Review: September Girls by Bennett Madison (ARC)

September Girls by Bennett Madison
Harper Teen, 342 pages
US Release Date: May 21, 2013
Source/Format: Print ARC from Around the World ARC Tours
Challenges: SARC 2013

When Sam's dad whisks him and his brother off to a remote beach town for the summer, he's all for it-- at first. Sam soon realizes, though, that this place is anything but ordinary. Time seems to slow down around here, and everywhere he looks, there are beautiful blond girls. Girls who seem inexplicably drawn to him.

Then Sam meets DeeDee, one of the Girls, and she's different from the others. Just as he starts to fall for her, she pulls away, leaving him more confused than ever. He knows that if he's going to get her back, he'll have to uncover the secret of this beach and the girls who live here.
-----------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

"...I choose to believe it even if it's fake. Sometimes you can locate a truer version of the truth somewhere in a total lie."

When I first heard of September Girls (thanks to #TeaTime with Epic Reads!), I wanted to read it immediately. I’m not super into books that have a weird mystical element, but it sounded like it could be different, intriguing and worth it – plus, the girls kept saying Bennett had beautiful writing! And then reviews started coming in about how weird and odd it was, and I got a little scared. I’m already iffy on the content, and suddenly people I trust aren’t feeling it? This doesn’t bode well.

All those reviews that harp on September Girls and call it strange? Totally correct. This is a bizarre book, and I can’t even explain it fully as to why. The story itself is just so strange and out there, and a lot of the plot I was just staring at the pages thinking, “What?”

But truthfully? I didn’t not like this book. I walked away plenty confused, slightly disturbed, and wholly lost – but there’s still something about it that’s staying with me and appealing to me.

One of the blurbs on the back of the ARC compared the book to a Ned Vizzini one (and we all know how I feel about him), which is COMPLETELY accurate as well. The humor is similar, in that it’s a little crude, a little dark but also totally like a typical guy of that age. There’s a similarity in the character’s world view, and because I am a Vizzini fan, I found it really appealed to me. Maybe it’s weird to admit I’ve got the same humor as fictional 17-year-old boys, but there it is: it was right up my alley, and I was immediately taken with Sam. He had a clear voice, a very clear character, and I appreciated that. True, some of the dialogue and phrases are completely inappropriate; but I felt like some of it was necessary to the character.

Even though I really liked the writing and the technical aspects, I wasn’t quite sold completely on the characters themselves. I wanted Sam to grow up faster, I hated his brother and wanted to bonk him on the head most of the book. The Girls were so odd, and even though DeeDee was supposed to be “different” than all the rest, I just didn’t see it. And I put this as a status on GoodReads, but it still gets to me: what is up with the excessive use of ‘ho’?! Girl-on-girl shaming should not be done, and it was just a wreck in this book. Sure, Kristle is a pretty big slut for a whole hell of a lot of the novel (no matter how “justified” we learn she is at the end), but still – it doesn’t need to be listed 982389402834* times in one paragraph.

Here’s the thing about September Girls, and this is a big reason as to why I didn’t like it and as to why I always will: it seemed to me like a required reading in high school. You know: one that a teacher makes you analyze to death, break it down scene by scene and figure out what the symbolism of the sand is.  I felt like I was supposed to be reading this book on several different levels at the same time, seeing it for what it was while still trying to figure out what my thesis statement would be about it. And I don’t know if I’ve ever really read a modern YA that way. I vaguely felt like there was no point to the novel, but somehow at the same time I feel like I could write fifteen term papers about it, too. It’s confusing and strange and really, I just have to accept that it will always be that way.

One tiny thing that made me laugh though? The references to The Little Mermaid. So sneaky and so cheeky, Mr. Madison. I loved that.

*slight exaggeration. Slight.

2.5 Stars

Review: The 13th Sign by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb (ARC)

The 13th Sign by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb
Feiwel and Friends (an imprint of MacMillan), 272 pages
Expected US Release Date: January 8, 2013
Format: Print ARC
Source: Around the World ARC Tours - thank you!

What if there was a 13th zodiac sign?

You’re no longer Sagittarius, but Ophiuchus, the healer, the 13th sign.

Your personality has changed. So has your mom’s and your best friend’s.

What about the rest of the world?

What if you were the one who accidentally unlocked the 13th sign, causing this world-altering change—and infuriating the other 12 signs?

