Review: Anthem for Jackson Dawes by Celia Bryce

Author: Celia Bryce

Genre:  Contemporary

Pages: 240

Published: April 30th, 2013

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Source:  I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"Megan Bright and Jackson Dawes are two teenagers who first meet each other on the hospital ward where they are both being treated for cancer. Megan is scared and worried about her illness, but Jackson seems to be an old hand, having been on the ward for ages. And everybody loves Jackson! He is a whirlwind of life and energy, warmth and sparkle. Megan will need to borrow some of Jackson's extraordinary optimism to face her and Jackson's future. A moving story of first love and a remarkably powerful debut novel."~Goodreads

 Even though I'm not usually drawn to contemporary romance, I make an exception for issues books. One of the big sub genres for YA contemporary issues books is cancer/illness.  With so many "cancer books" out there it's easy for a story like this one to get lost in the shuffle.  While Anthem for Jackson Dawes very much follows the same pattern as many of these books, it's still worth the read.

LIKES:

• Jackson:  I really enjoyed Jackson's character.  He was so much fun and full of energy.  He really jumped off of the page for me and helped me get into the story.  His adventurous spirit and frequent field trips around the hospital were the best parts of the book for me.  Not only is he fun and mischievous, he also has a huge heart.  His interactions with the younger patients in the hospital were more touching for me than his interactions with Megan.  He was the life force of this story.
• The overall feeling:  In the beginning of the book Megan doesn't want to go to the hospital.  It's strange and new and she doesn't feel right there.  However, after undergoing months of treatments for her cancer it becomes a second home and she feels out of place when she leaves.  The author did a great job of making this feeling real.  I was right there with Megan and it was easy to understand her emotions and reservations about leaving the ward.  I really didn't expect to feel that way, then again neither did Megan.  Atmospherically, the book was great.
• The dialogue:  This is a distinctly British book and the way the dialogue is written really helped the characters come alive for me.  I could hear each one of their voices and every one was made so unique and given their own personality through the dialogue.  Even without being British myself I was able associate each individual with their dialect and that was a lot of fun.

DISLIKES:

• Megan wasn't my favorite:  First of all, let me preface this by saying that I am used to reading slightly older teen characters.  Megan was only 14 and her immaturity was evident throughout the book.  However, even leaving room for her age she was pretty whiny and self-centered.  I just didn't connect with her the way I would have liked.  I also didn't really care for her romance with Jackson.  There just wasn't much chemistry there.
• Where's the drama?: For a book about kids who have serious illnesses this book wasn't very heavy on the drama.  I kept thinking something was going to happen and then it wouldn't.  At the end of the book there were some big events but they sort of passed by without much fanfare which I found odd.  I wish there would have been a bit more heaviness to this book.

While I wouldn't call this story groundbreaking, it does have it's moments.  It is a quick, surprisingly upbeat read that is great for a younger YA audience.  It isn't the kind of book that will devastate you and leave you moping for days, but it does tug on the heartstrings.  Overall, I would say give it a go.

Dust Off Those Classics: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Author: Dodie Smith

Genre: classic, romance

Pages: 352

Published: 1948

Publisher: Wyatt Books

Rating: 3/5 Stars

"I Capture the Castle tells the story of seventeen-year-old Cassandra and her family, who live in not-so-genteel poverty in a ramshackle old English castle. Here she strives, over six turbulent months, to hone her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with sharply funny yet poignant entries. Her journals candidly chronicle the great changes that take place within the castle's walls, and her own first descent into love. " ~Goodreads

With blurbs from authors like J.K. Rowling and a huge following I was so excited to read  I Capture The Castle.  It promised to be a romance from another time, filled with whimsy and spunk and all that other good stuff they had in the mid-thirties.  There was even an old-castle and a, possibly haunted, tower!  All of the ingredients seemed to be there.  Unfortunately I think I built my expectations up a bit more than I should have.  It wasn't that I hated this book, in fact there were things I really loved about it.  Let's start with those shall we?  First of all I loved the style it was written in.  The story is told through our main character, Cassandra's, journals.  Her genuine and lovable voice lends itself well to the story as she describes her life living in a crumbling old castle with her eccentric family.  Although she has seen years of poverty and neglect thanks to her writer father, she loves her family and enjoys life at the castle.  Cassandra starts out as such an up-beat character.  She sees the good in life and strives to see everyday as a new adventure.  Along with Cassandra, there is an entire cast of lovable, if flawed, characters.  There's her father, who hasn't written a word in 12 years but continues to lock himself away in his office each day, her stepmother (who insists her given name is Topaz and likes to dance naked in the rain), her older sister Rose, who  is the definition of a drama queen and the two new Americans who have moved into the mansion down the road bringing an air of mystery and suspense along with them.  The first half of the book was full of adventure and intrigue with these characters and I ate it up.  I was sure that I would love them forever and that this would be a favorite book.  Then things got messy.

