Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip Giveaway yet? Tomorrow's the last day!

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Balzer & Bray, September 18, 2012

Read for 2012 Sophomore Challenge and 2012 Standalone Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

And their doom comes swiftly.
It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.
But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.
Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

I just finished this book and I'm reminded of the fact that there just aren't enough murder-mysteries in YA fiction. I get why, really--the overly gruesome descriptions are usually a requirement for murder mysteries, and that can quickly put off many teen readers, or send them to the adult mystery section.

But Ten is a fun, fun read...well, as fun as a book about teenagers being tortured and murdered can be, at any rate! It's a perfect read for when you're looking for something scary and want some twists and turns. The cast of characters reads like any realistic scary movie--the linebacker, the computer nerd, the  overbearing girl, the "normal" girl and her unbalanced best friend--but like any realistic scary movie, you're anxious to see who's next to get offed, and how many people will have to die before the killer is revealed. Fun, like I said. :)

There are enough twists and turns to keep any reader guessing--I thought I had the killer figured out, but was wrong, and then wrong again--and the sense of hopelessness at being stranded in a gorgeous house, seemingly the only occupants on an entire island, with no method of communicating with anyone else and a serial killer methodically killing everyone? This is a great read, trust.

ARC won in contest. Ten will be released on September 18 and I urge you to pick it up!!
Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Super Short Reviews (11)

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip giveaway yet?

Welcome to my Super Short Reviews feature. With my life being the chaotic, hectic mess it is, I'm finding it difficult to keep up with my reviews. Hence, the Super Short Review, which is basically what it says--a couple lines about some of my recent reads. All links will lead to Goodreads.

My Life in Black and White by Natasha Friend: Read for 2012 Standalone Challenge. This was an interesting read about a beautiful girl at the top of the social ladder who falls hard after a car accident leaves her face permanently disfigured. I felt that forgiveness was given far too quickly, but I am not that quick to forgive, so that might just be my perception. This book addresses the question of what happens to the person who is judged based solely on their looks, when their looks are drastically changed? Borrowed from the library.

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger: Read for 2012 Standalone Challenge. I felt this was a fun summer read, perfect for the beach. Like Kody's previous works, sex (either the actual act, or talking about the act) and drinking are everyday occurrences in this novel, so if reading about those things bother you, Kody is probably not your girl. But I felt this was a realistic, fun novel--although Kody's debut novel, The DUFF, remains my favorite of hers. Borrowed from library.

Infinity (Numbers #3) by Rachel Ward: I have heard ZERO about this trilogy, and I can't imagine why. I found the premise to be exceptionally interesting--what would life be like if you looked at people and saw their death dates?--and I thought the books were suspenseful and fast reads. Why no one else likes them, I don't know. Because I don't want to ruin the trilogy for anyone who hasn't read it, let me just say that it came to a satisfying conclusion. If you haven't checked out this trilogy (Numbers and Chaos are books 1 & 2), I obviously think you should. Borrowed from library.

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Super Short Reviews (10)

Have you entered my Reading Road Trip giveaway yet?

Welcome to my Super Short Reviews feature. With my life being the chaotic, hectic mess it is, I'm finding it difficult to keep up with my reviews. Hence, the Super Short Review, which is basically what it says--a couple lines about some of my recent reads. All links will lead to Goodreads.

Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti: Read for 2012 Standalone Challenge. This was a powerful novel about bullying. I have to admit, I love love love Susane as a person, and I've found her other novels to be entertaining, but this one really hit home for me and is hands down my favorite by her. This is a strong novel about bullying and neglect and it will leave you feeling hopeless and hopeful, which is a feat to pull off in one novel. I got a finished copy at BEA.

Skinny by Donna Cooner: Read for 2012 Debut Author Challenge and 2012 Standalone Challenge. This debut novel is a moving account of 15 year old Ever, who weighs over 300 pounds. She's tormented not only by her peers but by the ever-present voice in her head that Ever not-so-affectionately names Skinny. After many humiliating moments, and one in particular, Ever makes the decision to pursue gastric bypass surgery. Donna Cooner has had gastric bypass surgery, so Ever's experiences ring true. The delight Ever feels the first time she goes clothes shopping post-surgery was so realistic that I teared up a little. A wonderful debut. Skinny will be released October 12 from Scholastic. I received an ARC at BEA.

