Tag: goodreads

• Book Review: “Serafina and the Black Cloak” by Robert Beatty

  Posted at 5:15 am by Laura, on August 24, 2015

  Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

  Publisher: Disney Hyperion
  Published: July 2015
  Genre: middle grade, gothic, historical fiction
  ISBN: 9781484709016
  Goodreads: 4.08
  Rating: ★★★

  Serafina has never had a reason to disobey her pa and venture beyond the grounds of Biltmore Estate. There’s plenty to explore in the shadowed corridors of her vast home, but she must take care to never be seen. None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa, the estate’s maintenance man, have secretly lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember.

  But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows who the culprit is: a terrifying man in a black cloak who stalks Biltmore’s corridors at night. Following her own harrowing escape, Serafina risks everything by joining forces with Braeden Vanderbilt, the young nephew of Biltmore’s owners. Braeden and Serafina must uncover the Man in the Black Cloak’s true identity before all of the children vanish one by one.

  Serafina’s hunt leads her into the very forest that she has been taught to fear. There she discovers a forgotten legacy of magic that is bound to her own identity. In order to save the children of Biltmore, Serafina must seek the answers that will unlock the puzzle of her past.

  Serafina is a child of the night. She and her mechanic father live in the basement of the grand Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, and it’s her job to catch the rats. On one particular night of rat catching, she witnesses a frightening man in a black cloak kidnapping a child — and vanishing into thin air. As the visitors to Biltmore Estate realize none of the children are safe, it’s up to Serafina and her uncanny senses to solve the terrifying mystery of this demon man, the forest surrounding the estate, and the stolen children before it’s too late.

  Gothic literature is meant to frighten, to raise your emotions and suspend belief. This was certainly frightening (I definitely wouldn’t recommend reading outside late at night (still not sure why I did that!)), especially in the first chapter. Whoa. However, there are elements of this, particularly with Appalachian lore and mountain lions and the like, that I found difficult to swallow. It’s one of those borderline fantasy or magical realism books, and magical realism isn’t my cup of tea. Apart from that, all the gothic trappings are there, and it worked!

  Not going to lie, Serafina is one clever girl. She figured out the mystery behind the cloaked man long before I did, even as she was explaining it to Braeden, the nephew of the owner of Biltmore. I had my thoughts set on two different characters entirely. Beatty peppered clues throughout — so pay close attention.

  This book’s strengths lie in the scary night scenes — the suspense was outrageously terrifying — and the easy camaraderie and friendship between Serafina and Braeden. Outcasts in their own way, they find and recognize a kinship in one another, and it’s so effortless and beautiful to watch. Neither of them knew the extent of their loneliness until they found one another. That’s probably what I enjoyed the most: neither character expressed sadness to the reader. It wasn’t moping or dejected. But the second Serafina and Braeden interact with one another, that spark of friendship lights up and it becomes obvious what they were missing out on their whole lives.

  A good middle grade mystery with heaps of the chill factor tossed in. Ignore what I said earlier about reading outside. This is perfect for a summer evening if you want a good scare — no better way to embrace the southern atmosphere!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 6 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: gothic, genre: historical fiction, genre: middle grade, genre: mystery, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “The Wolf Wilder” by Katherine Rundell (ARC)

  Posted at 7:00 am by Laura, on August 12, 2015

  The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell

  Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
  Publishing Date: August 25
  Genre: middle grade, historical fiction
  ISBN: 9781481419420
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★.5

  Feo’s life is extraordinary. Her mother trains domesticated wolves to be able to fend for themselves in the snowy wilderness of Russia, and Feo is following in her footsteps to become a wolf wilder. She loves taking care of the wolves, especially the three who stay at the house because they refuse to leave Feo, even though they’ve already been wilded. But not everyone is enamored with the wolves, or with the fact that Feo and her mother are turning them wild. And when her mother is taken captive, Feo must travel through the cold, harsh woods to save her—and learn from her wolves how to survive.

  Feo and her mother are frequently given domesticated wolves from elite Russian households, wolves that dissatisfy the rich and need to be sent back to the wild. But one particular officer in the Imperial Army has a better idea: shoot them all, and shoot the wilders while he’s at it. Feo’s mother is taken captive, and it takes Feo, her three wilded but loyal wolves, an ex-Imperial Army soldier, and village children to storm into St. Petersburg in the middle of a terrible Russian blizzard to free Feo’s mother.