Now, I'm not talking about conflict.  There's plenty of that from the beginning.  Mostly what I'm referring to are the love triangles (yes multiple).  I could have tolerated one, but everyone seemed to be in love with the wrong person and this was the main plot device for the majority of the book.  Not only was it confusing, it was frustrating as hell. Everyone was going around being as selfish and stupid as possible with no concern for anyone or anything else and I just sat there wanting to throw the book at my wall.  By the time I got to the ending I was so exhausted and upset that I didn't even really care what happened.  No, that's not true, I did still care, but then Dodie Smith had to go and make sure that no one  ended up where I wanted them too.  I realize that Ms. Smith didn't do this as a personal affront to me, but it sure felt that way.  I won't say that I hated this book, because I didn't.  I could have even loved it if it weren't for so much nonsense in the middle.  I could have dealt with the ending too, but I was so worn out that all I felt was frustration.  So I'm giving this one three stars because the setting, characters and the beginning were all great.  It just didn't quite live up to my expectations.

Review: Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry

Author: Katie McGarry

Genre: Contemporary, Romance

Pages: 384

Published: July 31st, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Source:  I received a copy for review from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.
Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again." ~ Goodreads

I have to admit, I had reservations about this book.  The cover and the title made it seem a bit cheesy and the synopsis didn't really grab my attention.  I'm not a huge fan of contemporary romance anyway so initially I decided to pass this one up.  Then I saw some super early reactions from bloggers whose opinions I generally tend to agree with and I decided to go ahead and give it a shot.  For being a book I wasn't even interested in trying at first I was really blown away.  The story was not cheesy in the least, the characters were dynamic and interesting and the drama sucked me right in.  I fell in love with Echo and Noah and found myself devouring this story.  Best of all, the book had real depth and the romance was not the least bit one dimensional.  I loved this book!

LIKES:

Story is told from both Noah's and Echo's perspectives:  I really love it when stories are told from multiple perspectives.  It really adds to the reader's understanding of a story and makes it feel more dynamic.  Echo and Noah each had their own unique voice and their own story to tell and it was really great to be able to understand Noah's view on the evolution of their relationship and not just Echo's.  I think this writing style makes you more attached to the secondary characters as well and therefore more invested in the story as a whole.
McGarry shows the humanity of all characters, even the "villains":  I was a little worried when I first started this book that the author would focus on the short-comings of Echo's parents and ignore the fact that their life experiences and concern for their children influenced their parenting decisions (this is a common pitfall in a good portion of YA literature).  McGarry left me pleasantly surprised when she really delved into why Echo's dad (along with other secondary characters) acted the way he did and why he made the, sometimes wrong, decisions that he made.
Realistic romance, not star-crossed lovers: Echo and Noah are from different worlds and they certainly don't seem like they are meant for each other at the beginning of the book.  Their relationship is tumultuous and they have completely different personalities.  I was very happy that instead of a perfect, simplistic "bad boy falls in love with good girl" romance they had a real connection and realistic arguments about their relationship.  I didn't feel like their love story was over-idealized.  Their issues and fights were all the more heart-wrenching because of this realism and it allowed for an even bigger pay-off.

DISLIKES:

An abundance of f-bombs:  If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times:  don't overuse the f-bomb. Whenever you use a word over and over it takes away its meaning and impact.  This is especially true with "shocking language".  After awhile it just gets old reading "eff this, eff that" constantly.  For me, it isn't a matter of offensiveness, it's a matter of creativity.

Not enough closure:  I felt like there wasn't quite enough resolution with Echo's mother.  I would have liked to see that explored and settled more.  Then again, I suppose that was on purpose.

I am so happy I gave this one a shot.  There is enough suspense and drama to keep everyone interested but the romance is realistic and sweet.  Even if you don't love contemporary romance I would definitely pick this book up.  You won't regret it.

