2011 YA Contemporary Challenge-- Completed!

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge

What is contemporary? It's the genre wherein the events can happen in real life at the present time. The characters in the novel can be present in real life.

Goal: To read a minimum of thirteen young adult contemporary novels published in 2011.

Rules:

- All contemporary books must be in the Young Adult genre

- Books have to be published in 2011

- Open to everybody. Please fill in the form to enter.

- You can join whenever you want

- If you want to enter with your blog link, you have to post about the challenge.

- Link your reviews of 2011 Contemporary books in the MisterLinky below.

1.   Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors 
2.  The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder
3.  The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
4.  Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso
5.  The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski
6.  Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
7.  The Rivals by Daisy Whitney
8.  Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
9.  Winter Town by Stephen Emond
10.  Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala
11.  Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
12. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
13. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
14. Wherever You Go by Heather Davis
15. Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin
16. You Are My Only by Beth Kephart
17. Reasons to Be Happy by Katrina Kittle
18. The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
19. Dead to You by Lisa McMann
20. The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams
21. Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick
22. How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

Book Review- How to Save a Life

I just finished reading How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Jill MacSweeny just wishes everything could go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. And when her mom decides to adopt a baby, it feels like she's somehow trying to replace a lost family member with a new one.

Mandy Kalinowski understands what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, one thing she's sure of is that she wants a better life for her baby. It's harder to be sure of herself. Will she ever find someone to care for her, too?

As their worlds change around them, Jill and Mandy must learn to both let go and hold on, and that nothing is as easy--or as difficult--as it seems.

Critically acclaimed author and National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr delivers a heart-wrenching story, told from dual perspectives, about the many roads that can lead us home.
 
This was such a sad, yet heartwarming story.  I don't always care for books told from 2 points of view, but I really liked how this was done.
 
Mandy broke my heart.  I felt so bad for her.  To grow up with a mom like she did and be told things she was told--how horrible.  And to have her mom's boyfriend behave the way he did!  She was so naive and innocent about so many things.  I just wanted to hug her.
 
And then I felt so bad for Jill.  Reading this story about how the main character lost her dad was a little hard since one of my close friends just lost her mom suddenly this week.  But I really liked Jill too.  And I wanted her to get a little bit of closure and be happy.
 
I felt like there was going to be some huge sad twist that would be piss me off, but (hopefully I'm not giving too much away), but there wasn't.  Only a little twist but a happy one.  If all of Sara Zarr's books are like this, I can't wait to read more!
 
I gave this book a rating of 4/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 A to Z Challenge: Z
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 122
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 98
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 98
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 22
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- Sorta Like a Rock Star

Last night I finished reading Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick.

From Goodreads:

Amber Appleton lives in a bus. Ever since her mom's boyfriend kicked them out, Amber, her mom, and her totally loyal dog, Bobby Big Boy (aka Thrice B) have been camped out in the back of Hello Yellow (the school bus her mom drives). Still, Amber, the self-proclaimed princess of hope and girl of unyielding optimism, refuses to sweat the bad stuff. But when a fatal tragedy threatens Amber's optimism--and her way of life, can Amber continue to be the rock star of hope? With an oddball cast of characters, and a heartwarming, inspiring story, this novel unveils a beautifully beaten-up world of laughs, loyalty, and hard-earned hope.

So, I was struggling with my feelings of this book and the rating for this book.  It was between what I felt like is SHOULD be versus how I REALLY felt about the book.  I finally went with my real feelings.  It's not going to be popular, but so be it.

Yes, this book has so many important themes: homelessness, death, alcoholism, autism, diseases, poverty, bullying, outcasts, veterans, senior citizen, religion...  So I felt like I should have liked it.  But I just couldn't get over the writing.  Every other line had "word" after it or "sucka" or "true? true."  Kinda gangster-like.  Which the character wasn't at all.  And it just bugged me so much. 

Yes, the book was about hope.  And parts of it were heartbreaking towards the end.  But it was all just too much, too over the top.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 A to Z Challenge: Q
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 119
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 97
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 97
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 21

*FTC Disclosure: This book was given to me for free by the publisher for a honest review.

