Review: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Page Count:  270 pages, Hardcover

Date Published: January 27th 2015

Find it on Goodreads: I Was Here

Source: Borrowed Audiobook from Library

Cody and Meg were inseparable.
Two peas in a pod.
Until . . . they weren’t anymore.

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.I can't sugar coat this review with niceties and introductions or anything like that. I listened to this as an audiobook from my library and it was my companion to and from work, school, everywhere. It was the book that got me through the hour and a half bus journey to a friend's house and the book that got me through my lunch break on a particularly bad day at work. Gayle Forman is a very important writer to me and to many people. I was reluctant to read this book, though, because of a couple different reasons: a) Her last duology was so extremely important to me and I couldn't imagine anything else comparing to her <i>Just One Day</i> story. b) The last time I really read and committed myself to a book about mental illness and suicide, it wasn't good for my own personal mental health, so I was scared, so so scared, to read a book that addressed the same topic, in fear that something would be triggering or even just bothersome. But here's the thing: Gayle Forman did not romanticize mental illness. In fact, she subtly, so subtly, addressed the romanticization of mental illness and how completely and utterly messed up and manipulative that can be. The heroine of <i> I Was Here </i>, Cody, is an extremely interesting character who captivated me with her guilt and her fear of grief. She was a beautiful character and her growth throughout the story was utterly heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. The romance in this book, to me, wasn't really that important in terms of the whole story -it was a fine addition, but it wasn't what I was focused on while reading. Instead, I was focused on Cody's grief, on her resolve to find out more about her best friend's death, and about her development as a person after such a tragedy. Gayle Forman wrote a book about suicide, but I didn't come out of it shaking and scared, like I did the last year when I read a book about mental illness. Gayle Forman is a beautiful writer and I am so grateful to be alive in the time when she is writing.

Happy reading

~Kristy

Review: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Author: Becky Albertalli

Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Page Count:  320 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: April 7th 2015
Find it on Goodreads: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Source: Borrowed an ARC from Raeleen (thank you!!)

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

It's been difficult for me to sum up my feelings for this book in words... but basically this GIF of a smiling Jeremy Renner probably gives you a good idea of my face after finishing it: 

I. loved. this. book. Here's why:

• It kept me guessing about who Blue was. The entire time I was reading, my mind kept making scenarios up about the different possibilities of Blue's identity and how Simon would react. 

• Simon wasn't a clichéd LGBTQ character that I've seen ten million times before! He was so much more than just the 'gay best friend' or the 'closeted tough-guy jock.' He had a legitimate personality that revolved around things OTHER than his sexuality.

• The friendships were awesome and complex and relatable! This friend group had problems, but they talked them out instead of getting all dramatic about them! Platonic friendship representation is so great in YA and I wish there was more of it!

• The book brought up really important societal issues about sexuality, gender, and race, like this quote (taken from goodreads) : 

"Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another, and it shouldn't be this big awkward thing whether you're straight, gay, bi, or whatever. I'm just saying.” 

YES.

• SIMON. Probably one of my all time favourite YA characters, he was cynical, funny, a lover of Oreos and Harry Potter, and just all around incredible. I felt like I knew him, like we were friends, which is one of my favourite feelings when I'm reading a book.

• It made me happy! While this book does bring up some super important ideas, it is also just plain sweet!

I have so much more to say about this book, but I might have to add onto this review later, because for now I'm tired and need to post this asap! Please, please pick this book up if you get the chance. It's cute, it's funny, and it's important. 

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Page Count:  264 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: April 5th 2011
Find it on Goodreads: Where She Went
Source: Purchased

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.
Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future-and each other.
Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

I actually don't know how to rate this based on anything other than my feelings and emotions that revolve around this book and these characters. How on earth had I not read this series before now? I'm so in love with Mia's and Adam's story and Gayle Forman's writing. This book just filled me with warm feelings but also pulled at my heart as Mia and Adam come together once again after such a tragedy,  both different people than we had seen in the first book, yet still familiar. I really enjoyed reading from Adam's perspective, it gave him a bit more depth than the mysterious and gorgeous love interest that I had seen him as in If I Stay. It was really interesting to me to see how the aftermath of the accident has affected him as well as Mia, and where his music had taken him. I definitely loved the look into their lives once more and this whole book just played with my heart like crazy. 

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Author: Adi Alsaid

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Page Count:  352 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: July 29th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: Let's Get Lost
Source: Purchased

Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost.
Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.
There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love. And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script. And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love.
Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.

Intriguing premise with a surprise twist at the end, this book definitely lived up to the hype. I love travel/road trip books, as well as mysterious main characters, so this book was a great fit for me, as the story takes us on Leila's journey to see the Northern Lights, finding friends and adventure along the way. There's one part where Leila and Sonia are traveling to Hope, BC through all of these places that I actually know and I could picture their route so perfectly it was a bit unnerving. There's nothing like reading a book set in places you live or have been. I loved all of the character studies this book contained, with these lost people all finding this one lost girl. The final twist was surprising and a bit heartbreaking, but I loved where the story went and would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Page Count:  201 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: April 2nd 2009
Find it on Goodreads: If I Stay
Source: Purchased

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.
I open my eyes wide now.I sit up as much as I can.And I listen.
Stay, he says.
Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?
Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.
If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

Finally read this and so glad I did, but also so mad that I put it off for so long. This book was beautiful and heartbreaking and had me in tears multiple times out of both joy and sadness. I consider Gayle Forman a favourite author of mine, but now I feel like I can truly say that having read this. Forman's writing style is always impressive and I feel like her name can simply guarantee a good read. Mia's story was really interesting I loved all of the flashbacks, tying the pieces together so that the story was more than just a girl in a coma. It was a story of love, friendship, family, music.... It was really quite beautiful. 

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Author: Leila Sales

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Page Count:  279 pages, Ebook
Date Published: September 17th 2013
Find it on Goodreads: This Song Will Save Your Life
Source: Purchased ebook

Making friends has never been Elise Dembowski’s strong suit. All throughout her life, she’s been the butt of every joke and the outsider in every conversation. When a final attempt at popularity fails, Elise nearly gives up. Then she stumbles upon a warehouse party where she meets Vicky, a girl in a band who accepts her; Char, a cute, yet mysterious disc jockey; Pippa, a carefree spirit from England; and most importantly, a love for DJing.
Told in a refreshingly genuine and laugh-out-loud funny voice, THIS SONG WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE is an exuberant novel about identity, friendship, and the power of music to bring people together.

I was really not expecting to like this book as much as I did, nor did I think I would fly through it as quickly as I did. This book was not a light one, nor was it perfect, but it was a good read that made me think a lot and tugged at my heart strings. I will say, this is not the book for everyone. It's definitely one that has a writing style that's to some people's taste and not other's. The voice is younger, recognizable even, but the story is unique, or at least the concept is. I loved the huge focus on friendship this book had, as well as of course, music. It's hard for some books to truly capture the essence of what music means to a character and how that can relate to the reader, but this one did just that, and well. There was romance, but not a lot, and some really great parts about girls and friendship and popularity. This is an issue book, dealing with suicide and self-harm, so it might be hard for some to read, just to put that out there as a warning. Again, I really enjoyed this one and appreciated that it was a bit unique, a bit different. The characters were interesting and eclectic and they felt like real people, which is always an extreme positive for me when it comes to books. Definitely give this one a shot if you enjoy books that deal with tougher stuff as well as music!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Author: Jandy Nelson

Publisher: Dial Books
Page Count:  384 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: September 16th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: I'll Give You the Sun
Source: Purchased

A brilliant, luminous story of first love, family, loss, and betrayal for fans of John Green, David Levithan, and Rainbow Rowell
Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.
This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

Jandy Nelson is why I want to be a writer. This book is why I want to be a writer. This prose, this story, these characters... theses are all some of the many, many reasons why I want to be a writer. This book is a masterpiece; a collection of the finest pieces of art complied together in words to make you think and to open your mind and to bring light into your life. I am in awe by the way this novel was written, with its mesmerizing metaphors, precise yet artistic descriptions, and small but important details added in everywhere to make it all complete. My heart is bursting at the seams with my love for this book and this story, with its complex, beautiful characters with whom I connected so deeply yet felt like I could learn so much more about them. I crave more about this family and their future, but am content with where we left off and I just fell in love so completely with Noah, Jude, and their stories that I now feel empty as their written story is finished. Jandy Nelson is a gift to the world of authors and books who must and will be cherished. I praise Nelson once again for a spectacular, touching story about family, love, loss, and art. Bravo, to this wonderful author. Bravo.

