Review: Sixteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton

Title: Sixteenth Summer
Author: Michelle Dalton
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release date: May 3rd 2011
Pages: 283
Genre: Young Adult contemporary romance
Source: Bought
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Anna is dreading another tourist-filled summer on Dune Island that follows the same routine: beach, ice cream, friends, repeat. That is, until she locks eyes with Will, the gorgeous and sweet guy visiting from New York. Soon, her summer is filled with flirtatious fun as Anna falls head over heels in love. But with every perfect afternoon, sweet kiss, and walk on the beach, Anna can’t ignore that the days are quickly growing shorter, and Will has to leave at the end of August. Anna’s never felt anything like this before, but when forever isn’t even a possibility, one summer doesn’t feel worth the promise of her heart breaking…

My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Straight-up romances are a hard sell for me. I do like romance, but I usually prefer it as a secondary storyline, with something else taking the main focus. I just have too many pet peeves about romance to enjoy books that focus only on a love story. I keep reading YA romances, though, because when there is one that doesn't use any of my pet peeves, I enjoy it all the more. Sadly, though, that was not Sixteenth Summer for me - while there were parts of it that I enjoyed, there were just too many cliches and little things that frustrated me about the novel.

The romance frustrated me throughout the novel. Anna and Will's relationship starts in a love-at-first-sight kind of way, which always bugs me. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's insta-love, because they do take some time getting to know each other. But the whole getting-to-know-each-other thing didn't work for me because I thought the characters by themselves were lacking; they exemplified the places they came from, but there wasn't all that much else to their personalities. Their relationship seemed more about the things they did than an actual emotional connection - the things they did were fun tor read about, since they're part of the great beach-town atmosphere of the novel, but they weren't enough to warrant the emotions and the drama. And the drama these two have is so completely unnecessary - I wanted to shake Anna and tell her to stop being so stupid throughout the entire novel. That made it hard for me to care enough about either character or their relationship.

But even if I didn't like the romance all that much, the setting saved the book for me. I love books set at the beach, and Sixteenth Summer conveys the beach theme perfectly; I loved the whole island-y, beach-town atmosphere, along with all the little quirks and events. I especially liked the scenes set at Anna's parents' ice cream place - if you're not craving ice cream by the end of this book, there is something wrong with you. The secondary characters are great, too; I loved reading about Anna's friends Sam and Caroline, as their relationship provided a nice contrast to Anna and Will's.

So, really, the romance was the only part of the novel I didn't enjoy. But with a romance novel, that's a pretty big part, which is why I can't say I liked the book all that much. If you're someone with better tolerance for cheesy romance stories, though, I can see how Sixteenth Summer could be a cute, entertaining read for you, so I don't discourage you from giving it a try.

Bookish Anticipation #29

Bookish Anticipation is a feature I do every once in a while to spotlight future releases I'm excited for. It was inspired by Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday. You can check out more of my Bookish Anticipation posts here.

Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano

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Release date: March 25th 2014 

Nearly Boswell knows how to keep secrets. Living in a DC trailer park, she knows better than to share anything that would make her a target with her classmates. Like her mother's job as an exotic dancer, her obsession with the personal ads, and especially the emotions she can taste when she brushes against someone's skin. But when a serial killer goes on a killing spree and starts attacking students, leaving cryptic ads in the newspaper that only Nearly can decipher, she confides in the one person she shouldn't trust: the new guy at school—a reformed bad boy working undercover for the police, doing surveillance. . . on her.
Nearly might be the one person who can put all the clues together, and if she doesn't figure it all out soon—she'll be next.

Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy

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Release date: March 18th 2014

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?

Ink Is Thicker than Water by Amy Spalding
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Release date: March 12th 2014

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.

What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick
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Release date: March 12th 2014

From the author of My Life Next Door comes a swoony summertime romance full of expectation and regret, humor and hard questions.
Gwen Castle's Biggest Mistake Ever, Cassidy Somers, is slumming it as a yard boy on her Nantucket-esque island this summer. He's a rich kid from across the bridge in Stony Bay, and she hails from a family of fishermen and housecleaners who keep the island's summer people happy. Gwen worries a life of cleaning houses will be her fate too, but just when it looks like she'll never escape her past—or the island—Gwen's dad gives her some shocking advice. Sparks fly and secret histories unspool as Gwen spends a gorgeous, restless summer struggling to resolve what she thought was true—about the place she lives, the people she loves, and even herself—with what really is.

Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell
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Release date: April 1st 2014

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.

The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E Smith
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Release date: April 15th 2014

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.
Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.

The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder
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Release date: April 10th 2014

Hannah and Zoe haven’t had much in their lives, but they’ve always had each other. So when Zoe tells Hannah she needs to get out of their down-and-out New Jersey town, they pile into Hannah’s beat-up old Le Mans and head west, putting everything—their deadbeat parents, their disappointing love lives, their inevitable enrollment at community college—behind them.
As they chase storms and make new friends, Zoe tells Hannah she wants more for her. She wants her to live bigger, dream grander, aim higher. And so Zoe begins teaching Hannah all about life’s intangible things, concepts sadly missing from her existence—things like audacity, insouciance, karma, and even happiness.

Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas
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Release date: March 11th 2014

Despite what her name might suggest, Heart has zero interest in complicated romance. So when her brilliant plan to go to prom with a group of friends is disrupted by two surprise invites, Heart knows there's only one drama-free solution: flip a coin.
Heads: The jock. He might spend all night staring at his ex or throw up in the limo, but how bad can her brother's best friend really be?
Tails: The theater geek...with a secret. What could be better than a guy who shares all Heart's interests--even if he wants to share all his feelings?
Heart's simple coin flip has somehow given her the chance to live out both dates. But where her prom night ends up might be the most surprising thing of all...

Review: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Title: The Moon and More
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Release date: June 4th 2013
Pages: 435
Genre: Young Adult contemporary
Source: Bought at Sarah Dessen's signing!
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Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.
Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.
Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?
Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I can't decide whether I should review The Moon and More as A Book or as A Sarah Dessen Book, since the second category brings with it a whole new set of expectations. As A Book, I loved it, but as A Sarah Dessen Book, I'm not sure - there's a certain scheme to Sarah Dessen's books, and Emaline's story strays from it, and I can't decide whether or not that is a good thing.

Sarah Dessen's books usually have very strong romance storylines - she writes the most swoonworthy love interests and realistic relationships. But The Moon and More... doesn't. Neither love interest brings the swoon we have come to expect; they can't even come close to Wes, Dexter, Owen, etc. Honestly, I found both Luke and Theo kind of annoying. But for the most part, I didn't mind too much, because as much as the description focuses on romance, that is definitely not the main storyline in The Moon and More; it's simply Emaline's coming-of-age story. In any other book, I would love the independence of the main character and how much the focus strays from the romance. But since this is Sarah Dessen, I can't help but be a little disappointed, too, if only because I was expecting another swoonworthy love interest.

In every aspect but the romance, though, The Moon and More is classic Dessen. Her writing is in a whole new category, and I'm sure I will love anything she writes. Emaline is another great narrator: she seems more mature than most Dessen girls, which I really appreciated. And as always, the secondary characters are amazing: I loved reading about Emaline's friends Morris and Daisy, as well as her unusual family situation.

I still can't decide whether I like the way The Moon and More strays from Sarah Dessen's trademark style - I love the message of independence, but missed the swoon we have come to expect from her novels. So The Moon and More might not be my favorite of her books, but if I disregard my special Sarah Dessen expectations, it is definitely a great novel.

Review: Blaze by Laurie Boyle Crompton

Title: Blaze (or Love in the Time of Supervillains)
Author: Laurie Boyle Crompton
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release date: February 1st 2013
Pages: 309
Genre: Young Adult contemporary
Source: BEA - I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!
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Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She's desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark's feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her "sext" photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now...

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Despite the unusual set-up and quirky comic-book aspect, Blaze is a very typical contemporary YA story. The novel is entertaining but very basic: there are aspects I enjoyed but also aspects that frustrated me about Blaze, making this an average read for me.

