skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Title: The Day Before
Author: Lisa Schroeder
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release date: June 28th 2011
Pages: 336
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Bought
Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon
Amber's life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of her family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself. Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell that he's also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets. The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she's drawn to him. And the more she's troubled by his darkness. Because Cade's not just living in the now--he's living each moment like it's his last.
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I always have a hard time reviewing verse books because, to be honest, I don't understand them. I have no idea why I sometimes love and sometimes hate them. I just know that, for whatever reason, they either work or they don't - there's no in-between, for me. And The Day Before falls into the 'love' category.
I love when books are set over a very short period of time, one day or night. It must be so hard to get your readers to feel like they know your characters if you have just one day to set their story on, and it always amazes me when an author manages to do just that. I just love the intensity of it all. The Day Before doesn't explain a whole story, it's just a snapshot of two people's lives. It doesn't offer solutions or have big plot twists, but that's fine - I loved going along with Amber and Cade on their short journey.
The Day Before has made me fall in love with Lisa Schroeder's writing. This is my first of her books, but I know it won't be my last. Seriously, her writing is gorgeous! It's sparse, of course, since it's verse, but it carries so much honest emotion. Many passages had me marveling at the beauty of it all - the writing made me want to savor each word, even though it's such a quick read.
Amber's story is fascinating to read about. In the beginning, I had no idea what was going on with her, and I really enjoyed putting together the pieces and gradually finding out. If it's not too late, I'd recommend not reading many reviews before starting The Day Before because a lot of them would probably tell you what's going on with Amber. The reading experience is much better going in without knowing too much, in my opinion.
I loved Cade's story, too. At first, I was worried about how the author would handle Cade's and Amber's relationship - it'd be very easy to have a romance taking place over such a short time period turn into insta-love. But luckily, that is not the case here. Cade's and Amber's relationship develops fast, but in a very honest and relatable way. These two develop feelings for one another quickly, yes, but it never turns into melodramatic, head-over-heels love; they just meet and get to know each other. Cade's story is great, and it adds a lot to the novel - I love the whole idea of them spending their "day before" with each other. Cade and Amber are adorable together, and definitely put a smile on my face.
Also, I love how The Day Before refers to another YA book. I've complained before about how characters in YA books only ever read classics, or adult romances, never YA. It made me super-happy when Amber compared what was happening to another YA book!
The Day Before is a poignant, bittersweet snapshot portrayal of two teens' lives, and I loved every minute of it. I'm a new Lisa Schroeder fan, that's for sure!
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish with a different topic for a top-ten list each week. You can find out more about it here.
The links will take you to my reviews, if available.
This week's topic is: Top Ten Books That Made Me Think
1. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
I know, not exactly a creative way to start this list. But Speak is still one of the best issue books out there, so I thought I'd just get it out of the way and name it first.
2. Dear Bully
Dear Bully made me think so much about all the different sides of bullying; there are so many perspectives and ways of looking at it in this book that I'd never even considered before.
3. Butter by Erin Jade Lange
I'll be honest and say that I'm not the most tolerant person when it comes to obesity, and this book really helped me see what it's like.
4. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
A book about incest is so taboo, there's no way it'll not make you think and change the way you look at things.
5. Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff
It's hard to talk about Brooklyn, Burning without spoiling anything since everything in it is so subtle, but the gender conception and the way it's presented really made me think.
6. Hold Still by Nina LaCour
It's been a while since I read Hold Still, and I don't remember too much (terrible book memory right here), but I do remember that it really made me think about depression and suicide in a way that I hadn't been confronted with before Hold Still.
7. Hate List by Jennifer Brown
I'm not a huge fan of everything in this book, but I do have to give it credit for making me think. The idea alone is enough to force you to think about all the different sides of school shootings.
8. Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian
Yeah, Not That Kind of Girl is primarily entertaining, but the open and honest way sexuality and feminism are addressed in this book will definitely make you think.
9. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
There's no way you won't think while reading Jellicoe Road. Doesn't even matter about what; this book will have your mind spinning throughout.
10. The Selection by Kiera Cass
Okay, you're right, this is a weird choice for a books-that-made-me-think list. The Selection didn't make me think about life or important issues or anything like that, because that's not the kind of book it is. But it did make me think about our perception of literature, what we consider good and what we consider bad, just because The Selection has so much of both.
Those are some books that made me think - what about you?