  I was under the impression this would be a more solitary kind of novel — just Feo and her wolves, fending for themselves in snowy Russia. A rescue mission would be included, too, of course, but to be honest I wasn’t sure how that was going to happen. Rundell surprised me: Feo is not alone. Feo is never alone. She’s a fiercely independent character, wild in her own way, but she does need help of “civilized” people in order to storm into a prison in St. Petersburg. The people she meets understand her on a completely different level, and it truly does have something to do with her wolves. Rundell has a way of expressing the deep emotional connections humans have with animals — be they wild or domesticated — and it shows throughout the novel.

  One of the helpers is Ilya, an incredibly young boy in the Imperial Army who’s assigned to watch Feo and her mother before the capture. At first I couldn’t help but notice just how wrong it was that he was a soldier. First, he’s too young, and second, he seemed like a dreamer. As if he didn’t pay attention in training, or something. He didn’t even have the most basic survival skills — making a compass, for one thing — on hand, and relied on Feo and her wolves. But after he gushed about ballet, I knew. And it made my heart soar. So happy to see a young boy in a middle grade book desire to become a ballet dancer!

  Finally, the wolves are more than animals in the book. Black, White, and Gray had very distinct personalities. They’re characters too. And when you get to that scene — you’ll know which one — holla atcho gurl and we can commiserate together.

  There were moments when the novel started to read a bit more like a Russian Winter Wilderness Survival Guide, which knocked it down half a star. But apart from that, it was incredibly enjoyable. I’ve said before I wanted to read stories set in Russia, and this certainly fit the bill. Rundell once again delivers a fantastic read.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from SSBFYR for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 2 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: historical fiction, genre: middle grade, goodreads, review, Russia, Russian history

• Book Review: “Out of the Easy” by Ruta Sepetys

  Posted at 6:15 am by Laura, on August 10, 2015

  Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

  Publisher: Philomel / Speak
  Published: February 2013 / March 2014
  Genre: young adult, historical fiction
  ISBN: 9780147508430
  Goodreads: 4.06
  Rating: ★★★★

  It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.

  Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.

  Josie Moraine is the estranged daughter of a brothel prostitute. Working both as a cleaning lady in Willie’s house — the madam who is more of a mother than Josie’s own — and bookseller at a declining author’s bookshop, she has big plans for her future that involves getting out of New Orleans and starting life fresh in college. But everything changes when a kind, handsome man from Memphis purchases two books at the shop, and is found dead at a gambling table later that night near Josie’s mother. Josie’s race to start a new life in Boston escalates as she searches for the truth of what really happened that day in the Big Easy.

  I adored Between Shades of Gray — stark writing and all — because it opened my eyes and, most importantly, gave me the biggest book hangover. But Out of the Easy showcases Sepetys’s storytelling to a whole new level. Her voice is there, but the writing style was different. Exposing that flexibility in storytelling has solidified her to becoming one of my insta-buy authors. Looking forward to her next book, Salt to the Sea!

  This wasn’t so much a mystery or a thriller as it was historical and steeped in culture. It’s obvious how everything ties together — everyone and Josie knows it — but the undercurrent issues of the novel culminate to quite the climactic end. Josie wants to go to college, but then she meets a sincere and friendly Uptown rich girl, Charlotte, who suggests Josie apply to Smith College in Massachusetts. Now Josie has a specific goal, but it feels unattainable because of her terribly small financial situation. This seems like a universal issue for college hopefuls, right? Well, toss in the fact her mother’s a prostitute who’s run off with a mob man, her closest and most helpful friends are also part of the brothel business in some capacity, and the only way men can take her seriously is if she takes off her clothes or points a gun.

  The underbelly of New Orleans was a fascinating setting, with a host of colorful characters and unique moral structure. Josie is an average girl in a rough place, and experiencing these heart-pounding situations with her was quite the ride.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: historical fiction, genre: mystery, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “This is What Happy Looks Like” by Jennifer E. Smith

  Posted at 5:15 am by Laura, on July 22, 2015

  This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

  Publisher: Poppy
  Published: December 2013
  Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance
  ISBN: 9780316212816
  Goodreads: 3.70
  Rating: ★★.5

  When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O’Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.

