Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson | Book Review

TITLE: Since You've Been Gone
AUTHOR: Morgan Matson
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Simon & Schuster / 2014
SERIES: No
SOURCE: Purchased

Goodreads / Author's Website

Summary
It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um... 

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go skinny-dipping? Wait...what?

Thoughts and Reactions
Any day I can curl up with a Morgan Matson book is a good day. I put off reading Since You've Been Gone because my library seemed to be sorely lacking and missing it, but I came across it at my local bookstore at the beginning of the summer and couldn't resist. Just look at the cover. Perfect book to read on the deck with an iced coffee. I basically love everything Morgan Matson has written and Since You've Been Gone is no exception. I love the remarkably normal and wonderful characters Matson creates and I can barely collect my thoughts because of all the love. 

Okay let's start with the friendship aspect of the book. Emily is this totally normal teenage girl, into a couple of things, but not super popular and feels like she just kind of blends in, but her friend Sloane is all over the place, out there and lovable. When she disappears Emily feels completely lost, but slowly begins to find herself over the summer. It's a really wonderful journey to watch. Emily never discounts Sloane or their friendship and wants to find her, but she also begins to see herself as worthwhile. 

Emily's whole journey, finding not only herself, but a new group of friends who recognize just how wonderful she is is amazing. This new group of people slowly forms around her and supports her, just as she supports them. I like reading about the formation of new relationships (that's probably one of the reasons I love books with romance so much) and this just checked all the boxes. The tentative first steps, the getting to know yous, but for friends. It also helped give Emily perspective on her relationship with Sloane and herself.

I also just love reading about adventures and the list bit of the adventure just added to it. Dancing until dawn, skinny dipping? They kind of sound like a great time. They're these crazy things, but also totally doable, totally down to earth tell your friends the story the next day and remember for a lifetime kind of adventures. It made me want to be there with this group doing these things. It's the kind of I can't stop smiling even if I look like a crazy person on the bus kind of writing. 

Things on the side that made me love this book. Theatre is included! Emily's parents are playwrights and I think that's just so cool. Sure they're a little distracted by their new play, but anytime theatre is worked into a novel I am so there. The playlists included are also fantastic and I definitely added some of them to my spotify to listen to while reading. 

So there you have it, another absolutely wonderful engaging novel by Morgan Matson. I am so in love with this book and know that it's going to be one I revisit in the coming years. 

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West | Book Review

TITLE: The Distance Between Us
AUTHOR: Kasie West
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Harper Teen / 2013
SERIES: No
SOURCE: Purchased

Summary
Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers studies the rich like her own personal science experiment, and after years of observation she’s pretty sure they’re only good for one thing—spending money on useless stuff, like the porcelain dolls in her mother’s shop.

So when Xander Spence walks into the store to pick up a doll for his grandmother, it only takes one glance for Caymen to figure out he’s oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and that he’s one of the first people who actually gets her, she’s smart enough to know his interest won’t last. Because if there’s one thing she’s learned from her mother’s warnings, it’s that the rich have a short attention span. But Xander keeps coming around, despite her best efforts to scare him off. And much to her dismay, she's beginning to enjoy his company.
She knows her mom can’t find out—she wouldn’t approve. She’d much rather Caymen hang out with the local rocker who hasn’t been raised by money. But just when Xander’s attention and loyalty are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn’t a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she’d ever realized. And that Xander’s not the only one she should’ve been worried about.

Thoughts and Reactions
I love contemporary romance. Love it. Even if I hear a book isn't great or has something lacking I'll probably pick it up at some point. I rarely regret it and even if I didn't love the book I can say I genuinely enjoyed my time reading it. I finished The Distance Between Us last night and I upon some reflection I think this book falls into that category for me. I didn't love the story, but it was an enjoyable way to pass my commute and I found the hour I was on the bus going by a lot more quickly than it normally does. 

Caymen works in her mom's doll store and lives above it in a town that's very divided between rich and poor. She is most definitely poor. She's smart, funny and sarcastic and has a lot going on for her. I enjoyed reading about her life and liked that she had some backbone even in the face of some pretty cute guys. Xander was charming and sweet and crazy rich and there were moments between them that stole my heart, cute, little moments. So the characters and romance kind of won me over from the beginning.

That having been said, The Distance Between Us was kind of lacking for me. It was in the story, the plot itself more than anything else. It was thin. There were these great characters who I wanted to know about, but the details were glossed over, the things that made them into people I could really care about. It was very much about rich vs poor and little else. We know Caymen is sarcastic and poor and Xander is rich, but I can't say I know much else about them. Caymen distrusted Xander because of how much money he has. She was worried about her mom and the store because of how much money they didn't have. We're told she likes science but rarely get to see that. It felt shallow. 

The family dynamics also felt shallow and a little unbelievable to me. Caymen is supposedly super close to her mom, a single mom who raised her after the teenage father ran off, but they argue and hide things from each other constantly. Again, this could be believable and dynamic, but it felt like we only saw the surface of their relationship. Between that and the ending I couldn't help but roll my eyes a couple of times. 

I wanted to like this book more than I did. It had a sweet premise, amazing cover and I love romances. It just didn't quite live up to my expectations. I wanted more depth. I didn't care about the characters and breezed through the book quickly. Nothing really stuck with me. It was the perfect book for me to read on my commute and I think it would be a fun beach read or something to take with you on vacation when you want light, fun, and fast. I can see why others would like this book even if it's not the perfect story for me. 

