Review: Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic

Title: Never Eighteen
Author: Megan Bostic
Publisher: HMH Children's Books
Release date: January 17th 2012
Pages: 204
Genre: Contemporary YA
Source: Bought
Find out more: Amazon | Goodreads

Goodreads description:

I had the dream again. The one where I’m running. I don’t know what from or where to, but I’m scared, terrified really.
Austin Parker is never going to see his eighteenth birthday. At the rate he’s going, he probably won’t even see the end of the year. But in the short time he has left there’s one thing he can do: He can try to help the people he loves live—even though he never will. It’s probably hopeless. But he has to try.

First sentence:

I had the dream again.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars


I made a mistake reading Never Eighteen so shortly after reading John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. Both have MCs with cancer, and with just a week in between reading the two books, I couldn't help but compare. And while Never Eighteen is an okay book, it just can't live up to how amazing The Fault in Our Stars is.


I couldn't really connect to Austin. We jump right into the action, and immediately go on Austin's journey with him. I think I would have preferred a longer introduction, to first read about Austin's life in general before starting the actual story. The way it is, I never felt like I really got to know Austin. There's a lot of dialogue and not all that much description, and I would have liked to know more about Austin's thoughts and emotions. Even though we have a first-person narrative, I don't feel the reader really got to be inside his head, to understand him as a person. I just didn't get him - his personality, his emotions, or his motivations. And since I couldn't connect with Austin, I couldn't really get into the story - I didn't cry once, and it's usually guaranteed I'll cry like a baby while reading a book dealing with a topic like this.


I also found it kind of strange how strong, how heroic the portrayal of Austin is towards the end. This may just be because The Fault in Our Stars - I don't want to get into it to much, but there's a scene in that book addressing critically how cancer kids are portrayed as heroes - but it doesn't seem realistic how strong Austin is. He doesn't break down or cry once, and he doesn't seem scared of dying at all. I know I can't really judge that because, well, if he can handle dying so well, that's good, but I just don't know how realistic it is that he's always only thinking of how this will affect the poeple close to him and never once worries about what will happen to him when he dies.


I really liked the idea of Austin going around talking to people about their issues, trying to make them see they've only got one life and should make the best of it. But the whole thing just isn't fleshed-out enough for me. We get to see each of the people Austin tries to help once, some of them twice, and there's just a few pages for each character. I just wanted there to be more. All of those characters are interesting, have interesting issues I would have liked known more about, but we don't stay long enough with any of them to really find out about their lives and issues.


One thing I liked is the family's story. I liked reading about his parents and what Austin does to help them. Their story is interesting and I like how it fits together in the end.


The romance aspect is okay. I liked the way Kaylee and Austin interact, for the most part, but that whole storyline is too predictable and overused. If I had know more about the characters, their past and their relationship, I might have liked it better, but the way it is, that storyline isn't fleshed-out enough for me, either.


I really like the idea of Never Eighteen, but I found the execution lacking. I just wanted more - more depth to Austin's character, more time spent getting to know each of the secondary characters, more feeling, more everything. Like I said, though, my disappointment might have something to do with just having read The Fault in Our Stars, since Never Eighteen pales in comparison.


If you've read this book, what did you think?

Trends in Contemporary YA #1: Road Trips

I've decided to start a new feature for trends in contemporary YA! In each post, I will talk about one trend in contemporary YA, whether or not I like it, and give some examples of books for this trend.


The links will take you to the Goodreads pages.


This week's topic is: road trips!


I love books about road trips. I've loved this topic for ages, and lately, I've been seeing lots and lots of books with road trips, which makes me very happy. There's just something about two (or more) people being together on a road trip that makes everything more intense - the emotions, the romance, the fun. Well, at least that's the way it is in YA books. I love road trip books because they always make me want to drop everything and go on a road trip myself (preferably with a cute fictional guy).