  Then Graham finds out that Ellie’s Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media’s spotlight at all costs?

  An accidental email ignites an anonymous yet close bond between two teens. Both have their secrets, and it’s not until a movie set hits Ellie’s small Maine town before she discovers Graham’s. GDL824 is rising teen movie star Graham Larkin, and he’s determined to move their relationship off the computer screen to in-person. But Ellie’s hesitant, and it’s not till Graham’s manager scoops up the story that her avoidance of the cameras comes to light.

  I fell in love with The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, then had a great experience with The Geography of You and Me. This meant I was bound to love this novel — especially one surrounding witty emails and then “meeting IRL.” Feels so current, right?

  There was enough here that I enjoyed the read for what it was. Graham is sweet, a pretty standard YA love interest whose only complication is the fact he’s famous. Ellie, too, is a rather uncomplicated individual, whose secret is really her mother’s secret. While I completely understood why she’d want to avoid the media — and I agree, with both Ellie and Graham in the spotlight, it would make something of a scandal — it didn’t feel as urgent as it was made out to be.

  And, for this to be a great love story, I felt the romance part lacked a bit. There wasn’t enough of the email exchanges to make me fall in love with Graham, or in love with their love. I had to be told about previous exchanges through Ellie or Graham’s flashbacks. It came across as an intense friendship more than anything else because of it.

  I guess what I’m saying is, if you want a good summer read around the 4th of July, complete with an ordinary small-town character dating a celebrity and all that comes with it, this is the book. It doesn’t contain the emotional impact of Stat Prob or Geography, but the bones of Smith’s writing is all there.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Model Misfit” by Holly Smale (ARC)

  Posted at 7:35 am by Laura, on July 16, 2015

  Model Misfit by Holly Smale

  Publisher: HarperTeen
  Publishing Date: July 21
  Genre: young adult, contemporary
  ISBN: 9780062333605
  Goodreads: 4.19
  Rating: ★★★★

  Harriet knows that modelling won’t transform you. She knows that being as uniquely odd as a polar bear isn’t necessarily a bad thing (even in a rainforest). And that the average person eats a ton of food a year, though her pregnant stepmother is doing her best to beat this.

  What Harriet doesn’t know is where she’s going to fit in once the new baby arrives.

  With summer plans ruined, modelling in Japan seems the perfect chance to get as far away from home as possible. But nothing can prepare Harriet for the craziness of Tokyo, her competitive model flatmates and her errant grandmother’s ‘chaperoning’. Or seeing gorgeous Nick everywhere she goes.

  Because, this time, Harriet knows what a broken heart feels like.

  Can geek girl find her place on the other side of the world or is Harriet lost for good?

  Harriet’s finished her exams and is prepared — with spreadsheets! — to spend the summer epically with her best friend Nat. But Nat’s sent to France, Harriet’s stalker Toby is going away for a family vacation, which leaves Harriet alone with her pregnant stepmother and excited father. When Wilbur informs Harriet she’s going to Tokyo to shoot a new label, she jumps at the opportunity. Modeling in Japan would mean a whole new set of people, in a place she’s dreamed of for ages, and far away from humiliation and the ever-present heartache of losing Nick…right?

  I cracked up just as much as I did with Geek Girl, so you can bet I loved Smale’s second book in the series. Smale knows how to end chapters, how to place her characters in ridiculous situations one after another. She really keeps you moving through the book at top speed, which is why I’d also call this one action-packed! No swords (though there’s faux sumo wrestling), just endlessly turning the pages for more!

  Harriet’s just as geeky and clumsy, but she’s far more knowledgable in the social department. Not that she miraculously gets along with people well or understands them easily, but standing up to her bullies from the last book gave her more of a backbone and prepared her for the situations in Tokyo. She has also loved and lost, and all the complexities that come from that has opened her eyes to relationships and emotional bonds in general. While Model Misfit is still as funny and quick as Geek Girl, there’s a bit more depth in the narrative, and I truly enjoyed that.

