Review: On The Fence by Kasie West

Book Title: On The Fence

Author: Kasie West

Publish Date: July 1st, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

She’s a tomboy. He’s the boy next door…

Charlie Reynolds can outrun, outscore, and outwit every boy she knows. But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn’t know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chichi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world. To cope with the stress of her new reality, Charlie takes to spending nights chatting with her neighbor Braden through the fence between their yards. As she grows to depend on their nightly Fence Chats, she realizes she’s got a bigger problem than speeding tickets-she’s falling for Braden. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

Fun, original, and endearing, On the Fence is a romantic comedy about finding yourself and finding love where you least expect.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from HarperTeen via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

By then time you read this, I will have read all of Kasie West’s books and have hopefully enjoyed them all. When I wrote this review I had only read Pivot Point but had just recently bought & received in the mail, Split Second & The Distance Between Us. I was hoping for a cute fluffy read and I definitely got that with On The Fence.

Charlie struggles a lot with this book and I was able to relate to that a lot more than I think I expected to. Charlie is a tomboy with 4 brothers being raised by her dad after her mother died 10 years ago. She doesn’t think that she is what guys want because she’s not feminine and she doesn’t wear makeup and talk endlessly about clothes and boys.

It was so clearly a struggle for her because she feels like she has to change who she is in order to get boys to notice her. She feels like boys don’t want girls who are “big and burly” and Charlie doesn’t know how to be delicate and feminine like she feels she should be in order for guys to notice her.I got that because I was much the same way in high school. Boys didn’t notice me because I was much more sporty than feminine. Boys went for the girls who were “hot” and who wore gobs of makeup and revealing clothing to make themselves look hot.

Working in a clothing store filled with feminine clothing initially makes Charlie borderline uncomfortable but then she begins to embrace her femininity and she begins to realize that she can be both. She can be sporty and feminine. Not having a mother in the past 10 years has made her feel like she must choose one or the other. Feminine or sporty. 

Charlie meets a cute guy named Evan, but she feels like she has to dumb herself down for him because apparently making a guy feel useless is emasculating. So instead of rattling off everything she knows about sports, she stays quiet, allowing Evan to believe that he is teaching her something. Next door neighbor Braden actually had some good insight on this whole dumbing herself down for a guy thing

“If you can’t be yourself around him, you shouldn’t be dating him.”

I absolutely LOVED this quote. I had highlighted several things in the book, but this one in particular stuck with me. Mostly because I think most teenage girls go through this. They feel like they have to dumb themselves down for a guy. They feel like they have to be something different in order for a guy to like them.

Watching Charlie realize that Braden was right and that a girl should never try to be something else in order for a guy to like her, was really awesome. If a guy doesn’t like her for who she is, he’s not worth dating.

It’s hard for longtime friends to admit to being attracted to each other. It’s terrifying because each of them worries that their friendship might be ruined.And what if the relationship doesn’t make it? Will they ever be able to be friends again? So I totally understand why it took so long for Charlie and Braden to admit their feelings.When they do though, its full of sweetness and swoons.

I really only had one complaint.When secrets are revealed about how Charlie’s mom died, I felt like Charlie reacted and then got over it really quickly. I mean I wanted more about that and I felt like it wasn’t delved into it as completely as it should have been.Had that been explored a little more, I think I would have given this book a full 5 stars. But I definitely had the feels while reading this book. Kasie is really good at giving her readers those all important feels. So this book will be getting 4.5 stars. Kasie has absolutely secured herself a spot on my author auto-buy list.

Review: Great by Sara Benincasa

Book Title: Great

Author: Sara Benincasa

Release Date: April 8th, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In Sara Benincasa’s contemporary retelling of The Great Gatsby, a teenage girl becomes entangled in the drama of a Hamptons social circle, only to be implicated in a tragedy that shakes the summer community.

Everyone loves a good scandal.