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour

Author: Nina LaCour

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Page Count:  307 pages, Hardback
Date Published: May 15th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: Everything Leads to You
Source: Purchased eBook

A love letter to the craft and romance of film and fate in front of—and behind—the camera from the award-winning author of Hold Still.

A wunderkind young set designer, Emi has already started to find her way in the competitive Hollywood film world.

Emi is a film buff and a true romantic, but her real-life relationships are a mess. She has desperately gone back to the same girl too many times to mention. But then a mysterious letter from a silver screen legend leads Emi to Ava. Ava is unlike anyone Emi has ever met. She has a tumultuous, not-so-glamorous past, and lives an unconventional life. She’s enigmatic…. She’s beautiful. And she is about to expand Emi’s understanding of family, acceptance, and true romance.

Nina LaCour wowed me with The Disenchantments but this book completely blew me away. Definitely in my top 3 favourites this year so far, Everything Leads to You was touching and magical and real and all of these things at once. The imagery was phenomenal. LaCour painted perfect pictures in my mind and I could see exactly what Emi was envisioning; everything was so vivid. I've always loved set design and how one piece of furniture can change the mood, so it was interesting reading about a character so passionate about this. There was also a really great girl friendship in this between Emi and her best friend which is always awesome! There wasn't any pointless girl drama, just two best friends who loved each other dearly and helped each other every day.

I loved that this book wasn't a coming out story... Emi already knew her sexuality and so did Ava, so it didn't focus on the fact that they were two girls. It was about two people falling in love. And yes, this book is fluffy and crazy romantic and all that, but it was also more. Emi and Ava's love story was beautiful, but it was also filled with painful truths, realizations about the meaning of family, and the fact that real life is a little less dramatic than the movies, but doesn't have to be any less magical. While a quick read and probably really light for a lot of people, this book got to me in a lot of ways that are maybe too personal at the moment, but I appreciated reading nonetheless. My heart is smiling but also is sad and I just loved loved loved this book more than I can describe. Absolutely a new favourite of mine and one I would recommend to anyone looking for a sweet romance with awesome female characters.

Review: Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Author: Ava Dellaira

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Page Count:  327 pages, Hardback
Date Published: April 1st 2014
Find it on Goodreads: Love Letters to the Dead
Source: Purchased

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

Holy smokes guys. This book completely threw me for a loop and took me by surprise. I LOVED IT. So. much. I don't think I've felt this way about a standalone contemporary in a long. time. This book touched on a lot of things that I have some personal experience with and I felt so connected to Laurel in a way that kind of terrified me. It's kind of hard to put into words my feelings for this novel, as I do connect with it so closely, so I'm sorry if this review is a little shorter than usual. 

The style of this book is absolutely marvellous. It is similar to Perks of Being a Wallflower in the sense that it is all written in letters to these people who don't write back, but in this case, it is written to multiple famous people who are dead. These people are ones that the main character, Laurel, connects to or feels has helped her in some way and throughout these letters, she writes all of her thoughts and feelings, her questions, her ponderings... It's a wonderful way to see how she develops throughout the story. Some have said that they didn't enjoy her character very much because she was somewhat immature and naive, but the thing is, she's a 14 (?) year old girl who has been through a bit of a traumatic experience and is now living through the aftermath of that. I'd find it pretty unrealistic if she was portrayed as one of those 'strong female characters' that are all the rage lately who have no emotion or real depth. Laurel was trying to find who she was without her sister and in that process found people in her life who helped her get through the experiences she had that she wasn't ready to talk about yet. Love Letters to the Dead is a stunning novel about love, loss, friendship, family, and secrets. It is an impressive and important voice in the collection of YA novels that deal with mental health and healing and what it is to let people in, to let yourself recover, and to be alive. I am so excited to see what Ava Dellaira comes up with next. 