Book Review- The International Kissing Club

I finished reading The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams for a Teen Book Scene Review.

From Goodreads:

Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy have been best friends their whole lives. And they've always agreed on one goal: to get out of tiny Paris, Texas, and see the world. The school's foreign exchange program seems like the perfect escape: Piper will go to the original Paris; Mei will go to China; Cassidy will go to Australia; and Izzy, unable to afford the program, will stay at home. To add spice to their semester away, and to stay connected to their best friends, the girls start The International Kissing Club, a Facebook page where they can anonymously update one another and brag about all the amazing guys they're meeting. After all, these girls are traveling abroad: amazing guys abound at every turn! But sometimes fun, flirty vacation flings turn into more serious romances, and sometimes you don't return from abroad the same person you were. Will the girls' relationships-and their friendships-be able to survive?


Even though this book made a snarky reference to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book series, I found that the premise was kind of the same (minus the kissing part in the Sisterhood books).  But I liked that series, so I was hoping to like this one too.  Plus the girls used aliases of Disney Princesses, and anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with Disney and the Princesses, so I just HAD to like this book.  And I did! 

Yes, it was cheesy.  And kind juvenile-ish, with the whole premise being about how many boys they could each kiss.  But it was also a little deeper and dealt with friendships too.  So while its not going to win any awards, it was nice to just sit back and enjoy a book, a kind of guilty pleasure one!

I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.

The International Kissing Club will be released on January 3, 2012.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 A to Z Challenge: I (I am counting that the first name starts with since I don't have a single author whose last name starts with I.)
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 116
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 94
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 94
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 20

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Teen Book Scene.

Book Review- Dead to You

I finished reading Dead to You by Lisa McMann for an Around the World ARC Tour on Sunday, but haven't had time to review it yet.

From Goodreads:

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

This book had such an interesting premise.  For some reason the idea of a child being kidnapped and then later reintroduced to his family just fascinated me. 

And I actually liked Ethan (usually when the main character is male, I don't care for him).  I felt so bad for him and wanted him to be able to feel comfortable with his family again.  And I really liked Cami.  She didn't treat him like he was either a freak nor a hero.  Just a regular boy.  But my favorite was Gracie.  I teach Kindergarten so I could totally imagine her every move and saying.  Too cute!

The end though.  Man, I just didn't like it.  I want to say something about without giving away spoilers, so highlight the text if you want to read it.  'Ethan' not really being 'Ethan' was interesting but I didn't like it.  The boy made himself believe he was Ethan so much that he was willing to take a DNA test?  I don't buy it!  I get that people put tragic things out of their mind without realizing it, but throughout the book he says that he loves Ellen and he remembered going to look at pictures of kidnapped children so I think he'd remember to decided faking being kidnapped.  And what happened to the real Ethan?  We don't get any of those questions resolved at all.   Ok, spoiler done.  So the ending dropped the rating down to a 3.  But up until then, I enjoyed it!

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

Dead to You will be released on February 7, 2012.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 114
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 92
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 92
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 19

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge-- December Update

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge

What is contemporary? It's the genre wherein the events can happen in real life at the present time. The characters in the novel can be present in real life.

Goal: To read a minimum of thirteen young adult contemporary novels published in 2011.

Rules:

- All contemporary books must be in the Young Adult genre

- Books have to be published in 2011

- Open to everybody. Please fill in the form to enter.

- You can join whenever you want

- If you want to enter with your blog link, you have to post about the challenge.

- Link your reviews of 2011 Contemporary books in the MisterLinky below.

1.   Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors 
2.  The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder
3.  The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
4.  Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso
5.  The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski
6.  Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
7.  The Rivals by Daisy Whitney
8.  Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
9.  Winter Town by Stephen Emond
10.  Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala
11.  Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
12. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
13. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
14. Wherever You Go by Heather Davis
15. Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin
16. You Are My Only by Beth Kephart
17. Reasons to Be Happy by Katrina Kittle
18. The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Book Review- Wherever You Go

I finished reading Wherever You Go by Heather Davis for a Teen Book Scene review.

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob,Wherever You Gois is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light.