Naomi Rye usually dreads spending the summer with her socialite mother in East Hampton. This year is no different. She sticks out like a sore thumb among the teenagers who have been summering (a verb only the very rich use) together for years. But Naomi finds herself captivated by her mysterious next-door neighbor, Jacinta. Jacinta has her own reason for drawing close to Naomi-to meet the beautiful and untouchable Delilah Fairweather. But Jacinta’s carefully constructed world is hiding something huge, a secret that could undo everything. And Naomi must decide how far she is willing to be pulled into this web of lies and deception before she is unable to escape.

Based on a beloved classic and steeped in Sara Benincasa’s darkly comic voice, Great has all the drama, glitz, and romance with a terrific modern (and scandalous) twist to enthrall readers.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

In high school we had to read the Great Gatsby for English class (I think it was Sophomore English but I’m not 100% sure) I loved it. I gobbled it up in two days while the rest of the class grudgingly read the assigned chapters for two weeks. I loved reading the book and anytime I heard someone complaining about it, I got annoyed. Obviously, I also know that a movie adaptation was made. I did not go see it because I was certain that it was going to be a poor adaptation of the book.

So when Great became available via Edelweiss awhile back, I was excited but anxious. The idea of retelling a classic terrified me because I loved the classic so much and I wasn’t sure how the retelling would live up to it.

Well I didn’t need to be concerned. It was a very well done retelling of The Great Gatsby. The opulence was there with Jacinta’s parties and her outfits, not to mention the location of the story, most of it taking place in the East Hamptons. That screams money & opulence right there. I was also really excited to see that there was an LGBT element in the book. That was an awesome surprise and I kinda cheered when I got to that point. YAY for more LGBT characters in YA.

I am really not sure how I felt about Jacinta. My feelings about her kinda flip-flopped throughout the entire book. That was frustrating to me as I never knew how I would feel about her from one page to the next. When secrets about her are revealed, I did feel empathy for her and that’s when I started to have positive feelings about her and towards her.

Delilah was interesting. I couldn’t quite figure out if she was a good person or if she was just trying to use both Naomi & Jacinta at times. I don’t feel like I got to know her as well as I wanted to.

Naomi was a fun character. She clearly was nothing like her mom.She wasn’t into the fashion, she cared about other people and she was there for her friends and family when they needed her. I didn’t understand her choice of “boyfriend” while she was visiting her mother. I put the term boyfriend in quotation marks because it seemed like all they did was make out.I never really warmed up to the guy, but Naomi I loved.

One character I wish I had seen more of was Skaggs. She was woefully absent from the book, but when she did appear, she was awesome. She was the one to tell Naomi that she was basically being a bad friend to Skaggs because Naomi had become so involved in her life in the East Hamptons that she seemed to forget about Skaggs.

The ending was heartbreaking and even though I knew something incredibly sad was coming, it was still hard to read it. That’s where tears nearly fell. The ending. I was genuinely happy with how it ended though. It remained very loyal to the original which thrilled me.

The beginning was on the slow side and it took me a little while to really get into the story. Even as I was pulled into the world, there were still times were the pace had slowed down a bit too much and I found myself bored. Also I wanted a bit more character development for Delilah. It didn’t feel like I knew her as well as I knew Jacinta & Naomi which bummed me out a little bit. 

I am giving this book 4 stars because overall, I would recommend this book because it was a good, fun read and the resemblance to The Great Gatsby was uncanny. 

Review: The Treatment (The Program #2) by Suzanne Young

Book Title: The Treatment (The Program #2)

Author: Suzanne Young

Release Date: April 29th, 2014

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Genre: YA/Dystopian

Series: Book 2 in The Program duology

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Link: Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Can Sloane and James survive the lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end? Find out in this sequel to The Program, which Publishers Weekly called “chilling and suspenseful.”

How do you stop an epidemic?

Sloane and James are on the run after barely surviving the suicide epidemic and The Program. But they’re not out of danger. Huge pieces of their memories are still missing, and although Sloane and James have found their way back to each other, The Program isn’t ready to let them go.