Title: Paper Covers Rock
Author: Jenny Hubbard
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Release date: June 14th 2011
Pages: 192
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Bought
Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon
At the beginning of his junior year at a boys' boarding school, 16-year-old Alex is devastated when he fails to save a drowning friend. When questioned, Alex and his friend Glenn, who was also at the river, begin weaving their web of lies. Plagued by guilt, Alex takes refuge in the library, telling his tale in a journal he hides behind Moby-Dick. Caught in the web with Alex and Glenn is their English teacher, Miss Dovecott, fresh out of Princeton, who suspects there's more to what happened at the river when she perceives guilt in Alex's writing for class. She also sees poetic talent in Alex, which she encourages. As Alex responds to her attention, he discovers his true voice, one that goes against the boarding school bravado that Glenn embraces. When Glenn becomes convinced that Miss Dovecott is out to get them, Alex must choose between them.
My rating: 2 out of 5 stars
I hate having to write this review - I feel terrible about it, because I'm pretty sure it's my own fault I didn't end up liking this book. I could see, objectively, that it was good. But Paper Covers Rock is very, very literary, which I wasn't in the mood for. It requires a lot of work from the reader, and I didn't do the work, so I didn't get anything out of it.
The way Paper Covers Rock is set up is very strange. It's written like a journal, and there are different paragraphs for different days. But those paragraphs aren't in order; Alex, the narrator, just tells us about whatever day he feels like talking about. Each paragraph has a a name, and the paragraphs are split into seemingly random chapters with also seemingly random names. I'm sure all of that has some deep literary meaning, and if I'd looked beneath the surface, I would have seen how smart this set-up is, for whatever reasons. But this book didn't inspire me to look beneath the surface, so all of that was just confusing for me. It took me ages to figure out what happened when and how all the parts fit together. Being confused didn't make we want to keep reading to figure it all out, like it should have; it made me put the book down way too often, which is why it took me so long to get through it.
I don't even know what to say about our main character Alex, because I don't really feel like I got to know him. Again, this is my fault and not the book's - if you'd taken incentive and interpreted more into all of his actions and thoughts, you probably could have gotten a getter grasp of his character. But the way I read it, Alex just bugged me with his apathy. The way Alex talks about himself is strange; Paper Covers Rock is written in first-person, of course, since it's a journal, but Alex also refers to himself in the third person. He has these names for himself and uses those instead of 'I' in some paragraphs. I suppose that shows how he feels like he's just another guy, nothing special, but it felt stilted to me.
Then there's the whole student-crushing-on-his-teacher thing. I wanted to like the story, but the whole thing just made me feel icky and wrong. It bugged me how much of this book is set in English class - I get that it's necessary to show Alex's and Miss Dovecott's relationship, but I have my own English classes and don't really need the detailed descriptions of another one. There are texts printed in the book that the class had to read, and then what they discussed about it, what these texts mean according to the characters. And just... WHY??? Okay, I get that can show the characters' ways of seeing the world and whatnot, but it just made me want to stop reading because, well, I don't care.
Alex's grief for Thomas didn't work for me, either - I didn't feel it. It's more of a what-he-didn't-say kind of book, so reading between the lines, you do see that Alex is hurting. But his grief was never strong enough to make me feel anything. In the beginning, there's some kind of mystery about Thomas's death, but that storyline sadly doesn't go anywhere. I found the ending, - or non-ending, for the lack of resolve - very underwhelming.
A lot of Paper Covers Rock resolves around The Plan - what Glenn and Alex want to do to Miss Dovecott. They want to find out how much she knows about Thomas's accident, and to get her fired so she doesn't tell anyone that she saw them drinking. All of that just made me go, What? Yes, I get that 25 years ago at a strict boarding school, it would have been a kind of big deal if people found out, but getting a teacher fired is better than facing the consequences!? All the drama about that felt very contrived and unnecessary to me. The Plan felt way too complicated and pointless, because why would Miss Dovecott keep quiet and then tell on them? I didn't get all the drama surrounding it.
Really, what it comes down to is that reading this book felt like work. And I read to enjoy. I wanted a story I could enjoy getting lost in, and instead got something much too literary for me. If you like literary fiction, I recommend giving this book a try, but for me, it just wasn't what I was looking for.
Title: Imaginary Girls
Author: Nova Ren Suma
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release date: June 14th 2011
Pages: 348
Genre: YA; mystery
Source: Bought
Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon
Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be contained or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby. But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has deeply hidden away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Dude. This book TRICKED me. Tricked me into reading something... I don't even know what. Paranormal? I'm not sure what Imaginary Girls is, but it's not contemporary. The description makes it seem like it's contemporary with a little magical realism, and the book does start out that way, but then it gets weirder and weirder and turns full-on supernatural. It's sort of ghost-story-y (I know, great word), but not really.... WEIRD is the only way to describe it. But however weird this book is, the weirdest thing is... I kind of loved it.
Nothing much happens for the most part of Imaginary Girls - I couldn't sum up the plot if I tried. But that doesn't mean it ever gets boring. Nova Ren Suma's writing is gorgeous and completely distracted me from the non-existent plot. The atmosphere Nova Ren Suma (yes, I'm gonna be repeating her full name all over this review because how awesome is that name!?) created in her novel is... I don't even know how to describe it; it's unlike anything I've read before. It's super-creepy and eerie and downright scary. I don't normally love all that supernatural stuff, but I kind of love how it made everything in Imaginary Girls even more scary. I had no idea what was possible in this world, what these... forces, I guess, are capable of, and that made it even more terrifying.
The characters, like everything else about this book, are hard to explain. When I tried reading Imaginary Girls as a contemporary, assuming all of this takes place in our world, the characters didn't really work. Ruby is, let's face it, a total bitch, and I thought the whole everyone-is-obsessed-with-Ruby thing to be overdone. It bugged me how much spineless Chloe centered her whole life around Ruby. But once I got used to the idea that there's something supernatural going on, that Ruby isn't just the average beauty queen but has some kind of magical powers, it totally works. Once I got into the supernatural element, I understood why Ruby has such a hold on everyone around her. There's something mesmerizing about her; much like the rest of the characters in the book, I was put under Ruby's spell. I still didn't like her, but she had some kind of power over me. And I guess that's the point.
I did feel that the ending was lacking something. I kept wanting some kind of resolution, some kind of explanation of how all of this works. But I guess that's just my used-to-contemps brain - I still think within the borders of our world's logic, which doesn't work with a book like this. But I also kind of love the wistful, unfulfilled-hope type of feel of the ending. It lets us feel like Chloe does, still fascinated by Ruby's power without really understanding any of it.
Yes, I'm aware that this review doesn't make all that much sense. But that's kind of how I feel about Imaginary Girls - I can't make sense of any of it, but I know it's good. It has lots of elements that I wouldn't normally like, but somehow, it works. If you like dark, weird, creepy books, you should definitely give Imaginary Girls a try.
Also, here's a shout-out to whoever designed Nova Ren Suma's covers - aren't they GORGEOUS? This cover perfectly captures the creepy feel of the novel. And the hardcover is just as amazing - I might just have to buy a copy of that one, too, so I can have both beautiful books on my shelf....
Title: Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick
Author: Joe Schreiber
Publisher: Houghton Miffin Books for Children
Release date: September 19th 2011
Pages: 190
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Sarah
Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon
Perry Stormaire is a normal high school senior—he is busy applying to college and rehearsing with his band—until he agrees to go to the prom with the Lithuanian exchange student who is staying with his family. It turns out that Gobi Zaksauskas is not the mousy teenager that she seems but rather an attractive, confident trained assassin. Instead of going to the prom, Perry finds himself on a wild ride through the streets of New York City as Gobi commandeers the Jaguar his father lent him for the prom in order to take out her targets. Perry learns a lot about himself—and ends up with some amazing material for his college application essays.
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
No, this book is not deep or complex, and some aspects are definitely underdeveloped, as is to be expected at only 190 pages. Some parts don't even make sense, and none of it is realistic. But... I didn't care, because Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick is just so much fun!
To say the plot in Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick is fast-paced would be an understatement. It is non-stop action! I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, couldn't wait to see what crazy situation Perry and Gobi would get themselves into next. The stuff they do is ridiculous, and no, it's not exactly realistic, but it was so much fun to see how these two escaped one almost-got-shot situation after the other.
The characters are good. They're not the most complex ones I've ever read about, but they're well-developed enough for a story like this one. Perry is a nice guy and easy to relate to. Gobi is a character I found myself constantly surprised by - I never saw any of the stuff Perry figured out about her coming. And the dynamics between Perry and Gobi are great - the way they talk to each other brought a smile to my face.
It's not a huge part of the story, but I did really enjoy the family aspect. It's understated, but the storyline of Perry finding his own way and standing up to his dad is definitely there. I really liked seeing how Perry's relationship with his dad evolved, even though the book is set over such a short amount of time.
I also love the way the book is set up. At the beginning of each chapter, there's an essay prompt and what college it comes from. Maybe it's just because I'm so depraved of new adult books that any mention of college makes me happy, but I really liked what that aspect added to the story.
The ending was a little confusing, for me. If this were a stand-alone, I wouldn't really get the point of that last scene. But I've heard there's going to be a sequel, so it makes sense, since that last part does add some intrigue!
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick is pure fun. If you're looking for a quick, entertaining read that doesn't take too much effort or thinking on your part, give this one a try!
Posts
