Review: Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors

Release Date: Jan. 22nd 2008
Publisher: Walker & Company
Age Group: Middle Grade/Young Adult
Pages: 256
Flirt Factor: Chaste
Overall: 3/5 stars

Two Juliets,both alike in desperation. . . Seventeen-year-old Mimi Wallingford, of the Broadway Wallingfords, has a life most girls can only dream of—complete with the starring role in her family’s production of Romeo and Juliet.  But acting is not her dream, and she’s fighting for the right to trade her script for a scalpel and become a doctor.Fourteen-year-old Juliet Capulet, of the Verona Capulets, has lived a lonely life—imprisoned by the feud that consumes her family and by her iron-fisted mother’s forcing her into an unwanted marriage.  She will do anything to avoid her betrothed, even if it requires faking a boil on her bottom—or something more dangerous. During the play’s final performance, Mimi’s wish to get away actually comes true when she and her heartthrob costar, Troy Summer, are magically transported into Shakespeare’s Verona. Now that she knows the real Juliet, Mimi doesn’t want to stand by and allow the play to reach its tragic end.  But if saving her new friend means changing the ending of the greatest love story of all time, will she and Troy ever make it back to Broadway? (blurb taken from Suzanne Selfors Website)

I picked up this book during my last trip to the library in the mood for a good romance book. I figured since it was based on Romeo and Juliet, the most famous love story of all time, I wouldn't be disappointed. While I did enjoy the story, it did disappoint in the whole romance department. There was maybe two actual romantic scenes. Enough with me ranting though, let's get to what I actually thought about the book.

While the book was hard to get into, once I got to the part where they enter Shakespeare's world I was hooked. I loved that Selfors took shakespeare's story and provided her own spin on things and made it more relatable to the modern teenager. She did a great job at not making the twists too predictable either, and while this is definitely no tragedy, there were a few surprises along the way. One of those suprises was when you met Juliet she was a spunky and adventurous girl who the nurse referred to as Beastie. In contrast when you meet Romeo he is completely love sick over Rosealine and mopes around for most of the book.

Selfors also did a good job at keeping the setting accurate to what you would find during the time period Romeo and Juliet was written. I think the constant setting helped keep some similarities to the original Romeo and Juliet.

All in all the book had a great idea for a story line, but the events that happened only needed 100 pages, not 256. I actually enjoyed it more then I thought I would after reading the first 20 pages and would recommend for anyone in the mood for a twist on a classic to read it.

Writing: 3/5 stars
Characters: 3/5 stars
Plot/Setting: 4/5 stars
Ending: 5/5 Stars
Cover: 3/5 stars

XOXO,
Jenni

Review: Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler

Release Date: Sept. 4th 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Age Group: Middle Grade/Young Adult
Pages: 288
Flirt Factor: Chaste
Overall: 3/5 stars

From internet stars Elle and Blair Fowler comes a scintillating new novel that takes readers Beneath the Glitter of the glitzy L.A. social scene.

Welcome to a place where dreams are made.  And where nothing—and no one—is ever what it seems.

After their make-up and fashion videos went viral on YouTube, sisters Sophia and Ava London are thrust into the exclusive life of the Los Angeles elite.  Here fabulous parties, air kisses, paparazzi and hot guys all come with the scene. Sophia finds herself torn between a gorgeous bartender and a millionaire playboy, and Ava starts dating an A-list actor.  But as they’re about to discover, the life they’ve always dreamed of comes with a cost.

Beneath the glitter of the Hollywood social scene lies a world of ruthless ambition, vicious gossip…and betrayal.  Someone close to them, someone they trust, is working in the shadows to bring the London sisters falling down. And once the betrayal is complete, Sophia and Ava find themselves knee-deep in a scandal that could take away everything they care about, including the one thing that matters most—each other. (Blurb taken from Goodreads)

I'm going to be blunt with you and just say I did not have high hopes for this book. While I have a secret obsession with Youtube beauty gurus, I didn't necessarily think a novel written by two of them would have a whole lot of literary merit. I mean, their gig is beauty stuff, right? However, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by the Fowler sisters' first novel.