Zoe Letting Go by Nora Price: Read for 2012 Debut Author Challenge and 2012 Standalone Challenge. Zoe's mother drops her off at Twin Birch for reasons Zoe cannot understand. Twin Birch is not a hospital or a rehab, and the methodology is something that hasn't really been seen before. The other girls are obviously suffering from anorexia, but, as Zoe explains in letters to her best friend Elise, that can't possibly apply to her. I found the ending of the novel predictable but I really enjoy reading about the Twin Birch experience, and I hope that the author used a real-life example of a facility--in other words, that places like this really exist for those who need them. I borrowed this book from the library.

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Every Day by David Levithan

Every Day by David Levithan

Knopf Books for Young Readers, August 28, 2012

Read for 2012 Standalone Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl. 
Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.
It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.
With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day.

OMG This is one of my 2 favorite books this year (See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles still reigns supreme). Can David Levithan do no wrong? Seriously, this is one of those books that everyone MUST read. Amazing, simply incredible. Beautifully written, innovative concept, I was in love from the first page. David Levithan takes a completely unrealistic concept--a being wakes up in a different body every single day--and makes it work. Not only does he make the concept feasible, but he makes us care about this entity, this being who has not physical home but is still capable of emotions. 


I just don't even have the synonyms to describe the awesomeness that is this novel. I think my slight infatuation with David Levithan as an author and editor is already fairly well-known (see evidence of my fangirly stalker behavior here, here, and here, plus this year's BEA recap which has yet to be written--I know, I suck), but to know that this novel came from him? Fangirly all over again.


Seriously, this book comes out on August 28, and you need to mark your calendars, set an alert on your phone, whatever you need to do to remind yourself to get your hands on this book as soon as possible. I would offer to share the ARC that my cosmic twin lovingly picked up for me at BEA, but it is signed and personalized by the aforementioned genius known as David Levithan, so I apologize but I can't share. You understand, right??


Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Jersey Angel by Beth Ann Bauman

Jersey Angel by Beth Ann Bauman

Random House Children's Books, May 8, 2012

Read for 2012 Standalone Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

It's the summer before senior year and the alluring Angel is ready to have fun. She's not like her best friend, Inggy, who has a steady boyfriend, good grades, and college plans. Angel isn't sure what she wants to do yet, but she has confidence and experience beyond her years. Still, her summer doesn't start out as planned. Her good friend Joey doesn't want to fool around anymore, he wants to be her boyfriend, while Angel doesn't want to be tied down. As Joey pulls away, and Inggy tours colleges, Angel finds herself spending more time with Inggy's boyfriend, Cork. With its cast of vivid and memorable characters, this tale from the Jersey shore is sure to make some waves.

I so wanted to love this book. It's supposed to be about the real people who live at the Jersey Shore, not the tourists that we see on MTV. I loved Rosie & Skate a few years back, and thought this book would be more of the same. In addition, I generally have a very soft spot for books about New Jersey, particularly if they're written by NJ-area writers (hence my love for all things Kieran Scott, Megan McCafferty, and Eireann Corrigan, among others). Now, going into this I discovered on the author bio that Beth Ann Bauman lives in NY, but her author bio says that "She lives in New York City, but will always be a Jersey girl at heart," so I was hoping for the best.  In retrospect, I should have realized that no where does it say that Beth Ann has ever actually LIVED in Jersey. Which is, after all, what makes a Jersey Girl a Jersey Girl.