The storyline that frustrated me the most is the romance, for its predictability and cliches. Blaze is incredibly naive in all things concerning Mark; I wanted to shake her and make her realize what is completely obvious to the reader. The romance isn't quite the predictable love triangle because the second love interest doesn't really appear until Mark and Blaze are over, but Mark and Quentin do perfectly personify the bad-guy/good-guy stereotype, and that kind of story always frustrates me to no end. The way Blaze acts in all things concerning Mark... just, ugh. How much she believes Mark to be a good guy isn't exactly unrealistic, but I just can't deal with narrators as naive and starry-eyed as Blaze.

Another aspect that bugged me is the slut-shaming. In the first half of the book, Blaze does not hold back on her contempt for the school slut Catherine Wiggles. I had assumed this would be to show how her opinion changes once she sees what its like to have people talk about you like that. And in a way, that is the case -  she stops hating Catherine once she finds out that nothing people have said about her is true. My problem, though, is that her fundamental attitude doesn't change - Blaze still believes that if someone had done what people accuse her and Catherine of, they would be a slut and would deserve to be ridiculed. The point that even if a woman embraces her sexuality and has done the things Blaze and Catherine are been accused of, there is nothing wrong with that, is never addressed, which frustrated me and felt like a form of slut-shaming by itself.

The family storyline is okay. My favorite part of the novel, by far, is Blaze's relationship with her younger brother Josh - they have a strong brother/sister bond that I would like to see more of in YA. The relationship between Blaze and her parents, though, I wasn't sure about. The set-up is interesting, but the later developments are predictable, and I thought the ending, in this storyline, was way too abrupt - I wanted to know more about the further implications of what Blaze figures out about her relationship with her dad.

I know my review has been mainly negative but Blaze is not a bad book. Laurie Boyle Crompton's writing flows nicely, making this an entertaining read even when some of the storylines frustrated me. And the whole comic-book thing is quirky and fun. There were quite a few things that frustrated me personally, but if you don't mind predictable plots, I think Blaze can be an entertaining read.

Review: Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Title: Saving Francesca
Author: Melina Marchetta
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: March 31st 2003
Pages: 243
Genre: Young Adult contemporary
Source: Bought
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Francesca is stuck at St. Sebastians, a boys' school that's pretends it's coed by giving the girls their own bathroom. Her only female companions are an ultra-feminist, a rumored slut, and an an impossibly dorky accordion player. The boys are no better, from Thomas who specializes in musical burping to Will, the perpetually frowning, smug moron that Francesca can't seem to stop thinking about.
Then there's Francesca's mother, who always thinks she knows what's best for Francesca—until she is suddenly stricken with acute depression, leaving Francesca lost, alone, and without an inkling who she really is. Simultaneously humorous, poignant, and impossible to put down, this is the story of a girl who must summon the strength to save her family, her social life and—hardest of all—herself.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Saving Francesca is another great novel from Melina Marchetta! That's really all there is to say - Melina Marchetta's books are perfection, and Saving Francesca is no exception. I can't explain what makes them so great - there's no set thing, it's just the honesty and beauty of her stories. Saving Francesca isn't about any one topic - I don't think I could give a summary of this novel because it's just a simple, honest and realistic story, and it totally works.

Melina Marchetta's characters are always great. I wouldn't be able to explain Francesca's character with a couple of adjectives because she's too complex and real for something like that. I loved the secondary characters, too, especially Francesca's group of friends: unlike most fictional groups of friends that sort of blend together and all represent the same character type, the group of friends in Saving Francesca are individuals with individual personalities that complement each other perfectly. The family storyline is great, too; it works in a very subtle, drama-free way, with real things happening to real people. I love the part the romance plays in the story; it's always there, but never takes the main focus. There's no unnatural drama, just the realistic progression of a relationship, and it's sweet without trying too hard.

It's impressive how well Melina Marchetta balances darker issues with lighter moments. Saving Francesca is so full of emotions of all kinds: there were times I wanted to cry and times I wanted to laugh. The story isn't the saddest or funniest I've read, but Melina Marchetta's writing makes every moment shine and brings out the raw, honest, beautiful emotion of it all.

I don't even know what else to say. There's no one thing that makes this novel amazing; it's simply a beautiful coming-of-age story, portraying the process of finding yourself in an honest, raw, and engaging way. Melina Marchetta really is one of the queens of YA.