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

TITLE: Saint Anything
AUTHOR: Sarah Dessen
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Viking Juvenile
SERIES: No
SOURCE: Purchased

Summary
Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?

Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.
The uber-popular Sarah Dessen explores her signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change in her twelfth novel, sure to delight her legions of fans.

Thoughts and Reactions
You guys, I know I haven't written anything in ages. Again. I'm terrible at consistency, but I've also felt like I haven't had a lot to say. I've read sporadically for the past little while, but between work and some personal things no book has jumped out at me and said Hey You Have to Talk About This! I don't know if that's changed for awhile or just for now or maybe just for this one book, but after putting down Saint Anything I knew I wanted to post. I don't have anything revolutionary to say, but I wanted to chat. I miss just talking about books sometimes, you know? 

Sarah Dessen books and summer just go to together; a porch, iced coffee and one of her books are all you need on a hot day. I love the characters and towns she creates and even though the characters are flawed and have problems, you know that things are going to work out for them in one way or another at the end of the day. Sydney is a pretty average girl whose brother has some major issues that have caused her family and others a lot of pain and her trying to figure herself out within that mess was captivating. Family dynamics in a book are so important to me and Dessen creates realistic, if sometimes painful, families to read about. The lack of perfection, the mistakes; it felt all to real sometimes, but in such a good way. 

A lot of times the perfect summer book has to be filled with swoons and romance, but with this one, I don't know that was my favourite part. Mack was a great book boyfriend, so down to earth and reliable and I was totally rooting for them the whole time. It's just not what really drew me to the book. The way friendship was portrayed, both good and bad, was spot on and just so good. Losing touch with good friends because of physical distance or a new boyfriend or whatever; the friendships were so relatable. 

I basically buy every new Sarah Dessen novel as soon as it comes out because I know I'll devour it. I love the way she writes characters and mixes, serious and real problems with lightness. Saint Anything proves yet again that this is just the type of novel I need in my life. 

Ink is Thicker Than Water by Amy Spalding | Book Review

TITLE: Ink is Thicker Than Water
AUTHOR: Amy Spalding
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Entangled Teen / 2013
SERIES: No
SOURCE: Received for review from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Goodreads / Author's Website

Summary
For Kellie Brooks, family has always been a tough word to define. Combine her hippie mom and tattooist stepdad, her adopted overachieving sister, her younger half brother, and her tough-love dad, and average Kellie’s the one stuck in the middle, overlooked and impermanent. When Kellie’s sister finally meets her birth mother and her best friend starts hanging with a cooler crowd, the feeling only grows stronger.

But then she reconnects with Oliver, the sweet and sensitive college guy she had a near hookup with last year. Oliver is intense and attractive, and she’s sure he’s totally out of her league. But as she discovers that maybe intensity isn’t always a good thing, it’s yet another relationship she feels is spiraling out of her control.

It’ll take a new role on the school newspaper and a new job at her mom’s tattoo shop for Kellie to realize that defining herself both outside and within her family is what can finally allow her to feel permanent, just like a tattoo.

Thoughts and Reactions
Ink is Thicker Than Water is the first book I've read by Amy Spalding. I kept meaning to read The Reece Malcolm List after hearing amazing things about it when it first came out, but somehow never got around to it. I'm regretting that now because I thoroughly enjoyed her second novel. 

Ink is Thicker Than Water delves into non-traditional family dynamics and what it's like to slowly start to grow up, change and maybe grow apart from things that had always been a constant in your life. Spalding's writing doesn't glamorize or making anything more dramatic; it holds a mirror up to a lot of very common experiences. Kellie is a middle child in a fairly non-traditional family. Her parents are divorced, her mother remarried, her older sister is adopted and her mother runs a tattoo shop with her stepfather. It's messy and loving and Kellie is just kind of floating along. She's one of those teens who doesn't want to appear to try to hard and doesn't think she's that great at anything, but when her sister starts pulling away in favour of her biological mother and her best friend starts ditching her for the popular girls Kellie feels completely un-tethered and needs to find herself again. 

I enjoyed reading about Kellie's experiences specifically because nothing seemed that unusual or out of the ordinary. There was a story arc and some drama, but it felt real, like this was just Kellie's life and not a soap opera. The family dynamic in this story was messy and beautiful and real as it should be. You can tell all of her parents care about her, even if she can't always see it and despite the hurt they can cause each other at times there was always love beneath it. I sometimes love reading about positive family dynamics; they can be rare and you're so lucky if you have a loving and supportive family and I can get behind a book that shows them, mess and all. 

There were times in the book I wanted to shake all the characters. Kellie made some poor choices and her sister Sara at times was downright mean. However, just because I didn't support every decision made in the book, doesn't mean I didn't understand where each one is coming  from. These characters often did not make the best decisions, but they always made sense for the character and I could see their reasoning. 