Unfortunately, I was not enthralled with this book. I originally gave it 2 stars on Goodreads but after writing this review I had to change it to one. Angel, our narrator, is simply an unlikable person, and that makes it hard for us to care about her and what happens to her. She hooks up with whoever she feels like but refuses to commit to anyone, and yet her society treats her like some kind of goddess instead of a slut. Apparently she's gorgeous (although all I remember anyone focusing on is her "great tits and ass"), and she is, admittedly, a pretty decent big sister, but she is the WORST friend a person could have, and I really didn't find anything to like about her. Seriously, you need a friend like Angel like you need a frontal lobotomy. She is not loyal and has no qualms about taking whatever she feels should be hers, for no reason other than she wants it. Ugh.

There was just so much in this novel that was unbelievable that I would almost call this a fantasy book instead of a contemporary novel. Angel's mother lets her live in a house by herself all winter long, and has for years (the girl is 17)? Really? NONE of these kids' parents care that they're sneaking into and out of each other's bedrooms at 3 in the morning? Come on.

And honestly, the term "benny" was absolutely misused throughout this book. It's an acronym, Google it.

This was a really, really hard review for me. It's actually been sitting as a draft for weeks, because I feel that it's really harsh and I don't want to be that reviewer that makes an author cry (let's just pretend I have that much of an impact LOL). At the same time, I don't want to be the reviewer that absolutely LOVES every book she reads, either. Ultimately, however, my desire to be honest won out. I will say that if you're looking for a decent Jersey read, try Rosie & Skate by the same author.

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Miracle by Elizabeth Scott

Miracle by Elizabeth Scott

Simon Pulse, June 5, 2012

Read for 2012 Standalone Challenge (and because Elizabeth Scott is amazing!)

Summary from Goodreads:

Megan is a miracle. At least, that’s what everyone says. Having survived a plane crash that killed everyone else on board, Megan knows she should be grateful just to be alive. But the truth is, she doesn’t feel like a miracle. In fact, she doesn’t feel anything at all. Then memories from the crash start coming back.

Scared and alone, Megan doesn’t know whom to turn to. Her entire community seems unable—or maybe unwilling—to see her as anything but Miracle Megan. Everyone except for Joe, the beautiful boy next door with a tragic past and secrets of his own. All Megan wants is for her life to get back to normal, but the harder she tries to live up to everyone’s expectations, the worse she feels. And this time, she may be falling too fast to be saved...

What can I say about Elizabeth Scott? I love her work, especially her darker stuff. Miracle cannot be considered as dark as Living Dead Girl, but it is definitely not a light novel. Megan is the only survivor of a plane crash, and feels nothing. I could totally understand Megan's behavior in this story--she's being treated like a miracle for doing nothing except surviving something that killed everyone else involved. Pretty heavy stuff. I thought the reactions of her friends, teachers, and family were spot on--at first a lot of Megan's actions and behaviors are overlooked because, hey, she survived a plane crash. But inevitably that novel concept will wear thin, and where will that leave Megan?

I appreciated the family dynamics in this story, as well. We don't ever really know what happened, but Megan's little brother, David, was fairly sick as an infant. As a result of this, he is constantly coddled by his overprotective parents--until their oldest child survives a plane crash and then the focus is off David and on Megan. This, of course, does not sit well with either child, for different reasons. One question, though: I don't understand why parents would think that a child who survives a plane crash wouldn't benefit from discussing this life-altering event with a professional. Is it ever going to be acceptable to want to talk to a psychologist or other therapist to cope with life's problems?

This was an amazing read. I have been waiting so long for this novel to come out, and it's the only one Elizabeth is releasing this year, so definitely take the time to savor it.

ARC received from publisher. I didn't receive any compensation for this review. Miracle will be released on my birthday--June 5, 2012. And check out the Acknowledgments!

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeline George

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeline George

Viking Children's, March 15, 2012

Read for 2012 Standalone Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

Jesse cuts her own hair with a Swiss Army knife. She wears big green fisherman's boots. She's the founding (and only) member of NOLAW, the National Organization to Liberate All Weirdos. Emily wears sweaters with faux pearl buttons. She's vice president of the student council. She has a boyfriend. 

