Book Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

January 7, 2013 by 7 Comments

Just One Day by Gayle Forman Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Source: ARC for review
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

When sheltered American good girl Allyson “LuLu” Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines. – Goodreads

Review:
I went into Just One Day expecting to be swooning over the romance between the two characters, Allyson and Willem, but instead Gayle Forman had me gripped to Allyson’s journey of self-discovery. As much as I love a good romantic storyline, this focus made for a very gratifying read in a different way.

Allyson was an easy character to relate to — especially when I found her completely frustrating. While I could be sympathetic to her situation, there were points when I was internally screaming, “GET IT TOGETHER, GIRL.” And yet… I knew exactly what she was going through because Gayle Forman made the pressures and the disappointments that she faced very real. Allyson didn’t immediately bounce back from what she was dealing with, but she certainly grew and gradually allowed herself to be open to change. It was in those moments that I found myself really loving her because, no, things weren’t going to be smooth sailing just because, but she was willing to try. Gayle Forman has such a good grasp on the ups and downs of growing up and had Allyson navigating through in a realistic way.

I expect Gayle Forman will peel back the layers of Willem’s character in Just One Year, but I must say that I wasn’t too into him in this one. He’s mysterious for sure, but he’s simply too unpredictable for my tastes. I don’t know that I can really get behind the urgency between him and Allyson either, but I’ll wait and see what Gayle Forman has up her sleeve before I completely make up my mind.

While I may not have had an adventure abroad like Allyson (anyone want to sponsor me?), Just One Day is a book I found much to identify with. Oh, and that ending? NEXT BOOK NOW, PLEASE.

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Book Review: The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

February 22, 2012 by 7 Comments

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
Release Date: February 16, 2012
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 307
Source: ARC from publisher
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Colby’s post-high school plans have long been that he and his best friend Bev would tour with her band, then spend a year in Europe. When Bev she announces that she will start college just after the tour, Colby struggles to understand why she changed her mind and what losing her means for his future. – Goodreads

Review:
The Disenchantments was a fresh, fun, and very relatable read. Have you ever made big plans that never happened? Or perhaps been let down by a friend? Been unsure of where you were going in life? I think these are all universal things everyone experiences, in one way or another, and Nina LaCour brings them to life in this book with a road trip and some rock ‘n’ roll.

Bev and Colby have graduated from high school and their big plan is to take a year off from the reality that their peers are facing, of going to college, and instead embark on a trip around Europe. It has been their plan for years and all they have left to do is a week long tour with The Disenchantments and, then, purchase their tickets out of the country. Sounds great, right? Except Bev drops a bomb on Colby right before they set out on tour with the band: she’s going to college in the fall and she’s not going to Europe with Colby.

Even though the book was told from Colby’s POV, obviously giving me only his side of the story, I think I would have sided with him anyway. He’s so easy going and likable, especially in comparison to Bev’s moodiness, and it SUCKED MAJOR that Bev kept him completely in the dark. I know it can be difficult to be honest, the awfulness of having to hurt someone and wanting to delay doing that, but it was so easy to feel how lost Colby felt; not only did his plans drastically change — what does he do next?! — but their friendship suffered a blow, too.

With two of the four friends at odds during the final Disenchantments tour, the road trip up Northern California could have been a depressing disaster. There were some tense moments, with Colby trying to find out Bev’s reasoning for her change of plans and her silence in return, but LaCour captured a great energy with her characters. Alexa and Meg, the two other members of the band, were light and humorous, and they were good friends to both Colby and Bev. The small towns and venues that they visited were interesting, full of quirky characters, and the music, both the classics and that from the band itself, only added to the dynamic ambiance. The Disenchantments was a very enjoyable read that was easy to connect with. I encourage you to give it a go!


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Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

February 2, 2012 by 18 Comments

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Release Date: January 10, 2012
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 318
Source: Purchased Copy
Rating: ★★★★★ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind. – Goodreads

Review:
I’m going to keep this one short because, well, I find it difficult to talk about about books that make me feel so much. The Fault in Our Stars is only the second ever John Green book that I’ve read, but this is the one that finally made me get IT: all the love and adoration that so many readers feel for his books. I read Looking for Alaska about two years ago and, while I liked it to an extent, I wasn’t absolutely in love with it. It’s not a book I can gush over, or that I recommend to friends, and I think I expected too much based on the glowing praise it received. It wasn’t the book for me, which is fine– books can’t be the same thing for everyone — but I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little let down. This book however…gah. It’s one that makes me feel a rollercoaster of emotions just by thinking about it.

This is a book involving cancer and, yes, there were some expected moments of sadness, grief, and heartbreak. But there was also elation. Acceptance. It was vibrant and full of personality. There were moments of hilarity that made me clutch my stomach from laughing so hard. It allowed me to fall in love right along with Hazel and Augustus and it was such a wonderful and magnificent feeling. I grew to care for them both, as well as their family and friends, so much that I hated having to say goodbye once I finished the book.