I had a hard time getting into this book.  I think it might be because of the fact that the perspectives of the story kept jumping around.  There is Holly's point of view in the first person.  There is Rob's point of view in the second person.  And there is Jason's point of view in the third person.  Personally, I didn't like reading in second person AT ALL.  It was just too off putting.  And I think that since there were all of these different viewpoints, that I couldn't connect with any of the characters.

Holly bugged me somewhat.  She seemed so cold and distant.  I get that her boyfriend died.  But she didn't really seem sad to me, just emotion-less.  I never really felt that she loved Rob.  And then the scenario with her mother.  Argh!  I get that in today's economy, teenagers often times have to take care of younger sibling while parents are at work.  But she really did seem too much like she was the parent.  And when her mom stepped in to actual be a parent, I wanted Holly to give more attitude to her mom to ler her really know how much of a burden was being placed on her.

I liked Jason.  He seemed sweet.  But also a little distant.  I liked that he seemed to care so much for Holly and wanted to make her happy.  But I also think it's kind of odd to move in on your deceased best friend's girlfriend only 6 months after he'd passed away.  Maybe that's just me.

And then there's Rob.  His story was an interesting one.  I didn't see it coming.  I think a whole story could really be told about the reason behind the crash.  And I think that could be an important story.  Unfortunately, this story didn't go into it that much.

And finally, there's Aldo, Holly's grandfather who is suffering from Alzheimer’s.  I really enjoyed him.  I think he was the most sympathetic character of the whole book.  I really felt for him.  I felt so sad for him when he was struggling and almost trapped inside his brain.  And I loved when he was so engaged while doing things on his "list".  Such a sweet old guy.

This story was definitely a character-driven one.  I'm not too keen on the whole multiple-perspectives, but if you are, then give this book a try.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

Wherever You Go will be released on November 15, 2011.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 80
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 64
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 62
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 14

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Teen Book Scene.

Book Review- The Probability of Miracles

I just finished reading The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.


A debut novel from an immensely talented new writer, The Probability of Miracles crackles with wit, romance and humor and will leave readers laughing and crying with each turn of the page.

So this review will probably make people roll their eyes or disagree but it's my opinion of the book so whatever.

Right off the bat, the book mentions that the main character works at Disney World.  I got soooooooooo excited!  I have work at Disney World for 12 years, live right behind the Magic Kingdom, and even got married at Disney World this past June. Calling me a Disney-holic is not even close! So yeah, I just knew this book would be right up my alley.  But then...then.  The parts of the book started coming in...wrong!  The facts about Disney were wrong!  Yes, I know its a fiction book.  But if you're going to write about such a famous place, you have to get the details right!  (The cast memeber who is Tigger would not be able to ride the monorail in character after he got off of work, Cinderella doesn't walk around in the World Showcase in Epcot, there are no dance clubs at Downtown Disney and even when Pleasure Island was open several YEARS ago there was no under-18 club, and a 25 minute wait time for Small World is NOT normal!!), and they're not going to let teenagers stay in the suite in the castle without chaperones!  So these bad facts turned me off on the book.  Yes, its a small thing, but to me it was just bad.  Research your facts!  Gah!

Anyways, I never really liked Cam.  I get that she's had a hard life and that her being sick for most of it probably turned her the way she was.  But maybe not, since I liked Lily and Lily had also been sick most of her life.  Cam just seemed so negative and dark.  I wanted her to be a sympathetic character.  I did really like Asher, however.  He seemed like such a sweet guy.  Definitely a small town heartthrob.

The ending did get me however.  I actually liked Cam right at the very end.  And it even made me a little teary-eyed. So yeah, the books rating went up for me a little, just for the ending. 

I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.

The Probability of Miracles will be released on December 8, 2011.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 102
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 82
2011 Debut Author Challenge: 27
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 82
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 18

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge-- November Update

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge

What is contemporary? It's the genre wherein the events can happen in real life at the present time. The characters in the novel can be present in real life.

Goal: To read a minimum of thirteen young adult contemporary novels published in 2011.

Rules:

- All contemporary books must be in the Young Adult genre

- Books have to be published in 2011

- Open to everybody. Please fill in the form to enter.

