feel in every word, every sentence, that there is more to the story and that you may not like it. But I can’t tell you who they are, really. I can’t tell you how the bond can go deeper than blood, deeper than love. I can’t tell you what makes her sick, what makes her tick, what causes her headaches.

But I can tell you that I read this book with bated breath. That I suffered and loved through every page, every single moment. I can tell you that this book will grip you, and shake you, and reach out to you and into you and you will know, with a  certainty, that this is a meaningful book.

I can tell you that while I didn’t cry (since it seems every other person who read this did), I felt it. I felt why, I knew why, I probably should have cried. I can tell you that even though I actually am not as huge a fan as a lot of others are with this book, there is an undeniable attachment and brilliance to it. The lyricism of the words, how they are strung and hung and linked together, make it an experience to read.

And I can’t give you concrete reasons why, but I can ask you to trust me, to trust that this is a worthwhile journey to go on, that you will never regret meeting the Liars and getting inside her head.

4 stars

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (ARC)

To All the Boys I've Loved Before (#1) by Jenny Han
Simon & Schuster BYR, 368 pages
US Release Date: April 15, 2014
Format/Source: ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control in this heartfelt novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series.

What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them... all at once?

Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
-------------------------------Goodreads Summary

Notable Quote

"…it's a lot of responsibility to hold a person's heart in your hands."

There are very few books I’ve ever read that I wish I’d actually written. There are the ones I adore, the ones I want to marry, the ones I want to be or read again immediately—but few make me wish I’d had the ideas and magic to create it.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is one of those books I wish I’d written. It is every bit the perfect contemporary with all the elements I want and love: friendship, family, relationships, love, humor, nerdiness. It’s all here in various amounts that tie together and make this wonderfully sweet story. Even on the writing side I loved it! The concept is so original and fun (who didn’t write love letters to boys they’ve loved?!), and the story just follows through wonderfully in tone and voice.

One of my favourite parts was definitely the sisterhood between Lara Jean, Margot and Kitty. It’s sweet and real and though I’ve never once wanted a sister, this one made me a little sad I hadn’t experienced what they have. (Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother. But he’s no sister.) I loved all their fights and teasing, and it was just the perfect portrayal of siblings.

The plot of this book was also so, so wonderful. Surprising and unique and lovable all rolled into one, I never really knew what to expect next. I love that while the cause of most of this are the mysteriously mailed out love letters, they’re not really the main focus. They’re there, you even get to read a few, but it’s so much more than that. It’s not like a checklist, going through the letters and what happened to each boy and how they affect her now—it’s about her life and what happened and what ensues. There’s some heartbreaking moments, there are definitely hilariously funny blunders, and a whole bunch of love throughout.

I can’t not talk about the boys, because uh…I kind of love them. All of them, no matter what. All of her friends and almost-loves and past-loves and maybe-future-somethings are so personable and funny, with such distinct characteristics to all of them. I loved the portrayal of both Josh and Peter—they’re so different, but with some similarities, and it was enough to really make it interesting. The entire concept of…well, I can’t quite say, but there’s some hijinks that ensue, and I love it all.

Also, while writing this review, I found out this is actually a duology – and I am SOSOSO happy about that! Not that I didn’t like the ending. It was actually pretty perfect for how the entire book goes, and it leaves just enough or us to create something wonderful in our heads. But I just love these characters together so much, I’m so excited to find out more. And the title suggests it may come back around to Josh and Margot, and I adore that. Even if it doesn’t, I’m happy with it—as long as I get more time with this bunch, I am all good.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is seriously one of the best contemporaries I have ever read. It is sweet and cute and thoughtful and everything I could ever really want in one. The only disappointment is having to wait until next year for Book 2!

5+ stars

and many, many love letters worth more

Review: Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd (ARC)

Her Dark Curiosity (The Madman's Daughter #2) by Megan Shepherd

Balzar + Bray (an imprint of Harper Teen), 420 Pages

US Release Date: January 28, 2014

Format/Source: Print ARC via Around the World Tours - thank you!

To defeat the darkness, she must first embrace it.

Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island—and the secrets she left behind. Now, back in London once more, she is rebuilding the life she once knew and trying to forget Dr. Moreau’s horrific legacy—though someone, or something, hasn’t forgotten her.

As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes, Juliet fears one of her father’s creations may have also escaped the island. She is determined to find the killer before Scotland Yard does, though it means awakening sides of herself she had thought long banished, and facing loves from her past she never expected to see again.

As Juliet strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness, she finds herself once more in the midst of a world of scandal and danger. Her heart torn in two, past bubbling to the surface, life threatened by an obsessive killer—Juliet will be lucky to escape alive.

With inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves.

-----------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

"No serum can change who you are. Nor should you change. Genius or madness--it all depends on who's telling the story."

To quickly get this out of the way: I LOVE YOU MONTGOMERY. I FORGIVE YOU.

Moving along.

I love this series so much, you guys. The Madman’s Daughter was a surprise favourite for me last year, and it’s looking like Her Dark Curiosity will be the same. There seemed to be a bit of Book Two Syndrome in that it’s a means to get to the end, a bit of filler to get to the real conclusion, but it’s so, SO good that I don’t even care. I loved that it took from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—one of my favourite creepy classics.  I kind of wished there were more from that, but still…it’s good.

 

In general, I’m still not into Horror…except for when it comes to this series. Megan Shepherd does this so well, so gritty and gruesome and riveting, I can’t look away. I mean, she talks about carnage and actually means it! Blood literally pools and spills and spreads—and it means something. It’s a function in the novel, it adds to the story and doesn’t just make it blood for the shock factor. 

Some reviews talk about gagging regarding the love triange, and ok-I get that. I wasn’t too fond of it either…but it makes sense. It shouldn’t be a surprise, and it makes total sense, especially carrying over from Book 1. I think my main annoyance was driven by how much I love and adore Montgomery; how could anyone even think about going for anyone other than him?! Impossible.

The family/father figures in this novel were fantastic. I love that even though Juliet’s father…well, we know what happened to him at the end of Book 1, but I love that he’s still quite an influence on her life. Every decision, every thought, everything about her and the others tied to his work are irrevocably twined together, and I love that. I quite liked the Professer and his sister as well; they were great additions, adding a lot of heart and love amongst a dark, dreary story.

Lucy, Juliet’s best friend, was my dark horse of this novel. I didn’t expect to love her so much. She’s such a great character, as a writer and a reader. She’s full of life and personality, and she pops off the page; and her interaction with every other character is so amazing and awesome. She is herself to a fault, and she’s great with Juliet. And I like that she’s turned into more than just the friend. I can’t give away what happens, but her role has increased, and I heavily support it and love it.

I want to talk so much about the last half of the book, but obviously can’t—just trust me that Book Three sounds like it will be even more amazing and mind-blowing than the first two. And considering how much I love them, that’s saying quite a lot. I so look forward to more of this world, to more of this story, to more of everyone and everything. Megan Shepherd really created a world filled with horrors and tender moments that I can’t look away from it. Even when it’s murders and attacks and more murders.

Her Dark Curiosity is a fantastic addition to the The Madman's Daughter series; it just keeps getting better and better. If you haven’t started this yet, you’re definitely missing out.

5 stars