Review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Author: Myra McEntire

Genre: paranormal, science fiction, romance

Pages: 390

Published: June 14, 2011

Publisher: Egmont USA

Rating: 4/5 Stars

"For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.
So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may also change her past.
Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?" - Goodreads

Set in a little Southern town after the untimely deaths of Emerson's parents ,  Hourglass, is the perfect mix of  sad, spooky and fun.  Emerson isn't crazy, but everyone thinks she is and maybe she's beginning to believe that too.  Her ability to see ghosts has been disrupting her life for four years and her brother is willing to do anything necessary to help her.  But Emerson is tired and suspicious of the endless stream of specialists she is sent to.  That is until she meets Michael and becomes part of The Hourglass.   

There are so many wonderful things about this book: the plot line is gripping, the character development is fantastic and, did I mention, GHOSTS! Emereson's character is great.  She is so funny and quirky even while she is trying to come to grips with the fact that she may be losing her mind.  Her narration is very realistic while somehow being whimsical and strange as well.  The romance in this book is also a lot of fun.  While there isn't insta-love (yay!) there is an immediate attraction between Em and Michael which develops over time into a relationship.  Their love isn't perfect, they argue and yell, they feel unsure about their futures together and they know they have issues that need to be worked out.  That being said, they are great as a couple and a ton of fun to read!

As far as cons go, there aren't many.  First, I wasn't 100% happy about the time-travel aspect at first, I would have liked to have seen more ghosts, but it grew on me.  Now if I could just wrap my head around theoretical physics we'd be in business.  Mostly though, I'm just a little concerned that the next book is going to turn Em and Michael's relationship into a love triangle.  The introduction of Kaleb and his forwardness near the middle/end of this book do not bode well for book 2, and I really don't like love triangles.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this one.  It was so much fun to get into and I really felt and attachment to the characters.  I can't wait to read Timepiece.  

Sara Walsh Interview and Giveaway!

Hello all you wonderful people!  Today, I have the super awesome Sara Walsh here for an interview and a giveaway of her upcoming book The Dark Light, set to be released on August 28th.  Here's the blurb from Goodreads as well as the new slightly tweaked cover:

"Mysterious lights have flickered above Crownsville for as long as Mia can remember. And as far as she's concerned, that's about the only interesting thing to happen in her small town.
That is, until Sol arrives. Mia's not one to fall for just any guy, but she can't get Sol--or the brilliant tattoo on his back--out of her mind.
Then Mia's brother goes missing, and Mia's convinced that Sol knows more than he's sharing. But getting closer to Sol means reevaluating everything Mia once believed to be true. Because Sol's not who Mia thought he was--and neither is she." 

It sounds so great and lets not even get me started on that cover!  I mean, sheesh.  I'm gettin' the vapors over here (you really have to imagine that in my best Scarlett O'Hara voice.)  So, anyway, while I calm down, let me introduce you to the fabulous Sara Walsh!

From her bio:  Sara Walsh is British, but happily lives in Annapolis, Maryland. She graduated college with a degree in psychology, but soon decided that telling stories was much more fun. When not writing, Sara is usually reading, drowning in tea, or frolicking around town with the world's cutest St. Bernard. The Dark Light is her first novel.

Website Twitter Facebook

And now, onto the interview!



Hello Sara, thanks so much for hanging out with us today!


Hi, Catie! Thanks so much for having me here!


First some bookish warm-up questions:


Hardback or Paperback? Hardback


Stand-alone or Series? Series.


Favorite book/series of all time? Harry Potter.


Favorite character of all time? Scarlett O’Hara from Gone with the Wind  


Best book to movie adaptation? Gone with the Wind. Love it!  
(There seems to be a Gone with the Wind theme with this post and that is fine by me)


Mr. Darcy or Mr. Rochester? Mr. Darcy!


And now, on to the real questions:


First, some cover talk. The cover of this book is being raved about and it is GORGEOUS! How
important was the cover design to you and how important are covers in general?


Great question. Covers are crucial. We all know the saying, “Never judge a book by its cover”. Yet covers remain a major reason why a reader will pick up a book. Publishers are very aware of this, and put huge amounts of time and effort into creating book covers that perfectly capture an author’s story. My editor did ask me about ideas for covers, but I have to admit, I’m no designer and really wasn’t very helpful. I knew that my publisher created amazing covers, but I had no idea it was going to be such a showstopper. I literally screamed when I first saw it.