- You can join whenever you want

- If you want to enter with your blog link, you have to post about the challenge.

- Link your reviews of 2011 Contemporary books in the MisterLinky below.

1.   Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors 
2.  The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder
3.  The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
4.  Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso
5.  The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski
6.  Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
7.  The Rivals by Daisy Whitney
8.  Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
9.  Winter Town by Stephen Emond
10.  Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala
11.  Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
12. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
13. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
14. Wherever You Go by Heather Davis
15. Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin
16. You Are My Only by Beth Kephart
17. Reasons to Be Happy by Katrina Kittle

Book Review- Reasons to Be Happy

i just finished reading Reasons to be Happy by Katrina Kittle for a Sourcebooks blog tour.

From Goodreads:

Hannah's parents are glamorous Hollywood royalty, and sometimes she feels like the ugly duckling in a family of swans. After her mother's tragic death, Hannah's grief is compounded by her desperate need to live up to her mother's image. She tries to control her weight through Bulimia, and her devastated father is too distracted to notice. The secret of her eating disorder weighs heavily on Hannah, but the new eighth grade Beverly Hills clique she's befriended only reinforces her desire to be beautiful. The only one who seems to notice, or care, that something is wrong is Jasper, the quirky mistfit.

Okay, a little random side note.  I read this whole book thinking about how this was a new-to-me author.  And when I was done, I was thinking what an amazing book this was.  Then I was reading the author part of the book and realized that Katrina Kittle also wrote The Kindness of Strangers.  I was thinking that I remembered enjoying the book and so I tried to find my review on the blog, but I read it before I started this blog, so I went to goodreads and realized that I gave that book 5 stars!  That is a high, high compliment from me.  I almost never give 5 stars!  So just realize how amazing Katrina Kittle is!

Okay, on to the review.  First off, this book should mandatory for every single junior high student (or girl at least) to read in some health class.  Bulimia is such an important topic and this book covers it in a way that is so very detailed yet not preachy at all.  I feel like on one hand, it shows the pros (no, not pros, there are no pros, but I can't think of another word) of an eating disorder...it doesn't just gloss over it like teens will never have a problem and bulimia is so gross..yadda yadda.  I think that if a teen already has an eating disorder, he/she would be able to identify with Hannah and this book would help a teen overcome the disorder.  Yet at the same time, I think that it shows how horrific bulimia is and that hopefully teens who don't already have an eating disorder would realize that beauty is deeper than the outside of a person and that there are other ways to overcome stressful/upsetting times.

That being said, I loved Hannah.  She was just such a real teenager.  You could feel her pain and her want to be happy.  And the journey she took was such an important one.  Both in the literal sense, of going to Ghana, and of the metaphorical sense, of trying to overcome her eating disorder.  And Aunt Izzy.  Everyone needs an adult in their life like her.  Someone who's not critical, is there for you and wants to help. 

And I loved reading the lists on things to be happy about.  I found  myself saying "yup" or "that makes me happy too" too most of them!  So here's a brief look at my happy list:

1) Cuddling up on the couch with my hubby and puppy
2) Looking at my wedding photos
3)Going out with the girls
4)Cheering on the Gators at the Swamp
5) Getting a compliment from a stranger

I just can't express how much I enjoyed this book.  It was such a tough topic but the author did such a great job with it!

I gave this book a rating of 4.5/5.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 97
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 77
2011 Debut Author Challenge: 26
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 77
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 17

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free from Sourcebooks for an honest review.

Book Review- You Are My Only

I just finished reading You Are My Only by Beth Kephart for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Emmy Rane is married at nineteen, a mother by twenty. Trapped in a life with a husband she no longer loves, Baby is her only joy. Then one sunny day in September, Emmy takes a few fateful steps away from her baby and returns to find her missing. All that is left behind is a yellow sock.

Fourteen years later, Sophie, a homeschooled, reclusive teenage girl is forced to move frequently and abruptly from place to place, perpetually running from what her mother calls the "No Good." One afternoon, Sophie breaks the rules, ventures out, and meets Joey and his two aunts. It is this loving family that gives Sophie the courage to look into her past. What she discovers changes her world forever. . . .