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. This is not a story about coming out, or about being a lesbian, although one of the two (three?) main characters is a lesbian. This is a story about being in high school, and being confused about who you think you should be and who you want to be. Which is awesome. Having said that, I despised Emily, the "straight" main character, and I found her chapters to be despicable. Jesse, the other main character (who Emily spends Tuesday afternoons hooking up with--in secret, of course--she wouldn't want anyone to know that she likes a girl) was fun, knows who she is and what she wants. Why her chapters were told in third person while Emily's were in first person, I can't guess. And did we real need to hear from Esther at all?

Borrowed book from library.
Enjoy your reading!
Christi

Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

Simon & Schuster UK, February 2, 2012

Read for 2012 Debut Author Challenge AND 2012 Standalone Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

When seventeen-year-old Rosie’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty-per-cent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when she tells her mum’s best friend, ‘Aunt Sarah’ that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie was not her biological mother after all... Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, hitching along on her ex-boyfriend’s GAP year to follow her to Los Angeles. But all does not go to plan, and as Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply-buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonising decision of her own - one which will be the most heart-breaking and far-reaching of all...

Look! A real review! I just found this book so compelling--I was writing up a few sentences for a Super Short Review post, but honestly, the topic of Huntington's Disease deserves an entire post. Huntington's Disease is something that is not on most people's radars, unless you know someone who has it. Unfortunately, I know about it. My mom's best friend has lost all FOUR of her children to this horrible disease. Her first husband had it, but didn't begin to exhibit symptoms until his late 40's--when they'd already had all their children. If your parent has HD, there's a 50% chance that you'll get it, too. But in the case of Mom's dear friend, those odds were much, much higher. 

If you're more interested in learning about Huntington's Disease, you can visit the Huntington Disease Center of America website.

So, it's because of Mom's BFF that I was attracted to this book in the first place, and I have to say that I absolutely LOVE what Katie Dale did to make readers aware of Huntington's Disease. It's very difficult to describe HD--I've heard it said (perhaps even Katie said it) that it's similar to having Parkinson's Disease AND Alzheimer's Disease at the same time. Basically, it's a brain disorder that causes your nerves to waste away. There's a lot of fidgeting and involuntary movement (chorea), mood swings, and cognitive problems, just to name a few. Ultimately a person with HD will require around-the-clock-care for feeding, clothing, bathing. There is no cure.

To put Huntington's Disease in a young adult novel is already a brave move, and a guarantee that you'll have an emotional read. However, Katie Dale doesn't stop there. No, we've also got a heartbreaking, switched-at-birth story, a finding-your-birth-parents-story, a pair of love stories, and even an across-the-Atlantic road trip story! Any one of these plot lines would have drawn me to this book, but Katie mixes them all together--and does it in such a way that you are immediately drawn Rosie's worlds, both old (England) and new (America). Katie has taken a smorgasbord of plots that seem completely implausible and has made them a very believable contemporary story. The characters are believable and lovable--they are doing the best they can with what they've been given, and their choices might not be our choices, but they're not made without serious thought and consideration first. 

I am so grateful to Katie Dale for exploring Huntington's Disease in this novel, and I feel she did an excellent job doing so. I'm very much looking forward to more from her!

Borrowed book from the library.

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic

Have you entered my Follower Love Giveaway Hop yet?

Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic

HMH Children's Books, January 17, 2012

Read for 2012 Debut Author Challenge AND 2012 Standalone Challenge

Warning: this review contains SPOILERS. But so did the freakin' summary, so there.

Summary from Goodreads & the back of the book: (I want you guys to understand my review and the summary has so much to do with it):

I had the dream again. The one where I'm running. I don't know what from or where to, but I'm scared, terrified really.Austin Parker is never going to see his eighteenth birthday. He probably won't see the end of the year. But in the short time he has left. there's one thing he can do" He can try to help the people he loves live--even though he never will.
It's probably hopeless.
But he has to try.