Along the same lines, some readers have said that this cover may be too risqué for a YA book,
thoughts?


I have heard that, and I understand the point of view. In fact, the cover has very recently been tweaked to address those views. To me, the image was always more romantic than risqué, but then I know the characters well and know the connection between them. Mia is strong and determined. Sol is focused, but reserved. I think the models perfectly capture that.


Can I have the number of the male model on the cover? (Pretty please?)


Sure, it’s 555… I know. He’s yummy. Here’s a fun fact: The tattoo was actually designed by a real life tattoo artist, and then digitally added to the model’s back--a very fun job! Apologies if you’ve heard that before, but I tell it to everyone, because I think it’s so cool!


Why did you choose to write Young Adult lit as opposed to adult fiction?


I actually write both! In fact, The Dark Light was the very first YA I ever wrote. I worked in a British high school for seven years, and had always wanted to write for teenagers. When I got the idea for The Dark Light, I decided to go for it, started writing, and had an absolute blast. I wrote for fun and had no idea it would ever be published. I feel incredibly blessed by how things turned out.


What drew you to Paranormal Romance?


That’s another good question. To me, The Dark Light was always going to be a full on, action-packed fantasy with tons of drama and adventure. I knew there was going to be romance in it--I love romance! --but I had no clue that Mia and Sol’s relationship was going to become as central as it did. It was only when people started reading that I realized I had something a little different on my hands. I think we’re calling it an epic romantic fantasy! I like that!


Who is your biggest inspiration, either personal or literary?


So many. I’ve always admired Stephen King, not just because I enjoy his stories, but because his work ethic is so amazing. To be able to produce so many fantastic stories over such a long period of time is a huge inspiration to me as a writer.


The action in this book is kicked off when Mia’s brother goes missing and she tries to find out what happened. How big of a role does family play in Mia’s story?


A huge role, but I don’t want to give too much away. I love a story that contains some family soap opera and The Dark Light certainly has plenty of that. There will be revelations!


What do you want readers to take away from The Dark Light?


I want for readers to escape for a few hours and have fun. I read a lot as a teenager (I still do) and the stories I remember most fondly are the ones that took me away from the world. There are some more subtle messages within The Dark Light, specifically about our environment and how we connect to the world. I like that it’s in there, and hope some readers will enjoy that aspect of it.




I just want to thank Sara again for the amazing interview and for agreeing to a giveaway!  That's right, one of you lucky people with be getting your hands on a copy of The Dark Light.  This will be for a pre-order of either a Hardback copy of the book (US/INT) or an e-copy (US only).  Just fill out the rafflecopter below and good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Genre: paranormal romance, southern gothic

Pages: 563

Published: December 1, 2009

Publisher: Little Brown

Rating: 5/5 Stars

"There were no surprises in Gatlin County. At least, that's what I thought.Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.There was a girl.And in the end, there was a grave.
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.
Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything." - Goodreads

 Dark, haunting and mesmerizing.  These are the words that come to mind when I reflect on this book.  Somewhere between Twilight and Harry Potter, Beautiful Creatures is a wonderful example of all that is good in Young Adult literature.  Garcia and Stohl weave a captivating tale that pulls you in from the first page.  The characters are honest and dynamic, the plot is whimsical and terrifying and the theme is timeless: are we in control of our own destinies or are they decided for us?  Set against the prejudices of a backwards little town in the south and it's not so small-town inhabitants, Beautiful Creatures builds a world that is easy to lose yourself in.  I'm not sure why it took me so long to pick this one up, it probably had something to do with the fact that the book is a whopper at 563 pages (I could seriously use this thing as a weapon if necessary), but since the movie has begun filming in New Orleans I decided I better get a move on.  It took me awhile to plow through it, but it was totally worth the time.  Beautiful Creatures has become one of my favorite books!

LIKES:

The Setting:  The town of Gatlin is really something else.  It's full of history, charming and quaint but also unforgiving and exclusive.  This all leads to an incredibly dynamic setting for Beautiful Creatures.   Gatlin has all the makings for the perfect setting for a Southern Gothic novel: moss-covered cemeteries, winding country roads, rows and rows of ancient trees and a crumbling plantation on the hill.  But it isn't just Gatlin that entrances the reader, there's also the ever-changing Ravenwood:  the oldest house in town and home to the town recluse, Greenbriar: the burnt-out rubble of what used to be Ravenwood's neighbor before General Sherman got to it and of course a secret, enchanted library that is literally underground.  Color me spooked, I love it!  