The riveting stories of Emmy and Sophie—alternating narratives of loss, imprisonment, and freedom regained—escalate with breathless suspense toward an unforgettable climax.

This book was a book that I had read several great reviews of and after reading the summary, I thought it would emotional.  But nope, not for me.  I honestly don't get the raves about the book.  Maybe its the fact that the story is full of poor grammar (which fit the characters but made for an awful slow read).  Or the fact that for some things there was waaaay too much detail (I could care less about shapes and who discovered them). 

I was hoping that a story about a kidnapped baby would be emotional and pull at my heart strings, but I found myself not really caring about the story or the characters.  I couldn't relate to any of them and they kind of got on my nerves.

As for the ending, it was predictable but wrapped up way too quickly.  I think that this part didn't have enough details (as compared to other parts that were way too detailed).  But I do have to say that if anything, the last paragraph did get me just a little.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

You Are My Only will be released on October 25, 2011.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 96
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 76
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 76
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 15

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge-- October Update

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge

What is contemporary? It's the genre wherein the events can happen in real life at the present time. The characters in the novel can be present in real life.

Goal: To read a minimum of thirteen young adult contemporary novels published in 2011.

Rules:

- All contemporary books must be in the Young Adult genre

- Books have to be published in 2011

- Open to everybody. Please fill in the form to enter.

- You can join whenever you want

- If you want to enter with your blog link, you have to post about the challenge.

- Link your reviews of 2011 Contemporary books in the MisterLinky below.

1.   Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors 
2.  The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder
3.  The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
4.  Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso
5.  The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski
6.  Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
7.  The Rivals by Daisy Whitney
8.  Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
9.  Winter Town by Stephen Emond
10.  Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala
11.  Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
12. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
13. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
14. Wherever You Go by Heather Davis
15. Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin

Book Review- Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance

I just finished reading Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin. 

From Goodreads:

Fans of romance don't need to look any further than the fauxmance brewing between teen idols Charlie Tracker and Fielding Withers-known on their hit TV show as Jenna and Jonah, next-door neighbors flush with the excitement of first love. But it's their off-screen relationship that has helped cement their fame, as passionate fans follow their every PDA. They grace the covers of magazines week after week. Their fan club has chapters all over the country. The only problem is their off-screen romance is one big publicity stunt, and Charlie and Fielding can't stand to be in the same room. Still, it's a great gig, so even when the cameras stop rolling, the show must go on, and on, and on. . . . Until the pesky paparazzi blow their cover, and Charlie and Fielding must disappear to weather the media storm. It's not until they're far off the grid of the Hollywood circuit that they realize that there's more to each of them than shiny hair and a winning smile.


This was a cute teeny-bopper type book.  For some reason I could totally see this being turned into a movie.  And for some reason, although I've only ever seen one episode of the show, it kept making me think of Hannah Montana.  I think maybe I enjoyed it because when I was a teen, I wanted to be an actor. 
 
This was definitely a light book--nothing heavy about it.  But I thought it was fun.  Predictable, yes, but I still enjoyed it. 
 
I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 A to Z Challenge: F
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 86
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 67
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 15
 
*FTC Disclosure: This book was given to me for free Bloomsbury Children's Books/ Walker Books for Young Readers for a honest review.

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge-- September Update

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge

What is contemporary? It's the genre wherein the events can happen in real life at the present time. The characters in the novel can be present in real life.

Goal: To read a minimum of thirteen young adult contemporary novels published in 2011.

Rules:

- All contemporary books must be in the Young Adult genre

- Books have to be published in 2011

- Open to everybody. Please fill in the form to enter.

- You can join whenever you want

- If you want to enter with your blog link, you have to post about the challenge.

- Link your reviews of 2011 Contemporary books in the MisterLinky below.

1.   Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors 
2.  The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder
3.  The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
4.  Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso
5.  The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski
6.  Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
7.  The Rivals by Daisy Whitney
8.  Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
9.  Winter Town by Stephen Emond
10.  Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala
11.  Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday
12. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
13. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Book Review- Lola and the Boy Next Door

I just finished reading Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.