  If you haven’t befriended Harriet Manners, do so now.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from HarperTeen for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 3 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “PS I Still Love You” by Jenny Han

  Posted at 6:13 am by Laura, on July 8, 2015

  PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han

  Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
  Published: May 2015
  Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance
  ISBN: 9781442426733
  Goodreads: 4.23
  Rating: ★★★★

  Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.
  She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.
  When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

  Back when they were pretending to be in love, it was easy for Lara Jean and Peter to be a couple. But now they’re not pretending, it’s for real, and Lara Jean struggles to navigate her first relationship without comparing herself to Peter’s last. But a letter arrives in the mail from the fifth and final boy she wrote a letter to and her sister Kitty mailed off, and Lara Jean becomes more confused than ever. How is she supposed to navigate the world of love without her mother or Margot to guide her? And what exactly do all these feelings mean?

  To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before was fantastic, and I truly felt like Han must’ve been my best friend when I was in high school because Lara Jean felt hauntingly similar to me (then and, in some cases, now). The same can be said with this companion book, only instead of the hilarity, confusion, and closeness of the sisters as the focal point of the novel, this book delves into stumbling through first relationships, what it means to be in love, and finding confidence in who you are without relying on others.

  Lara Jean becomes her own person in this book. Instead of comparing herself to her older sister Margot and being a Margot to her younger sister Kitty, Lara Jean wonders what her mother would do. She wonders what her mother would say and do and talk about in various situations Lara Jean encounters with Peter and John — sex talks, jealousy, the line between just-friends and possibly-cheating. She isn’t alone in this, though. Margot has some tearful moments, wishing for their mother; Kitty, too young to remember much, just wants Dad to be happy and dating again. The lack of a mother in this book — from the perspective of having a mother once and then suddenly losing her — is so prevalent it made me wonder how I would’ve dealt with my high school friendships and relationships without my own mother. It made my heart break.

  Part of Lara Jean’s navigation in this new relationship involves sexism topics. Which I loved. Lara Jean is curious about sex — who wouldn’t be, really? — but there’s a rather shocking event that plagues her throughout the novel. When a guy’s caught expressing his sexuality, it’s considered okay; when a girl is caught, she’s considered a slut (or, on the flip side, if she doesn’t express it at all she’s a prude). The double-standard keeps cropping up in discussion with many people in Lara Jean’s life, and I enjoyed how she soaked it in and applied it to her own situation.

  And, on a slightly unrelated note, I love how much she enjoys fashion, baking, and crafting — all very feminine things — and still be one of the most feminist characters in YA. Reminds me a lot of Zooey Deschanel’s character Jess on New Girl — super girly, super feminist. You can totally be both.

  As for the relationships navigated in this story…[highlight to read, spoilers ahead!] I was very much a Lara-Jean-and-Peter-forever girl, and while he certainly does explain himself at the end, I was a little saddened to see her give up on John so easily. In hindsight, I know I would’ve gone back to Peter (I mean, I had a Peter and I did go back to him), so maybe it’s my adult perspective telling Lara Jean to forget him and actually be with John, the better fit, instead. In my head canon, Lara Jean and John will be together in college, later years, and get married shortly thereafter. Cause they can last. The end.

  If you haven’t already, you need to read this book. Although my reading funk only lasted a week, it felt like ages. Han certainly knows how to make someone sit and read and good story about love, friendship, family, and growing up into your own self.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Mini Reviews III

  Posted at 7:00 am by Laura, on June 29, 2015

  Mini Reviews

  Quick, bite-sized reviews of fast, enjoyable reads!
  A penny for thoughts, a snappy two-cent reflection! 

  Love Likes the Movies by Victoria Van Tiem

  Publisher: Panmacmillan
  Published: February 2014
  Genre: women’s fiction
  ISBN: 9781447269731
  Rating: ★★★
  Summary: Kenzi Shaw knows the plot of her life down to the last line – the career she’s building as a marketing exec, the gorgeous fiancé she’ll marry in a fairytale wedding, the children they’ll raise in her dream home. But when ex Shane comes back into her life, life starts going off the script. Not only is her head in a spin over Shane, but now her job is on the line. With her perfect sister-in-law showing up every tiny thing Kenzi does wrong, she feels like she’s permanently in the corner. One thing’s certain: she’s not so sure who her leading man is…