 It took me a couple of chapters to warm up to Beneath the Glitter. At first, Sophia and Ava London - the two main characters - seemed a little fake. They're easy going, fun girls who, for the most part, are enjoyable characters. However, during the first few chapters, it felt like the Fowler sisters were trying a bit too hard to give the Londons more serious sides. The first chapter opens up with Sophia being overly broody about a breakup and it just seems kind of forced. As the book progressed though, you get to see the more fun and bubbly side of the sisters. It was really fun to follow the London sisters around as they hung out with their quirky L.A. friends and experienced the outlandish things you could only see in Hollywood. The Fowler sisters really included a good mix of characters, from the eccentric best friend Lily to the adorable animal shelter volunteer, Dalton. These fun characters combined with the always interesting plot line - which included mingling with movie stars, rescuing animals, 46 courses of champagne tasting, and even sabotage - made for a quick, fun read that I finished in under a day.

As far as the writing was concerned, I had a love hate relationship with this book. The Fowler sisters wrote this book with the help of a writing partner and there were times when you definitely noticed. As a whole, the book seemed to be written very similarly to The Clique Series by Lisi Harrison. It was very fun and fluffy with a decent amount of drama mixed in. The end of the chapters even featured a LonDOs and LonDON'Ts list that reminded me a lot of  Massie's State of the Union lists that appear in Harrison's series. However, while I did enjoy this style of writing, like I said before, you could definitely tell that the Fowlers used a writing partner. Every once in a while you would come across a part of the novel that was over-embellished and used too many similes and too much imagery. You could tell that this was where the writing partner came in and kind of 'made stuff pretty.' The writing partner's style really clashed with the rest of the book and was easily distracting. I think there was one scene in the book where it literally said "the room was pregnant with emotion", which, after reading only a couple of pages of the book, you could tell didn't really fit with the overall style and tone of the book. What bugged me the most about this over-embellishing was the fact that there were parts of the book that weren't embellished that really needed to be! I mean, you get a paragraph long description of a look in a character's eyes when it's not even important, yet when the London sisters have their first kisses in the book (or any of the other kisses for that matter), you basically get one line that just says "They kissed."! Talk about frustrating. However, clashing writing styles aside, the writing was still decent enough that I finished the book relatively quickly and actually did enjoy it.

Overall, this was a quick, easy and fun read. The London sisters made interesting main characters, the plot was really entertaining, and I absolutely loved the cast of characters. If you want something deep and thought provoking, this isn't the book for you. However, if you would like a light read and enjoy books like The Clique Series by Lisi Harrison, Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler is perfect for you. Also, bonus! The book has a good sort-of cliffhanger ending that sets up for the next book in the series! Which, just FYI, I am definitely picking up when it comes out in Summer 2013.


Writing: 3.5/5 stars
Characters: 4/5 stars
Plot/Setting: 3.5/5 stars
Ending: 5/5 Stars
Cover: 3/5 stars

Love always,
 Amanda

Review: Deviant by Adrian Mckinty

Release Date: October 1, 2011
Publisher: Amulet Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 368
Overall: 3/5 Stars
Source: Netgalley ARC

Summary From Amazon: Danny Lopez is new in town. He made a mistake back home in Las Vegas, and now he has landed at an experimental school in Colorado for “tough cases.” At the Cobalt Charter School, everything is scripted—what the teachers say, what the students reply—and no other speaking is allowed. This supercontrolled environment gives kids a second chance to make something of themselves. But with few freedoms, the students become sitting ducks for a killer determined to “clean up” Colorado Springs.

I hadn't heard much about Deviant or Adrian McKinty before, so when I picked up this book I wasn't sure what to expect. But before I get on to the actual review I'd like to bring up some things that are incorrect from the blurb (which really bugs me). First, Danny did not make a mistake in Las Vegas, or at least the book doesn't say so. Instead, his mother gets a new job in Colorado so that's how they moved there. Also, the blurb makes it sound like the children are getting threatened or something at school. This is not the case as most of the action takes place outside of the school. Just had to set that straight before the review.

Anyways, this book was a pleasant surprise, but also had a few let downs. I found that it had a good plot that kept you interested as you tried to figure out who terrorized the town. (Okay, terrorized isn't exactly the right word, but I don't want to give anything away.) There was a good mix of characters, although it seemed like all the guys liked Danny's friend Tony (Antonia), which got a bit repetitive. I did like the two warring friend groups in the school, as they provided a lot of action and helped the reader make real life connections. As far as subplots, there was a lot going on. First there was Danny and Tony's group being detectives about the town criminal, then the dynamics between the two groups at school, Danny and the Principal's relationship, Tony and Danny's relationship, and the short chapters from the criminal's POV. However, I felt like there was so much going on that Adrian McKinty didn't have enough time to develop a main plot. I think maybe the author was trying to add depth to their story, but it just came off as trying too hard. McKinty tried adding little idiosyncrasies to the characters and giving them more purpose, but it just didn't work. I thought it was strange that Danny called his mom Juanita even though she was his biological Mom and he lived with her his whole life. Danny's issues with his MIA biological father were also just sort of thrown in there and felt out of place. As for the criminal(s), because the author focused on so much else throughout the book we only got a vague idea of their purpose for what they did. So overall, McKinty was good at throwing in bits of mystery and suspense, but tried too hard when attempting to give the book some depth. It was still a good book, but just a bit lacking for me.

Writing: 4/5 stars

Characters: 3.5/5 stars

Plot: 3/5 stars

Ending: 4.5/5 stars

Cover: 4/5 stars

Feel free to tell me what you thought!

Love always,

Amanda

Review: Unexpected Development by Marlene Perez

Release date: Sep 4, 2004
Publisher: Roaring Book Press
Age Group: (older) Young Adult
Pages: Hardcover - 176
Overall: 3/5 stars

"I'm not sure you really want to get into what I did this summer, Mrs. Westland. Sex. Sex is how I spent my summer vacation." Megan knows twenty different words for "breasts," and can recite them alphabetically-but she can't remember the last time a guy looked her in the eye first, not the chest. Size matters, as Megan found out in the 5th grade, when she developed the largest breasts in the class. Now she's 17 and wearing her twin brothers' baggy sweatshirts can't hide the fact-two facts, really. When her summer job at Pancake Palace puts her in close touch with Jake, who smells like "temptation and Ivory soap," Megan wonders if he can like her for herself, not just her body. Can lusty, busty Megan learn to trust Jake -and herself? Megan tells about her summer of sex in somewhat poignant and very funny journal entries to her favorite teacher. (Summary from Goodreads)

I picked up this book on a recent trip to Half Price Books, thinking it would be a fun, quirky coming of age story. However, I have to say the book didn't start out on a high note for me. For some reason, I just couldn't connect with the characters or the writing. Maybe it's because I'm so different from the main character, but I just couldn't relate to her insecurity or overreactions to everything. However, Marlene Perez did a good job at making Megan sound like a real person. As the story moved on, I started to connect with the characters. After all, they were teenagers dealing with basic teenage stuff: their first job, family issues, change of friends groups, and sex and relationships. However, Megan and Jake's relationship progressed a little too fast for me, it seemed like they were dating within two days and having a lover's spat within another! But other than that, I thought Perez did a good job portraying your average teen romance. Perez also did a great job using the minor characters throughout the story to form an interesting subplot. While some of the things that happened in the book didn't seem entirely believable, it somehow worked. It was like watching teens on a reality TV show, you wonder how they can be so different from you. Overall, Unexpected Development by Marlene Perez was a quick, easy read. She did a good job portraying teen issues, and I really enjoyed the ending because it wasn't your typical happily ever after. It wasn't one of my favorite books, but it's a great read for a day in bed.

Writing: 3 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Ending: 5 stars
Cover: 4 stars

I hope you enjoyed this review!

Love always,

Amanda

Review: Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe

Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe
Release date: April 13, 2011
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 322
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Author (Brian Rowe)
Overall: 3/5 Stars

Seventeen-year-old Cameron Martin has a huge problem: he’s aging a whole year of his life with each passing day. High school is hard enough; imagine rapidly aging from seventeen to seventy in a matter of weeks, with no logical explanation, and with prom, graduation, and the state championship basketball game on the horizon. That’s what happens to Cameron, a mischievous pretty boy who has never had to face a day looking anything but perfect. It starts with a slowing metabolism, followed by gray hair, wrinkles, and heart palpitations. Within days his girlfriend dumps him, his plastic surgeon father forces him to get a facelift, and his terrifying high school librarian seduces him to have sex with her. All he wants to do is go back to normal, but no one, not even the best doctors, can diagnose his condition. When he finds love with a young woman who may or may not be an all-powerful witch, he realizes that the only hope for his survival might be with the one person who instigated his condition in the first place... (Summary from Amazon)

