34 Pieces of You by Carmon Rodrigues

September 4, 2012 from Simon Pulse

There was something about Ellie… Something dangerous. Charismatic. Broken. Jake looked out for her. Sarah followed her lead. And Jess kept her distance, and kept watch.

Now Ellie’s dead, and Jake, Sarah, and Jess are left to pick up the pieces. All they have are 34 clues she left behind. 34 strips of paper hidden in a box beneath her bed. 34 secrets of a brief and painful life.

Jake, Sarah, and Jess all feel responsible for what happened to Ellie, and all three have secrets of their own. As they begin to confront the darkest truths about themselves, they will also find out what Ellie herself had been hiding all along…

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Book Summary:
It started as a school project…but turned into so much more.
Growing up, Gaby Rodriguez was often told she would end up a teen mom. After all, her mother and her older sisters had gotten pregnant as teenagers; from an outsider’s perspective, it was practically a family tradition. Gaby had ambitions that didn’t include teen motherhood. But she wondered: how would she be treated if she “lived down” to others’ expectations? Would everyone ignore the years she put into being a good student and see her as just another pregnant teen statistic with no future? These questions sparked Gaby’s school project: faking her own pregnancy as a high school senior to see how her family, friends, and community would react. What she learned changed her life forever, and made international headlines in the process.

In “The Pregnancy Project,” Gaby details how she was able to fake her own pregnancy–hiding the truth from even her siblings and boyfriend’s parents–and reveals all that she learned from the experience. But more than that, Gaby’s story is about fighting stereotypes, and how one girl found the strength to come out from the shadow of low expectations to forge a bright future for herself.

Review:
I’m a self proclaimed memoir fan. Before I got into the YA thing, I read a LOT of memoirs. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is my favorite, and I also love Jen Lancaster. So when I saw that there was a memoir in the YA genre I thought to myself, hey! They made this for me! Or not for me, but people like me. You know what I mean.

I had heard a bit about Gaby Rodriquez before the book and movie thing started. I read a news article about her – if you haven’t heard of her before, basically she faked pregnancy as part of a senior project and recorded the reactions from students. Needless to say, the project was a hit (after she revealed herself), and most people didn’t have very much nice to say when they thought she was actually pregnant.

I am not very satisfied with the memoir version of her story, which makes me a bit sad. I did learn a lot about Gaby and her family, but it was all told in a narrative, which meant very little dialogue at all. The memoirs I enjoy the most bring the reader back to whatever memory they are recounting instead of speaking as if they are sitting there telling you a story about it, so I missed that submersion into Gaby’s life. It also means that the book got dry from time to time because there wasn’t a lot going on and it was in that narrative voice.

It is an interesting story, though! Gaby gave a lot of background on her family’s life and why she chose to do that project. Just not very engaging with the reader.

I wish that the YA genre could have more memoirs, but I suppose that once someone passes a certain age it’s not really YA anymore, so it’s kind of a hard thing to publish. So I’ll give this one an okay rating and move back to my contemporary books, which are kind of sort of memoirs

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Book Summary:
The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.

Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan’s peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.

Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what’s ahead.

Steve Review:
Holy cow guys (girls), how long has it been? Honestly, I haven’t been reading much and when I do I haven’t been good about writing reviews. Sorry! But the video games, the video games. You guys know what I mean. Right?

I read this one a while back and it was good. Actually, it was quite enjoyable for a sequel in a trilogy. Most of the time you just want to race through to get to the final book but this one held my attention and I was pleased with the plot.

If you still haven’t tried out this series get to it, you can read all three and they are a fun ride.

How much have you missed my crazy points scale? I bet a TON lol.

Points Scale:
Cover: 2/5 – I like all of it. Except the real-ish looking picture of Deryn? Ew.
Title: 4/5 – Gud title.
Plot: 9/10 – Thoroughly enjoyed the storyline.
Characters: 8/10 – Great characters that continued to grow on me.
Writing: 8/10 – My compliments to Scotty W.
Ending: 8/10 – Let’s go to the finale!

