Tuesday, March 28, 2017

When We Collided by Emery Lord | Book Review


Reading Group: 16 years old+ 

Personal Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Synopses: Seventeen-year-old Jonah Daniels has lived in Verona Cove, California, his whole life, and only one thing has ever changed: his father used to be alive, and now he is not. With a mother lost in a deep bout of depression, Jonah and his five siblings struggle to keep up their home and the restaurant their dad left behind. But at the start of summer, a second change rolls in: Vivi Alexander, the new girl in town. 


Vivi is in love with life. Charming and unfiltered, she refuses to be held down by the medicine she's told should make her feel better. After meeting Jonah, she slides into the Daniels' household seamlessly, winning over each sibling with her imagination and gameness. But it's not long before Vivi's zest for life begins to falter. Soon her adventurousness becomes all-out danger-seeking. 
Through each high and low, Vivi and Jonah's love is put to the test . . . but what happens when love simply isn't enough?

Cover: The front cover of this novel has paint splatter behind the title, which I think is a really good representation of collision.  Yes, Vivi is very into art, and her mom is even a painter, so that could be a reason for the paint splatter, but even if that wasn't the case, I think it would work.  Splatter paint is messy, even when it's done intentionally, but it can be beautiful, and I think that is an excellent representation of this story.

My Review: I can't help but relate this book to Love & Gelato because in both stories the main female character goes looking for her dad at some point.  It's not as big of a deal in this story, but I thought it was interesting that it just so happened in books I read back to back.
I definitely liked Jonah more than Vivi.  She was just a lot for me, and even when I was reading her dialogue, I found myself going a mile a minute.  I also found myself getting very frustrated with her, especially when Jonah was trying to ask for help.  But I think that was the point.  From an outsiders standpoint, it can be frustrated when you know something is wrong with someone, but you can't help them.  Vivi wasn't taking her medication, which made her act the way she did. 
Jonah was just trying to keep everything together, but he was slipping.  Vivi came into his life when he needed her to, but she was never meant to stay.  She wasn't someone who could stay in one place for too long.  I loved the part I the hospital when Vivi admits that Jonah would probably end up with Ellie or someone like her because from the moment she came into the book I thought her and Jonah would be a good match.  
This book reminded me of All the Bright Places because it talked about mental illness and made it apparent that there are more people around you struggling than you might think, but I was pleasantly surprised that this story didn't end in death.  That's not what this book was about because that's not what mental illness always leads to, especially if the person suffering can get the proper help.  However, if you did read ATBP, I think you'd like this story as well.  
It's important to read books with topics like the many covered in this book because even if you can't personally relate, it lets you inside someone's head and teaches you how to be empathetic towards the situation if one was ever to come up.


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Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch | Book Review


Reading Group: 16 years old+

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Synopses: A summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany in this sweeping debut novel filled with romance, mystery, and adventure.

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home.

But then Lina is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept from Lina for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything she knew about her mother, her father—and even herself.

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more.


Cover: I think this cover is simple and very cute.  I like the colors, and how the pink gelato has a tiny bit of blue in it and vice versa, I thought that was really subtle but added to the idea of the title.

My Review: I don't know why the word "adorable" keeps coming to mind when I think of this book, but it does.  Typically an "adorable" book is one with two people who really like each other, but don't admit it and they're super flirty towards each other.  And to an extent, this book has that when it comes to Lina and Ren, but there is also so much more to this story.  Maybe it's because the last couple chapters had adorable moments between Lina and Howard and Lina and Ren, and that's why the word is stuck in my head.  If anyone has read this book, maybe you can comment if you understand how I feel better than I do. 
I love books like this where someone leaves a treasure map of sorts behind, and someone else has to figure out all of the clues.  They almost always include the 'scavenger' discovering something that is upsetting, but I like that.  Nobody is perfect, and even though it stinks to figure out something when the person isn't there to explain, I think it's important.  This story is no exception.  Lina finds out stuff that makes her question her mother but doesn't make her think less of her mom either.  She discovers that her mom was just like most young adults, trying to find herself and getting heartbroken.  However, she was spot on when she described Howard as someone who would go into battle for her.  He loved her so much, and I was so sad that they're story didn't work out.  But I loved that he was willing to take care of Lina even though she wasn't biologically his kid.  I was a little sad he never got married or anything because it kind of made it seem like he never got Hadley and I didn't see Howard as someone who regretted how his life turned out.  Obviously, he held Hadley in a very special place in his heart, but it made me sad to think he's been heartbroken for seventeen years.
This book takes place in Italy, and therefore some things are said in Italian, which is something I struggled with.  Part of me didn't want to translate it because the book was written in Lina's point of view and she didn't know what they were saying so it made sense that I shouldn't either.  However another part of me wanted to be in on the joke, so I translated some of it, but then I'd have to pause and google it, and sometimes it didn't translate correctly, and I was even more confused.  I was very back and forth on the matter.       