The characters:  Part of what makes Gatlin such and awesome locale is the local population.  There are so many wonderful characters, both good and bad,  and they make this book something special.  First there are our two main characters and lovebirds Ethan and Lena,  they are so real.  They are brave, but not fearless, intelligent, but not unreachable and completely in love with each other (which, lets face it, is pretty much irresistable).  Then there is Amma, she is like Ethan's adopted grandma.  She can bake like nobody's business, keep a teenage boy reined in and still find time to make voodoo dolls.  I want her to adopt me.  And there should be a totally different book just about Amma and Lena's Uncle Macon Ravenwood, the town shut-in who happens to look like a movie star.  Their relationship is so antagonistic and funny that I really found myself wishing there was more of it in the book.  I need to know their history together.  Ravenwood is a true Southern gentleman who holds none of the prejudices of his fellow Gatlin-ites.  He is fiercely protective of Lena and is an all-around entertaining old excentric.  Finally there is Ridley, she is Lena's cousin and ex best friend who went "dark" on her 16th birthday.  Her character holds a complexity that isn't truly showcased until the end of the book.  She is evil, of course, and she appears to like being that way but you get the feeling that maybe there is something else going on there that keeps you wanting more.  Plus she's just tons of fun.

The message:  The best part of the story, though, has to be the message.  I'm a big believer in creating your own destiny with what you are given.  Lena has to face the possibility that her free will might be taken away and that she will not be able to control her own fate.  This sends her on a quest to take back the reins become the author of her own destiny.  

The cover:  I mean, seriously, could it get any spookier or more ominous?  I probably wouldn't have taken so long to read the book if I hadn't kept staring at the cover all the time.

DISLIKES:

Nothing, seriously.  I really couldn't think of anything in this book that I didn't enjoy.  If I had to choose, maybe Marian Ashcroft would be a little annoying in person (who speaks in quotes that much?) but she had her role in the story and at times could be really amazing.

I loved this book!  I'm so happy I finally picked it up and I can't wait for the film (release date is set for February 13th, 2013).  I would recommend this to anyone who loves romance, a spooky setting and, of course, a little magic.

Review: Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

Author: Anna Godbersen

Genre: historical fiction, romance, drama

Pages: 389

Published: October 12, 2010

Publisher: Harper Teen

Rating: 5/5 Stars

"The year is 1929. New York is ruled by the Bright Young Things: flappers and socialites seeking thrills and chasing dreams in the anything-goes era of the Roaring Twenties.
Letty Larkspur and Cordelia Grey escaped their small Midwestern town for New York's glittering metropolis. All Letty wants is to see her name in lights, but she quickly discovers Manhattan is filled with pretty girls who will do anything to be a star. . . .
Cordelia is searching for the father she's never known, a man as infamous for his wild parties as he is for his shadowy schemes. Overnight, she enters a world more thrilling and glamorous than she ever could have imagined—and more dangerous. It's a life anyone would kill for . . . and someone will.
The only person Cordelia can trust is ­Astrid Donal, a flapper who seems to have it all: money, looks, and the love of Cordelia's brother, Charlie. But Astrid's perfect veneer hides a score of family secrets.
Across the vast lawns of Long Island, in the ­illicit speakeasies of Manhattan, and on the blindingly lit stages of Broadway, the three girls' fortunes will rise and fall—together and apart. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Luxe comes an epic new series set in the dizzying last summer of the Jazz Age."- Goodreads

Anyone who has talked to me about books in the last year knows that my love of Godbersen's The Luxe series knows no bounds.  That being said I was really worried about reading her most recent historical fiction series.  I put off reading Bright Young Things for a long time, but I finally got around to it this week.  It blew me away.  It was fun, sexy and full of vibrant characters.  This is an entirely satisfying read.  Set during the last golden days of prohibition era New York City, this glittering novel follows the lives of three girls trying to make a name for themselves in the big city.  The glitz and glam of the 1920's is shadowed by the readers knowledge of the economic disaster that looms just beyond the horizon.  This idea of fleeting opulence creates an attachment to the characters that is totally enthralling.  I loved this one so much that I decided to do a video review so I could gush and gush.  Even though I still love The Luxe I think Bright Young Things now tops my list of best young adult historical fiction.  5 fabulous stars for this beauty!