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Page Count:  359 pages, Hardback
Date Published: February 21st 2012
Find it on Goodreads: Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Source: Purchased

A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a beautiful coming of age story about friendship and love that kept me captivated with it's brilliant prose and steady pace. I'm unable to say much because of how blown away I was with this novel... I truly believe it is one of the literary masterpieces of this age. There is no flourish or embellishment, just a raw portrayal of two boys growing into men both together and separately, while learning new and terrifying things about themselves. It is a story that made me question so many things about life in general all at once and had me thinking about it long past the moment I closed the back cover. This book reminds me of  poetry, although it is not written in verse: it is written with simple sentences all woven together in an order that makes the simplicity of the words say so much more. I would recommend this book to everyone. Give it a chance. Keep reading, even if it seems a bit slow, and remember that this isn't a book that is going to give you a thrill or an adrenaline rush. It's a book that will last with you long after you have finished reading, a book that will open your eyes to questions, and have you wondering all about all of the secrets of the universe alongside these two wonderful boys inside the story. 

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller

Author: Leah Rae Miller

Publisher: Entangled Teen
Page Count:  267 pages, Paperback
Date Published: May 7th 2013
Find it on Goodreads: The Summer I Became a Nerd
Source: Purchased

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.
Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

The Summer I Became a Nerd was a super cute summer-y read that I enjoyed quite a bit, however it was also pretty predictable, yet I kind of expected that. I love reading books with a ton of pop-culture references and I especially love books that have super 'nerd-y' characters, as that is a word I proudly associate myself with. It's just fun to read about people who have similar interests as you! Maddie made me kind of sad, honestly, in that she couldn't be proud of her nerd-self and I just wanted to jostle her and be like "dude! Nerdiness is something to be proud of! It's way more fun than being a vapid, uninteresting zombie!" But I also kind of get it... It's hard to really be yourself when all of your interests might be something that others look down upon. I have to try and keep my fangirling about shows and books to a minimum around my friends usually, because a lot of them just don't get it and are definitely not interested when I start talking about Star Trek or the latest Supernatural episode. So while I was sad for Maddie that she had to hide who she truly was, I also got it. Being a 'nerd' is amazing and something I'm so proud of, but it's also sometimes difficult to be yourself in front of your friends who aren't interested in all of that or find it weird.

I was super jealous of Logan's and Maddie's super awesome nerdy adventures. I desperately want to LARP one day, but I haven't been able to find a group where I live and I don't really know many people who would be interested in doing it on our own. And seriously, working in a comic book shop surrounded by them all day? Awwwesome. Logan was super cute as well and I loved his gig at the radio station. All around, this was a pretty enjoyable novel, yet I wouldn't say I LOVED it enough to reread it. It was very predictable and there wasn't much depth to it, which I think there could have been room for, as Maddie discovered herself and who she wanted to be. But it was a fun book and a good beach read that I'd recommend it you're looking for something light!

Happy reading!

~Kristy

Review: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Author: Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Page Count:  288 pages, Hardback
Date Published: April 15th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Source: Purchased Online

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

When this book came out, something about it just made me need it. Like, every time I walked by it in the bookstore, I took it and read a few pages, wanting to buy it right then and there, but knowing I had a copy coming soon in the mail. I was in such desperate need of a cute, cheer-me-up romance with a concept that wasn't one we haven't seen a million times before, so hellooooo, this is the one. Plus, I was super excited about the fact that there is a diverse protagonist, who is SHOWN ON THE COVER, (and what a cute cover that is!) HECK YES!

I will just say a couple of things: When I first started reading, the writing kind of threw me off for a bit. I felt it to be a little awkward and that it didn't really flow too well at the start, but I got used to it after a while. Also, while I did like Lara Jean, there were some things that she did that made me want to pull my hair out, especially to do with Josh, her sister's ex-boyfriend. But overall, I enjoyed this book. After I got past the writing style and some of Lara Jean's little things, it was an enjoyable, cute book that didn't just focus on romance, but family and self-discovery as well. I loved the sister dynamic of this book and their protective relationship with their father, as well as the fact that there were conflicts in their family and they didn't just have the perfect family with nothing happening, because that's just not reality.