Escaping with a group of troubled rebels, Sloane and James will have to figure out who they can trust, and how to take down The Program. But for as far as they’ve come, there’s still a lot Sloane and James can’t remember. The key to unlocking their past lies with the Treatment—a pill that can bring back forgotten memories, but at a high cost. And there’s only one dose.

Ultimately when the stakes are at their highest, can Sloane and James survive the many lies and secrets surrounding them, or will The Program claim them in the end?

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

How often is it that less than a week after you feature something in a WOW post, that you get access to an e-ARC of it? Well it happened to me. You may recall that I made The Treatment by Suzanne Young the featured book on my first WOW post. Imagine my joy and elation when I got the email from Edelweiss that my request was accepted.

You may remember that I loved the first book in this duology. My review of The Program is here. All I knew at the end of that book was that I needed more Sloane, James and yes, even Realm.

Well I got more of these three. I also got to meet some new characters. Dallas was a badass and I adored her to pieces.Cassanova “Cas” was a bit of a mystery throughout a lot of it. Then there was Kellan, Asa & Arthur and of course Evelyn. All of them played a part in how the book turned out.Even some returning characters such as Lacey, Kevin and Roger played a part in this sequel. 

I’m going to do my absolute best to keep spoilers out of this review but oh my goodness, I loved this book. It was emotionally taxing, but not quite as much as the first book had been. I ugly cried quite a bit while reading this one. There were connections that no one saw coming. There was one connection that I totally called, but for the most part, the bombshells came without a single hint as to what was going to happen.

I still adored James and Sloane’s relationship. At times Sloane was a bit co-dependent on James but those brief moments were just that, brief.They were stronger together than apart and I rooted for them all the way through. I cannot always say that with couples in YA books so James and Sloane were a welcome exception.

Sloane was an awesome character. She was stubborn, she was compassionate and she was loyal. I absolutely adored her. Probably even more than I adored her in the first book. James was awesome too. He seemed different somehow and I couldn’t quite put my finger on how. He seemed more hopeful (the Program creators probably thought it was because of them) He was totally loyal to Sloane, despite a girl making the moves on him.

Realm turned out to have a lot more secrets than anyone could have dreamed! The vast chunk of the bombshells connected to him in some way.By the end, I was no longer sure if he was trustworthy.

I am going to give this book five stars.The editing was great, the feels were back in full force and the characters were awesome and multi-dimensional, which always makes me really happy. It was absolutely perfect and I loved it completely. I definitely plan on pre-ordering a copy of this book.

Review: Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell (Spoilers)

Book Title: Dear Killer

Author: Katherine Ewell

Release Date: April 1st, 2014

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Genre: YA/Mystery

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Rule One—Nothing is right, nothing is wrong.
Rule Two—Be careful.
Rule Three—Fight using your legs whenever possible, because they’re the strongest part of your body. Your arms are the weakest.
Rule Four—Hit to kill. The first blow should be the last, if at all possible.
Rule Five—The letters are the law.

Kit takes her role as London’s notorious “Perfect Killer” seriously. The letters and cash that come to her via a secret mailbox are not a game; choosing who to kill is not an impulse decision. Every letter she receives begins with “Dear Killer,” and every time Kit murders, she leaves a letter with the dead body. Her moral nihilism and thus her murders are a way of life—the only way of life she has ever known.

But when a letter appears in the mailbox that will have the power to topple Kit’s convictions as perfectly as she commits her murders, she must make a decision: follow the only rules she has ever known, or challenge Rule One, and go from there.

Katherine Ewell’s Dear Killer is a sinister psychological thriller that explores the thin line between good and evil, and the messiness of that inevitable moment when life contradicts everything you believe.

Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book from Katherine Tegen books via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Disclaimer 2: This review contains spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.

Review:

Okay there are a few things I need to say before I really get into the review for this book. One, this book is not for everyone. Some people will enjoy it and some people won’t. Secondly, you really need to suspend reality to enjoy this book. To most people, murder is not okay, but in this book, in this world, it’s all Kit knows.