The relationships in this book were what made it for me. The relationship between Kellie and her family was supportive and you could sense the love, the worry, the hope, but Kellie's friendships and relationship with Oliver, the cute college boy were also pretty spot on. Friendship is high school can be hard; people are changing and growing apart and finding new interests and sometimes it's hard to maintain friendships that you once valued so much. It's this kind of problem that Kellie faces and her struggle to find her place and make new friends was so relatable for me. That sort of in between time when you feel like you don't have any close friends and aren't sure where you're supposed to sit at lunch or how you're supposed to act? Been there. I think a lot of people could relate to Kellie's experiences in that way. 

I didn't think Kellie's relationship with Oliver was the most well drawn relationship, but I can also forgive a lot since we're getting the story from Kellie's perspective. For her having a boyfriend is more about having somebody to make out with and talk to a little after. It's not the most mature relationship, but it made sense. She likes him and likes hanging out with him, but finds him a little intense (which he totally is). Plus she's got so much going on in her life she can't really get that emotionally invested in anybody. Also. She's sixteen. Hanging out and making out with somebody you're pretty into, but maybe don't love makes sense to me. 

Ink is Thicker Than Water wasn't the most fast-paced or exciting book I've read this year, but I found it a touching and realistic portrayal of family, friends, growing up and finding your place in the world. It doesn't speak to a universal teenage experience, but it does speak to one type of experience that I found captivating. I would re-read this book and am looking forward to reading the rest of Amy Spalding's works.

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins | Book Review

TITLE: Isla and the Happily Ever After
AUTHOR: Stephanie Perkins
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Dutton / 2014
SERIES: Yes, but can be read as a stand alone. It follows Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door
SOURCE: Purchased

Goodreads / Author's Website

Summary
Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last? 

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart. 

Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

Thoughts and Reactions
You Guys, I've loved everything I have ever read by Stephanie Perkins. I basically swooned my way through Anna and the French Kiss (it remains a favourite book of mine to this day) and while Lola and the Boy Next Door wasn't as memorable for me I still loved it at the time. I have been looking forward to reading Isla and the Happily Ever After for ages and I'm so glad I finally got the chance to. 

Isla and the Happily Ever After is set the year after Anna and the French Kiss. Isla is living in New York for the summer when she runs into Josh, the boy from school who she's had a crush on forever. Once they're back in Paris they're inseparable, but of course life gets in the way. They have a few romantic weeks, but Josh's issues with rules come back and threaten to separate them as does the looming possibility of going to separate countries for college. 

Isla isn't exactly what I was expecting when I first started reading it, but I don't think that's a criticism in the slightest. Both Anna and Isla were on the lighter side of reading for me; they dealt with real world issues, but the characters were fairly confident and I, as a reader, was confident in the happy ending. These were fictional characters that swept me off my feet, but they were still fictional characters living in a beautiful version of the modern world. These are a few of the reasons why I love the books so much. Isla was different in that way though; she felt more real, more grounded as a character. She hit very close to home for me. 

There were moments reading this book that I admit I had to put it down and it took me awhile to pick it back up again. This went on right until I was finished. The writing was as always spot on, but I saw a lot of myself in Isla and not always in the best way. She's a bright, academically motivated high school senior, but she doesn't have a plan and feels completely adrift. She has a lot of insecurities that just are. They don't really have an explanation, but they affect her decisions, her relationships, everything really. It was hard to read parts of it because I know that I myself have made and will continue to make a few of her poorer decisions. This was a girl I know well. Picking a fight with a boyfriend because of some fear that really only stems from your own mind? Yup, been there. Anna is one of my favourite books because it's escapism for me; I loved Isla, but because it felt REAL. This is a story that I know. 

The story line has none of the big dramas of the other two novels, again it felt more grounded in reality. At times the pace may have felt sluggish for some, but for me it was perfect. Josh is a senators son and talented artist who has some issues with school and rules and sure these kids can hop on a train to Barcelona, but nothing felt over dramatic. The tone was right and their reactions were those of high school students. Most of it focuses on the painful decisions you have to make once you graduate and separate from the people you've known for years. It's about trying to figure out your place in the larger world and how you react to it. 

One of my favourite things about Stephanie Perkins is her ability to weave humour and levity into her books that aren't always light and fluffy and that remains true with this one. I also love the settings. The worlds she creates are beautiful and filled with artwork and love. It's really our world as it should be. Anna inspired me to go to Paris the first time and Isla makes me want to revisit it. The beauty of the scenery is inspiring and it makes me want to live in this world with murals on the walls and trains through the countryside. Even getting drenched in the rain sounds romantic when it's on the pages of this novel. 

Isla was a harder read for me and I know I won't revisit it as much as I would with the other novels in this series, but only because it is so well written and spot on. If I didn't relate to it as much as I do it would be easier to read, but wouldn't be as real. This book affected me in ways that the other novels did not and I'm grateful for that. I'm so glad that I finally read it and I'm glad I persevered even when I found it difficult. It's a fantastic end to one of my favourite series. 

Thorn Abbey by Nancy Ohlin | Book Review

TITLE: Thorn Abbey
AUTHOR: Nancy Ohlin
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Simon Pulse / 2013
SERIES: No
SOURCE: Purchased

Goodreads / Author's Website

Summary
Becca was the perfect girlfriend: smart, gorgeous, and loved by everyone at New England’s premier boarding school, Thorn Abbey. But Becca’s dead. And her boyfriend, Max, can’t get over his loss.

Then Tess transfers to Thorn Abbey. She’s shy, insecure, and ordinary—everything that Becca wasn’t. And despite her roommate’s warnings, she falls for brooding Max.