I was an idiot and left this review unwritten for a long time after I finished the book, so now I'm kind of blanking on what to say, but I will just say that while Lara Jean's somewhat immature voice did irk me, I found this to be a great book to read on one of those days when my mind couldn't really handle anything super literary and intense. I liked the love interest, Peter, a lot, and can't wait for the sequel to this one to see more of him, since the ending is a bit vague, although unlike many others, I really loved how this ended. I thought the ending was really cute and fit with the story, though I know many others didn't like it at all.  Anyway, I'm just going to leave it at this because if I say anything else, it will probably be just a big blurb of nothing, considering I have a headache and can't remember a lot in this book anymore. So... yep!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Author: Morgan Matson

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Page Count:  449 pages, Hardback
Date Published: May 6th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: Since You've Been Gone
Source: Purchased Online

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough.Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?
Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?
Go Skinny Dipping? Um...

Morgan Matson has an astoundingly beautiful way with words that creates round, dynamic characters and stories that tug at every little heart string. Since You've Been Gone was one of my most anticipated novels of 2014 and it did not disappoint. At all. This novel has the same sort of feel as Matson's other novels, but is different as well, in the fact that while it is not the happiest book in the world, it is definitely not sad. It was funny and charming and totally adorable and it touched my heart just oh so much, dealing with friendship, family, loss, love, and self-discovery. I had heard so much hype about this book and was a little scared at first, but honestly? It lived up to everything I had heard about it and more. 

In the beginning, all Emily can really ever think about is Sloane, her best friend. They did everything together and Sloane was definitely the leader of their little pack, but when Sloane disappears, leaving only a to-do list, Emily is left to her own devices for the summer. That's where Frank comes in. As Emily and Frank begin to run together and develop a friendship, Emily realises that there's a lot more to life than just her best friend. And so, with her list, Emily gets out of her comfort zone, making new friends and challenging herself in more ways than one. I adored reading about Emily's journey of self-acceptance and discovery and I loved how much growth she went through, learning to be brave without Sloane. It was an excellent reminder for me to get out there this summer and try new things, make new friends, and have different experiences. I loved how it ended, that it was a bit bittersweet, and that Emily had grown so much and could think for herself. 

This is by far one of my favourite new contemporaries and definitely will be a favourite read this year, so I would of course recommend it to anyone looking for a touching read that will have you swooning ad laughing and just all around happy. If you haven't read it yet, GO NOW! If you have, what did you think of Matson's latest novel? Let me know!

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

 Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Poppy
Page Count:  352 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: April 15th 2014
Find it on Goodreads: The Geography of You and Me
Source: Purchased

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.
Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.
A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

A story of travel, communication, family, self-discovery, and of course, love, The Geography of You and Me is another wonderful tale of two young people coming together through incredible circumstances from the one and only Jennifer E. Smith. This book was exactly what I needed and completely met my expectations and probably even exceeded them. I was hoping to read a contemporary that had depth to it, something that was more than just a surface-skimming love story and that is exactly what I got. Geography is about two teens who meet in a city wide black out of New York City, which is a wonderful setting for a story in itself. Yet their paths cross at unfortunate times in their lives, as Lucy soon leaves for Europe with her parents and Owen heads west with his father, their destination a mystery to them both. Through alternating chapters with adorable and totally appreciated parallels, (one of my favourite aspects of the book!), the reader is completely drawn in to this tale of two teens on opposite sides of the world, trying to get back to each other for even just a moment. With the use of post cards and emails, Lucy and Owen attempt to stay in contact, yet discover it is more difficult than it would seem, trying to stay connected as life continues on around them. I loved how they both had lives separate from each other, met new people and learned new things, instead of being caught up about this mysterious person they had met for one night. I hate books that have characters who only think about their 'love' or whatever you'd call it and forget about everything else in their lives, so this book was greatly, greatly appreciated in that aspect and many others. Lucy and Owen together were realistic, as well. They were awkward and a bit bumbling, but they each felt a connection and wanted to figure it out, yet circumstance prevented that from happening. I adored how the book ended so ambiguously, leaving the reader wondering what would happen to the two teens. This was an incredibly enchanting novel that couldn't have come from anyone other than Smith and I would highly, highly recommend it.