As a child, Kit’s mother raised her to be a ruthless killer and to take over her mom’s reign as Dear Killer when she is ready. Kit has managed to keep the terror of Dear Killer alive. Her destiny has been settled since she was a small child. Her mom believes that the only way to deal with the crappy things that happen in the world is by asserting justice on their own.

She doesn’t kill everyone who sends her letters, she chooses her victims carefully from the letters that she receives. Yet things start to change when she receives a letter demanding that she kill a fellow high school student. Against her better judgement, Kit develops a friendship with Maggie even though that violates an unspoken rule to not get close to the victims.

Kit mostly sticks to herself so she won’t violate the unspoken rule. Yet Maggie sneaks into her seemingly cold heart and that makes it difficult for Kit to imagine actually killing her. Yet the idea of going against everything her mom has taught her, is difficult. So now Kit has to decide what is more important, her long held beliefs, drilled into her by her mother or her growing realization that she wants more for herself. She wants to be held accountable for her actions.

Kit’s home life is pretty crappy. Her mom deliberately married a man who is very emotionally and physically distant with her and Kit. He is very into his work and not really concerned about his wife and kids. One could call that convenient which of course is not a good thing, but then again I had to suspend reality for this book. Her mom didn’t want anyone in the family to question what she was doing. Yet she and her mom are very close. They talk about everything which is really nice to see as that kind of relationship is underrepresented in YA.

There were some lulls at about 70% into the book and the character development wasn’t as strong as I was hoping that it would be. It was an interesting concept that overall I enjoyed. I am going to give it 4 stars because I did enjoy the book overall.I can definitely understand why some people had problems with it, but I really enjoyed it and was glad to read something completely different than anything I had ever read before. I would recommend it mostly because it was such a unique read that I am really glad I took a chance on.

Review: Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

Book Title: Side Effects May Vary

Author: Julie Murphy

Release Date: March 14th, 2014

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

What if you’d been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you? 

When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, whom she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that’s as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her arch nemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger and reliving some childhood memories). But just when Alice’s scores are settled, she goes into remission.

Now Alice is forced to face the consequences of all that she’s said and done, as well as her true feelings for Harvey. But has she done irreparable damage to the people around her, and to the one person who matters most? 

Julie Murphy’s SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY is a fearless and moving tour de force about love, life, and facing your own mortality.

Harvey laughed to himself in a sad way and rubbed his eyes. “You want me to help you with a list of things you won’t disclose to me.” He leaned forward and bit the skin around his thumb. “Classic.”
“You won’t regret it.”
“But—”
“Harvey,” I said, my voice low. “Trust me.”
I knew what this looked like. It looked like I was using Harvey. But here was the reality of the situation: the minute my life went from semi-permanent to most likely temporary, I decided to latch on to everything in my world that had always been permanent, and for me, Harvey was so permanent he was concrete.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Balzer + Bray via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:
I had heard a lot of amazing things about this one months ago. It was starting to show up on fellow readers’ Goodreads lists, and recently, ARC’s were becoming more available. So when Edelweiss put this one up, I snatched it in a hurry. I am a real sucker for the “tough subjects” books. You know, the cancer books, the terminal illness books as well as other tough subject books.

I was a little nervous when I started this one. Mostly because many of the people who have already read it, loved it. While I didn’t love it, I definitely liked it a lot. When you are told that your cancer is in remission, you feel a variety of different emotions. It’s especially strange after you’ve been told that there’s nothing more they can do and that you will die and probably soon.

That’s how Alice feels. She knows that she should be over the moon excited that her life is not nearing an end,at least not yet, and that she has time to be with her loved ones. Yet, that’s not how she feels. Now that she’s not dying there are things that she feels that need to be done. Admittedly, she uses the boy who has loved her, to her advantage.