When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Once again, this was another sweet teen love story by Stephanie Perkins.  But I'm not what I really want to say about this book.  I enjoyed it.  Yet I didn't race through it as quickly as I thought I would.  I liked that Lola was different and loved to dress up in her costumes, yet there was something about her that I didn't connect with.  Cricket seems like such a sweet guy, but he doesn't seem like one of those males characters that I'm sure I'd fall for if I was in the girls shoes. 

So I'm not really sure what I think.  When I think of the big picture, I think of this sweet, almost innocent love story, which I always enjoy reading.  But when I think back to when I was reading it, it was only okay.  Not that I disliked it at all, not even a little bit.  I think for some reason I was just expecting to be blown away and instead of being "wow"ed I was just pleased.  If that even makes any sense.  Yeah.  So either way, I enjoyed it.  :)

I gave this book a rating of 4/5.

Lola and the Boy Next Door will be released on September 29, 2011.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 77
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 61
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 59
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 13

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- Catching Jordan

Early this morning I finished reading Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though-she leads them as the captain and quarterback of her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starting position... suddenly she's hoping he'll see her as more than just a teammate.


So when I first read the summary of the book, I was so excited!  I am a HUGE football fan!  I love college football the best but the NFL isn't far behind.  In fact, I have 5 fantasy football leagues!  I always wanted to play football, but was never brave enough (and I don't really have any skills).  But to read a book about a girl quarterback in high school?  Awesome!

Then I sat down and started to read.  And I learned about how Jordan wanted to go to Alabama so badly and how her brother went to Tennessee.  Well, I am a DIE-HARD Gator.  I went to the University of Florida and it shows!  I even have tons of posters up in my kindergarten classroom!  My kiddos always draw me orange and blue pictures every year and I get them to say "Go Gators!"  So reading about how Tennessee was going to beat the Gators (which hasn't happened since 2004) wasn't exactly making me happy.  But then I realized that at least the author was pro SEC so I guess it was okay :) 

Anyways, on to the book.  I loved all of the football talk.  I love being submersed in the football world.  And I liked that Jordan was just one of the guys but learned that having friends that are girls can be a wonderful thing too.  I didn't like Ty, not even from the beginning.  He was too controlling and I didn't like that.  I loved Henry though!  Such a sweet guy!  The plot was okay.  It was a little predictable.  But that's okay!  I just loved reading about a girl playing quarterback!  Hopefully some day we'll see a girl quarterback in the college division!

I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.

Catching Jordan will be released on December 1, 2011.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:

2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 74
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 58
2011 Debut Author Challenge: 20
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 56
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 12

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge-- August Update

2011 YA Contemporary Challenge

What is contemporary? It's the genre wherein the events can happen in real life at the present time. The characters in the novel can be present in real life.

Goal: To read a minimum of thirteen young adult contemporary novels published in 2011.

Rules:

- All contemporary books must be in the Young Adult genre

- Books have to be published in 2011

- Open to everybody. Please fill in the form to enter.

- You can join whenever you want

- If you want to enter with your blog link, you have to post about the challenge.

- Link your reviews of 2011 Contemporary books in the MisterLinky below.

1.   Mad Love by Suzanne Selfors 
2.  The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder
3.  The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
4.  Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso
5.  The Sweetest Thing by Christina Mandelski
6.  Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
7.  The Rivals by Daisy Whitney
8.  Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
9.  Winter Town by Stephen Emond
10.  Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala
11.  

Book Review- Don't Breathe a Word

I just finished Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Joy Delamere is suffocating.

From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.

Joy can take his words—tender words, cruel words—until the night they go too far.

Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe…if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.

Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength.
 
Wow.  This book seemed so real.  Almost like it was a first hand account of living on the streets instead a fictional piece of work.  I would love to know if the author did research before writing the book or if its just an incredible piece simply written from her imagination.
 
Poor Joy.  I felt so bad for the world that she was trapped in.  Yes, she had a loving and supportive family, but was trapped by her asthma (I can't even imagine what it would feel like to not be able to breathe) and by an abusive boyfriend.  But I can't imagine how horrible it must have been for her to have wanted to escape to the streets.  (see, even as I write this, I feel as if I'm writing about a real person).  There was no sugar coating on the life in the streets.  It was gritty and real. 
 