  Mini Review: When Shane comes back into Kenzi’s life as a potential client with her firm, he really rocks the boat. He gives her an ultimatum (re-enacting all their favorite rom-coms) that puts her job and future life with Bradley on the line. Kenzi was an overanxious, self-conscious character around everyone except Shane, so whenever he was in the picture I liked her a lot. Her mother’s horrible, her sister-in-law sucks, and her best friend is scum. I wanted nothing but happiness for Kenzi! This read more like a blend of cutesy chick lit and Rainbow Rowell’s Attachments. I thought I’d be roaring with laughter, and while that never really happened, it was good read.

  Magnolia by Kristi Cook

  Publisher: Simon Pulse
  Published: August 2014
  Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance
  ISBN: 9781442485341
  Rating: ★★★.5
  Summary: In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, the Cafferty and Marsden families are practically royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when the families finally have a baby boy and girl at the same time, the perfect opportunity seems to have arrived. Except Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. They’re only seventeen — oh, and also? They hate each other. But when a violent Mississippi storm ravages through Magnolia Branch, it unearths feelings Jemma and Ryder didn’t know they had. And the line between love and hate just might be thin enough to cross.

  Mini Review: This felt like a mix of Anna and the French Kiss (focus on a love story more than anything else) and Second Chance Summer (underlying serious issues), and just what the doctor ordered. I wouldn’t say Jemma and Ryder hate each other — “hate” is a strong word for what Jemma feels (and boy, she’s quick to temper) and Ryder is frustrated by that temper — but their tension is perfectly reasonable. It would be quite annoying to have parents planning every inch of your life together simply because you’re of the opposite sex of the BFF family. The hurricane that blows through Mississippi felt so real, and I think I enjoyed the story more in that third of the book than anything else. The writing was at its best there. And, no matter how many flaws this book had, the story was still well-told, and I’m glad this was a gradual attraction instead of instantaneous. They’ve been in each other’s lives since birth. I liked that establishment from the get-go. This is a nice, light read, a book you can breeze through on a summer afternoon.

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 4 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: contemporary, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, mini review

• Book Review: “Rook” by Sharon Cameron

  Posted at 5:45 am by Laura, on June 22, 2015

  Rook by Sharon Cameron

  Publisher: Scholastic Press
  Published: April 2015
  Genre: young adult, science fiction, romance
  ISBN: 9780545675994
  Goodreads: 3.82
  Rating: ★★★.5

  History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal?

  Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy’s arranged marriage to the wealthy René Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiancé is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she.

  As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow higher, Sophia and René find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse.

  The French Revolution meets The Scarlet Pimpernel in this daring, futuristic adventure. Technology is banned, and for a good reason: polar shifts caused technology to malfunction and satellites to fall from the sky, effectively ruining the lives of the Ancients. To adapt to a new way of living, the surviving humans vowed to never use machines again. Race forward a couple centuries, and this new regime works a step further to punish dissenters. The Sunken City, once Paris, is filled with “criminals” locked away in the Tombs. One vigilante, the Red Rook, saves these unjustly imprisoned citizens and leaves behind a rook feather tipped in red. But soon the Red Rook’s nighttime rescues come knocking on Sophia Bellamy’s door, bringing danger, high stakes, split-second decisions, spies, double agents, and one René Hasard.

  This feels like historical fiction thanks to the French Revolution atmosphere (rich versus poor, unjust law, and the philosophy that religion should be dropped for chance or Fate), but very clearly set in the future (the characters uncover shiny plastic discs (CDs), cross-shaped handles with buttons (Nintendo game controls), and space debris (NASA)). We, today in 2015, are considered the Ancients, the population intensely connected to and dependent on technology to function day to day. I loved reading Cameron’s Author’s Note, all the “what ifs” meeting “history repeats itself.” Seriously, when you’re done reading this book, you’ll begin to wonder, too…

  While I found the world at first difficult to wrap my brain around, I was really into the characters and their individual stories. Especially when I was trying to figure out who was on what side and double-crossing whom, and seeing what was happening to one person in this ten-minute time frame while something else was happening to another (the last 150 pages, for example!). This was probably the most intricately plotted book I’ve read this year, and now I’m very curious to see what The Scarlet Pimpernel is like!