Harvey knows that Alice knows that he’d do anything for her. He’d help humiliate the boy she dated before she got sick. He’d help humiliate the girl who her boyfriend was cheating on her with.He doesn’t grow a backbone until the book is nearly over. That really bothered me. While I know that Alice feels like she needs to do this, it’s hard to be understanding when she is so obviously using the boy who loves her.

I liked Alice pretty much the whole time even though I know there were parts where she was pretty mean. Until you’ve been in her position, you really cannot say how you’d react to the news that your seemingly incurable cancer is in remission.

I loved all the parental involvement in this book. I mean having Alice’s parents involved was practically a given since she had such a serious illness. Having Harvey’s mom, Natalie so present in the book was awesome. I really loved how all five of them were so close. It was like a big happy family at times. You don’t usually have that in YA books.

I didn’t love the dual POV combined with switching from the then and now time periods. At times it just got really confusing. I think it would have been better had Julie picked one. Either a dual POV or then & now time periods. At the beginning, I kept having to flip back a few pages on my Kindle because I would get confused about the timelines.

I cried a little bit in the beginning and a little bit in the end, so the feels were there, but not as much as I was expecting them to be. I am a bit disappointed that I didn’t love this one like I wanted to, however, I did like it a lot and that is why I am going to give it 4 stars. Yes I would absolutely recommend this book.

Review: Above by Isla Morley

Title: Above

Author: Isla Morley

Publish Date: March 4th, 2014

Publisher: Gallery Books

Genre: Post Apocalyptic

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Link:

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In the bestselling vein of Room and The Lovely Bones, a stunning and harrowing novel about a Kansas teenager who is abducted and locked away in an abandoned missile silo by a survivalist who believes he is saving her from the impending destruction of the world.

Blythe focuses on finding a way to escape until she discovers that she also has to deal with crushing loneliness, the terrifying madness of her captor, and the persistent temptation to give up. Nothing, however, prepares her for the burden of having to raising a child in confinement.

Out of fear, she pushes aside the truth about a world her son may never see for a myth that just might give meaning to his life underground. But when fate intervenes, Blythe and her son manage to re-emerge, only to find themselves in a world even more terrifying than the one they left behind.

Riveting and unforgettable, Above is a beautifully written and compelling tale of survival, resilience, and hope.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

The concept was a really interesting one, and one that I do enjoy more often than not. However the execution was poor and it ended up being a book that I dreaded picking up. I hate saying that but it just let me down in a big way.

Dobbs works in the library that sixteen year old Blythe visits. When he appears in his truck driving along a dirt road alongside Blythe,she thinks nothing of it. Until she accepts his offer of a ride. From that moment on everything changes.

Soon she’s being forced to shower and shave…every part of her body. Soon she’s forced to lay with him intimately.Soon after that come children. Then years pass, some quickly, some agonizingly slow. Until one day she seizes an opportunity to get herself and her son out of there.

Things aren’t the same as they were when she was taken into the silo many years ago. Where houses once sat, now there is empty and barren roads. There’s suspicion surrounding her and her son and all Blythe wants is to find her family.  

Dobbs was a creepy guy from the very beginning and that didn’t surprise me at all. Men that do this stuff are often unattractive and creepy. That’s why they abduct female teenagers. They hope that those girls understand their belief that they are trying to save them. Men like this also feel more attractive when they have a pretty young female under their grasp.

I tried my hardest to feel sympathy for Blythe but I just couldn’t. It didn’t make sense to me why she would accept his offer of a ride. He’s a freaking stranger! I don’t care how small the town was, Blythe still didn’t know him. And his excuse that her brother was in an accident and he was supposed to fetch her? I call BS on that. That is an excuse that abductors use all the time.

Most of the book was a big fat bore-fest. The end of it got really far-fetched and I couldn’t buy it at all. Too many characters were in the last 30% of it and I got confused and bored.The synopsis calls this book riveting and unforgettable? Um no, it was boring and predictable and for me, very easily forgettable. This book is getting 1.5 stars from me.