I’m not even exaggerating when I say that reading The Fault in Our Stars was a very overwhelming experience for me. My heart swelled, and my heart broke, but I mostly felt full from the amazing journey I got to go on with Augustus and Hazel. Thank you, John Green.


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Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

September 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Release Date: September 29, 2011
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 338
Source: Gifted finished copy…and buying more
Rating: ★★★★★ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

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. – Goodreads

Review:
My “I just finished this and these are my initial thoughts” goodreads review was the following:

Loved Lola and her costumes and her craziness. Cricket and his height and his hands. The setting and getting to revisit one of my favorite places ever. Lola’s parents. St. Clair and Anna’s cameos. Windows, the moon, and stars…. Another perfect read from Stephanie Perkins! I can’t wait for the next one.

And that pretty much says it all. What’s there left to say? The book was as wonderful as I expected it would be… and then some. However, as I’ve been waiting for this book since last December, I am going to dedicate more time to it and expand my review a bit.

Lola: Such a fun character! I admired Lola’s creativity and I eagerly looked forward to every new costume that she would put together. Despite her outward appearance, though, I was struck by how normal she was. Sure, she has a vibrant personality, too, but she’s not overconfident, she has her insecurities, and she screws up. I loved her, but it was very easy to be frustrated by some of her actions and how selfish she could be. Thankfully, she does some growing up throughout the course of the book.

Cricket: Where to even start with this perfect boy? He warms my heart with how sweet and adorable he is. Though he obviously has strong feelings for her, he’s so respectful of Lola and, when they can’t be together, he’s always there for her — and not in a “I’m waiting for you” creepy way, but just as the best kind of friend. The want is there, of course, but he doesn’t act on it. He’s also smart, talented with his hands (bahaha), and TALL. Love you, St. Clair, but I love me some tall guys. Thank you, Ms. Perkins, for giving me another boy to gush over.

The setting: San Francisco. If there’s one thing you should know about me it’s that I love San Francisco. I lived there for school and it’s one of my goals to go back permanently some day. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when I found out that it would be the backdrop to Lola’s story. I enjoyed nodding along to some of the references and getting to revisit some locations that I was familiar with.

Lola’s parents: Andy and Nathan were SO great. Their relationship with Lola was displayed as well-rounded: full of love and support, but also with fair boundaries for her. The three spent a good amount of time together and I adored seeing parents so involved! I think this is the first YA novel I’ve read that features two dads, too, so it’s awesome that Stephanie Perkins had this dynamic in her book.

St. Clair and Anna’s cameos: THEY’RE BAAAAAACK! I won’t give away any details about their appearances but I will say the following: they were in the book more than I expected, they’re hilarious, and ILOVETHEMSOMUCH. I hadn’t realized how much I missed them until they first appeared. I could be limited to reading about this duo (+ Lola and Cricket now) for forever and I’d be perfectly content.

Windows, the moon, and stars: Yeah, I’m not getting too detailed on this point either, but believe me when I say that all three things are important. SWOOOON.

Stephanie knows how to write a good romance and the tension between Lola and Cricket was almost unbearable: so aching, honest, and, yes, at times, even awkward. But the final result had me grinning from ear to ear, wanting to weep a little because it was all just so lovely to experience through these characters. So, yes, this was another perfect read from Stephanie Perkins and the countdown has begun for Isla and the Happily Ever After. I can’t wait to be wrapped up in more of her delightful stories!

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Book Review: Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

June 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
Release Date: June 14, 2011
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Chloe’s older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can’t be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby’s friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.

But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood. – Goodreads

Review:
I’m not sure what I expected when I began reading Imaginary Girls, but the book ended up being so unique and completely different from anything I’ve ever read before.

Though the relationship between Chloe and Ruby is complex, intense and, at times, a bit disturbing, their love for one another is also very apparent. Having practically raised her, Ruby has a special pull over Chloe and yet it becomes very clear that Ruby is equally dependent on her younger sister, willing to do the unthinkable — the impossible — for her. We see the strange power Ruby has over their town, but it’s her relationship with Chloe that moves the story forward, revealing just how far she’s ready to go and the sacrifices she’s willing to make to protect her. As Ruby’s secrets and hidden layers are brought to the surface, Chloe does show moments of uncertainty, but her loyalty to her sister always wins out.

There isn’t a lot of action in the story, but there’s definitely a lot of tension. With every character we see, there’s a growing undercurrent of unease, as well as a threat of something darker. There are moments where scenes seem to be straight out of a horror film, leaving me to want to turn on every light in my home.

The book did have its slow moments, but the beautiful writing kept me hooked. I made so many highlights of quotes and passages, each time struck by the magic Nova Ren Suma wove into this story. What I loved most, though, was the mystery that remained after the last page was turned. A clear explanation of certain events that occurred is never given, and while some readers may be left feeling frustrated by this, I was left to feel more than a little unsettled and haunted — in the best possible way.

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