First of all, this was a super-quick read. I'm talking two hours, tops. Secondly, I feel that the summary really ruined the novel for me, because Megan doesn't spend the novel talking about the fact that Austin has a terminal disease. It's alluded to, which I thought was the most brilliant thing about this debut. Austin shows up at a party and the guy charging admission takes a look at him and waves him through. There are other scenes where strangers look at him sadly, knowingly, and we don't really know why. EXCEPT THAT THE SUMMARY GAVE US THE REASON. Even the Library of Congress summary on the copyright page is purposely more cryptic: "Seventeen-year-old Austin, aware that life is short, asks his best friend and secret love, Kaylee, to take him to visit people and places in and around Tacoma, Washington, so that he can try to make a difference in the time he has left." THAT is the summary that should have been used. It alludes to what's going on, but it doesn't spell out what happens in the last few chapters.

This book could have just been about a kid who decides to spend his weekend righting all the wrongs in his life, trying to help his friends out of jams, and finally telling the girl of his dreams he loves her. AND THEN in the last two chapters he could reveal that he has a terminal disease and is dying. That is the novel Megan Bostic wrote, and it was extremely powerful (although it was somewhat convenient that so many of Austin's friends/family had screwed up so much). Unfortunately, knowing how the novel was going to end just by reading the back cover took some of that power away.

Borrowed book from the library.
Enjoy your reading!
Christi

The Catastrophic History of You and Me: review & giveaway!

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Penguin Young Readers Group, February 21, 2012

Read for 2012 Debut Author Challenge and 2012 Standalone Reading Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

Dying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever. 
BRIE'S LIFE ENDS AT SIXTEEN: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally. 
But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost—and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul . . . who just might hold the key to her forever after. 
With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?

This book has been on my to-read wish list forever, and when I stumbled into Jess at the Twitterhood of the Butt-Lifting Pajants party in NYC back in December,  I jumped at the chance to read and review her debut novel.

I very much enjoyed this debut. It was at times charming, humorous, and of course terribly sad. I always love reading books about "after" life and seeing all the different ways authors describe what happens to us after we die. I like how Jess was able to show us, through Brie, what was happening on earth after she died. The level of emotion that Brie suffered, though, I have to say bothered me a bit. NOT because of the writing or anything like that, but because I don't like to think about our loved ones going through any kind of suffering after they've left us. It's a different view, and one that I don't necessarily want to agree with, but Brie's emotions definitely propelled the events in this book.

I especially enjoyed that the book was broken into the parts of grief--anger, denial, etc.--and I really, really liked that each chapter title was not only a song title but also really, really relevant to the contents of the chapter. And of course I especially loved that song title index at the end!

There were parts of the novel that were predictable to me (I spotted the whole thing with Jacob a mile away, for instance), but overall the novel rang fresh and true. The ending, especially, was an enjoyable twist. Brie's voice definitely comes through as a scared 15-year-old whose entire world has been turned upside down. Fans of contemporary novels and romance will enjoy this debut.

One lucky person can win my gently used, signed ARC (thanks, Jess!). Simply enter the Rafflecopter below. Contest ends on February 2.

2012 Standalone Reading Challenge

Have you entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card yet? Click here!

I'm already committed to three challenges for 2012 (Debut Author, Sophomore, and TBR), but this one sounds like fun, too, and as long as crossover titles are allowed, I think I'll be good. For this challenge I have to read 15 standalone titles--not sequels--that are released in 2012. Hafsah from IceyBooks and Britta from I Like These Books are hosting this challenge.

My list might change, but right now I'm selecting these 15:

1. Fracture by Megan Mirand
2. Cracked by K.M. Walton
3. Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard:
4. The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
5. The Story of Us by Deb Caletti
6. The List by Siobhan Vivian
7. Touched by Cyn Balog
8. Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser
9. In Honor by Jessi Kirby
10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
11. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
12. Drowning Instinct by Ilsa Bick
13. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
14. In Too Deep by Amanda Grace
15. Miracle by Elizabeth Scott

Whew! I have a lot of reading to do this year--thankfully, most of these titles were already on my to-read pile for 2012. BUT, I am officially DONE. No more challenges for me--4 might be too many!

What challenges are you participating in for 2012?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi