Review: Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford

Release Date: September 1, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 320
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The Sullivan sisters have some explaining to do. Their grandmother, known as Almighty, has taken offense at someone's poor judgment. So much so that she has given the entire Sullivan family an ultimatum: each member must write a confession to her or they will all be left penniless. Penniless? The girls know this cannot come to pass. How would they all adjust to life without the wealth and privilege their family has been steeped in for generations? Everyone assumes that it's one of them who has so offended Almighty, so Norrie, Sassy, and Jane reveal everything from love to disdain to murder in their letters to her. But is it enough to save themselves from the wrath of Almighty? (summary from Amazon)

I had pretty high expectations for this book because it sounded amazing and I absolutely LOVE the cover. Unfortunately, it did not fully live up to my expectations. Granted, there were lots of elements of the book that I liked, but some just didn't quite make the cut.
First of all, I was expecting exciting and dramatic characters who had dark secrets. Norrie, Sassie, and Jane all went through some exciting changes and problems, but I felt like I couldn't really connect to them emotionally. It might have been because Natalie Standiford was trying just a little too hard. I feel like Standiford could be an excellent writer, but her type of novel is just not a dramatic book about an upper class family with secrets. Which is where the writing comes in. She probably would have received higher marks for writing, but I just felt like she didn't do that well of a job developing the characters. The characters felt a bit forced and fake, and it just couldn't connect to them at all.Overall, the plot wasn't bad... it had a good premise. The whole book had a great premise, but I was just thrown off by the incomplete character development and the characters' ways of saying things like "Daddy-o" when referring to their father and calling their grandmother almighty. I think Standiford had a great idea, and she really has potential, but she was just trying a little too hard, which resulted in a fake feeling book. This book is a bit of a miss, but I would really like to see Natalie Standiford try, try again.

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love always,

Amanda

Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Release Date: 9/14/2010

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 256

Overall:

Avery Hood is reeling from the loss of her parents--and the fact that she can't remember what happened to them even though she was there.

She's struggling to adjust to life without them, and to living with her grandmother, when she meets Ben, who isn't like any guy she's ever met before.

It turns out there's a reason why, and Ben's secret may hold the key to Avery finding out what happened to her parents...

But what if that secret changes everything she knows about--and feels for--Ben?

Okay the back cover and the everything made this books seem so good it had so much potential! Unfortunately Low Red Moon was a miss for me... let me tell you why...

The characters were okay but they were nothing special, I feel like we didn't know enough about Avery to really connect with her, I wish that we would have gotten to know her better so when she talked I didn't zone out... For Ben, there was nothing I particularly liked about him! I felt like he could be a character that had potential to be such a swoon-worthy character but I just found him boring.

The plot was predictable and also sort of boring. Everything made it out to be one of those books you have to read during one sitting where you can't stop reading because the bad thing in the book is gonna get you if you don't finish. Know what I'm talking about? No? Okay, anyway... When I read some of the goodreads summaries everyone was like "didn't predict the shocking ending!", I predicted the ending, I'm not sure if it was my obsession with Bones or my basic reasoning skills, but I definitely figured it out long before Avery did. It's not like it's the obvious choice but if you use your deductive reasoning you can definitely figure it out. And the relationship! Ugh! I hate the relationships where the couples meet and it's like "Hi. I love you." "Oh, hi it's nice to meet you too. I love you." What?! Relationships don't happen where one second you meet someone and the next you are making out in your abandoned house (which was a crime scene btw!) Now I just feel like I'm bashing it, but I still wish there was more to the relationship and more to the characters and the plot. It seemed like the main suspect changed every page! I think that the novel would have been a lot deeper if you would have had a longer time to think about the reasons why each person would try to kill her family. You know?

Okay. I am ending the review here before it gets into even more of a rant than it already is! Hope everyone's having a great Fantasyfest and make sure to enter the Infinite Days contest before Sunday!

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xoxo,

Bloom by Elizabeth Scott (basically just a rant)

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There's a difference between falling and letting go.

Lauren has a good life: decent grades, great friends, and a boyfriend every girl lusts after. So why is she so unhappy?

It takes the arrival of Evan Kirkland for Lauren to figure out the answer: She's been holding back. She's been denying herself a bunch of things (like sex) because staying with her loyal and gorgeous boyfriend, Dave, is the "right" thing to do. After all, who would give up the perfect boyfriend?

But as Dave starts talking more and more about their life together, planning a future Lauren simply can't see herself in -- and as Lauren's craving for Evan, and moreover, who she is with Evan becomes all the more fierce -- Lauren realizes she needs to make a choice...before one is made for her.

I have no idea how an author that wrote those books with strong protagonists that I love went to weak protagonists that I hate! Right now Elizabeth Scott is 2 to 2 for the categories and its driving me CRAZY!! Lauren is the average girl at school who has a great boyfriend and good grades and good friends (wait scratch that, good friend, because she won't open herself up to anyone) (ps. from right now, I feel like this review will get rant-y, so you know *Begin Rant* ) It bugs me so much when girls like that don't give themselves credit for ANYTHING, for instance, on the back it says that Lauren gets decent grades, but she keeps bugging herself about never going to college because she isn't smart enough, though she does her homework and gets okay SAT scores, sure that won't get you into an Ivy but that has to get you somewhere. She has one good friend Katie, whom she doesn't treat like a friend at all, she barely listens to anything Katie says and wont give up anything of herself to Katie in return, she just keeps herself locked away in her own little world. Which annoyed the heck out of me. Enter Evan Kirkland, and she stays the same person she is, only maximized because now she has herself to blame for falling for Evan (and actually semi-dating him) but cant put on her big girl panties and break up with Dave. Who also likes her for reasons I really don't understand. This whole story was scary similar to a non-supernatural version of Twilight, where Lauren (Bella) needs to just man up and pick a guy, and the endless "should I pick this guy or should I pick this guy" left me practically screaming at the book, "I REALLY DON'T CARE, PICK ONE AND STOP WHINING!!" So, yeah, I'm not even sure if this really counts as a review, but if you really want to read an Elizabeth Scott book, I suggest at different one with a protagonist with an actual backbone. *End Rant*

xoxo,

Shelbie

The Turning by Helen Ellis

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Mary Richards is a normal sixteen-year-old girl living in Manhattan. Well, almost normal. She goes to private school on the Upper East Side, having been saved from a life of squalor by an adoptive family. But she’s also slowly transforming into a cat.

Struggling to hide her physical metamorphosis, Mary discovers that she isn’t alone. A whole race of cat people prowls the streets of Manhattan at night, including Mary’s long-time crush, Nick.

Aside from heightened feline senses, hanging out with Nick is the best thing about discovering her inner kitty. But Mary’s transformation is special and could decide the outcome of a citywide turf war. She must decide whether to embrace her powerful feline side and become a pack leader or go back to being a normal teenage girl. Can she land on her feet or will curiosity be her downfall?

UGH! I so wanted this book to be good. I was at the B&N yesterday shopping for books to read over my vacation on Thursday, and I saw this one and was like wow, I judge books by their covers and until now that method hadn't failed me. I mean look at this cover. It’s beautiful! Unfortunately the story wasn't! I'm sad to say that this book was a waste of money. And it was a hardcover! ugh.

Mary Richard can turn into a cat. Actually for some reason, I had a cat fetish at the B&N yesterday. That I just realized. Anyway, The characters of The Turning seemed random, 1 dimensional, underdeveloped, and at some points boring. Mary was an okay character, being in the adoption system she seemed like she could never really have a solid home, but other than that there wasn't much else, what does she like, dislike? Nope. Nothing. Her love interest, Nick, was similar in the underdeveloped part, he seemed to be solely there to tell her what was going on, and so that the story could technically have a "love" plot. More on that, the "romance" between Mary and Nick happened overnight, literally. One night it was "Oh yeah I have a crush on him, but we haven’t spoken at all." then "Now were dating!" In one night? Get real. The supporting characters seemed to be there so the story could have supporting characters, there wasn't really any other reason for them to be there. The plot was okay-ish, from the cover it seemed like this intense, dangerous, thrill ride. However I found myself laughing at times that were supposed to be serious, things seemed rushed and forced. But the idea was there. Finally the dialogue. And I thought the characters were underdeveloped. Ellis seems to be the type of person who's into very descriptive writing but not when it matters. She seemed completely comfortable name dropping brands like "my Victoria's Secret sweatshirt that says Love Pink on the back" but couldn't describe crucial scenes like the first time Mary changed into a cat. The dialogue was also really confusing and I found myself having to re-read pages to figure out what was going on. Overall, if you really really want to read this book, check it out from the library or wait for paperback, it's definitely not worth hardcover price. Hopefully my next book will be better.

xoxo,

Shelbie