When I received a review request from Brian Rowe, I was actually genuinely excited to read this book. It seemed like a really good premise, and the cover is pretty cool. However, my reading relationship with this book was a bit rocky. It started off being just your typical easy YA read. It centered around the main character Cameron, a pretty - boy on the basketball team who had it all. I knew from the first few pages that I wasn't going to be a huge fan of Cameron or his girlfriend. They both seemed a little shallow, and had a tendency to blow things out of proportion. That's my main complaint with the book. In the whole first half of the book Cameron is being a bit of a drama queen, and embodied everything I'd dislike in a real life guy. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing, since the whole book is about Cameron learning to appreciate what he has. And in the last half of the book Cameron does go through that journey and appreciate the good things in his life. By the end of the book, thank the lord, Cameron seems to have improved a lot and realize how shallow and pointless the life he led before was, and he even has brief moments of romance with the mysterious pizza waitress! Overall, the plot is great, the writing and characters ok, and the book has its brief "Aw" moments. While at times the book seems a bit unrealistic ( are there really people like Charisma out there? And who falls in love in a matter of days?), it makes for a good, light read, especially in the second half. In the end, Happy Birthday to Me is sort of like a teen Disney movie. (Think Lemonade Mouth.) It can be really great and exciting, but it's nothing like real life.

Writing: 3 stars
Plot/Setting: 5 stars
Characters: 2 stars
Ending: 4 stars
Cover: 4 stars

Love always,

Amanda

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Release Date: 3/10/09
Publisher: Gollancz
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 310
Overall:

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

I heard extremely good reviews of this book. Based on the awesome reviews and awards it's won I expected a book parallel to those I love like The Hunger Games, Gone, etc. however I didn't come to like this book nearly as much.

One of the problems was that I didn't particularity like any of the characters. Mary annoyed me, she seemed to think that she cared about everyone but only did things for herself. I didn't get how her and Travis' relationship grew, or even came to be... it just sort of was... she also was really wish-y wash-y between whether she liked Travis, or Harry, or if neither of them was enough for her. I really did like Jed, I liked his struggle and his drive, opposite than Mary he seemed to do things for everyone, rather than himself.

From the description, the plot seemed twisted and fastpaced. However the plot seemed really choppy, either it was moving really slow, or moving too fast for me to keep up with.

However, the way Carrie Ryan writes was beautiful, she wrote with a gritty tone and detailed the scenery beautifully. Her post-apocalyptic world seemed real and would be a fantasy lovers dream.

Overall, it wasn't a bad read and everyone else seemed to like it. So maybe it's just me.
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xoxo,
Shelbie

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Release Date: 10/1/2006
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 336
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When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel.

Okay so I don't really know what to say about this book. After reading it I was just like "ehh".

The way Johnson writes is annoying because more than halfway into the book I really didn't know ANYTHING about the main character, other than that she was on a (ridiculous) journey. It was all action and no thought. It was not insightful, the main character was not likeable. She was just like...doing things. She didn't have very many thoughts. And never very insightful ones (I like this boy! I am sad. I am happy. I am angry. COME ON). There was no attempt made to make her a human, a believable character. Also the end was frustrating but kind of oddly moving (a little) at the same time

There were also things that Johnson wrote about that didn't make sense, such as where apparently she thought it was necessary to mention that Ginny checked her backpack into coat check at the Louvre however she didn't find it necessary to say that she picked it back up instead she magically had her backpack? That stuff confused me.

So yeah, 13 Little Blue Envelopes was okay, I'm glad it was a library book and I didn't buy it. Sorry the review was rant-y at the beginning. :)

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xoxo,
Shelbie

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Release Date: 8/21/2007
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 271
Overall:

If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn’t have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn’t have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn’t have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia.

She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place.

She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her “Chief.” She'd get all his inside jokes, and maybe he wouldn't be so frustrated with her for forgetting things she can't possibly remember.

She’d know about her mom’s new family. She’d know about her dad’s fiancée. She wouldn't have to spend her junior year relearning all the French she supposedly knew already.

She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss him back.

First off, I feel super bad about the fact that I haven't posted in a week. But I've recently found out that I am head of the make-up department for two schools in our district. So that keeps me a little bit busy. When I'm not doing that, I have schoolwork to do. So those are my excuses for why I haven't been around. To the review!

I'm so out of reviewing I don't even know where to start, but it's one of those things were if I don't get back on the wagon now I feel like I'm never going to...

This story was okay. It was written really well but the characters kept annoying me by doing annoying things and not learning from their mistakes. I'm not going to go into detail about how each character specifically annoyed me because that would be what this whole review would be. One person I did like was Will he wasn't nearly as annoying as the rest of the characters :)

Like I said, the story was written very well. It really felt like a person was going through gaining her memory back. It was very real and surprisingly easy to relate to.

Overall. If you don't have anything to read and are going to the library I would pick it up. But I don't think it's good enough to buy.