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Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven | Book Review


Reading Group: High School+

Personal Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Synopses: Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for EVERY POSSIBILITY LIFE HAS TO OFFER. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.  

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything in new and bad-ass ways, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone. 
Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. . . . Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.
Jennifer Niven delivers another poignant, exhilarating love story about finding that person who sees you for who you are—and seeing them right back.


Cover: I think the cover of this novel is really pretty, but I have no idea what it has to do with the actual book.  I don't remember there even being a mention of marbles or watercolor or anything that relates to the cover.

My Review: I was excited to read this book because you guys all remember how much I absolutely loved All The Bright Places and although this was a great story, I didn't find it as good as ATBP.  There were parts where I found myself wishing it would move a little faster and get to something more exciting. 
This book was about coming to terms with who you are which is something that I think is crucial.  Libby is proud of herself for what she's overcome, and she's comfortable in her skin, but she often needs to remind other people how to be kind.  And, even though it sounds cliche, people do tend to pick on others because they're insecure about themselves.  Jack explains this to Dusty when the kids at school pick on him.  Jack himself spends the entire book trying to figure out who he is.  He keeps his disease a secret from everyone except Libby and therefore can't get the help he needs.  Jack is also stuck in an on again off again relationship because he can't admit that Caroline isn't who he wants.  He tells Libby about his disease as part of his apology for attacking her in the middle of the cafeteria, but maybe he somehow knew that Libby was the one who was going to be the most helpful person to him.  Even when he was younger and saw Libby lifted out of her house, he sent her a letter saying he was rooting for her.  Jack always believed in Libby and Libby believed in Jack.  The two were meant to have their lives interconnect somehow, and the fact that they fell in love was simply a bonus.  
This book holds an important message and is a great read so I would definitely recommend it, especially to anyone who enjoyed All The Bright Places, but as I said before, it comes in second (for me at least).
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Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover | Book Review

Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover





Reading Group: High School+

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Synopses: Colleen Hoover, the New York Times bestselling author of Maybe Someday, brilliantly brings to life the story of the hilarious and charismatic Warren in this new novella.

When Warren has the opportunity to live with a female roommate, he instantly agrees. It could be an exciting change.

Or maybe not.

Especially when that roommate is the cold and seemingly calculating Bridgette. Tensions run high and tempers flare as the two can hardly stand to be in the same room together. But Warren has a theory about Bridgette: anyone who can hate with that much passion should also have the capability to love with that much passion. And he wants to be the one to test this theory.

Will Bridgette find it in herself to warm her heart to Warren and finally learn to love?

Maybe.

Maybe not.


Cover: The cover of this novella is very similar to the cover of Maybe Someday with the main image and then the image in the title.  The main image is a bed because we know from Maybe Someday that Warren and Bridgette spend most of their time together in bed.      

My Review: I love novellas about supporting characters.  I think they let you get to know some of your favorite people in ways you can't see when they're just supporting characters.  For example, in Maybe Someday we are aware that Warren liked to watch a lot of porn, and think of that what you will, but it was just kind of his thing that no one questioned.  However, in Maybe Not we learn that he's actually watching it in the hopes to find which one Bridgette was an extra in.  Also, in this novella, we got to learn a lot more about Bridgette and what she was coming from that made her act the way she did.  This story was short, but I really enjoyed it, and I think that it actually showed Warren and Bridgette in a way that was expected from Maybe Someday, but also so much more.  If you read Maybe Someday, you should definitely pick this one up next.  Like I said, it's short, only 160 pages, so it doesn't take a long time to read, but it was funny and cute and just great.


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