Now Max finally has a reason to move on. Except it won’t be easy. Because Becca may be gone, but she’s not quite ready to let him go…

Thoughts and Reactions
You know those books where it's just difficult to formulate your thoughts to form a cohesive opinion? Thorn Abbey is one of those books for me. There is a lot to be critical of, but also a lot to like and it's left me feeling pretty scattered. Thorn Abbey is a modern retelling of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. The story is now centered on Tess, a brilliant, but insecure and socially awkward girl who has trouble fitting in. She falls for the rich and popular Max, but feels that her relationship will always come in second to his relationship with the now dead Becca, the former Queen Bee on campus. I think it's a super interesting premise and it could be an absolutely brilliant retelling, but the problem is, I've never read the original novel. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot by knowing absolutely nothing about the source material, but there you have it. 

I was totally drawn in by the premise of the book, but I have to admit that when I first started reading I almost put it back down. I found Tess to be so incredibly off putting; I wasn't sure that I would make it through the book, but I realized that she was written that way for a reason and I soldiered on. Tess is an incredibly frustrating character; she's insecure, needy and at times a little delusional. It's so difficult for me to read about somebody like that. However, ultimately it was the right choice for the story. I think in the end Tess needed to be the way she was for anything to work. Plus, she was always described as being awkward and insecure and wow, did she show that. So while I found this character to be incredibly frustrating, I have a feeling it's true to the original and she seemed to work as a plot device. 

That aside, the story itself was super creepy. The presence of this dead girl throughout the school is overpowering. People, especially her super popular ex-roommate are obsessed with her in a way that cannot be healthy. It's that part of the plot that really drew me in. How much power did this girl really have over everybody and how is her presence still so tangible despite her death months ago? 

That's where what I understand to be the modern updates come in. There's a definite supernatural, haunting presence that was more than weird enough for me. I'm a total wimp when it comes to that sort of thing. Writing on walls, flying embers, burning pages all of it added up to one vengeful ghost and I cannot deal. I mean it keeps the pages turning and sets the tone from the start, but it creeps me out just thinking about it now. For those of you who are into ghost stories and supernatural heebie jeebies, you'll probably think of this as super tame, but for me, it struck the right balance. 

Now I did have an issue with some of the character development. The characters were fairly two dimensional and we never learn a lot about anybody. They're flat and show no growth. There's no emotional journey. Max is moody, the girls are all stereotypical mean girls, the cousin is sleazy, there's the loyal best friend, I could go on. That having been said, it's not like this was a book driven by characters; it was more about action. I just happen to like some solid character development in my stories. 

Overall, I enjoyed Thorn Abbey as it is, without comparison to the original. I like the boarding school setting and think that Ohlin set up the plot and tone well. The supernatural aspect, for me, enhance the story and it's the main reason why I'm still shivering about it now, days after I finished reading; always a good sign. It was by far not the perfect novel and maybe those of you who have read the original will have more to criticize, but I liked it for what it was and would buy it again for my shelf. 

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle | Book Review

TITLE: Let it Snow
AUTHOR: John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Speak / 2008
SERIES: No
SOURCE: Purchased 

Goodreads 

Summary
An ill-timed storm on Christmas Eve buries the residents of Gracetown under multiple feet of snow and causes quite a bit of chaos. One brave soul ventures out into the storm from her stranded train and sets off a chain of events that will change quite a few lives. Over the next three days one girl takes a risky shortcut with an adorable stranger, three friends set out to win a race to the Waffle House (and the hash brown spoils), and the fate of a teacup pig falls into the hands of a lovesick barista.

A trio of today's bestselling authors - John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle- brings all the magic of the holidays to life in three hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and kisses that will steal your breath away.

I love picking up a book around this time of year to help get me in the Christmas spirit. Movies are great, but sometimes I want to be able to sip tea, look at the lights and read. This year's choice was Let it Snow, a trio of short stories by some absolutely fantastic authors. Holidays? Yes. Romance? Yes. That pretty much sums up my criteria for a fun holiday read; I don't want anything too serious. Light and fun will do the trick. I had read a couple reviews of this book last year that weren't overflowing with praise, but it was cheap enough and I haven't met a holiday book I haven't liked to some extent yet. 

Thoughts and Reactions
The streak continues with Let it Snow. It wasn't the perfect, blow me away, reread all the time kind of book, but it was exactly what I was looking for. The book is three interweaving stories connected by setting and secondary characters. Each author has their own take on Christmas romances and I enjoyed each one in it's own way. I find I'm having issues summarizing and reviewing the book as a whole since each story is unique so I'll split up my discussion into three sections. 

The first story is Maureen Johnson's "The Jubilee Express." On Christmas Eve Jubilee's parents are arrested and instead of going to her boyfriend's Christmas Eve Smorgasbord she has to get on a train to get to her grandparents in Florida. The train gets stuck just outside of Gracetown and she must rely on the help of a stranger to have a warm, safe place for the night. The stranger just happens to be Stuart, a boy her age who has recently had his heart broken. 

I really enjoyed "The Jubilee Express" although it took me a little while to warm up to Jubilee herself. She's one of those characters who seemed totally believable and I know people like her in life, but my god she drove me crazy at times. She was so concerned with outward appearances that she rarely saw what was really happening.  I enjoyed the building tension between Stuart and Jubilee and more than anything loved the supporting characters in this story. Stuart's family was so sweet and caring if a little quirky and well I'll leave the reason why Jubilee's parents were arrested out of this since I think you should find that out for yourself if you don't already know. "The Jubilee Express" felt like a cute holiday romance with some fairly believable characters in weird and quirky situations. It kind of just made me go aww, I know, not the most eloquent way of putting it. 

The second story is John Green's "A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle." This was probably my least favourite of the three stories which definitely surprised me. I was honestly expecting to like it more than I did. This one centers on Tobin and Angie, best friends who go, with another friend, on an epic midnight Christmas Eve adventure to the local Waffle House to meet some cheerleaders who were stranded on the same train as Jubilee. 

These characters just seemed to rub me the wrong way. They were incredibly nerdy cool in a way that almost seemed to look down on others or like they were all trying just a little too hard to really pull it off. There's a weird male obsession with hooking up with cheerleaders, but also a certain disdain in the writing towards them. Angie is a cool girl because she's a girl, but totally doesn't act like one (but of course still wants to be seen as one). I think that's the part that really got to me; why does being a cool girl amount to displaying more masculine traits and being one of the guys? I'm all for going your own way; this just seems to be a female stereotype that comes up a lot and kind of bothers me. I know there are others out there who have examined this in much more detail and I'm feeling the need to read up on it now. The other part of it was that I just couldn't get behind the adventure. Driving your car up an icy road in the middle of the night during a blizzard is a really good way to get killed. There was some incredibly poor decision making displayed in this story. 

The final story is Lauren Myracle's "The Patron Saint of Pigs." This one centers on Addie a girl who has just broken up with her boyfriend, who happens to be another passenger stuck on the train. She's absolutely heart broken, but also realizes that what has happened was ultimately her doing.  It's now Boxing Day and she must go to work while dealing with her heartbreak and horrible breakup haircut and remember to pick up the pig she and her friend have purchased for their friend who is absolutely obsessed with pigs. 

I know this wasn't a story loved by many, but I really enjoyed Myracle's take on some classic holiday plot lines. Angels and bells, they just go with Christmas you know? Maybe I've just seen It's a Wonderful Life one too many times. Her characters are probably the least fleshed out of all three, but I was too busy enjoying the talk about angels and self improvement and worth to really care. I could not stand Addie's two friends, Dorrie and Tegan, even her boss ended up getting on my nerves. Dorrie was written as a Jewish stereotype and Tegan basically had no personality of her own. The thing that got to me was everybody telling Addie how selfish she was being and while she did display a lot of selfish behaviour, the reactions to some of the things that happened seemed extreme. Not all, she did do one major thing that I know won't sit well with a lot of readers. However, despite its flaws; I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Overall, Let it Snow isn't my favourite holiday book of all time, but I know I'll pick it up again next Christmas. It's light, it's a really fast read and all the stories are about people falling in love in the snow. How bad could any of that be; you just have to be in the right mood for it. Which I, perhaps shamefully, always am. 

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski | Book Review

TITLE: Don't Even Think About It
AUTHOR: Sarah Mlynowski
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Delacorte/2014
SERIES: As far as I know, no
SOURCE: I received this book for review from the publisher via NetGalley

Goodreads / Author's Website

Summary
We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.

So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening

Thoughts and Reactions

Going into this one I figured a book about telepathic high school students could go either way. On the one hand, telepathy could be kind of cool and science fictiony, but on the other, you've got the potential for some highly immature thoughts. Don't Even Think About it unfortunately veered towards the latter. 

A group of high school students gets the flu shot at school and one of the unexpected side effects is telepathy.  They can overhear each other, friends, family, cheat on tests. Of course, they decide to keep it a secret because who would believe them anyways? I love the premise of the book. It had the potential to be a sort of contemporary sci-fi mash up, at least in my mind, but something about it ended up rubbing me the wrong way. 


My first gripe is that it was written entirely with the we; it was as if they had a collective conscious and no individual thoughts. I suppose I understand why; they could overhear everything every other person in their direct vicinity was thinking, but it kind of got on my nerves. Just because you can hear everybody's thoughts, does that necessarily mean that individual thought is entirely gone? Doesn't one person still have to have the thought before it can be heard? 

It also seemed fairly immature. The telepathy was used only to get gossip and cheat on tests. There was no wondering why or how they got it. It might have been mentioned briefly, but then quickly glossed over. How could a government conspiracy or botched science experiment top who was cheating on who. I wouldn't have minded that so much had every chapter not been high school gossip, but it was. Maybe other reasons, perhaps the target audience actually, would understand these teenagers more than I do, but it certainly wasn't the book for me. 

I have to admit I ended up putting this book down for awhile before picking it back up. Reading every single thought, fully formed, as a sentence got to me after awhile and I just didn't think the premise was used to its full potential. I'm not saying that Don't Even Think About it doesn't have an audience, but I was definitely not among it. 

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater | Book Review

Title: The Dream Thieves
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Publisher/Year: Scholastic Press/2013
Series: Yes, The Raven Cycle, Book 2
Source: Purchased 

Goodreads / Author's Website

Summary
Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same.
Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. 

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...


Thoughts and Reactions

In writing my review for this novel I realized that I never actually posted, or wrote, my review for The Raven Boys, the first novel of the series. Suffice to say, I loved it. I loved it so much that upon finishing it I pretty much immediately purchased it's sequel. However, that was a year ago and I just finished The Dream Thieves. That has nothing to do with the book and everything to do with my head space at the time. 

I picked up The Dream Thieves time and time again with the intention of reading it, but for whatever reason I could not get passed the first few chapters. I put it down and came back to it about a week ago. I was hooked. It picks up right near where The Raven Boys left off. Adam has recently woken the ley line and nobody's sure how to act around him. Noah is becoming increasingly dim as the line is surging and causing power outages across Henrietta. Everybody now knows that Ronan can take objects from dreams and that's really the focus of this book. 

Ronan is an interesting and complex character; although he wasn’t my favourite going it, he grew on me as I felt like this novel really introduces us to him. He comes across as brash, but only because he cares so much. He has this ability that he doesn’t understand; one that may or may not have had something to do with his father’s death is and he’s still trying to figure himself out. The Dream Thieves really paints him in a more sympathetic light since you really get to see his perspective.

The title essentially sums up the book. Unlike The Raven Boys where the boys and Blue are trying to find a mystical ley line, but it is mostly rooted in reality, The Dream Thieves expands upon this mystical world. Friends are dead but in the land of the living and Ronan can take things from dreams. It’s crazy and thrilling. It didn’t feel like a departure so much as a ramping up of the action and the world’s magical nature.

I’m not sure what else to say about this book as I don’t want to ruin it for anybody who has not already read it, but it thoroughly gripped me. Henrietta is more dangerous now that the line has been woken and more people are out to find it. The characters are dealing with things that they don’t fully understand and it is so exciting for the reader. I love the characterizations and how fully each character is being developed. The relationships forming between them feel real and fractured and I can’t think of a single character who I don’t like. Even the characters who I don’t like, villains like Kapuscinki, have more than one dimension and are compelling.

I am now thoroughly invested in the Raven Cycle and cannot wait to read Blue Lily, Lily Blue. I don’t often read series because I find myself getting bored halfway through, but this is one that I’m more than happy to continue. 

Lock & Key by Sarah Dessen | Book Review

TITLE: Lock & Key
AUTHOR: Sarah Dessen
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Viking / 2008
SERIES: No
SOURCE: Purchased

Goodreads / Author's Website

There's a reason Sarah Dessen has such a huge following. She consistently writes engaging young-adult novels that touch on themes close to many people's hearts. Lock & Key is no exception. Ruby has been living on her own for months after her mother took off, but once social services finds out she goes to live with Cora, her estranged sister and Jamie, Cora's down to earth, family oriented husband.

Honestly, it took me awhile to get into this book and I don't think it was the story, but me. I don't think I was in the right mood for this particular book on this particular day. That having been said, Dessen constantly writes compelling, flawed characters that draw me in and make me want to keep reading. Ruby is so hurt and this story is really about her and learning how to trust and reconcile her old life with her new one. I felt for her despite her flaws and her occasional obvious obliviousness.

Of course, there's also the boy next door. Nate, the hot swimmer who seems to have a perfect life, but as the two get closer and Ruby learns to open up, it becomes obvious that not all is what it seems. I found Nate's story to be almost more compelling than Ruby's. He was such a sympathetic character, always putting others before himself. I kind of wanted a glimpse into his head. I felt for him and wanted to know more.

Being a comfort read, the plot was fairly predictable,but sometimes that's okay. You know what you're getting when you read a Dessen novel and you start it because you know you'll like it in the end despite it's predictability.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis | Book Review

TITLE: Across the Universe
AUTHOR: Beth Revis
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Razorbill / January 11, 2011
SERIES: Yes, Across the Universe Series
SOURCE: Local Library

Goodreads / Author's Website

I feel like I saw a lot of reviews for Across the Universe around the time I first started blogging, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. It was science fiction which is definitely not my preferred genre so I let it slide past me without much of a second thought. So here it is, a few years later and I've finally picked it up. It really has more to  do with the fact that I was in a rush at the library and recognized the title than anything else, but I did say I wanted to break out of my preferred genres at the beginning of the year, so let's go with that one. It sounds better. I can't say that I all out loved Across the Universe, but it was definitely more enjoyable than I thought it would be. It was this combination of science fiction and dystopia that was intriguing, but at times frustrating. Weeks later and I'm still not totally sure what to think.

Amy is a seventeen year old girl who's signed on to be cryogenically frozen and shipped into space as cargo on the spaceship Godspeed. She's set to leave earth and arrive on a new planet some three hundred years in the future. However, her three hundred year sleep is interrupted fifty years too soon when somebody pulls the plug on her chamber nearly killing her. Soon after, it's discovered that other frozen people are being unplugged, not all of them surviving. Somebody is clearly trying to kill them. Elder was born and raised on the ship and is being prepped to take over as the future leader. You see, the ship has one person born to lead, others born to work on the ship and feeders, those born to grow food. There are plenty of secrets on the ship and as much as Amy might want to trust Elder, she's not sure if she can.

I'm sitting here trying to write this review and all I can think is that it didn't overwhelm me or underwhelm me; I'm simply whelmed. It's not that the book was bad and I can see why people loved it, but there were sections that I just didn't engage with and I'm not sure if I can put my finger on why that was. I know, that's a terrible thing for a review!

So the story is told in alternating perspectives which isn't always my favourite narrative choice, but it wasn't bad. Amy and Elder had very distinct voices and personalities so there was no problem deciphering who was who. It was actually kind of interesting to hear from somebody who has only ever known the ship and then from somebody who is brand new to it. The culture clash was something and Amy's frustration made total sense since once she arrives a whole lot of crazy becomes apparent.

I think the book kind of lost me with the beginning. It was a slow start. To be fair, I find I have this issue with a lot of science fiction novels; the same can be said about dystopia. I'm a very character driven reader and there is so much world building required with these genres that it loses me. I understand the necessity; it just doesn't engage me as a reader. That having been said, I really did start to enjoy the book once I got into the second half. Once mysteries were being revealed I needed to know more.

I have to say this is a pretty dark book. There's a pervading sense of hopelessness throughout the ship. I mean there is not a single person born on that ship who has ever seen proper ground; even the stars they see are a lie. It was difficult to read about and well the themes about lies, corruption and power eventually get a little heavy handed (you should see what the people on the ship believe about Abraham Lincoln), but it didn't seem like much of a stretch.

I know this isn't the best of most informative review because you guys, I really need help figuring this one out. My feelings were so mixed about this first book that I'm on the fence about reading the next one in the series. What do you all think? Does it get better? Is it an engaging continuation or am I going to be disappointed?

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian | Book Review

TITLE: Burn for Burn
AUTHOR: Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers / 2012
SERIES: Yes
SOURCE: My Local Library

Goodreads / Jenny Han's Website / Siobhan Vivian's Website

I have to be honest with you guys, going into Burn for Burn I didn't have high expectations. I had previously read Han's The Summer I Turned Pretty and it did nothing for me. However, I only had a few minutes at the library and I grabbed the first book I recognized. You know what though, I'm really glad I did. I was pleasantly surprised by Burn for Burn and it was totally different than what I expected in the best way possible.

Burn for Burn centres on three high school girls who have all been wronged and and are looking for revenge. Lillia is one of the most popular girls at school, but over the summer something happened at a house party that's changed her and makes her super wary of guys in general. Kat doesn't have many friends. Her best friend dumped her years ago and she's tired of the rumours that fly about the school because of it. Mary has just moved back to the island to try to face her childhood bully. They all come from different social circles, but they band together over getting even.

You guys, I really enjoyed this book. Like normally I don't really enjoy stories about revenge since I'm not so much a fan of taking things into your own hands. It just seems like the character is stooping down to the bullies level, but I'm making an exception here. These girls all had some serious issues they were dealing with. Let's start with Lillia, it's implied from basically the get go that she was sexually assaulted at a party. This experience has changed her dramatically and makes her distrust men in general. So when she finds out her little sister spent the night with her best, male friend; well she'll do anything to protect her sister. Kat on the other has been bullied for years. She's tough and can hold her own, but there's only so much she can do without resorting to her master plan to take down the queen bee, Rennie. Mary was viciously bullied as a child and now she's back and doesn't want to take it anymore. Reeve was her tormentor and now he's the school's football star and sort of boyfriend of Rennie. Like these are beyond the pale style bullies and they kind of have what's coming to them.

Watching their plans play out was kind of great as they become better and better at what they do. Like the bullies are just so horrible that I wanted to see what happened to them. The girls stories are all kind of heartbreaking and I was hoping they would be able to learn and grow, that didn't exactly happen, but well it is a revenge story after all and there it is a part of a series.

The suspense was really well done. The book flips between the three girls' POVs and while this is occasionally detrimental to a story, it worked well for this particular one. I really felt like I got to know each girl and understand their motivations better because of it. It was also nice to see how they each reacted. Whether they were hoping to form lasting friendships through the experience or whether they were too scared to think about anything other than getting it over with. Each girl had a distinct voice, which isn't always the case when stories shift point of views, the voices can get muddled, luckily that wasn't the case this time.

Burn for Burn was just a super fun read. It was really easy to get through and had the perfect balance of emotion and action. The point that the book leaves off at is a logical conclusion, but it definitely leaves me wanting to read more. It's perfect because I don't feel like I'm missing something by not continuing with the series right away, but I know I'll definitely return to it when I get a chance. Really if you love YA and can stomach revenge, pick up Burn for Burn, you won't be disappointed.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen | Book Review

TITLE: The Moon and more
AUTHOR: Sarah Dessen
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Viking Juvenile / 2013
SERIES: No
SOURCE: Purchased

Goodreads / Author's Website

Another week, another Sarah Dessen review, shocking I know. I wasn't joking when I said I was trying to catch up on her entire back catalogue, so when a new book was released at the beginning of the summer I obviously couldn't resist. However, life happened, things got crazy and I just got around to reading it. It's been sitting on my shelf mocking me for months. I've got mixed feelings about The Moon and More which makes it a little difficult for me to review. I didn't dislike it, but it didn't really grab me either. I'm a little on the fence and while there are things I appreciated about it, it just doesn't make it into my favourites list.