Total: 39/50 – Pretty great score for the “meat” in this trilogy sandwich. Really looking forward to the final book in this series “Goliath”!

Maybe I’ll start writing more reviews again; I recently have read a couple of great books so we should probably get to those ones. Or should I go back and do all the reviews for the backlogged books I’ve read but haven’t written reviews for yet? YOU TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS PLZ. And I’ll do whichever option gets more comments for next week. Okies?

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Book Summary:
Just because Piper’s birthday is on Valentine’s Day does not mean she’s a romantic. In fact, after watching her father and then her stepfather leave, she’s pretty sure she doesn’t believe in love at all. Then her friends concoct a plan to find them all Valentine’s dates, and somehow Piper finds herself with the most popular guy in school. But true love never follows a plan, and a string of heartfelt gifts from a secret admirer has Piper wondering if she might be with the wrong guy.

In this heartwarming romance, true love is more than a maybe – and it might be closer than you think.

Review:
Yay Heather Hepler!!

After reading Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler, I realized that I quite like bakery/candy themes – and what luck! Love? Maybe has a candy shop and a flower shop!

Piper is cynical about Valentine’s Day, but her friends are convinced they can all find Valentine dates. She kind of goes along with them, and they create a love truffle they feed to unsuspecting boys in attempts to find love.

This was a really solid contemporary read, and excellent for Valentine’s Day. The majority of the plot happens in Jan’s candy shop (which, LOVE Jan and his fatherly ways), so as the reader we get to imagine chocolates and heart candies and bins of jawbreakers and and and.

Piper is a very solid character, battling between her own life and taking care of her brother and sister when her mother (who owns a flower shop) is too busy. She is a very realistic character, and each of the other characters are well rounded too.

Overall I really enjoyed this one and am so glad I have The Cupcake Queen (cupcakes!!), another Hepler book, already on my shelf!

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AC Gaughen

Author of Scarlet

1. What is your favorite Halloween candy?
Reese’s PB Cups. They were always the best one to get as a kid!

2. When is the last time you had popcorn?
About eight hours ago. I’m a total popcorn junkie.

3. How many hours of TV do you watch in a day?
Lately I’m lucky if I can get one hour in! Everything builds up in my DVR until I actually have a chance to watch, and I just veg out and have a marathon.

4. What is your favorite weather phenomena?
MIST! I think it’s the most magical, hypnotic thing ever. The streets empty out, everything looks like it’s suddenly in gas-lit Victorian England, and I’ve always had the strange sensation that if the air is literally tangible (since it’s filled with water) then every person must be touching every other person that’s outdoors. Like we all become physically connected in the mist.

5. Tell us a funny story about a friend or family member.
Oh, you just want to get me in trouble! Hm. Probably my favorite family story (that I won’t get killed for repeating) is when my little brother didn’t have his license yet; his best friend did, and at his high school they could skip last period if it were free or something like that. In MA you’re not allowed to have non-family passengers in the car if you’re a new driver, and my brother wasn’t supposed to be in his friend’s car. When my mother called from work to check on him, about twenty minutes after he would have been home from school, he said he left early and went to his friend’s house.

My mother said, “How’d you get there?”
My brother said, “The bus.”
“The bus? You’re sure?”
“Yeah, Mom. I know you said that I can’t drive with Dave, so I took the bus.”
“The bus.”
“Yeah, Mom, the bus.”
“And you went to his house for last period.”
“Yeah, Mom.”
“I’m going to give you a minute to think about that and decide if there’s anything you want to tell me.”
My brother paused, confused. Then he says, “No, Mom, it’s the truth.”
She sighed. “The bus picked you up BEFORE SCHOOL ENDED, Mike?”
He quickly recanted and we’ve all since acknowledged that my brother is the most pitiful liar–which is either awful or fantastic, because he’s in law school right now.

About Scarlet:
Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.

It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.