These are some road trip books I've read:

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Paper Towns by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Kiss the Morning Star by Elissa Janine Hoole

Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Crash Into Me by Albert Borris

And these are some road trip books I haven't read but that look great:

Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham

Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John

You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith

In Honor by Jessi Kirby

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

What do you think of books about road trips? Have you read any of these books, and if yes, what did you think?


Also, what do you think of this new feature?

Review: Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

Title: Other Words for Love
Author: Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release date: January 11th 2011
Pages: 368
Genre: Historical YA
Source: Bought
Find out more: Amazon | Goodreads


Goodreads description:

When an unexpected inheritance enables Ari to transfer to an elite Manhattan prep school, she makes a wealthy new friend, Leigh. Leigh introduces Ari to the glamorous side of New York--and to her gorgeous cousin, Blake. Ari doesn't think she stands a chance, but amazingly, Blake asks her out. As their romance heats up, they find themselves involved in an intense, consuming relationship. Ari's family worries that she is losing touch with the important things in life, like family, hard work, and planning for the future.
When misfortune befalls Blake's family, he pulls away, and Ari's world drains of color. As she struggles to get over the breakup, Ari must finally ask herself: were their feelings true love . . . or something else?

First sentence:

In 1985, just about everyone I knew was afraid of two things: a nuclear attack by the Russians and a gruesome death from the AIDS virus, which allegedly thrived on the mouthpieces of New York City public telephones.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Why did I wait so long to read this book? I'd heard great things about it, and the cover is gorgeous, so I had high expectations. And for once, my expectations were met!


Other Words for Love turned out to be really different from what I'd thought. I figured it would be mainly romance - the title and cover scream romance novel, and the description focuses on Ari's and Blake's relationship, too. But Other Words for Love isn't really romance, in my opinion - it's just Ari's story of growing up and finding herself. Blake doesn't even appear until page 150 or so. But that's not a bad thing at all - I really enjoyed reading about Ari's life!


I love Ari. She's what's best about Other Words for Love. There's just something about her character that made me love her from the first page on. She thinks all those things I've thought about myself but could never say out loud, and her insecurities are easy to relate to. 


The secondary characters are great, too. I loved reading about Ari's family situation. Her problems with her mother are unique - usually, it's the teen who has some unrealistic goal for her future and the parent who wants them to settle for something more stable, but in Other Words for Love, it's the other way around - her mom wants Ari to become an artist, but Ari doesn't believe her talent is strong enough and would rather teach. I really liked that unique set-up, and how it evolves in the course of the story. I liked reading about Evelyn, Ari's sister, too. I don't want to spoil anything, but what her sister is going through is also something you don't read about every day, and how all of that affects Ari is an interesting part of her story.


Then there's Summer. My feelings for Summer are basically like Ari's feelings towards her - there were times when I hated her for how she treats Ari, and there were times I loved her and wanted everything to work out for the two of them. She's a great, complex character. Leigh is a great character, too. I wish we could have seen some more of her - I would have loved to know more about her story.


Blake is a good character, too, but surprisingly not my favorite one of the story. The way he treats Ari is sweet, and I liked reading about his family problems, too. I go back and forth on what to say on Blake's and Ari's relationship - there were times when I loved the two of them together, but there were also times where I found their chemistry lacking. That didn't bother me all that much, though, since like I said, the main focus of the story isn't Ari-and-Blake, it's just Ari.


The plot moves a little too slowly at times, in my opinion, and I found myself bored a few times. Just in small parts in between, though - on the whole, the plot is great. I loved reading about every aspect of Ari's life; before, during, and after her relationship with Blake. I would have liked to see some more development at the end, though - after her breakdown, I think Ari gets over Blake a little too quickly, or at least the reader doesn't get to read enough about the transition.


I loved the historical aspect of Other Words for Love. I didn't even know this is historical ficiton when I first read the description, and when I did find out, at first it kept me from reading Other Words for Love - I like novels that take place now, and rarely read historical YA. I ended up really liking that aspect of the story, though. I liked seeing what was different back then, and what is still the same today, especially concerning sexuality.


With an easy to relate to, lovable protagonist; complex secondary characters; a great sense of atmosphere; and a wide range of interesting storylines, Other Words for Love portrays growing up, falling in love for the first time, and finding yourself perfectly. A unique, engaging novel. I loved it, and I can't wait to see what Lorraine Zago Rosenthal comes up with next!


If you've read this book, what did you think?

Top Ten Tuesday #8: Books on My Spring To-Read List

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 the Goodreads pages.


This week's topic is:


Top Ten Books on My Spring To-Read List


There are SO MANY great releases coming up soon, especially in May. Seriosly, all those May releases are going to make me go broke.


1. Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson


I loved Morgan Matson's debut, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, and this one sounds even more amazing. And the cover is gorgeous!


2. In Honor by Jessi Kirby


This one just sounds so, so good - emotional and amazing. I'm so jealous of everyone who got to read it early - seems like everyone so far has loved it!

3. You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith


You Are Here has already been released for a while, but I'm waiting for the paperback to come out in April - the paperback cover is gorgeous!


4. Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf


I've been waiting for the release of this book for ages - it sounds perfect for me!

6. The Princesses of Iowa by M. Molly Backes


I just love books about grief, and The Princesses of Iowa sounds heartbreaking and beautiful!


7. The List by Siobhan Vivian


The idea for The List sounds so awesome - I love these kinds of stories!


8. Gone Gone Gone by Hannah Moskowitz


Hannah Moskowitz is basically the coolest person ever, and Gone Gone Gone sounds amazing, so of course I'm reading it!

9. Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John


I loved Antony John's Five Flavors of Dumb, so I'm excited to see whether Thou Shalt Not Road Trip lives up to my expectations. And it has the word road trip in the title, so it's basically guaranteed that I'll be reading it.


10. When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle


The idea for this one is crazy and fun, too!


So these are the books coming out this spring that I'm most excited about. In reality, my TBR will probably look a little different, since I won't be able to buy all these new releases and will have to read some books from my existing TBR-pile, but still.


What books are on your to-read list for this spring?

Book Blogger Confessions #4

Book Blogger Confessions is a new meme hosted by All-Consuming Books and For What It's Worth. You can find out all about it here. 

Every second week there is one topic that has something to do with book-blogging that you can discuss on your blog.

This week's topic is:

Everyone LOVES that book! Why don't I? How do you handle being the one reviewer who doesn't like a book that's taking the blogosphere by storm? Do you write a review? Pretend you didn't read the book?

This has happened to me countless times. There are so, so many books I decided to read after reading loads of positive reviews only to disappointed by the actual book. It's never fun to read a book you don't like, but it's especially frustrating when it seems like everyone else liked it.

But, honestly? There's nothing you can do about. We all have different opinions. I know there are bloggers who only post positive reviews, but I don't want to - I give my opinion on the books I read no matter what. Even if everyone else loved it and I hated it, I'm still going to review the book.

That doesn't mean I feel good doing it. When I hit 'publish' on that negative review, I always picture one of my blog readers going 'What? Hannah didn't like that book? How could she? That's my favorite book ever! She has no idea what she's talking about. If she didn't like that book, I can no longer count on her for book recommendations. I'm not reading her blog anymore.' I know, it's pretty unlikely that someone would think that - I'd never unfollow a blogger I like just because she gave a book I love a bad review, and I doubt anyone else will. But I still think that way.

I tell that voice inside my head to go away, though, and I post the review anyway. I just think it's important to write both negative and positive reviews, even if that means disagreeing with the majority every once in a while. Each person has their own opinion, and we're not always going to agree - that's just the way it is.

After writing my review, I usually go to Goodreads and read other reviews for that book. And even if it felt like every blogger loved the book, I can usually find at least one negative review among my Goodreads friends' reviews. Even though I try not to be influenced by other people's opinions, that usually makes me feel better, knowing I'm not the only one for whom that super-popular book just didn't work.

So that's how I deal with being what feels like the only one who doesn't like that book everyone is buzzing about - I push through and post my negative review anyways. What about you?