Before You Go by James Preller

Summary:

 

The summer before his senior year, Jude (yes, he’s named after the Beatles song) gets his first job, falls in love for the first time, and starts to break away from his parents. Jude’s house is kept dark, and no one talks much—it’s been that way since his little sister drowned in a swimming pool seven years ago when Jude was supposed to be watching her.

Now, Jude is finally, finally starting to live. Really live. And then, life spins out of control. Again.

Acclaimed author James Preller explores life, death, love, faith, and resilience in his first young adult novel that will grip readers from the book’s dramatic first few pages to its emotional end.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 199 pages
Source: NetGalley ARC
Publication Date: July 27th 2012

Generally I don't read realistic YA fiction written by male authors (I'm not sexist) it just seems as though it is a predominately female written genre.

This book was told in two parts. There was the Before and then there was the After Part and the novel itself was written in the third person which isn't my favourite way to read a book because I don't feel the usual connection to the characters.

We have our main protagonist Jude. He's you're average teenager. Awkward in the eyes of his crush but acting like the man whilst he's around his little crew of friends. I wasn't overly fond of Jude because I just found him to be a little over dramatic especially when it came to the girl he liked.

Anyway, the novel follows Jude as he experiences a lot of firsts. He gets his first summer job, gets his first girl friend, has his first kiss and loses yet another person he cares about. This is the second tragic death that Jude has experienced. The first was the death of his little sister seven years before. I found Jude to be quite the melancholy character. I do not know if it was the author's intention to make him this way or if that is just how I see him. All I know is that to me he could be right out pompous and depressing so that made the reading of the novel less enjoyable. In fact I had a hard time liking any of the characters.

However, despite my dislike or plain old "meh" attitude about Jude and his not so merry cast of characters I did find that the actual plot of the novel was well thought out. There was something about it that made me want to keep reading it. Perhaps it's because it wasn't until near the end of the novel that the "After" section started thus leaving the reader with 130+ pages of wondering when the "Big Thing" would happen and start having the book start come together.

Once the "After" section happened I really thought the book picked up the pace and I believe it was that section that made the book for me. If you read it you might think that that's a little weird that it takes the death of one of the characters to make the book seem worth it to me. I was left wanting more from the characters and the writing emotionally but this novel fell short of my expectations. It was as though that part of the book got a whole new lease on life though it was still too little too late for me to give this YA novel more than a moderate rating.

The book was entertaining and it kept me interested on the afternoon that I read it long enough to finish it but it was overall quite forgettable. I can see the appeal for a book like this though and I think that people who enjoy YA novels especially teens will enjoy this book. This was just a case of it not being the novel for me. I will however be giving the authors other books a try to see if they are more to my liking.

 

* I received a free copy of this book from the published via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and I was not compensated in any way.

 

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It was okay
★ ★

 

Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am by Harry Mazer, Peter Lerangis

Summary:

Ben has always had it pretty easy--with no acting experience, he landed the lead in his high school musical, and he's dating the prettiest girl in school. Haunted by memories of 9/11, he makes the decision to enlist in the army--with devastating consequences. Somehow nobody ever thought Ben would be one of the soldiers affected, but after his convoy gets caught in an explosion, Ben is in a coma for two months. When he wakes up, he doesn't know where he is, and he doesn't remember anything about his old life. His family and friends mourn what they see as a loss, but Ben perseveres. Although he will never be the person he once was, this is the story of his struggle and transformation.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 160 pages (hardcover)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: February 7th 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

Last month I was lucky enough to snag this one from the library before too many people put it on hold since it was in the "New" pile and I had heard some pretty decent things about it. Luckily it turned out to be worth the read!

While the book is extremely short (by my standards at least) I thought that the author(s) did a bang up job setting the story up carefully and in a way that is accessible to read for the older and younger teens who may read this book.

The book itself was written really well. Since I really don't want to write any spoilers in the post for anyone who may pick it up in the future let me just say that the book was a commendable effort on the part of the authors. While there was a lot of sadness in the book there was also the resounding feeling of hope that lasted all the way through.

I really enjoyed how the whole book was written which is rare for me since I generally don't read contemporary YA novels. Since Ben was sent of to fight in the war it is a subject that touches home for many people not just the American people because The British and The Canadians are also dying in the sand with soldiers from other nations too. However the book makes a point that sometimes even if the men and women are lucky enough to come home sometimes they come back different.

