Review: Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Title: Where I Belong
Author: Gwendolyn Heasley
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: February 8th 2011
Pages: 289
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Won from Jen
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Corrinne Corcoran’s upscale Manhattan life is perfectly on track—until her father announces he’s been laid off and she’s shipped off to Broken Spoke, Texas, to live with her grandparents. All alone in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the glamorous life she’s supposed to be living. But as she grudgingly adjusts—making new friends and finding romance along the way—this city girl begins to realize that life without credit cards and shopping sprees may not be as bad as it seems....

My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

It might be my own fault that I didn't like this book. I haven't been reading much ever since starting college, and I always felt like I had to force myself to keep reading. So I feel a little bad judging this book. But, to be honest, I'm pretty sure I would've disliked it either way, because every little thing about it just bugged me.

The main reason Where I Belong didn't work for me, is Corrinne; our main character pissed me off throughout. She's a brat in the worst way and pretty much does everything possible to piss off readers. I get that you're not supposed to like her in the beginning, so I tried to keep an open mind. But I just thought it was too much; Corrinne was just too much of a spoiled, selfish brat for me to handle. She does grow over the course of the novel; that's the point of the story. But it wasn't enough. She isn't quite as terrible at the end as she was in the beginning, but I still didn't like her. I didn't feel like she learned enough to really become a better person; there's no active character growth; just the natural way things develop when Corrinne has to leave behind her life. I wanted her to gradually grow, but it seems like she just suddenly isn't as terrible anymore. I just didn't buy the character growth.

None of the storylines or relationships were explored thoroughly enough for me. We barely scratch the surface of the family storyline. I have no idea what Corrinne's relationship with her parents is like, and the relationship with her grandparents is underdeveloped, too. When they got along and when they didn't just seemed very random to me. In the beginning, there's some hinting at drama, a family secret, but that's never really explored later on; the storyline just kind of... stops. I didn't even like Corrinne's little brother - little siblings are always cute in books, but this one was so cliched, I couldn't even enjoy that.

I didn't see the point of the romance, either. There's a love triangle, and even though I'm not someone who always automatically condemns love triangles, this one did not work for me. It's entirely predictable - there's a hot, rude guy that the MC likes and a sweet guy Corrinne doesn't pay attention to; guess who she ends up with. Neither of the love interests is a fully developed character; I never felt like I knew either of them. The whole thing felt kind of pointless, since as soon as Corrinne makes up her mind, the book is over.

Life in a small town for a big-city girl could have been fun to read about, but it's way too cliched. The descriptions of Broken Spoke had me rolling my eyes throughout; just... UGH. Life there doesn't even make sense; supposedly, the town is tiny, the type where everyone knows each other and the town has two restaurants, nothing else. But it's also a big theme how Corrinne has to go to this huge public school instead of the small private ones she's used to. But how does such a tiny town have such a huge school!? Little things like that just bugged me.

If I had to sum up Where I Belong in one word, it would be basic. All the storylines and characters are basic and cliched; there was no originality or surprise in this book, for me. That, combined with the annoying main characters, frustrated me to no end. I'll probably end up reading A Long Way from You since I already own a copy, but I can't really recommend Where I Belong.

My New Treasures #14

My New Treasures is a weekly feature here at Paperback Treasures to showcase all the books I received over the previous week. I do not take credit for this idea.

Won (thanks, Carmen!):

Past Perfect by Leila Sales (Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon)

Bought:

Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos (Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon)
If I Lie by Corrine Jackson (Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon)
What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton (Add to Goodreads | Purchase from Amazon)

Review: League of Strays by LB Schulman

Title: League of Strays
Author: LB Schulman
Publisher: Abrams
Release date: October 1st 2012
Pages: 288
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: NetGalley
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When Charlotte Brody, a lonely 17-year-old student at a new school, receives an invitation to join The League of Strays, she's intrigued by the group's promise of "instant friendship." The League does provide companionship--and even a love interest--but Charlotte grows increasingly uncomfortable with its sinister mission to seek revenge against the bullies of Kennedy High. When escalating acts of vengeance threaten to hurl her down a path of remorse, Charlotte must choose between her new friends and the direction of a future she's never fully considered.

My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Despite my issues with this book, I have to set one thing straight: League of Strays is not a gay-bashing novel. There's been some drama around this book, people saying that it bashes gays, but that is not the case. There is an openly gay character in League of Strays, and he has to deal with a lot of crap from his classmates because of that. There's also a scene where one guy beats up another guy because he thinks the other one is gay. But League of Strays as a book does not bash gays; the message is not homophobic or anything of the sort. I didn't love this book, but it's wrong to accuse LB Schulman of hating gays or anything like that because League of Strays doesn't convey that kind of message at all, and I think it's important to discern some characters' opinions from the author's views and the book's message.

But despite those accusations being false, a lot of other stuff in League of Strays did not work for me, especially the characters. Charlotte is a pretty boring MC. She's an outsider, supposedly, but we never really get to see that. League of Strays starts when Charlotte joins the League, so we don't get to read about her normal life. To relate to her and to understand why she would join the League, I would have needed to read about her life at school before, about her loneliness and desperation, which is never really developed. I found Charlotte's character to be very underdeveloped; we don't see her as anything other than the self-conscious type so overused in YA. (Complete with the MC believing she's ugly and others continuously marveling at her beauty. And ARGH, I just have so much hate for that cliche.) The character growth didn't sit right with me, either; the motivation behind Charlotte's decision of what to do with her life didn't make much sense to me.

The secondary characters had a lot of potential - each member of the League has issues that I would have liked to read about. We have one girl whose mom is an alcoholic, one girl whose sister committed suicide, and one gay guy who has to deal with being bullied. But sadly, these characters fall flat; they're basically just cardboard cutouts of the issues they're representing, and we never get to look beneath the surface.

***This paragraph sort of has mild spoilers, but the story is completely predictable and I don't see how any could not know where this is going, so I don't think it'd matter to read on.***
Then there's Kade, the character that pissed me off the most. He's the leader of the League, the one who organizes everything. He's supposed to be mysterious and intriguing, but to me, it was always obvious that he'd turn out to be a bad guy. The only thing he has going for him is that he's hot, making Charlotte immediately start pining for him, even though he treats her like crap. To me, he was nothing but creepy. A story like this one would have needed gradual development; he should have seemed like a good guy at first, and then his revenge plans should have gradually gotten more and more extreme until getting completely out of control. But that's not the case; what he wants the League to do is messed up from the start, and it doesn't even make sense. That made it kind of hard for me to see the point of the whole story. I also didn't like how, in the end, it's just decided that Kade is now a bad guy and that now everyone accepts it; we never get to know why he does what he does.

Despite all of the issues I had with the characters, I did like LB Schulman's writing. The style flows really nicely, making League of Strays a very quick read. The pace is good and moves the story along quickly.

All in all, League of Strays was a very underwhelming read for me. I liked the set-up, but underdeveloped characters and a very predictable plot made it hard for me to enjoy the story. It's a relatively quick read, but it doesn't handle the issues in a way that would have made the reading experience worthwhile for me.

Cover Reveal: Pieces by Michelle Davidson Argyle

Today is the cover reveal for Pieces by Michelle Davidson Argyle!

Pieces is coming from Rhemalda Publishing on February 14th, 2013. It's the companion to The Breakaway, but can be read independently. Here's what it's all about:

Two years after watching her kidnappers go to prison, Naomi Jensen is still in love with one of them. Jesse will be released in a few years, and Naomi knows college is the perfect distraction while she waits. But when her new friend Finn makes her question what is right and what is wrong, she begins to wonder if Jesse is the one for her … until she discovers he's out on parole. Naomi must sort through her confusion to figure out where love and freedom truly lie—in Finn, who has no connections to her past, or Jesse, who has just asked her to run away with him.

This book sounds creepy in the best way possible. You can add it on Goodreads, pre-order it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and stalk the author on her website or Twitter.

Also, check out the awesome book trailer for Pieces:




What do you think of the cover and trailer?

New Releases November 2012

New releases:

Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz
(Amazon | Goodreads)

Release date: November 8th 2012

Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched. He does not like the color blue. He needs index cards to recognize facial expressions. But Colin is Wayne Connelly's best--and only--hope of proving his innocence after Wayne is accused of blowing up a birthday cake in the school cafeteria. Colin and Wayne quickly set off on a journey to prove Wayne's innocence, but neither realizes just how far their investigation will take them or that it will force Colin to consider the greatest mystery of all: what other people are thinking and feeling.
Colin Fischer is a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. He's a boy with Asperger's syndrome who sees clues in the unlikeliest of places, and whom readers will root for right up until the case is solved . . . and beyond.

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
(Amazon | Goodreads)

Release date: November 13th 2012

It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for - gasp - the wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's the queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her ... well, pocket. Julia also believes in fate, and that Mark, her childhood crush, is her MTB - her meant-to-be.
But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts ... from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to live a little along the way. And thus begins a wild-good chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.
Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

My Beautiful Failure by Janet Ruth Young
(Amazon | Goodreads)

Release date: November 13th 2012

The haunting account of a teen boy who volunteers at a suicide hotline---and falls for a troubled caller.
Billy is a sophomore in high school, and twice a week, he volunteers at Listeners, a suicide hotline. Jenney is an “incoming,” a caller, a girl on the brink.
As her life spirals out of control, Jenney’s calls become more desperate, more frequent. Billy, struggling with a deteriorating relationship with his depressed father, is the only one who understands. Through her pain, he sees hope. Through her tears, he feels her heart. And through her despair, he finds love. But is that enough?

Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman
(Amazon | Goodreads)


Release date: November 13th 2012

When the sensibly timid Erin starts an advice column inspired by fortune cookie wisdom, no one at her ultra-competitive high school guesses her identity. This gives Erin the freedom to write whatever makes her laugh. Until someone actually takes her advice.

 Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamora
(Amazon | Goodreads)

Release date: November 13th 2012

About a high-school senior, who, in the aftermath of a car accident that kills her boyfriend and throws her carefully planned future into complete upheaval, retreats to the deep woods of Maine to live with the artist father she barely knows and meets a boy who threatens to pull her from her safe, hard-won exile.

New in paperback:


Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
(Amazon | Goodreads)

Release date: November 6th 2013

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part, Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention.
Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: she and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. And Lissa never sees her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling, coming.

The Sharp Time by Mary O'Connel
(Amazon | Goodreads)

Release date: November 13th 2012

Sandinista Jones is a high school senior with a punk rock name and a broken heart. The death of her single mother has left Sandinista alone in the world, subject to the random vulnerability of everyday life. When the school system lets her down, her grief and instability intensify, and she ponders a violent act of revenge.
Still, in the midst of her crisis, she gets a job at The Pale Circus, a funky vintage clothing shop, and finds friendship and camaraderie with her coworker, a boy struggling with his own secrets.
Even as Sandinista sees the failures of those with power and authority, she's offered the chance to survive through the redemptive power of friendship. Now she must choose between faith and forgiveness or violence and vengeance.

What November releases are you most excited about?