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle

Author: Jennifer Castle
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Count:  355 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: June 4th 2013
Find it on Goodreads: You Look Different in Real Life
Source: For Review

For the rest of the world, the movies are entertainment. For Justine, they're real life.
The premise was simple: five kids, just living their lives. There'd be a new movie about them every five years, starting in kindergarten. But no one could have predicted what the cameras would capture. And no one could have predicted that Justine would be the star.
Now sixteen, Justine doesn't feel like a star anymore. In fact, when she hears the crew has gotten the green light to film Five at Sixteen, all she feels is dread. The kids who shared the same table in kindergarten have become teenagers who hardly know one another. And Justine, who was so funny and edgy in the first two movies, feels like a disappointment.
But these teens have a bond that goes deeper than what's on film. They've all shared the painful details of their lives with countless viewers. They all know how it feels to have fans as well as friends. So when this latest movie gives them the chance to reunite, Justine and her costars are going to take it. Because sometimes, the only way to see yourself is through someone else's eyes.
Smart, fresh, and frequently funny, You Look Different in Real Life is a piercing novel about life in an age where the lines between what's personal and what's public aren't always clear.

You Look Different in Real Life was a poignant, moving story that completely took me by surprise. I was not expecting such a touching tale of friendship, growing up, and love, yet that is what it turned out to be.

I liked this book a whole lot more than I thought I would. You Look Different in Real Life is a surprisingly wonderful novel that is diverse, fresh, and real. While there wasn't a lot going on, there was at the same time and I liked the steady pace that came with Justine's story, where it was almost like we readers were actually watching the documentary of their lives. I was also so impressed with the fact that this book has a combination of things that we pretty much rarely see in YA, at least not all together in one book: LGBTQ discussion, characters of different races, a character on the Autism spectrum, etc. I loved this book mostly because, well, it was real. I mean, other than the whole "filming your life" thing, but the characters were real, they had their issues and they had growth and understanding. There was hardly any romance, which was actually refreshing, and the little romance that was present was sweet and made me smile.

What I liked most about this novel was the fact that it didn't depend on action and surprise twists to keep it interesting. What had me hooked was the development that was immediately evident in all of the characters, each of them becoming more and more dynamic as I read on. I loved learning about these five kids and where their lives have taken them, as well as how they have reacted to it all. It was so interesting for me, reading a book that relied so heavily on characters and their growth, because I always find that I love these type of books so much more than I do with the books that have static characters with just a ton of action. I've been looking for a contemporary like this for a while now and I'm so glad this one was able to pleasantly surprise me. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a great book about friendship, family, and understanding those around you.

Happy reading!
~Kristy

Review: The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise

Author: Katie Sise

Publisher: Balzer & Bray

Page Count:  312 pages, Hardcover

Date Published: April 30th 2013

Find it on Goodreads: The Boyfriend App
Source: Received ARC for review from publisher in exchange of honest review... Thank you!!

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can’t wait to get out of high school. Her father’s death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.
But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler—and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she’s the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?

While I loved the idea of a super-smart, tech-savy girl main character who creates an app, I didn't end up being too big a fan of this book. During the first bit of the story, I was totally into it all. It was a cool idea and I just loved how awesome Audrey was, but after a while, I started getting a little bit annoyed by the whole concept of the app and all the boy-craziness that went along with it. AND then, Audrey's second app came out and that's when I gave up on trying to go along with the book. I just couldn't attach myself to the concept.. It was way too far-fetched for me to enjoy, at least for a contemporary that was supposed to be a fun and easy read. I mean, it's not that I don't believe it could happen, I just wanted something else to happen instead. I really wished Audrey had dug a little bit deeper inside herself like her teacher wished and realised that you can't manipulate someone's feelings through an app. I really wished I had liked this book more, but it ended up going way too all over the place for me to really enjoy. 

Happy reading!
~Kristy