This is a story of love, loss, forgiveness, redemption and the power of family no matter if that family is through blood or forged in bands of strong lifelong friendships. It was a dramatic and beautifully written novel that I highly recommend to those who enjoy contemporary YA novels.

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Really Liked it!
★ ★ ★ ★

Wildflower by Anne Schraff

Summary:

Chelsea Spain bridled under her father's harsh rules. But she was growing up too fast. Someone had rein her in until she had enough sense to handle herself better. Whenever there was the temptation to take a risk, she went for it. Egged on by her immature friends, was it too late to learn that some risks are just not worth taking?
Summary taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 183 pages (paperback)
Source: Toronto Public Library
Publication Date: 1st 2010 by Saddleback Educational Publishing, Inc.

I love my library, I really do and because I love my library I frequently check their featured books list. This one happened to be on one of those lists and because I was looking for a short easy read and wanted to give this one a shot.

Right off the bat though  I knew this book would not be for me and this was one of the few cases where the book had absolutely no redeemable qualities. In fact readng it gave me a migraine, I'm being truly honest here in saying that.

The book is supposed to be a work of "urban fiction" but in my honest opinion it wasn't even close. The language the author used was forced, you can tell she's unfamiliar with how teens talk now. A few times in the book she had the Chelsea's older brother talking like he as from the early 1900's because he was talking about boys courting her and other such things that didn't fit the time the book was set at all. I mean at my high school no teenage boys used words such as "courting" and I've only been out of highschool a few years. Heck my friends who are loyale followers of the blog can atest to the lack of intelligence portrayed by the guys we went to school with.

Another thng that bothered me a lot about the book that instead of being a book about Chelsea it was a book about her brother and his inner thoughts and told from his point of view the majority of the time. The book was terribly written and I wish I had not spent the time reading this book while I could have been reading a book I enjoyed. This book was so disjointed I wish that it had never been published.

I would never in a million years recommend this book to anyone at all especially not to my readers. I wouldn't wish this book on anyone it was just that bad. However, if you do read it come back and tell me your thoughts on it.

★

Fall For You: A Jane Austen Academy Novel by Cecilia Gray

Summary:

Jane Austen meets Pretty Little Liars in this fresh, new young-adult series!

* * *

The last thing that the girls at the elite Jane Austen Academy need is hot guys to flirt with. Please. They need to stay focused on something that lasts much longer: an acceptance letter from an Ivy.

But over the summer the school has been sold, and like it or not, the guys are coming. And it's about to turn the Academy--and the lives of its students--totally upside down...
* * *

To say Lizzie and Dante are polar opposites is the understatement of the century. He's a snooty Exeter transfer with more money than Google. She's a driven study-a-holic barely keeping up with tuition. It's obvious that Dante thinks he's way too good for Lizzie. And Lizzie knows Dante is a snob with a gift for pushing her buttons.

But things are changing fast this year at the Academy. And when Lizzie's quest to stop those changes blows up in her face, taking her oldest friendship with it, she has nowhere else to turn but to Dante, with his killer blue eyes, his crazy-sexy smile, and his secrets... Secrets Lizzie can't seem to leave alone, no matter how hard she tries...

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 128 pages (ebook)

Source: Book I won from Clean Romance Reviews

Publication Date: February 10th 2012

Ahh another modern retelling of one of Jane Austen's work...just what the world needed...or not. Now this might surprise you but I don't really care for Austen's writing...for whatever reason I can't just get into her writing and it's not because of the language of the time its just that I don't care for her. Maybe one day I will.

But getting back to Fall For You, I was planning on reading this one next month when the weather is nice outside in the backyard but one of my followers who "Likes" my Facebook page told me I should read it sooner. So last week I did.

I knew that the book would be a really light, cute read so I didn't go into it thinking that it would blow my mind. At the same time I'm not saying that light, cute reads can't be some of the best books but for me this one really wasn't one of the best ones.

The book had it's cute parts but I had one major issue. I hated Lizzie who is the main protagonist, I found her to be rude, stuck up, arrogant and all around unpleasant and I think that was why I really couldn't get into the book...well that coupled with the fact that it's set in a private boarding school. For some reason I never like books set in boarding schools because I find the characters pretentious.