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xoxo,
Shelbie

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Release Date: February 2, 2009
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 301
Overall:

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

Okay, I just finished this book, and I honestly can't remember it. Which is why I gave it an average review! :) There wasn't anything overly amazing or horrible about any of the characters, except I didn't really specifically like Damen, I just didn't think he was that great. As for any other characters I can't really remember, which means I probably shouldn't be doing this review. But I am anyway!

Honestly the rest was okay. The plot was interesting but obviously not very memorable. The writing was not that awesome.

And now we're finished with the vague and average not that great review!

(sorry it sucked, like I said I just finished the book but don't remember it)

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The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

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Everyone knows the unwritten rule: You don't like your best friend's boyfriend.

Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years. He's easy to talk to, supersmart, and totally gets her. Lately it even seems like he's paying extra attention to her. Everything would be perfect except for two things: Ryan is Brianna's boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah's best friend.

Sarah forces herself to avoid Ryan and tries to convince herself not to like him. She feels so guilty for wanting him, and the last thing she wants is to hurt her best friend. But when she's thrown together with Ryan one night, something happens. It's wonderful...and awful.

Sarah is torn apart by guilt, but what she feels is nothing short of addiction, and she can't stop herself from wanting more...

I loved all of the books by Elizabeth Scott that I had read so far, I was at my local B&N buying a book for my mother for Mothers Day (Happy Mother’s Day btw!) and I thought I would treat myself to the latest Elizabeth Scott book, The Unwritten Rule, and now I just finished it, so at 12:34 am I will review it for you. Okay first of all, out of all of Elizabeth Scott's books I've read, I probably liked this one the least, don't get me wrong, I still gave this one three stars, but it was sort of eh compared to the other ones, Something, Maybe, and Perfect You which I LOVED.

Sarah knows the unwritten rule, that you don't love your best friend's boyfriend, but she loves Ryan anyway, and she’s trying to stop. One thing about The Unwritten Rule was I loved the idea of being so trapped where you liked this guy so much, but deciding between him and your friend would be unconditionally hard, which I could totally relate to. Second, the characters, I feel like Elizabeth Scott's male counterparts are usually so, what's the word, spunky (!) which Ryan was not, he was totally sweet but I was expecting someone with a little more spunk, I absolutely HATED Brianna, at the beginning I felt sorry for her because her family sucked but she was just so horrible to Sarah (her best friend!) and Ryan (her boyfriend!) I just wanted to slap her. Finally Sarah, oh Sarah, I think she definitely needed a backbone, she just kept crawling back to Brianna (horrible, horrible Brianna) even after Brianna openly dumped her. The characters were definitely lacking a certain middle ground, and backbones! The one thing to make up for the terrible characters is Scott's amazing writing! I love the way the chapters flowed and the dialogue between Sarah and Ryan, and all their inside jokes, it was very cute.

Overall, I would recommend a different book for your recommended dose of Elizabeth Scott, but The Unwritten Rule wasn't terrible.


xoxo,

Shelbie

I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman

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Hannelore Wolff was living an average life of most middle class German's when the war struck. Then she was sent to a private school in Berlin, where a few months later, she received shocking news. Her mother and brothers were being deported by Germany's secret police. The decision to join them on the train to who knows where, could possibly change her life.

After this decision, Hannelore traveled to eight different labor and concentration camps, each a different horrific memory. Yet somehow, through all the suffering, Hannelore managed to fall in love with a Polish POW named Dick Hillman. Together, this young couple has the whole world against them, but somehow they remain hopeful, especially after they learn that they were placed on Schindler's list. But this doesn't necessarily mean all is well, for the war isn't over yet.

Well, I (Amanda) chose to read this book, because we were learning about the Holocaust and WWII in History class, and I've always had a soft spot for true Holocaust survivor stories. I was instantly attracted to the hope and love that managed to remain between Hannelore and Dick in this book, but I didn't have the same reaction to the rest of the book. The plot was overall, a great idea, but it moved too fast at some parts, which ironically made the read go slower. I felt like Hillman lacked a little something in her writing, while I could somewhat connect to Dick and Hannelore's romance, and the hope and despair she went through, there just wasn't any fantastic imagery, or words and sentences strung together well enough that they just made me sigh like the literary nerd I am. I really disliked the beginning,(too fast), but the book did get better as it went on. You could feel Hannelore's joy as she received things that seem commonplace, like warm underwear. While the idea and the story is there, the delivery just didn't cut it. Overall, an average read. Nothing special, but the plot and characters saved it from being horrible.

Didn't love it. Didn't hate it.

- Amanda