**************SPOILER************
The only thing I didn't like was how everything seemed to wrap up so nicely at the end in an almost happily-ever-after way.  Not sure how real that is.  But I tend to like happily-ever-afters better anyways.
**************************************
 
I definitely think this is one of the books that people are going to be raving about, so if you're a fan of contemporary YA fiction, then don't miss out on it!
 
I gave this book a rating of 4/5.
 
Don't Breathe a Word will be released on January 3, 2012.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 61
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 50
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 48
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 10
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- WinterTown

Early this morning I finished reading Winter Town by Stephen Emond for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Every winter, straight-laced, Ivy League bound Evan looks forward to a visit from Lucy, a childhood pal who moved away after her parent's divorce. But when Lucy arrives this year, she's changed. The former "girl next door" now has chopped dyed black hair, a nose stud, and a scowl. But Evan knows that somewhere beneath the Goth, "Old Lucy" still exists, and he's determined to find her... even if it means pissing her off.

Garden State meets Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist in this funny and poignant illustrated novel about opposites who fall in love.
 
This book was just ehhh for me.  I usually find myself feeling this way about books either written about guys or by guys.  I don't know why.  And that was the case for this book.  I certainly didn't hate the book.  But I didn't really care about it either.  It was just...there.
 
Of the two characters, I definitely liked Evan more than Lucy.  Evan seemed like a sweet, slightly-nerdy guy who had a big heart and wanted to do the right thing.  While Lucy, she was just so negative.  About EVERYTHING!  I get that she's had some rough times.  But I knew kids with a lot harder lives than hers and they weren't nearly so negative.  And when we got to see things from Lucy's side and see how she kinda had a crush on Evan the whole time, I was kinda shocked.  I mean, she certainly didn't act like it at all. 
 
The graphics and drawings were a nice tough.  I usually stay away from graphic novels, but since this only had a few, it wasn't bad and broke up the story nicely.
 
I gave this book a rating of 3/5.
 
Winter Town will be released on December 5, 2011.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 A to Z Challenge: E
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 58
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 48
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 45
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 9

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

Book Review- Shut Out

Early this morning I finished reading Shut Out by Kody Keplinger for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Most high school sports teams have rivalries with other schools. At Hamilton High, it's a civil war: the football team versus the soccer team. And for her part, Lissa is sick of it. Her quarterback boyfriend, Randy, is always ditching her to go pick a fight with the soccer team or to prank their locker room. And on three separate occasions Randy's car has been egged while he and Lissa were inside, making out. She is done competing with a bunch of sweaty boys for her own boyfriend's attention.

Lissa decides to end the rivalry once and for all: she and the other players' girlfriends go on a hookup strike. The boys won't get any action from them until the football and soccer teams make peace. What they don't count on is a new sort of rivalry: an impossible girls-against-boys showdown that hinges on who will cave to their libidos first. And Lissa never sees her own sexual tension with the leader of the boys, Cash Sterling, coming.

Inspired by Aristophanes' play Lysistrata, critically acclaimed author of The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) Kody Keplinger adds her own trademark humor in this fresh take on modern teenage romance, rivalry and sexuality.
 
It took me a while to get into this book.  Simply because the main character, Lissa, got on my nerves.  She was totally bitchy the whole time.  I get that she is OCD and a control freak.  But guess what?  So am I.  But hers went above and beyond that.  She was bossy and often times just plain mean.  You can be OCD without being rude about it.  Once I got past just how much I disliked her, I got into the story.
 
I really liked Cash.  What a sweet guy.  I liked how he was a jock, yet had a soft side.  And I loved how he was working, just to help his parents pay bills.  And he was well-read!  My kind of guy! 
 
The plot was pretty good, as was the underlying message about how there's not really "normal" when it comes to sex and everyone is unique in their own way and thoughts of sex.  I liked how Chloe embraced her sexuality and wasn't afraid of it while Mary wasn't too afraid of her virgin status.  I think this would be an important read for teens.
 
I gave this book a rating of 3/5.
 
Shut Out will be released on September 5, 2011.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 56
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 46
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 43
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 8
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.