Book Review: If I Lie by Corrine Jackson

February 19, 2013 by 8 Comments

If I Lie by Corrine Jackson If I Lie by Corrine Jackson
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Purchased
Rating: ★★★★★ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.

Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise. – Goodreads

Review:
I have to admit that I struggled with parts of Corrine Jackson’s If I Lie. No, it wasn’t because it was dull or badly written in any way, but it was very hard to not feel an overwhelming sadness for the main character, Quinn. She’s stuck in a difficult situation, caught between loyalty and the truth, and I am not exaggerating when I say that this book HURT.

When If I Lie opens up, Quinn has already been ostracized and horribly bullied by her school peers for cheating on her boyfriend, Carey. Her friends have turned their backs on her and then Carey goes MIA, which only makes things harder for her. If this had been any other book I would have expected Quinn to go crying into some guy’s shoulder and for the book’s pages to be filled with their love story, blah blah blah. It goes to show that I always expect the worst from a lot of contemporary reads, but Corrine Jackson pleasantly surprised me by not losing sight of Quinn’s individual journey. Quinn’s home life isn’t very easy, either. Her mother walked out on her family several years before and her father is closed off, almost seeming to hate Quinn for her mother’s mistakes. Between her family and friends, Quinn is very much alone and I cried for all that she had to endure. I don’t know if I could have withheld the truth like Quinn did, but I definitely admired her selflessness.

If I Lie doesn’t have a happily ever after ending, but it does have an honest conclusion. The pain doesn’t magically go away, there’s a loss of trust, and all ties aren’t mended, but there’s growth and the opportunity to find the strength to move on. Corrine Jackson’s If I Lie is raw and often painful, but it will get under your skin and have you thinking about it for days after.

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Book Review: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

January 18, 2013 by 5 Comments

Stolen by Lucy Christopher Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Release Date: May 1, 2010
Publisher: Chicken House
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Gemma, 16, is on layover at Bangkok Airport, en route with her parents to a vacation in Vietnam. She steps away for just a second, to get a cup of coffee. Ty – rugged, tan, too old, oddly familiar – pays for Gemma’s drink. And drugs it. They talk. Their hands touch. And before Gemma knows what’s happening, Ty takes her. Steals her away. The unknowing object of a long obsession, Gemma has been kidnapped by her stalker and brought to the desolate Australian Outback.

Stolen is her gripping story of survival, of how she has to come to terms with her living nightmare – or die trying to fight it. – Goodreads

Review:
Stolen by Lucy Christopher will straight up mess with your head. I’ve been wanting to read it for over two years now and when I had the opportunity to borrow it, I immediately jumped at the chance. I expected that this would be a hard read because, hello, we all know about abduction cases in real life and they are a worst nightmare.

Lucy Christopher definitely captured the nightmare side of things and it was so unsettling to read about Gemma’s terrifying experience of being drugged and taken by some guy to the middle of nowhere. I’m not even exaggerating when I say “middle of nowhere” because reading about the desert and the lack of anything out there made me sick to my stomach. I felt Gemma’s need to escape, but I also felt her terror of not knowing where to go and feeling so trapped by the vast open space.

Ty, her captor, is no doubt terrifying because he is definitely unhinged. He has long obsessed over Gemma and he plans to keep her with him forever. However, Lucy Christopher allows a glimpse into his past and brings his vulnerabilities to the surface which, in turn, allowed me to sympathize with him to a certain degree. It was conflicting because, on one hand, he’s so messed up and he was wrong to take Gemma, but on the other, I was able to somewhat understand his motives.

Make no mistake, there would be no sympathizing with anyone’s captors in real life, but as far as Stolen goes, I loved that Lucy Christopher didn’t have a clear definition of right and wrong. This book stressed me out, yes, but it also made me think about reasoning and intentions.

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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: Every Day by David Levithan

August 28, 2012 by 6 Comments

Every Day by David Levithan Every Day by David Levithan
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: SDCC 2012
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

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. – Goodreads

Review:
Every day, A wakes up in a new body: different race, different size, different gender… A is not defined by any of these characteristics and tries to respect the host body as much as possible during the time spent in it. Then A, in the body of Justin, meets Rhiannon and everything changes. A feels a connection that has never happened before and A can’t let go of that feeling. From then on, each day as someone new, A and Rhiannon form a bond that gives a new meaning to love without restriction.

David Levithan truly made the feelings between Rhiannon and A palpable. It’s not smooth sailing for the two, as there was a certain amount of uncertainty along the way, but it was easy to understand their closeness and how easy it was to be themselves with each other. There was never any issue about their feelings and that was a powerful thing to me because so many relationships are judged based on their race, gender, and other reasons that shouldn’t even be an issue. Love is love and it should be respected; ridiculous notions presented against it should be done away with. The end.

Every Day is the type of book that will stick with me and I’m thankful that David Levithan came up with such an ambitious concept. With his beautiful writing, I can only hope that it will open the eyes of readers who may have a more restricted definition of what makes love true.

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Book Review: My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

August 2, 2012 by 13 Comments

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Release Date: June 14, 2012
Publisher: Dial
Source: Purchased
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase’s family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself – Goodreads

Review:
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick was an excellent summer read that was both engaging and layered.

Things I Loved:
• The Garretts! I think they are the ultimate high point because !!!!!!! how wonderful were they?! It was the easiest thing to love them. They are such a large and vibrant family and I was so completely charmed by their energy and interactions. Above all the fun, though, they are so supportive of each other and so full of love. I found it refreshing to find such a strong family dynamic present throughout the book and yes…nothing but love for the Garretts! I’m glad Huntley Fitzpatrick could create such a heartwarming and delightful family.
• The relationship between Sam and Jase was wonderful throughout. There was a lot of sweetness, but Huntley Fitzpatrick also tackled some heavier situations with them and I really loved the honesty between them. Yay for a healthy relationship!
• Jase, that incredible boy! I won’t even bother describing him beyond that because he’s just amazing all around. Why, oh, why didn’t I ever have a next door neighbor like him?
• Tim! He was probably the biggest surprise for me as I didn’t expect to form as strong of an attachment as I did. I really liked the growth of his character.
• I would be lying if I said that I loved Sam throughout, because there were definitely moments when she frustrated me, but it was easy to understand her fears and uncertainty. She really struggles between right and wrong and I think she came out a stronger, more mature person from everything thrown her way.

Things I Didn’t Like:
• Grace Reed, Sam’s mother. She made my blood boil, she was so horrible! Still, though I did not like her one bit, I liked how Huntley Fitzpatrick had a strong focus on her character and the relationship she had with her family.
• The only major issue I found with My Life Next Door was the missing resolution to a few lingering questions I had. Perhaps there will be a sequel or companion where I’ll get my answers, I don’t know, but I wish these loose ends had been tied up.

Overall, My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick had so many great elements that made it one of my recent contemporary favorites. There is so much that I enjoyed and I am definitely looking forward to reading whatever Huntley Fitzpatrick writes next.

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