  Sophia is definitely a girl you want on your side. She’s daring and compassionate and wicked intelligent. Her steamy scenes with René were fantastic, too, though it took me much longer to like him the way Sophia did. Must’ve been that skepticism and inability to trust anyone I experienced while reading.

  Read this when you’re mentally prepared for a thriller, for espionage, for a book so detailed you can devote hours to it just following the strings. I was not prepared for what this turned out to be! I think, with another reread, I may bump my rating up to 4 or 5 stars. In the meantime, check out Lindsey @ Bring My Books‘s post (especially if you’ve read Cameron’s other books) and Morgan @ Gone With the Words‘s post (especially if you want to look at her character casting)!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 6 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: romance, genre: sci-fi, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Finding Audrey” by Sophie Kinsella

  Posted at 7:00 am by Laura, on June 19, 2015

  Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

  Publisher: Delacorte BFYR
  Published: June 2015
  Genre: young adult, contemporary
  ISBN: 9780553536515
  Goodreads: 3.89
  Rating: ★★★★ 

  An anxiety disorder disrupts fourteen-year-old Audrey’s daily life. She has been making slow but steady progress with Dr. Sarah, but when Audrey meets Linus, her brother’s gaming teammate, she is energized. She connects with him. Audrey can talk through her fears with Linus in a way she’s never been able to do with anyone before. As their friendship deepens and her recovery gains momentum, a sweet romantic connection develops, one that helps not just Audrey but also her entire family.

  Audrey has a host of anxiety issues, and her mother’s helicopter nagging the entire family isn’t helping. Audrey wears sunglasses all day and watches QVC in a dark room, avoiding all aspects of The Incident that triggered her mental state. When Dr. Sarah gives her an assignment to film her life like a fly on the wall, Audrey watches the life around her through a lens and slowly ventures out to the Starbucks around the corner. With her brother Frank taking a hit with Mum’s fanatics, Audrey is able to branch out and rediscover the world on her own.

  “[Bloody] is in the Harry Potter films, OK? Harry Potter. How can it be swearing?”
  “What?” Mum sounds wrong-footed.
  “Harry Potter. I rest my case.”

  The publisher synopsis annoyingly makes it sound like Linus swoops in and saves the day and erases Audrey’s multitude of serious, severe anxiety issues. That’s not the case. He certainly helps her deal with it, come to terms with it, and tackle it. He doesn’t treat her like a science experiment or an animal in the zoo — her constant use of sunglasses and tendency to dash out of a room mid-sentence only to cower in a closet corner can make normal conversation difficult — and Audrey recognizes this and finds a way to speak to him about her issues.

  “So you’re allergic to eye contact.”
  “I’m allergic to everything contact.”
  “No you’re not,” he says at once. “You’re not allergic to brain contact. I mean you write notes. You talk. You still want to talk to people, you just can’t. So your body needs to catch up with your brain.”
  I’m silent for a while. No-one’s put it like that before.

  That being said, Linus and her family help her take steps back into the world as well as accidentally pushing her back to invisibility. She grows so much through this book on her own terms, fighting against her “lizard brain” that’s constantly on high alert, doing things that feel daring to her and normal to others. She watches Mum grow paranoid about computer games and their effects on her older brother Frank. She cuddles younger brother Felix and works on eye contact through his innocent gaze. She observes her dad grow more and more tired as the months wear on. All of this is recorded on her camera that she shares with Dr. Sarah, so she can get a better idea of Audrey’s environment, home life, and progress.

  We sip our drinks and smile at each other. Thoughts are racing through my head, crazy thoughts like I’ve made it! I’m in Starbucks! Go me! But there are other, weird, random thoughts popping up, like Everyone’s looking at me and I hate myself. And then suddenly I wish I was home right now, which is just weird. I do not wish I was at home. I’m out with Linus! In Starbucks!