Even though I wasn't a fan of the setting or Lizzie I did think it was a cute read, definitely one that I would recommend to fans of Austen, modern retellings of her stories and YA chick -lit. The over all story was actually pretty good but I couldn't get over the parts that I didn't like and believe me I did try because I wanted so much to really like the book but I just found it to be an okay read. Even though I wasn't a big fan of this book I am going to give the next one in this series a try and once again I'd like to thank Clean Romance Reviews for holding the giveaway where I won my e-copy of this book.

If I had to give the author a bit of advice it would be to make the story more believable because I think she could still retain a lot of the "theme" and be even more successful in terms of characters and plot development if she doesn't try so hard because if she wants to she could be really great at writing and that sometimes it's okay to stray away from the cliches.

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★ ★ 1/2

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

 

Summary:

Eli and his family have lived in the underground Compound for six years. The world they knew is gone, and they've become accustomed to their new life. Accustomed, but not happy.
For Eli, no amount of luxury can stifle the dull routine of living in the same place, with only his two sisters, his father and mother, doing the same thing day after day after day.

As problems with their carefully planned existence threaten to destroy their sanctuary - and their sanity - Eli can't help but wonder if he's rather take his chances outside.

Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe. But are they safe - or sorry?

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 256 pages (hardcover)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: April 29th 2008

Ever since I read The Raft by S.A. Boodeen click here to read my review I've been looking to read another book by the author. Last week I finally got around to doing so and the book turned out to be so good that I read it in 2 hours!

The story focuses on a 15 year old boy named Eli who, along with his family have lived in an underground compound for the last 6 years because his tycoon father got word that a nuclear event had occured. Unfortunately for the family Eli's twin brother Eddy and Eli's maternal grandmother were left behind in the chaos. The family can't get out, and no one can get in for another 9 years,

Bitter over the loss of his twin Eli has withdrawn into himself and turned to cruel words when interacting with his family. Through a series of events Eli starts to unearth a secret, one that his father has managed to keep hidden for six long, lonely years.

This book was such a good read! I loved it, my only issue was with Eli. I hated his attitude. Yes I know he lost his brother but for some reason I can't stand characters who are jerks for any reason so while I found his actions heroic in the end I hated how he acted earlier in the book.

I thought the book was an excellent effort put for by the author. She seems to excell at writing books about teens who are put in extreme conditions where their survival is dependant on the choices that they do or do not make. This one while similar to The Raft, was a bit more warped. I mean if you do read it or have read it you will know what I mean. Seriously, how does one think that up? I mean I like some weird stuff in books but I never expected what was revealed to be in a YA book so it was a little creepy which I absolutely loved.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a bit of a darker read about survival in an extreme situation. Especially those who love YA fiction. This is a great book!

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★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Looking For Alaska by John Green

 

Summary:

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another. A stunning debut, it marks John Green's arrival as an important new voice in contemporary fiction.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 221 pages

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: March 3rd 2005

After months of seeing people talking about this, and my blogger friend from reviewingshelf.wordpress.com telling me I HAD to read this book I finally bit the bullet last week and did it.

I really liked the book. Miles and The Colonel were by far my favourite characters. I generally don't read many male authors, I have nothing against them it just seems like the books I'm most drawn to are written by women. However John Green has definitely found a new fan in me.

For 80% of the book I spent my time laughing my butt off because the characters and their conversations remind me so much of myself and my friends when we were in high school, I thought that John Green did an excellent job of portraying the life of a teenage boy in boarding school, because he didn't do what a lot of authors do when the characters are in boarding school which is make them goodie two shoes or just make them the "losers". Instead he had a perfect balance and the book seemed rather realistic.

Now, I know I might just upset some fans of the book but I did not care for Alaska, too much. That was the one and only thing I just didn't like about the book. Unfortunately Alaska just so happens to be A) the girl the book is entitled after and B) one of the main characters. I just thought that Green made a mistake with her character it seems as if  he tried to hard to make her this wild child and it came off to me anyways as very fake.

Overall though I think this was a well rounded book and the last 20% of the novel could have been a wee bit shorter and I was a little surprised at the big event that happened (If you want to know what it is then read the book!) but I think it made the book better because it made it a little more serious. I love a good light hearted book and this one for the majority of the time was one but I'm glad he included that big event. It worked with the book.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone. Young or old but, I think that the majority of the fans will be YA lovers specifically YA lovers who read realistic YA fiction. I'll be checking into reading more of John Green's books in the near future.

Have you read this book? If you have, what did you think? No SPOILERS please :)

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★ ★ ★ ★

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Summary:

She is pretty and talented - sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister.

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 454 pages (hardcover edition)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Publication Date: May 1st 2010

Okay I finished this book over a week ago and I am just now getting to my review. The book was such an intense read I needed time to let my thoughts simmer before I attempted to write a coherent review on it. This is probably one of the most uncomfortable reviews I've had to write simply because of the subject matter. Also, let me just say that I in no way approve of incest.

This book is about incest.

Seriously.

Brother & Sister = Love right? Sure, that makes sense. But not this kind of love. Well it makes sense how they fell in love but because of societal views it is wrong that they did. This book does not glorify incest in anway. I had to put that in there to be clear. It is not like other books that have incest in them such as How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff or books written by V.C. Andrews which I see it being compared to a lot.

Tabitha wrote an incredible love story, one that despite the whole incest issue I found myself hoping that through it all they would find they're happy ending. I was surprised at how good the book was. The author wrote it in such an awesome way it was as if I was really there in the book watching the scenes play out.

The way the author created the characters was great. They were well written and well rounded. They didn't fall flat. I really liked Maya and Lochan. They were such strong kids. It's unfortunate that they're mother was such a complete *beep* throughout the whole book. She abandons her children and starts acting like she doesn't have 5 mouths to feed alone and depends on Maya and Lochan to raise their siblings that she and their father laid down and made. I hate REAL people like that so it only seems fitting that I wanted to bash their mother's face into a brick wall and make her take care of the kids she made. *takes a deep breath*

That's what I loved about this book. It made me laugh, cry and fill me with rage and at the end filled me with anguish. To me that is a sign of an excellent writer. For me if a writer can make me feel so strongly and in so many different ways the book is that much more special. Whether or not this book is controversial means no never mind to me. All I was looking for was a great read and that's exactly what I got. Suzuma wrote a great novel about a controversial issue but she made me love the characters and feel their sadness and angst. It's a powerful read and one that made me feel disturbed, but happy that I read it. I even had tears at the end it was so moving, but I don't want to spoil it for you so you'll have to read it yourself.

I would definetly 100% recommend this book to YA lovers especially those who like realistic YA novels but I have to say that you have to go into reading this with an open mind. I personally loved it an am looking forward to reading this author's other books. This book is definately in my top 75 books of all time which says something since I generally don't like realistic YA novels.

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★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Summary:

"Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.
Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.
Once upon a time, I didn't know how lucky I was."
When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.
Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.
This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 170 pages
Source: Toronto Public Library
Publication Date: September 2nd 2008

What is it with authors who think the best way to depict the life of a kidnapped abused child is through poetic writing which we all know I am not fussy on at all? I'm not saying that it should be graphic but at least make the writing catch your eye and hold your attention. The subjects should not be written about in a whistful manner... at least in my opinion they shouldn't.

So I guess you can probably see where this review is going. I didn't really care for this novel at all. I thought that the writing was dull and the author tried so hard. Now, before you say maybe it was the subject matter that caused me to dislike the book let me tell you that is simply not the case. Don't get me wrong I think that the fact that the sorts of things that happened to "Alice" are disgusting.

I just think the author wrote about it in the wrong way and created a fragmented unbelievable story that made a mockery of people who have been in these situations. This one was so forced it gave me a headache and while it was a quick read it was far too disjointed for me and I don't think that I will be reading any of the authors other works. Her writing style just isn't for me.

I personally wouldn't recommend this book to anyone but as always I encourage you to try it for yourself, if you do read it and like it drop by and tell me so :)

★

Holding On To Zoe by George Ella Lyon

(Apologies for the horrible picture it's the best one I could find)

Summary:

After sixteen-year-old Jules has her baby, Zoe, it doesn’t matter anymore that her mother thinks she’s a drama queen, or that her father left them years ago, or even that Zoe’s father is gone, too. She and her baby make a family now; she doesn’t need anyone else in the world except Zoe.Though it's tough being a new mom, balancing Zoe’s needs with working at the Toyota factory and thinking about how to finish school, Jules is sure she’ll figure it out. Still, she wonders, why can’t anyone be happy for her and Zoe? And why does her mom refuse to believe that Zoe's real?
Summary taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 176 pages
Source: NetGalley ARC
Publication Date: July 27th 2012

This book was such a disappointment for me. I had been hoping that my streak of "bad" books was over for the year. Apparently that's not the case at all.  I really hate writing negative reviews, because I don't want to hurt the author's feelings but they are necessary.

When I first saw this book listed on NetGalley I was so excited to read it because it reminded me a lot of the book Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks which I've read at least a dozen times since I first discovered it when I was 10 years old.

Unfortunately for me, the book fell way short of my expectations. For me the story was bland, fragmented and over all very poorly written. I did not care for Jules at all. She was very one dimesnsional and though the sexual abuse she suffered was bad, it did not even come to light until the later 15 pages of the book. If it was he authors intention to truly write a powerful work of fiction for teens than it would have been better if that part had been worked into the story sooner than later.

The way the story was told was so fragmented it drove me nuts! I truly disliked it. The plot was promising, but it was poorly executed. To me it's as if it were a jig-saw puzzle that was put together by a teenager with no concept of how a story is supposed to be written. Basically, the book was a complete failure for me and while I don't feel comfortable recommending it to anyone, as always I urge you to think for yourselves and give it a try if you want.

*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my free and honest review.

★

Beneath a Meth Moon by Jacqueline Woodson

Summary:

Laurel Daneau has moved on to a new life, in a new town, but inside she's still reeling from the loss of her beloved mother and grandmother after Hurricane Katrina washed away their home. Laurel's new life is going well, with a new best friend, a place on the cheerleading squad and T-Boom, co-captain of the basketball team, for a boyfriend. Yet Laurel is haunted by voices and memories from her past.

When T-Boom introduces Laurel to meth, she immediately falls under its spell, loving the way it erases, even if only briefly, her past. But as she becomes alienated from her friends and family, she becomes a shell of her former self, and longs to be whole again. With help from an artist named Moses and her friend Kaylee, she's able to begin to rewrite her story and start to move on from her addiction.

Incorporating Laurel's bittersweet memories of life before and during the hurricane, this is a stunning novel by one of our finest writers. Jacqueline Woodson's haunting - but ultimately hopeful - story is beautifully told and one readers will not want to miss.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com 
Length: 182 pages (Hardcover Edition)
Source: Toronto Public Library
Publication Date: February 2nd 2012

So last week, I was perusing the Toronto Public Library website looking for my next great read and though this was a YA title I was really drawn in by the cover and the summary so once again I found myself putting it on hold and when I got it 2 days later I was so excited I read it that very night!

Unfortunately, the book wasn't as good as the summary made it out to be at all. I was expecting this one to be like the book Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks but I was sadly mistake. This one was a very dull read for me. I think that the writer was trying to make it seem heartbreaking and in my opinion she did a very poor job at trying to write about a topic that is affecting today's younger crowd. We all know Meth is killing *beep*loads of kids today and I appreciate that she was trying to shed light on the issue I just think it fell short.

The story was fragmented and I found Laurel to be irritating and unlikeable. I understand that she lost her mother and her grandmother at a young age leaving her with her father and her baby brother after Katrina took them but I hated the way it was written there was very little dialogue and it jumped around more than necessary. One second she was a nice kid just getting to know people and the next she's doing drugs behind a store with T-Boom (What a stupid nickname). It was rididulous and annoying. Yes I know that the main character was a junkie but that doesn't mean that writing the story haphazardly is a good approach. All in all the book was a complete failure for me. I regret wasting the hour I spent reading it and I wish I had never read this one at all.

Honestly, I would never recommend this book to anyone. I don't think that is is worth reading at all but as always I urge you to give it a try and form your own opinion of it. If you do read it and end up liking it comment on my review and leave me a link yours I'd love to read it!

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★

The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Click here to see other books I'm reading for this challenge.

Summary:

If high school were a fairy-tale kingdom, Connelly Sternin would be Rapunzel, locked not in a tower by a wicked witch but in a high-rise apartment building by the SATs and college applications—and by the secrets she keeps. Connelly's few friends think that her parents are divorced—but they're not. Connelly's father died when she was two, and she doesn't know how.

If Connelly is the Rapunzel of her school, Jeremy Cole is the crown prince, son of a great and rich New York City family. So when he sits down next to her at lunch one day, Connelly couldn't be more surprised. But Jeremy has a tragic secret of his own, and Connelly is the only one he can turn to for help. Together they form a council of two, helping each other with their homework and sharing secrets. As the pair's friendship grows, Connelly learns that it's the truth, not the secrets, that one must guard and protect. And that between friends, the truth, however harsh, is also beautiful.

This lovely and memorable debut by Alyssa B. Sheinmel contains many of the hallmark themes found in young adult literature—friendship, coming of age, finding a place to belong, and overcoming the death of a loved one. Emotionally moving from start to finish, The Beautiful Between introduces a strong new voice to the genre, a voice with a long future ahead of it.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

So this book to me to the great old US of A on my Around the World challenge. To be more specific I went to New York. This book is another one of the books that I got on my wanderings into the teen section of the library a few days ago when I found myself immediately drawn to the cover which I love!

Thankfully this was not one of those cases where the cover was beautiful and the story was blah. I actually liked Connelly most of the time but there were a few times where I thought she was an annoying little *beep* because of her attitude and her woe to me attitude.

At first when I read the back I thought it would be like a fairy tale retelling but unfortunately the more I read of the book I realized that it wasn't which was diappointing. But all in all I enjoyed this book. It had all the regular teenaged angst that seems to come hand in hand with YA books but this one didn't seem over done.

My only critisms of this book are that sometimes for a couple pages here and there the story would drag on a wee little bit and that the characters came off a little whiney in some parts and made me want to smack them for it.

This is author Alyssa B. Sheinmel's first book and I thought it was a great start to a hopefully long career in writing because she was able to make a book that was only 182 pages long seem much longer. I thought that the plot was interesting as well as the writing which I felt was quiet stong. I hope she continues writing because I think she's a talented young new author who I highly recommend others checking out.

As in go check it out right now.

Seriously.

Now.

★ ★ ★ ★

Heart to Heart by Lurlene Mcdaniel

Summary:
From Lurlene McDaniel, the bestselling author of young adult inspirational fiction, comes Heart to Heart. This emotionally charged novel explores loss, love, renewal, and the ways in which these complex bonds within families and between friends are tested at life's most challenging moments.

Elowyn Eden and Kassey Messechek are best friends. They share every aspect of their lives. But one thing Elowyn has not yet shared with Kassey is that she checked the organ donor box on her newly acquired driver's license. Kassey only learns of this in a startling and devastating way—when Elowyn's life-giving donor wishes are about to be honored.

Arabeth St. Clair has not had the luck to have a best friend. Due to her diseased heart, she's led a sheltered life. When Arabeth is sixteen, she and her mother receive the call that will change their lives—but they don't know to whom they should be forever grateful.

When the worlds of these three girls and their families intersect, lives are changed in ways never imagined. Most especially, it is Kassey who sees things differently, for she can keep alive the memory of her dear friend by sharing the renewed life of another teenage girl, while helping to ease the pain of the two families involved and coming to terms with her own.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com


I think now that I've read just about enough of Lurlene's books for a few months at least although they do come in handy since for me I usually finish one of her books in under 2 hours and with the end of the year looming I'm trying to read a few more books before it's officially over.

I liked this newer book of hers though I didn't particularly like the characters other than that of Arabeth. After Kasey's best friend Elowyn gets in a car accident her family follows through with her wishes of donating her organs. Her heart ends up going to Arabeth a girl younger than Kasey and Elowyn but one who become important to her since the younger girl carries her best friend's heart.

The part I really liked about this book is the fact that once Arabeth wakes up after her heart surgery she starts acting differently. For example when she wakes up she wants her mother and aunt to paint her room purple and yellow and make it look like France though she doesn't like that country but it's what Elowyn's room was like, She also develops a taste for Chunky Monkey ice cream which was also Elowyns favourite. Several things like this happen and the book basically talks about the adjustment thqt everyone goes through after the loss of Elowyn. This is especially hard for Kasey and Elowyns parents but the fact that Arabeth is a living reminder of the friend and daughter that was lost it's very heartfelt. All in all not bad at all.