Jalen did it, and now she must use every ounce of her strength and cunning to send the signs back where they belong. Lives, including her own, depend on it.
----------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

Sometimes thinking too much could make you miss something really great. Come to think of it, I don't know that there is such a thing as a good trait or a bad trait. Every aspect of our personalities can be good or bad; it just depends on the situation. Sometimes a help, sometimes a hindrance. No absolutes.

I have a confession: I totally read my horoscope, and I 100% believe I am a token Pisces with a touch of Aries (seeing as how my birthday falls a day before the cusp, it makes sense). While I'm not entirely sure I believe in the zodiac, I can't deny how well the attributes to each sign describe me. While the daily horoscopes seem like a bunch of hooey, the overall descriptions are spot on for me, my family and friends.

Obviously, I know a bit about the zodiac signs - which was one of the reasons I wanted to read The 13th Sign so badly! But at the same time, it also made me totally resistant to the idea of adding a thirteenth sign and shifting everyone. Though I'd still remain a Pisces under the new dates if the 13th Sign did exist, I would be smack in the middle - without all my Aries tendencies. And I reject that idea!

Moving along to an actual review of the book...

Here's the sad truth: I was super excited to read this book, and I was definitely underwhelmed. It was this crazy adventure of accidentally releasing the 13th sign onto the world and changing absolutely everything; so Jalen (the unfortunate unlocker) has to defeat the traditional 12 plus Ophiuchus the 13th in order to restore order and normalcy as we all once knew. Sounds fantastic right?

Eh.

It was a pretty great adventure, and I really enjoyed how Jalen had to meet each sign and how well they seem to represent the core characteristics of the sign. But cramming 13 battles amongst a real plotline into a meager 270-someodd pages left a lot to be desired. I wanted more, I wanted more detail, I wanted more action and less movement. A lot of the resolutions to the battles were abrupt and, honestly, a bit cheesy to me. There was especially one that had me rolling my eyes so hard at the pages it felt like I pulled something. I understand that not all 13 battles can be MIND-BLOWING EARTH-SHATTERING EPIC, but I expect a few of them to be at least!

I was also disappointed in the personality shifts that happen when Jalen accidentally unlocks Ophiuchus. I get why they happen, and I don't have a problem with how everyone shifts. That all makes sense. But it was so convenient what each person around Jalen turned into, and I hated that it felt like everyone else turned into a pretty big wuss. It made Jalen's "sudden" transformation into a sassy, back-talking fighter a little less impressive. They were all incredibly extreme shifts, and it was just a little too much.

I think I just wanted more from the book. So many things were touched upon - Jalen's Nina, Jalen's father abandonment issues, some vague twinges of romance with a few of the guys - but nothing really fleshes out into real plotlines that I invested myself into. The concept, the potential is totally here; but it didn't carry through.

Something I really did like was the message in the end, though. I know I've whined that some of this is cheesy, and the ending is a little bit too - but it fits. It wraps up everything Jalen and her friends have gone through nicely and gives a satisfying purpose to the whole adventure; and I love that that's what the reader gets to leave the story with. It actually made me change my star rating, because originally I was feeling like a lot of this was a waste of a day to read. But then the ending happened, and while yes it is pretty predictable, the message is clear and fantastic: no absolutes.

PS. Did you know that a 13th sign is a real debate in astrology? Here's the wiki page - I heard about it a couple years ago and have been intrigued since...but I definitely reject it!

3 Stars / 5

Review: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Clair

Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Clair
Delacorte Press, 368 Pages
US Release Date: July 10, 2012
Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher, via NetGalley (thank you Random House and NetGalley!)

When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.

But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn't as simple as you think.
-----------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

You know, you might be one of the luckiest people in the world. You get to see both sides and make a choice.

Random House is one of those publishers I trust implicitly to put out fantastic books, especially the Delacorte imprint (hello, Wanderlove is one of theirs! Instant trust). So while I had reservations that Don't You Wish would be predictable, I went ahead with it anyway. Though I do think it was on a few things, I was surprised by the plot layers and quite glad to have picked it up!

The story opens with Annie Nutter, in a rather heartbreaking scene exemplifying how she's unpopular and a bit plain and awkward. Even though her family was trying to be set up as embarrassing and unorthodox, I actually found them to be quite endearing - the imagery was great with her inventor dad and gross little brother. I felt like I could picture all the "Nutter Clutter" in the house, her mom's exasperation with Mel Nutter, all of it. I do think that I saw it in an endearing light because I'm older though; if I were 15 and the Nutters were my clan, I'd probably be ashamed of them as well.

Through a quick and slightly confusing event, Annie wakes up the next morning as Ayla Monroe, fantastically wealthy queen bee at her private academy and Grade-A Bitch. Though she's got the same mother, her father is different, and that's what's changed her story. I was pleasantly surprised how they set up Annie's "alternate" life - it wasn't just some typical "wish I had a different life" and POOF! situation; it was thorough, reasonable, and thought-provoking. I mean, how different would your life be if your mother ended up with a different guy? It's an interesting area to explore.

Truthfully, I'm not really a fan of either Annie or Ayla - both have a lot of flaws that never really turn better. And while normally I wouldn't be put off by negative facets (we all have them, it'd be quite horrible if I held it against her), I just felt like she was missing redemptive qualities. She didn't seem to grow as well as I would have liked, and what little she did seemed a bit abrupt or forced. The polarity between her two lives was also one of the areas I felt a bit predictable and extreme; some of the situations felt far-fetched or obvious.

I'm also split on the secondary characters. I really liked Annie/Ayla's mother, she was fabulous in both universes - I can picture her as a real mom. Even though I hated Jim Monroe with a passion, I liked his character and how he was built; he's almost like Professor Umbridge from Harry Potter: you hate her with a passion, but kind of admire how horrible she is. Trent turned out to be ok, but I didn't ever come around on Theo. Lizzie was an ok best friend: faithful and true, but lackluster. I could NOT stand Jade, Bliss, or Ryder though; they were all so one-dimensional and flat I wanted them to shred them up. They were just a little too easy to dislike, you know?

However. Charlie Zelinsky? YES. I loved him. I 143'd him (get it?!). I liked how we got to know him, how little bits were revealed as we went along, how he turned out to be this lovable geeky dude with a heart and a purpose. Sometimes he's a bit too perfect of course (did he even have a flaw?!), but amongst all the other characters, he shined brightest. There is another character I liked too, but...I can't say about him/her/it/mysteriouscharacter without minorly spoiling something, so just rest assured that there is one more redeeming person/place/thing/generalnoun.

Something entirely surprising about the book was that Roxanne St. Clair actually explained the alternate universe - definitely did not expect that! Sometimes I felt like it was out of place, because the summary and overall tone seems like some social commentary on the rich not being the happiest or things like that, and then BOOM: science. But really, I loved it. I loved that the plot took all it's time to actually explain a possibility, to really explore how an AU could happen. I'm definitely nowhere near understanding the physics of it, but it was approachable and explained well. I'm not sure I'd have been interested in it as a young reader, but right now, I thought it was unexpected and fresh.

Overall, Don't You Wish was a bit predictable and a little flat on characters; but there were enough plot lines and moments that surprised me entirely that I enjoyed it quite a bit. If you're looking for a small twist to the normal "I wish I were someone else" story, check this one out.

3 Stars / 5

Review: Fade by Lisa McMann

Fade (Dream Catcher, Book 2) by Lisa McMann
Simon Pulse, 248 Pages
Released February 10, 2009

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.

Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open -- but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabe's shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability -- and it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd feared....
---------------------Goodreads summary

Notable Quote

"Endless speculation only leads to dead ends."

This entire series is incredibly fascinating to me. It's so original and something that I would never in a million years think to conceive. When I read Wake (Book 1), I was riveted. It was such a novel idea and seeing Janie work through controlling her ability alongside this newfound relationship with Cabel - a boy with just as much darkness as Janie - was interesting. I remember speeding through it.

Unfortunately, Fade didn't have that same effect. It was still good, and I'm still curious about the entire situation and what will happen in Book 3. I was grateful for the introduction of Miss Stubin to explain a bit more about this ability. I thought the case Janie took on was creepy and perfect for what she could do, and I'm still intrigued (and, admittedly, smitten) with Cabel.

But the entire book seemed kind of...forced. I didn't find the case at Fieldridge High believable - it seemed halted, a bit jumbled, and then resolved so quickly it was almost like it was just another day. Cabel pulling away when it got real was typical and expected. Janie's shutting down when he went away was typical and expected. Yes, it fits with their character types (alone, used to looking out for self, lost after they get their first taste of love/caring), but I had hopes they would be stronger than that.  The scandal and culprits were also predictable to me.

I do still want to see how Janie and Cabel will figure out their life together and if her life will follow the downward spiral of Dream Catchers before her. I'm hoping Fade just succumbed to the curse of Book 2s in a trilogy, that its function is more of the informative bridge to an explosive ending.

3.5 Stars / 5