Review: The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

Book Title: The Summer I Found You

Author: Jolene Perry

Publish Date: March 1st, 2014

Publisher: Albert Whitman Teen

Genre: YA/Contemporary/Romance

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Link: Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Jolene Perry’s THE SUMMER I FOUND YOU, about a teenage girl trying to cope with her new diagnosis of type one diabetes and a teenage male veteran who is learning how to embrace his new life after losing an arm, who come together by using each other as an escape, only to discover through love and struggle that your life is what you make of it.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review: 
When I first started reading this, I was excited. This book seemed like it was right up my very eclectic alley. And it was, for the most part. Kate and Aidan are two seemingly broken people due to circumstances beyond their control. Kate’s Diabetes type 1 diagnosis and Aidan losing his arm in Afghanistan. I was really happy to see that they didn’t just fall into bed together. Their relationship started off as a friendship first which I think is really important. Especially for a lasting relationship.

So when they finally kiss, its an adorable moment that I wanted to savor for as long as possible.It was exactly how a first kiss should be and from that moment on I was completely rooting for them. That is an awesome feeling. Their chemistry sizzled off of my Kindle.I am normally not a huge romance fan, but this was exactly what I needed to get back into the romance genre. A sweet couple with demons to overcome.

There was really two things about this book that I didn’t like. Kate didn’t tell Aidan about her illness until it was almost too late. I’m not sure why exactly but maybe I have a different take on this since I have had my own health issues since birth, and I have never felt the need to hide them.I’m not surprised at all that Aidan was so mad at her for not telling him the truth.

The second issue is that Kate only started accepting the diagnosis after Aidan yelled at her. That really drove me crazy. It’s like she needed a guy who cared about her in order for her to accept her illness.I know some people will point to character growth but I can’t. I can’t help but wonder if Aidan wasn’t around, would Kate still have had this epiphany? I’m really not sure about the answer. 

Now Aidan had some wonderful character growth. I was so proud of him by the end of the book. I may or may not have cried at the end.He had gone through hell and had come out a better person by the end of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book but there were some things that I didn’t love. I also didn’t get serious feels from this book. That’s why I am giving it only 4 stars. I will need to read some more of Jolene Perry’s work.

Review: Skin and Bones by Sherry Shahan

Book Title: Skin and Bones

Author: Sherry Shahan

Publish Date: March 1st, 2014

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Link: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Jack, nicknamed “Bones,” won’t eat. His roommate in the eating disorder ward has the opposite problem and proudly goes by the nickname “Lard.” They become friends despite Bones’s initial reluctance. When Bones meets Alice, a dangerously thin dancer who loves to break the rules, he lets his guard down even more. Soon Bones is so obsessed with Alice that he’s willing to risk everything-even his recovery.

Disclaimer: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Warning: Could be a trigger book for those of you who have dealt with eating disorders.

Review:

Let me start off by admitting that I don’t know that much about eating disorders but the psychology behind them has always fascinated me. Not only that but I have been gravitating towards “tough subject books” So when NetGalley approved me for this one, I jumped at the chance.

When we first meet Jack aka Bones,he’s checking into the EDU with the support of his mom, dad and older sister Jill.Yes, Jack and Jill. I won’t lie. I really cringed at those names. Clearly the author couldn’t come up with anything more original.I did love that his family was intact and loving towards one another. That’s something that a lot of YA books don’t have.A family who is fully present in each other’s lives.

I loved, LOVED Bones’ roommate Lard. He was one of those guys who told it how it was. Sort of the tough love stuff.I could tell that Lard was trying to get better and he was not making excuses for what had happened.He owned up to it.That actually took Bones a long time. He didn’t own up to it until the book was nearly over.

Theresa, Mary Jane and Elsie were all in varying stages of recovery but as the book viewed them as only secondary characters, not much was delved into with them. Dr. Chu seemed like a very laid back guy.In a way that was great,but I wanted to see him give a little more guidance to these teens. I loved Nancy, the nurse. She exuded compassion,especially near the end of the book.