  Though we never find out exactly what triggered Audrey’s severe anxiety, we do get a good idea of what happened. (I also have a theory Mum was a huge contributing factor because WOW I wanted to box her ears and shut her up on a lot of issues. This is when I’d pull out my nonexistent pom-poms and cheer on Frank’s responses to everything she said and did.) And this book is so damn funny. Her situation isn’t funny, but the events happening around her, outside of her inner world, are so hilarious I couldn’t stop laughing. It made her moments with Dr. Sarah even more meaningful. I’m so relieved to finally see a mental illness story with a therapist that’s not a stereotype or unhelpful, with a protagonist that wants to make progress.

  I’ve never read Kinsella’s adult books, but if they’re anything like her YA debut, I’m definitely going to give her a read!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 6 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Book Review: “Emmy & Oliver” by Robin Benway (ARC)

  Posted at 6:35 am by Laura, on June 17, 2015

  Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway

  Publisher: HarperTeen
  Publishing Date: June 23
  Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance
  ISBN: 9780062330598
  Goodreads: —
  Rating: ★★★★

  Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life. She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

  Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart. He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

  Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

  Emmy’s life has always been in relation to Oliver. It began when they were friends, and then it took a terrible turn when he was kidnapped. Emmy understands why her parents have such strict rules, but it means she has to lie to them about surfing and applying to UCSD — and she doesn’t like doing that to them. But when Oliver returns home, she realizes just how much everyone focused on wanting him back but not the after. And Oliver finds a friend in Emmy, a healer to combine his childhood, his disappearance, and his reappearance together, without judgement or stress. But how will he come to terms with understanding the man who raised him was also the man who committed a crime?

  This is unique in topic, and I think that’s why I enjoyed this so much. While there are books on Stockholm Syndrome, that’s not exactly what happened to Oliver. He was 7 when his father picked him up from school for a three-day weekend, and then he never returned. His father, a man he already loved and saw as an authority figure, then raised him and taught him everything he knew. But when Oliver discovers his mother was looking for him all this time, he decides to go back to California and live with her and new family — and that’s when it really hits him that his father is a criminal. To everyone in town, Oliver’s dad is a monster. But to Oliver, his dad is his dad. That’s a tough situation right there — toss in the fact his father said, all the way back when Oliver was 7, that his mother didn’t want him anymore, and you’ve got 10 years of resentment and longing built up.

  While the story is told in Emmy’s point of view, I couldn’t help but look forward to Oliver’s shattering facade moments. The moments when he’d break down a bit more and reveal how he felt and what happened all those years. I wanted to hear what he had to say, to try to put myself in his shoes — and let me tell you, it was an emotional wreck for such a good guy. He does the best he can to be as normal as possible, to look to the future and see the positive in everything. He’s so dimensional and really stuck with me.

  That’s not to say Emmy’s voice wasn’t memorable. She’s the first teen protagonist I’ve seen in a while that’s a good girl but not a doormat. She actually speaks her mind when she gets frustrated with her parents. They’re (understandably) protective, and all it takes is a letter from UCSD for them to see the extent of the damage panicked decisions can do.

  Emmy and her friends Caro and Drew were a riot. I loved them. They were easy-going and fun and supportive, and absolutely adored their humor and back-and-forth attitude. Even in the moments when they had rough patches, it felt genuine and true to life. Nothing is hunky-dory in their world, and they certainly have their own home lives to deal with, but they make the most of it. Oliver always belonged with them — and of all the emotional stories, it was their open arms bringing him back into the fold that made me tear up.

  If you love the friendship stories of Emery Lord, the family stories of Sarah Dessen, the psychological undertone of Lucy Christopher, and coming-of-age of Morgan Matson, you’ve got to read this book.

  Thank you, Edelweiss, for providing this book from HarperTeen for review!

  Posted in books, Reviews 2015 | 8 Comments | Tagged advance reading copy, ARC, book review, books, genre: contemporary, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• 

• Hello, I’m Laura!

  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to travel, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm always down for chips-and-queso nights. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!

• Search the Blog

  Search for:

• Currently Reading

  

• Book Review Rating Key

  ★★★ — It’s good
  ★★★★ — It’s great
  ★★★★★ — OMG LOVE!!!

• Recent Posts

  • Deal Announcement: Amber Chen, YA Fantasy
  • Deal Announcement: Chloe Gong, YA Dystopian
  • MSWL for 2025
  • Favorite Reads of 2024
  • Deal Announcement: Crystal Seitz, YA Fantasy