The Moon and More is set in the fictional seaside of Colby (I think that's one of my favourite things about Dessen's novels, the beach). Emaline has been dating Luke throughout high school; he's caring and kind and everything she thought she wanted in a boyfriend, but now it's the summer before college and Emaline is no longer sure what she wants. She doesn't want to stay just as she is now forever, but she also doesn't want massive amounts of change all at once. She's still trying to figure things out. Enter Theo. He's an NYU film student assisting on a documentary about a reclusive local artist and thinks that Emaline can do better than Colby. Throw in some family drama surrounding Emaline's absentee father and that's kind of the story in a nutshell.

I do love being able to pick up a Sarah Dessen novel and know what I'm settling into. It's comforting in a way. She writes these incredible teenagers who don't go through anything super dramatic, but face realistic situations and just need to figure out how to get by. Emaline is this fantastic character who's worked her ass of in high school and at her after school job only to find out she doesn't actually have enough money to go to her top choice school. She's dating somebody who she likes, but maybe doesn't love. She's basically going through what so many people face every day. She doesn't overreact; she just deals. I love that Dessen creates these level headed characters who don't always make the right choices, but can serve as more realistic role models. Watching Emaline face just the twists and turns of every day life is kind of inspiring.

I have a feeling the reason I didn't love The Moon and More as much as I thought I would is because of the romance. It was just a different kind of book than I was expecting, with the romance playing a secondary role. Luke, the boyfriend and Theo, the new outsider, are representative of Emaline's overall life choices more than anything else. There's no great romance; there's the familiar and the different. Emaline's choices surrounding these two guys say more about her and her hopes and fears for the future than they do anything else.

The family dynamic is typical of Dessen novels in the best way possible. They're caring, but imperfect and super relatable. Like a lot of the problems they face aren't exactly out of the norm. I love Emaline's interactions with her mom, sisters and dad (technically stepfather) because they all knew each other so well and spoke their minds. They fought, but they also made up. The drama that really drives this story is between Emaline and her biological father. They were never close, but they grew apart when he failed to live up to some promises that resulted in her choosing to go to a school close to Colby. Their differences provide the tension and I just felt for Emaline.

Between the Emaline, her family and the setting I definitely think Dessen fans will be pleased with her latest. Sure I didn't swoon as much as I expected to, but I definitely enjoyed The Moon and More. The characters are super engaging and the drama is so realistic. I honestly love that it's understated; it's such a nice change from so many YA novels that I read. Like with many other Dessen novels, long time fans won't be disappointed, some favourite characters show up and there are a few other nods to past stories throughout. Basically, I think you all should go out and read it and enjoy it for what it is because it's such a comfortable read to get lost in.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson | Book Review

TITLE: Amy & Roger's Epic Detour
AUTHOR: Morgan Matson
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Simon & Schuster's Books for Young Readers / 2010
SERIES: No
SOURCE: Purchased

Goodreads / Author's Website

I read Amy & Roger's Epic Detour over the summer and while I wasn't exactly on a road trip it felt like the perfect time to read this particular book. Even though I was in the middle of doing some things that I really loved this book made me want to drop everything and tour Yosemite. It is just such a fantastic story; I was captivated. Matson basically won me over with her debut novel, between the descriptions that made it feel like I was on the road to the relationships that developed, I couldn't put it down.

Amy is left home alone after her father dies and her mother needs to move across the country for a better job. She's still reeling from her father's sudden death, but needs to drive the family car to her mother's new home. This is where Roger comes in. He's Amy's mom's friend's son, although the two haven't seen each other in years and he needs to travel to his dad's house for summer vacation. As they drive across country Amy tries to put her life back together as she develops a crush on this near stranger.

I've never actually taken a road trip; I think it has something to do with me not owning a car, but it's something I've always wanted to do. I want to get in the car, turn up the radio and roll the windows down. Public transit just isn't the same. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour kind of made me feel like I was right along with them and it kind of made me want to go and get a car with my limited funds. Luckily I thought better of that second part.

The road trip aspect of this novel, however, was secondary. The real driving force behind it was the emotional journey that Amy goes through. Her grief is palpable. She blames herself for her father's death, as he died in a car accident as she was present. It's heartbreaking to see her at the beginning. She feels isolated from her friends, her family and his barely getting by. It's painful, but moving to watch her struggle with her grief and come to terms with the accident. That's not to say that this book is all about sadness. There are some light-hearted moments that bring some much needed smiles with them. The loneliest road in the world is one of them, plus some interesting moments checking into hotels are just a couple of examples.

The thing with Amy is she's so likeable despite all of this. She's obviously and understandably depressed, but she's also caring and obviously a good person underneath her current demeanor. Roger is also this really great character. He's been hurt badly by this girl at school (super relateable problem) and he's a little obsessed, but it's almost endearing.

The romance between Amy and Roger is one of the best things about this  novel. They've each got their own trauma they're recovering from, but they connect. Like even before they really know each other, there's some sort of understanding that grows as their relationship builds. They clearly care about each other as people and want to help each other through the circumstances that have them travelling across the country together. They're just the kind of fictional couple you can't help but root for.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour is the perfect read if you're looking for a contemporary that manages to balance heavy moments with lighter interludes. I was totally taken with it and look forward to reading Maton's second novel sometime soon. As a side note, you should really check out the bands that are listed throughout this book; the playlists are fantastic.