Of course I have to talk about Alice. She was the stereotypical dancer who needed to be thinner and thinner in order to preform to the best of her ability.She was one of the patients that was very similar to the way eating disorders are talked about in the media. Dancers are always under an immense amount of pressure to be thinner and thus lighter on their feet.It’s never really delved into as this book was more about Bones’ journey, but I have a feeling Alice’s struggles with the disease were from a combination of wanting to succeed as a dancer and wanting her very absent parents to notice her.

The one family session that was depicted in the book was beyond heartbreaking. It involved all the patients of the EDU and their parents. There was a chance to see the different family systems and try to figure out what had driven these teenage patients to the lengths that they were now going to.This part was the first time I cried while reading the book. I wanted to strangle Theresa’s mother so badly.I also wanted to wring Alice’s parents’ necks.It was infuriating and heartbreaking all at once. 

I loved watching the friendships develop, Not just same sex friendships either. The friendships between Lard and Alice and Bones and Theresa were slow to develop, but I loved seeing them.Opposite sex friendships are not widely seen in YA.The character development overall was top notch. I really felt like I got to know these characters individually.

The pacing and the editing was great. Despite the tough subject, I really enjoyed this one. The only issue I had was that the end didn’t get sewn up in a nice little bow. I still had questions about the book and it’s characters. It was a nearly perfect book that brought out all the feels in me. So I’ll be giving this one 4.5 stars.

Review: Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

Book Title: Faking Normal

Author: Courtney C. Stevens

Release Date: February 25th, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Link: Amazon, Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads:

An edgy, realistic, and utterly captivating novel from an exciting new voice in teen fiction.

Alexi Littrell hasn’t told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrells, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in “the Kool-Aid Kid,” who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

A searing, poignant book, Faking Normal is the extraordinary debut novel from an exciting new author-Courtney C. Stevens.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from HarperTeen via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

This book took me on an emotional ride from start to finish. This debut is an amazing one and Courtney Stevens manages to capture everything just perfectly. Books like this tend to be some of my absolute favorites and this one was no exception.

Over the summer things abruptly changed for Alexi. Now, in order to keep her secret quiet, she must act normal. Act like everything is okay. But it’s not okay. She seeks comfort in scratching her neck to try and dull the pain she’s dealing with. She retreats to her safe haven, her closet whenever she can

Her friends Heather and Liz have no idea what’s going on and Alexi knows she can’t tell them. It would ruin everything for them as well. Alexi believes that she can keep this secret because she doesn’t want her friends and family to have their worlds turned upside down as well.

Then comes Bodee Lennox. He was an unexpected surprise. He had his own demons to deal with and yet he was willing to help Alexi with hers.Slowly but surely Alexi begins to open up to him in a way that she hasn’t been able to open up to anyone since the summer.

In so many YA books, authors put certain topics as taboo topics. Yet Courtney does not. These teenagers talk about sex openly and not in a disgusting way. There’s no pressure to be in love before you have sex so it doesn’t get all preachy, which I am extremely thankful for. 

Before Alexi realizes it, she’s grown stronger emotionally and she’s ready to tell the world what happened. Even if it ruins the lives of her family and friends. She knows now that she has to do it. Bodee is the reason behind it. He encourages her to come forward with what she knows. He knows she doesn’t want to but he also knows that she needs to tell everyone so she can begin the healing process.

As much as this story was about Alexi and her journey to begin the healing process, this story was also about Bodee and how he was going to be his mom’s voice unlike before. Bodee was the standout character in this book. I loved him. Like a lot. He was amazing and the way he cared about Alexi was sweet without being cheesy.

I absolutely didn’t like her older sister Kayla. She seemed very immature for being 8 years older than Alexi. Yet at the end of this book, she turned into the sister that Alexi desperately deserved which of course made me really happy.

Before I forget, I need to gush about the writing for a bit. How absolutely gorgeous it was. It reminded me a lot of Katja Millay’s writing but Courtney still maintained her own voice in her writing. So it was beautiful, reminiscent of Katja Millay’s writing but it was still unique which I really loved. 