★★★★

Briana's Gift by Lurlene McDaniel

Summary:

Thirteen-year-old Sissy's mother always said that Sissy's sixteen-year-old sister marched to the beat of a different drummer. But it isn't until Briana runs away with an older boy that Sissy begins to understand what her mother meant. When Briana returns home alone and pregnant, Sissy and her mother try to help Briana come to terms with her options.

It was already complicated to think about Briana's choices and then things change suddenly again. When Briana is in a serious accident, Sissy's mother sees things one way. Although Sissy understands her mother's reaction, she feels she must try to convince her mother to make a different decision. Sissy needs to grow up fast and do what she can to maintain Briana's legacy. Will she be able to make her mother understand that there is only one way to accept Briana's gift?

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

First off let me say that this really wasn't my favourite book by Lurlene Mcdaniel at all but I did like it. I liked it because  this book while not being her strongest work in my opinion it is written in the usual way most of her older books were written in being from a first person point of view.

I liked Sissy though I hated her name but I found her mother to be an irritating woman who just because her one teenage daughter (Briana) got pregnant it was as if she had forgotten that she even had another child. At times I was very angry at her mother for shoving Sissy aside because Sissy's world was just as affected by the news of  Briana's prrgnancy as anyone but she was being the mature one while the mother was just acting out much like a small child.

When Briana comes home and starts straightening her life out she gets a job at the local wal-mart and one day suffers from an anuerysm. She ended up becoming brain damaged and all their mother could think of was giving the unborn baby away as soon as she was born. Sissy wasn't taken into account and her mother would not even allow her to put up a Christmas tree that year because she was too caught up in her suffering to see that her daughter was hurting too.

Now Sissy is the advocate for keeping her sister's baby she out right refuses to allow her mother to give her niece away. And boy does she fight. I love how much strength that Sissy had and how she didn't give up.

My favourite part in the book was the end where her mother and her take her niece home from the hospital and the neighbors offer to help them with raising the baby since her mother has arthritis. It was very touching that their small town community offered their time to help raise the appropriately named baby, Noel.

★★★ 1/2



Prey by Lurlene Mcdaniel

 

Summary:
A teacher is supposed to impart a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge. It’s a bit different with Ms. Lori Settles. All the kids are talking about how hot she is–and she is especially interested in Ryan Piccoli. When she starts giving Ryan extra attention, he’s feeling more than happy–at first. He’s used to being the class clown, but really he’s a loner. One day after school, the friendship with Lori Settles goes farther than he ever expected. She’s his teacher. She’s at least twice his age. Intimacy with a teacher is wrong, yet it feels so good in every way. Soon, Lori is making demands and Ryan begins to feel overwhelmed, but Ryan refuses to even admit anything is going on. Something immoral is going on and before too long the choices made will change lives forever.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com

W.O.W. that was my first reaction after reading this book. The author has really evolved in her writing. The topics she's choosing the last few years seems to mirror the changes in the things that teens face in this ever changing world.

This book is told from the POV of three characters, Ryan, Lori (his teacher) and Honey his friend. It seems to me that she is using this style more and more in her newer books and I enjoy it because we get a feel for the other characters from the way the others see them and think about them.

While I found this book to be very thought provoking I didn't connect to her characters as much, Maybe it's because traditionally the main characters in her novels are female. For me its hard to let go of the way she used to write her books. I didn't like Ryan at all and I didn't care for Lori which is a given since she was having sex with Ryan her student I couldn't like her. The only person I did like was Honey who I felt deserved more attention she really cared about Ryan and he shoved her to the side like an unwanted toy. I know that Ryan was messed up because of his relationship with Lori but even before it began I found him difficult to connect to and that became even more evident as the book wore on I just couldn't stand him talk about whiney.

Despite all my issues with the characters I still think this was a powerful book written at the perfect level for younger teens about the taboo student/teacher relationship and that it still felt like the author's writing. Just because this isn't one of my favourites that she's written I can appreciate it for what she was trying to and in my opinion did accomplish and that is raising awareness that this kind of sick thing does happen. Once again I strongly urge you to give her writing a try.

★★★★

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Summary:

Thirteen-year-old Kyra has grown up in an isolated community without questioning the fact that her father has three wives and she has twenty brothers and sisters, with two more on the way. That is, without questioning them much---if you don’t count her secret visits to the Mobile Library on Wheels to read forbidden books, or her meetings with Joshua, the boy she hopes to choose for herself instead of having a man chosen for her.

But when the Prophet decrees that she must marry her sixty-year-old uncle---who already has six wives---Kyra must make a desperate choice in the face of violence and her own fears of losing her family forever.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com

The reason I decided to give this book a chance is all because I read this review >>Click here for the review that started it all << Normally I wouldn't have picked this one up but I liked her review so much I had to.

I really enjoyed the book which I read in all of 2 hours  yesterday afternoon while waiting for my better half to come crawling in the door after a hard day at work. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon I must say. I liked the author's style of writing a lot.

Kyra the main character was so strong willed it was nice to see given the enviornment she group up in.  She's a 13 (almost 14) year old girl who is being raised in a polygamist compound where the men wield the power and the women are subservient. Kyra's own father has 3 wives her mother being the youngest of these who ,arried her father when she was just 14 years old.

Kyra is the oldest of her mothers children and thus has taken over many of the duties that were once her mothers because her mother is pregnant and bed ridden like she always is during pregnancy. Kyra despite being raised in this enviornment shares a deep love with her family even though she knows that she is disobeying the rules by reading books brought to her by the mobile library and sneaking around with the boy she wants  for herself.

Faced by a horrible future Kyra starts thinking of ways to escape and make her future her own. The author has made Kyra a brave girl who shows her strength in the face of adversity and her character will stay with you for a long time I hope.

I highly recommend this one!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★



Breathless by Lurlene Mcdaniel

Summary:

What is the toughest request anyone can be asked to fulfill?
Travis Morrison is a champion diver and one of the most popular kids at school. On the first day of summer vacation, while boating on the lake with his friends, Travis attempts a silly stunt dive that goes wrong. He fears he has broken his leg. Instead, his trip to the hospital reveals he has a rare form of cancer, and to save him, the doctors tell his parents they must amputate. In an instant, Travis’s life and the lives of everyone around him are forever changed.

Travis is determined that he and only he should decide the course of his life. He has a plan, but he can’t carry it out alone. Will he convince one of his friends to fulfill his most important request?

Lurlene McDaniel tackles a controversial subject, probing the issues of personal choice and quality of life.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

I have been reading Lurlene Mcdaniel's books since I was 11 and I found a copy of one of her Dawn Rochelle novels that used to belong to my sister (who is 15 years older) so you could say that this author is like an old family friend.

I don't think that the fact that she writes juvenile fiction is any reason to keep me away from her books despite the fact that I'm not that 11 year old little girl anymore but a young woman who is yearning to start her own family. I honestly believe that I will be reading her books for  the rest of my life and I plan on passing these books down to my own daughters (if I have them).

Her books have seen me through some hard times especially when I was a teenager and for that I am grateful to her.

Now on the review!

It's been awhile since I've picked up one of her books to read and I just happened to grab this one and within an hour and a half I was already done it. Yes it's a juvenile fiction book but it as always has a powerful message.

For the first time, the author has tackled the issue of assisted suicide when Travis dives from a high cliff he hits the water and his leg snaps. Luckily, his best friend Cooper, girlfriend Darla and little sister Emily are there to save him.

Once at the hospital the waiting game begins. Something caused Travis's bone to snap and it's cancer. The only way to try and salvage his life is to amputate his leg. The promising star of the dive team sees how bleak his future is and as he slowly gets better he thinks things may be going alright. Unfortunately he has a relapse and this time nothing is working.

Prompted by his constant pain and the knowledge that he will not be making it through this illness he searches for an alternative and he enlists Cooper's help. Sadly before he was going to end his life on his own terms he's hospitalized.

This book was interesting because it was written from the point of view of 4 people. Those four people being Travis, Cooper, Emily and Darla.  I liked the style a lot. I think she should continue writing in this manner as long as she continues to write the way she usually does.

I found this book to be thought provoking and sad but with a message. To be thankful for the time we have on the planet. I even liked the ending. It was overall a well written book.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★