On a side note, I really hate YouTube thumbnails.  I look like I'm weeping tears of joy.  Close but not quite ;) 

Review: What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor

Author: Keary Taylor

Genre: contemporary, romance, drama

Pages: 326

Published: April 30th, 2012

Publisher: CreateSpace

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Source: NetGalley - I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

"Getting drunk homecoming night your senior year is never a good idea, but Jake Hayes never expected it all to end with a car crash and a t-post embedded in his throat. 

His biggest regret about it all? What he never said to Samantha Shay. He's been in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it's too late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again.When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he'll have to learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn't limited to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha, she'll help him learn that not being able to talk isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she'll let him, Jake will finally tell her what he didn't say before, even if he can't actually say it."-Goodreads

 You know those books that come along and at first they seem okay and maybe sort of hoakie and then the ending is just perfect?  This is one of those books.  After the first couple of chapters I had decided that it was just okay, but by the second half of the book I couldn't get enough.  Jake is happy, popular and in love with Sam Shay.  The only problem is, he doesn't have the guts to tell her that.  After a night of drunken shenanigans he is involved in a horrific accident that causes him to lose his vocal cords and, almost, his life.  Smart, kind, Samantha volunteers to help Jake learn sign language and before too long they don't need words.  As Jake learns more about Sam's life, he realizes that maybe other people have it worse than him.  Throw in a cast of goofy classmates and a huge, loving family and you have What I Didn't Say.   

LIKES:

• Samantha:  Samantha is the quintessential good girl, but even she has secrets.  She is smart, kind and a super overachiever.  She seems pretty perfect and Jake certainly thinks so.  We find out pretty early in the book, however, that Sam's life is anything but perfect. I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say that I don't think I could deal with what Sam has to go through.  And through it all she proves to be strong and capable while maintaining her caring and compassionate nature.  Sam is the type of person that we all aspire to be and it's so hard to read this book without wanting to just give her a big hug.  She definitely needs one.  Despite having huge problems of her own, she wants to help Jake and she works hard to do so.  Their relationship and connection is really amazing and watching that relationship grow and change was just spectacular.  
• Jake's Family:  Jake has a HUGE family.  There are seven kids and his parents, I would live in the yard if there were that many people living in my house.  But even though it's crowded, there's also plenty of love to go around.  These people, even the younger kids, are so supportive it's crazy.  My brother and sister and I fight daily over who has to let the dogs out, but Jake's family is like a big puppy pile of domestic bliss (not that they don't have any fun together of course).  And his mom, oh my god.  She is super mom, she's constantly feeding everyone and having get togethers for the island kids and she's still slightly intimidating, which I think every mom should be.  The family relationships were really nice to see and it added a lot of fun and quirkiness to the story.
• The Ending! (no spoilers, I promise):  I LOVED the ending.  You know how when you're reading a book, you have an idea of the perfect ending, exactly how you would want it to happen in real life?  Well, without giving anything away, this one hit all the right marks.  I actually yelled "YES!" at one point during the last chapter, that is how happy it made me.  This is the type of ending I wish all contemporaries had.  I just had a big goofy smile on my face all day.

DISLIKES:

• Angelic teenagers (sort of):  The kids in the book could be somewhat unbelievable sometimes.  They were just too well behaved. Well, kind of.  There were other things about these kids that made the idea that they were so well behaved really unbelievable.  First there's Jake, who won't swear because his mom ingrained it in him that swearing was bad, but will get trashed at a party and then let his drunk friend drive him around.  Really?  So you won't drop the f-bomb but you'll let Drunky McLush-pants drive you home?  Seriously?  Sorry but I find that a little difficult to wrap my head around.  A good expletive never killed anyone.  And it isn't just Jake.  He explains how there are lots of island parties with red plastic cups and "glass pipes" (wonder what those are for) but these same kids sign a pledge after his accident that they won't drink anymore.  I just don't buy that.
• Ask for help, already! : Something that has always annoyed me in young adult books and movies is when someone is in real trouble, trouble that a parent could help get them out of and they refuse to ask for help.  This usually ends up causing all sorts of problems and then the parent steps in anyway and helps out and all is well.  Can't we just cut out the middle and save ourselves the stress?  Samantha has some pretty sizable issues that she needs to figure out and I couldn't help but think that if Jake just went to his parents they could have helped her.  I suppose we wouldn't really have a book then though.
• Predictability:  There were some aspects of the story-line (especially in the first half of the book) that were just very predictable.  Luckily the second half  more than made up for that.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves realistic romance, drama and happy endings.    This story will stick with me for a long time and I'll have a hard time not comparing other contemporaries to this one.  