This book had all the feels and the amazing characters in it. It was an indescribable book. I am sure I’ll have a hangover from this book for awhile. It was that amazing and sob inducing. So sob inducing in fact that I ran out of kleenex and had to sob in my sweatshirt sleeve. Five stars to this amazing contemporary debut.

Review: Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

Book Title: Maybe One Day

Author: Melissa Kantor

Publish Date: February 18th, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA/Contemporary

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Pre-Order Link: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Critically acclaimed author Melissa Kantor masterfully captures the joy of friendship, the agony of loss, and the unique experience of being a teenager in this poignant new novel about a girl grappling with her best friend’s life-threatening illness.

Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had big plans for the future, none of which included Olivia getting sick. Still, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her friend.

Even when she isn’t sure what to say.

Even when Olivia misses months of school.

Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin, Olivia’s crush.

The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing that Olivia will beat this, and everything will go back to the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for her to even imagine.

In this incandescent page-turner, which follows in the tradition of The Fault in Our Stars, Melissa Kantor artfully explores the idea that the worst thing to happen to you might not be something that is actually happening to you. Raw, irreverent, and honest, Zoe’s unforgettable voice and story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.

Disclaimer: I received this e-ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for my honest opinion.

Review:

Bare with me here as there’s bound to be a lot of tears that I will disguise as allergies while I write this review.This book was pretty much near perfection for me. As a child I gravitated towards the fictional works of Lurlene McDaniel and Melissa Kantor’s Maybe One Day is right in that very same vein. Actually I would argue that they are extremely similar in a lot of ways. The way Maybe One Day sounded was not at all unlike Lurlene McDaniel’s work fifteen or so years ago.

Zoe and Olivia were more than just best friends. They were sisters, not bound by blood,but by love and friendship.Their friendship made me jealous. I wished so badly that I could have had a friend like that at their age.They were there for each other in way that their parents and families couldn’t understand. Olivia’s mother had the most problems with the friendship. It was implied that Adriana Greco didn’t believe that Zoe was a good influence on her daughter.

Once Olivia starts treatment, it becomes very clear how Mrs. Greco sees Zoe. She sees her daughter’s best friend as “just a visitor” That was heartbreaking. No one wants to think that their best friend’s mom doesn’t like them. It becomes clear what Mrs. Greco’s motive is. She’s gone into protective mama bear mode. Her entire existence has turned into keeping her immuno-compromised daughter as healthy and germ free as possible.

Back to Zoe and Olivia though, Zoe is the perfect friend. She’s unbelievably supportive and she spends hours upon hours visiting Olivia in the hospital.Hospital visits are something no teenager should have to do.Yet Zoe does it.She stays unfailingly loyal to Olivia despite the fact that they are living two different lives.

That loyalty is tested when Zoe finds herself dancing and kissing the boy who Olivia has been crushing on. Zoe takes it a step further by not telling Olivia about it until later, a lot later.I am really, really glad that the inkling of romance was just that, an inkling. I think any more romance would have taken away from the beautiful story of friendship that Melissa Kantor had so carefully crafted.  

I loved, LOVED that both girls had family units that were fully immeshed in the book. That’s a new YA trend that I am loving. In the past, the families of YA characters have been difficult to spot in a book. I really liked Olivia’s brother Jake.He was an amazing brother to Olivia and friend to Zoe. Sometimes the friendship between brother and sister’s best friend seems forced,but not in this case.

This book was a very emotional read and by the end of it I was crying so hard I couldn’t breathe. I was sobbing pretty loudly and violently. Yes apparently there is a way to sob violently.All the feels in this book were intense and amazing. This book will definitely be on my list of my favorite books of 2014. It should come as no surprise that I’m giving this book, the full 5 stars.If I could give it six stars, I would.Everyone should go pre-order this book now.I plan on pre-ordering a finished copy for myself.