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Book Summary:
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she’s made for herself- and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Review:
One of my most anticipated reads of the season, The Selection was described as The Hunger Games meets The Bachelor – and if you know me a bit, you know that I love reality TV (and who doesn’t like The Hunger Games?). I’m here to report that that phrase is not entirely accurate – it is definitely The Bachelor, not so much The Hunger Games. Regardless, I loved this one.

Prince Maxon is looking for a wife, and the tradition is that thirty-five girls get randomly selected to compete for his love. America Singer submits her application only because the girls selected to compete receive compensation for their family for each week they are in the mansion and her family barely has enough to eat.

I loved reading the process of The Selection, from the applications being submitted to the broadcast announcing the girls to their journey to the mansion. It was all very reality tv-like, with cameras following them and the host setting up the agenda of the shows.

America entered the house recently broken up with a boy she had loved for years, which put her in an awkward position because she never intended to like the prince and was still unsure of her relationship with Aspen. As the competition progresses, America starts to question how she feels about everything – and Kiera Cass does a great job of keeping action tied in with emotion. Living in the mansion creates a whole host of new situations, and I felt America did a great job of keeping in character but progressing naturally as someone in her situation would, especially emotionally.

My only gripe is that the book ends without the selection process done – but knowing that it was part of a series I could have expected that. I’m just a greedy reader I really can’t wait for the next in this series.

(Sidenote: No idea what the cover has to do with the book. Maybe it will make sense later in the series?)

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Live Through This by Mindi Scott

October 2, 2012 from Simon Pulse

Sometimes hiding the truth requires more than a lie . . .

From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her from the annoying drama. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a stepdad and mom who would stop at nothing to keep her and her siblings happy and safe.

But Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now, Coley and Reece are getting closer, and as Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

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Book Summary:
The story of Joe, a boy who can fall in love but can’t grow up

After Joe’s parents died, he stopped growing up. He doesn’t know where his money comes from. His diet consists primarily of cheeseburgers from McDonald’s. He plays basketball on the level of
a pro, but he has only ever played on the streets.

Then his brother disappears, and Julia shows up. Joe falls in love with Julia as quickly as his twin brother, Alvin, did. And like Alvin did before him, he runs away with Julia to her parents’ hotel. There, he’s so blinded by her seductive, dysfunctional family that he can’t see the truth of his brother’s disappearance
… until he accidentally stumbles upon Alvin’s killer.

Review:
What the?

The whole time I was reading this book, that is what I was thinking. It’s told in first person, from the view of Joe, but it’s not always in present tense – sometimes Joe reflects back and you get the feeling that he is telling a story from his past – and then it flips back to the present. This confused me several times. There is also the whole issue of Alvin, his twin, who disappears – but then reappears to Joe in visions or illusions or something. On top of this whole twisted story that Joe is living, or telling us about, we find out early on that Joe is not very mentally developed – he can’t read, he only eats pizza and burgers, he lives with his brother and doesn’t have a job, he gambles every day. He literally does not realize things that are happening around or to him, and is very naive in most situations because of his lack of experience.

This isn’t to say I wouldn’t ever like to read about a character with Joe’s tendencies, but stacking his characteristics with the rest of the book did not bode well with me. I just… I don’t know. The quirks of each of the characters did not go well together, I did not care for any of the people in the story, and I often did not understand what Joe was trying to narrate to me (whether it be from the past/present mix up or simply not understanding the meaning of the situation). The ending did not have an actual conclusion at all – it was more like the end of a chapter. Maybe I read it with the wrong frame of mind going in, and it is meant to be some sort of dark humor or some other way of reading that I am not familiar with. I just don’t get it.

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Book Summary:
Colby and Bev have a long-standing pact: graduate, hit the road with Bev’s band, and then spend the year wandering around Europe. But moments after the tour kicks off, Bev makes a shocking announcement: she’s abandoning their plans – and Colby – to start college in the fall.

But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest, playing in small towns and dingy venues, while roadie- Colby struggles to deal with Bev’s already-growing distance and the most important question of all: what’s next?
Morris Award?finalist Nina LaCour draws together the beauty and influences of music and art to brilliantly capture a group of friends on the brink of the rest of their lives.

Review:
It’s a road trip book! With a male POV!

Colby is the roadie for an all girl band that has decided to do a tour on their way to drop off a band mate at college. It’s their last tour as a band because three out of four of them have graduated high school, which also gives a dynamic to the story that is not too typical in YA – the idea of the “life after high school.” The decisions you make while in high school compared to the ones after are quite different.

The band consists of Meg and Alexa (sisters) and Bev. Meg is the sister on her way to college, Alexa is still in high school, and Bev and Colby plan on skipping college in lieu of a trip around Europe. Except Bev never planned on going to Europe and Colby doesn’t find out until the beginning of the tour.

The dynamic between Bev and Colby is by far the focus of The Disenchantments, and it is done well. Colby is in love with Bev and can’t understand why she has been so secretive and distant. It’s very easy to like Colby and dislike Bev, as she treats him quite poorly throughout a lot of the book.

The Disenchantments aren’t particularly any good at the band thing, which is probably one of my favorite parts of this book – each time they start playing at a venue Colby notes the looks on the faces of the audience and the transformation from noting that they aren’t good to seeing their passion for the music and being okay with the show. This gave the book an authenticity that I really appreciated, and helped me to connect with the band as a whole.

Nina LaCour has done a great job creating a story that explores the depths of individuals. This isn’t really a story about a road trip, but rather about the individuals ON the road trip – I found myself not really caring about where they were driving but instead considering their relationships and why they were acting certain ways.

I think that The Disenchantments is a contemporary that many people will enjoy. Great for fans of music/bands and road trips, and an excellent recommendation for a high schooler looking for a book who is into those topics.

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Book Summary:
Pete and Annabelle always believed they were a perfect pair-until junior year, when Annabelle became obsessed with astrology. Now they can hardly stand each other. Pete thinks Annabelle has become a total flake; she thinks he’s an uptight jerk. To prove her point, Annabelle dares Pete to open a summer business on the boardwalk giving advice based on the stars.

“You and me and an astrology booth. I dare you.”

Annabelle knows Pete can never say no to a dare. Together they’ll run the Star Shack and read visitors’ charts for romance and see what happens. Will a simple dare lead to a summer to remember or to something even more?

Leo Ladies
You feel things deeply and passionately. Picking the right guy is important This summer you may need a lion’s share of Leo’s courage and self-confidence when love hits a bump in the road.

Scorpio Guys
You burn with passion, but on the outside you appear calm, cool, and collected. When you love, you love forever. This makes you cautious. Watch out for that stubborn streak and keep an open mind.

Review:
The Star Shack got on my TBR because of the Completely Contemp Challenge I am running this year – I set a goal of reading 15 books in 2010, 2011, and 2012 – it was very easy to make a list for 2012, slightly harder for 2011, and quite a bit harder for 2010, just because of the number of contemporary books I have read. I had always been slightly intrigued by this one, and when I researched and found out it was a 2010 publication, it drastically moved up my reading list.

The main component of The Star Shack is astrology; horoscopes in particular. Annabelle has been interested in astrology for the past few years, using the moon phases and birthdays to predict how people would act and even how players on her fantasy baseball team would play. The problem is that her boyfriend Pete is really annoyed with the constant astrology talk – enough so that they break up at the beginning of the summer.

Annabelle then dares Pete to open a horoscope business with her on Gingerbread Beach to prove once and for all that astrology really means something. Unfortunately for Pete, he can’t turn down a dare (him saying this several times actually got on my nerves as it is slightly ridiculous, but whatever).

Turns out Pete has a knack for the astrology thing, and he ends up making the residents and tourists of Gingerbread Beach believers, too. Except he has started to go out with another girl, and Annabelle has to deal with seeing them date.

A pretty predictable romantic comedy, The Star Shack was a good weekend read. There were horoscope readings for different characters at the beginning of each chapter which I thought was fun, but also confusing if I hadn’t met those characters yet (which happened more often than not). Pretty good choice if you’re looking for something light to read in between something else heavy, especially if you’re into horoscopes and astrology.

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