Review: While He Was Away by Karen Schreck

Author: Karen Schreck
Genre: contemporary, romance

Pages: 249

Published: May 1, 2012

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Rating: 4/5 Stars

""This is just something I have to do, okay?" I hear David say. "The right thing."
He cradles my face in his hands. He kisses me hard. Then he lets go of me. His eyes dart from me to whatever's next. 
All she wants is for him to stay. She's been doing pretty well, pretending he doesn't have to go. But one day, after one last night to remember, she wakes up and there's no denying it anymore. He's gone.
When Penna Weaver's boyfriend goes off to Iraq, she's left facing life without him. As summer sets in, Penna tries to distract herself with work and her art, but the not knowing is slowly driving her crazy. Especially when David stops writing.
She knows in her heart he will come home. But will he be the same boy she fell in love with?" - Goodreads

There are few things more difficult than watching someone you care about go off to war.  If that person is your first love, it's even worse.  While He Was Away tells the story of Penna, a girl who is trying to find herself while her boyfriend is fighting half a world away.  Along this road to self-discovery she finds the true meaning of friends, family and loving yourself.  I won While He Was Away in a giveaway a couple of months ago and couldn't wait to read it.  I'm so happy I did.   I don't read a ton of contemporaries because they can tend to be a bit depressing and schmultzy but While He Was Away just seemed real.  It had all of the drama and uncertainty of a high school relationship mixed with the very adult world of the soldier and the girl he leaves behind.  This is a very special book and I really enjoyed it.

LIKES:

• Non-Political:  One of the most controversial and polarizing issues of our time is the Iraq War.  Everyone has their own opinions and many people are more than happy to share those opinions with others regardless of whether or not they are welcome.  This can cause things to go downhill quickly with both conversations and books.  There are certain times when a reader wants to explore a hot-button issue and times when they just want to read a love story.  I was really happy that Schreck kept the politics at a minimum in this book.  I was worried that it would be "message-y" and frankly I was just in the mood for a good read.  Now, I don't have any problem with politics.  In fact, I majored in Political Science in college.  But, from time to time, I just don't want someone else's opinions lobbed in my general direction.  Schreck was able to keep all of the intensity of the war in the story without assaulting the reader with propaganda from one side or the other.
• Family and Forgiveness:  Everyone has dysfunction in their family.  It's just a fact of life.  Some of us have crazier families than others but we all have problems.  Penna is no exception.  She lives with her single mom who was abandoned by her own mother and left in the care of an alcoholic father.  Penna has never met her dad.  Lot's of authors would take this situation and weave a web of drama and anger around it, but Schreck creates an atmosphere of love, loyalty and forgiveness.  Penna struggles with their situation while trying to reassemble the pieces of her broken family.  It really makes the story all the more emotional and touching.
• Realistic Love:  While He Was Away is not a tale of idealistic love.  The relationship between David and Penna is very realistic.  In the beginning of the book Penna is going through the difficult process of saying goodbye.  She is deeply in love with David and has already dealt with him being gone for his training and now she has to say goodbye again, this time he will be going to a war zone.  

"'Wait!'  I shout.  'I'll see you again before you go, right?  I'll see you tomorrow?'

But David is already driving away, lost in the dark.  And tomorrow is today."

 As the story goes on and David and Penna spend more time apart, they struggle to keep their         relationship intact,  but despite this, they still love each other.  Penna has to deal with David's absence, her fear for his safety and his choice of the Army over her.  It is a much more realistic portrait of young love during war time than some other books and movies do.

DISLIKES:

• Writing style was hard to get used to.  The book is narrated by Penna, which adds a lot of personality to the story but also can tend to get a bit confusing.  Penna tends to lapse into these streams of consciousness while she's narrating and it can be hard to keep up.  The storytelling can get disjointed but once you are used to it, the story flows pretty smoothly.
• The ending (no spoilers).  I have to say I wasn't super happy with the ending.  I thought I knew where it was going and I was wrong, but I wish I had been right.  It just sort of fizzled for me.  I would have liked to see a better, more emotional ending, but I guess that this one works with the realism.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a good story about a personal journey.  Both David and Penna grow and change throughout the book and it's really nice to watch.  The love story is also pretty good, but I wouldn't pick this one up if you're looking for a big sweeping romance novel.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Author: Lauren Oliver

Genre: contemporary, drama, romance

Pages: 470

Published: 2010

Publisher: Harper Teen

Rating: 3/5 Stars

"What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing."

I feel like I should be upfront about something.  I've never liked movies like Groundhog Day.  The idea of living the same day over and over again annoys the hell out of me and usually I find myself twitching violently about half way through wanting to launch my remote at the screen in frustration.  That being said, I probably am not the best judge of a book like Before I Fall but I had heard such wonderful things about it that I had to give it a shot, and I'm actually happy that I did (for the most part). My family may be surprised at this, considering that I walked around grumbling to myself and huffing for the better part of a week (it took me 5, count 'em 5, freaking days to read this beast!) but after I was finished, I felt good about having read it.  So let's just dive right in to my likes and dislikes.

Likes:

Why don't we start off with the positives before we get into the nitty gritty.  First of all I really liked Oliver's writing style, in particular the dialogue.  It felt very genuine and believable.  For being such a sad book, Before I Fall  also had quite a bit of humor.  I also really enjoyed a couple of the supporting characters, namely Kent and Juliet.  Kent was very quirky and likable.  He was able to be himself without totally ostracizing himself from the rest of his classmates.  He was also just so sweet.  In almost every scene with Kent I found myself "aww-ing".  I liked Juliet for different reasons.  She was so like the main character, Sam, in that she had sacrificed her reputation and her true self for her best friend, but she had so much more depth and truth to her than Sam.  I really felt for Juliet and understood her even though her role in the plot wasn't really developed until about half way through the story.  I also have to say that, while I didn't like Lindsey, I liked the way that Oliver wrote her.  She is pretty much cold and ruthless and her true vulnerability isn't apparent until she is in the most dire of situations.  I think I would have been completely disappointed if Lindsey would have turned into some hollowed out version of Regina George after her bus accident.  As a villain, she is great.

Dislikes:

Okay, here's where it gets all negative.  First of all, and most importantly, I really hated Sam.  I kept thinking she would do something to make me feel for her a bit more, but I just couldn't  make myself like her.  She starts out as a nasty, self-centered mean girl and basically stays that way until the very last chapter of the book at least in some capacity.  Sure, she changes her behavior and tries to stop being so mean and vindictive but she doesn't do it because it's the right thing to do, she does it to save herself.  This is super apparent with Juliet.  Never mind that she and her prosti-tot friends have been victimizing this poor girl for years, Sam is sure that she can fix everything with some flowers and a half-assed apology.  And does she do this because she feels so badly about ruining poor Juliet's life? No, of course not, she does it because she thinks if she's successful in getting Juliet to forgive her, she'll improve her situation.  I just wanted to shake her!  In the end, I couldn't really root for her.  She is weak and selfish and it doesn't really matter to me that she tries to make up for it at the 11th hour.  I'm really more concerned about the apparently numerous kids that she's bullied to the point of collapse.  Rant over.  Next, I didn't like the fact that Oliver tried to make it seem like the four main girls' friendship and loyalty to one another somehow excused their actions.  I felt like she was saying "okay, so maybe they are horrible to everyone else, but look at how much they care about each other".  No, thank you.  In my personal opinion this is totally unbelievable.  People who are willing to do ANYTHING to get to the top do not truly care about anyone but themselves.  End of story.  Finally, I felt like the ending (which I won't get into of course) was lackluster.  I didn't feel like anything was really sewn up properly and it left me feeling pretty empty.

I realize that, for many people, this is one of their favorite books and I can certainly see its merit.  I had a real moral dilemma with this one.  In the end, though, the book really made me think and it stayed with me for days.  I may have problems with the characters and the plot, but if a book challenges me then it is worth reading and Before I Fall certainly did that.  So, yes, I would recommend this book, but I would also challenge the reader to reflect on the bigger issue at hand: how we treat one another, and the true consequences of our actions.

Rating: