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Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer Hubbard

17 Feb

Try Not to Breathe
Jennifer Hubbard
Publisher: Viking
Release Date: January 19, 2012
Pages: 272
Challenges: Sophomore Challenge, Completely Contemporary Challenge

Rating: 4 stars

Ryan spends most of his time alone at the local waterfall because it’s the only thing that makes him feel alive. He’s sixteen, post-suicidal, and trying to figure out what to do with himself after a stint in a mental hospital. Then Nicki barges into his world, brimming with life and energy, and asking questions about Ryan’s depression that no one else has ever been brave enough—or cared enough—to ask. Ryan isn’t sure why he trusts Nicki with his darkest secrets, but that trust turns out to be the catalyst that he desperately needs to start living again.

Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer Hubbard was a really great read. I was very interested in this one when I heard about it, since I had liked Jennifer Hubbard‘s debut, The Secret Year. Try Not to Breathe was a really touching read that was just a really great book and I am happy to have read it.

I really loved the characters. Val, Jake, Nikki, they were all just great. The relationships between all the characters were so complex, and I loved seeing how everything would pan out between them. I really liked Nikki – she was no nonsense when it came to Ryan; she wasn’t going to let him just hide within himself. I really admired her.

Jennifer Hubbard‘s prose is absolutely beautiful. She really has written just an enchanting story. It deals with such a raw, emotional topic, yet there was a very hopeful light about it. The characters all support each other and will not let anyone fall into darkness, and I loved that about this book.

I would quite recommend Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer Hubbard. I loved the characters and the story they had to tell. Jennifer Hubbard‘s writing really grew from her debut in this one, and I really am excited to see what is next from her.

Someone Else’s Life by Katie Dale

16 Feb

someone elses life by katie daleSomeone Else’s Life
Katie Dale
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: February 14, 2012
Pages: 512
Challenges: Debut Author Challenge

Rating: 4 stars

When 17-year-old Rosie’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty percent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when Rosie tells her mother’s best friend, “Aunt Sarah,” that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie wasn’t her real mother after all. Rosie was swapped at birth with a sickly baby who was destined to die.

Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, joining her ex-boyfriend on his gap year travels, to find her birth mother in California. But all does not go as planned. As Rosie discovers yet more of her family’s deeply buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonizing decision of her own, one which will be the most heart breaking and far-reaching of all.

I was so excited for Someone Else’s Life by Katie Dale since I had heard about it. I started reading and there was something missing. I was so bummed. Then about a third of the way into it, something clicked and suddenly, I couldn’t put the book down and I started up til 2 AM just so I could finish and see how this amazing story would end.

Katie Dale is not afraid to pull at your heart strings with this one – this is SUCH an emotional read. I had some intense reactions towards so many things that happened. Someone Else’s Life is a really eye-opening book and I think makes you appreciate what you have in life.

The plot of Someone Else’s Story revolved so much around the characters developing and finding out who they were, which was something I really liked about it. The beginning was a bit confusing for me, but everything soon made sense. I loved all the scenes with Rosie and Andy – they were so fun.

I was not crazy about the two main characters, Rosie and Holly. They both bothered me, Holly more than Rosie. So for me, it was the other characters that really stole the show. I just loved Andy – he had his moments where I did question him, but overall I really just loved him. Ben was another character who had a very minor role, but every scene he was in was absolutely adorable.

Katie Dale is definitely an author to watch. While I had a few issues with Someone Else’s Life, overall, it was a good read. Someone Else’s Story was a story worth telling, and is really worth the read.

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

9 Feb

Everneath by Brodi AshtonEverneath
Brodi Ashton
Publisher: Harper Collins / Balzer + Bray
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Pages: 370

Rating: 4 stars

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she’s returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld… this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she’s forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s…

Everneath by Brodi Ashton was a super cool take on the myth of Persephone and Hades. It was treat to read, and I couldn’t put it down. I read this one through work, through class, and while I was supposed to be doing homework. The story really just had an addictive quality about it.

I loved the relationship between Jack and Nikki. The story surrounding it was so much fun to read. I loved and hated  Cole at the same time. And I think that was the brilliance behind his character. I would’ve liked to get to know more of the more minor characters in Everneath, as I felt like some of them were great characters, but just didn’t get to see enough of them.

The way Everneath was written was great. There was the present, but also the past in alteration, which I loved. You didn’t know the whole story to start off, so you were piecing things together and trying to come up with a bigger picture.  With the fresh take on mythology Everneath took, that was another aspect that kept me so eager to keep reading. I wanted to know how the plot would flow.

The ending was super dramatic. But I don’t feel that it left completely satisfied. I was looking for more. It was almost as if the big moment happened a bit before the end, and then it trailed off. That doesn’t mean I’m not extremely excited for the sequel though. There was just something missing from the end for me.

I really loved Brodi Ashton‘s take on this myth – it made Everneath one of the most unique books I’ve read in awhile! This really was a great, fast read that I didn’t want to put down the entire time I was reading.

First Day on Earth by Cecil Castelucci

4 Feb

First Day on Earth
Cecil Castellucci
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Pages: 150

Rating: 4 stars

A startling, wonderful novel about the true meaning of being an alien in an equally alien world.
“We are specks. Pieces of dust in this universe. Big nothings.
“I know what I am.”
Mal lives on the fringes of high school. Angry. Misunderstood. Yet loving the world — or, at least, an idea of the world.
Then he meets Hooper. Who says he’s from another planet. And may be going home very soon.

First Day on Earth by Cecil Castelucci was a cute read. I really enjoyed the characters, but I wish it had been a bit longer. I felt like the book was over much too fast. It was my first Cecil Castellucci read, but by no means my last.

This was a book of extremely short chapters. Usually, I think this may bother me, but it really worked well for this one. I loved the formatting too. Some pages only had a few sentences, but it was always meaningful when that happened.

The plot was fun. It was very simplistic, yet I still was never exactly sure where it would go. There wasn’t a lot of substance to it, and I do wish it had been a bit more fleshed out. The book was only 150 pages, so to me, there wasn’t really room for all of that.

The characters were fun. I loved the relationship between Mal and Posey – it was such an odd relationship, yet they had an invisible bond almost. Hooper was a riot. I loved him. I felt so bad for Darwyn! He was always doing everyone’s grunt work or being made fun of.

This was a super fast paced book that was really cute. I would recommend First Day on Earth by Cecil Castelucci if you are looking for one of those reads that you don’t have to think a lot while reading. I am very curious in seeing more from Cecil Castellucci after this one!

Getting Dumped by Tawna Fenske

28 Jan

Getting Dumped (Getting Dumped #1)
Tawna Fenske
Publisher: Coliloquy
Release Date: January 11, 2012

Rating: 4 stars

Losing a cushy marketing job only to end up driving heavy equipment at the landfill would be a tough blow for most women.

But JJ Schultz isn’t most women, so she gamely swaps office politics and dry cleaning bills for a chance to crush garbage with a 150,000 pound machine. As it turns out, she doesn’t miss her old life too much…though her love life was sure a lot simpler when she didn’t wear a hardhat every day. Between her hot new co-workers and her on-again-off-again boyfriend, JJ has her hands full.

The drama kicks into high gear when JJ and her sister, Lori, find evidence of a counterfeit handbag operation – something local police deem only slightly more urgent than collecting fruit flies. JJ soon finds herself unraveling a sinister plot in the company of a tie-tugging accountant, a straight-to-video action hero turned secretary, a suspicious but sneaky-hot engineer, and a host of other characters with questionable hygiene and morals.

Getting Dumped by Tawna Fenske was a cute read that was really fast paced. It had a big cheese factor to it, but was a lot of fun to read.

This was a book I enjoyed reading a lot. The plot was quirky, fun, and was one of those books that just made you smile once you got past the bit of cheesiness some of it brought to life.

The characters were a lot of fun, and the relationships between all of them were probably even more fun. Finishing the book, I still haven’t gotten a lot of the characters figured out, so I am curious to see more of them in the next book.  I did want JJ to just pick a guy – I felt like every two seconds she was with a new one. I loved Lori – I loved her quirks and just her good hearted nature. The employees from the dump were all great as well, they brought so much to the book.

My biggest issue with Getting Dumped was the ending. It’s a major cliffhanger – but nothing was resolved in this book.  I am very curious to see what happens next, but the ending had no conclusion.

Overall, Getting Dumped was a good read. I had a few issues, but the fact that I didn’t want to put it down overcame those. I am very intrigued for the next installment, particularly since I didn’t quite get the closure I was looking for. This is a great book for someone looking for a fast fun read.

From the Back of My Shelf (9): Purge by Sarah Darer Littman

27 Jan

From the Back of My Shelf is a bi-monthly event, that happens on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month where you pull a book from the back of your shelf (with a 2009 release or prior) and review it. It’s a way to read some of those books that have been gathering dust while new books came out. Feel free to join in and participate, and link your reviews up in the Mr Linky below. Check out more in my intro post here here.

Purge
Sarah Darer Littman
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: April 1, 2009
Pages: 240

Rating: 4 stars

Janie Ryman hates throwing up. So why does she binge eat and then stick her fingers down her throat several times a day? That’s what the doctors and psychiatrists at Golden Slopes hope to help her discover. But first Janie must survive everyday conflicts between the Barfers and the Starvers, attempts by the head psychiatrist to fish painful memories out of her emotional waters, and shifting friendships and alliances among the kids in the ward.

Purge by Sarah Darer Littman was a book I really enjoyed – It feels weird to say I enjoyed it, given the subject matter, but Sarah Darer Littman has written a book filled with such hope and a positive message for teens.

I really liked the characters. I thought Janie, and all the other teens at Golden Slopes. They all were very different, but I found them all very easy to connect to. No, I haven’t  gone through the same things as they had been through, but so many contributing factors to their situation I have experienced in some manners, making it really easy to relate to all of them. I really liked Tom. He was hands down my favorite character of the book. I also really liked Brad, he definitely played a smaller role, but I just loved the one scene he was in.

Each chapter started with an entry from Janie’s diary, and I thought it was a really neat format. The diary entries were very different from the regular narrative, as it was not only here thoughts, but also a lot of Janie’s back story. The one thing I wasn’t too crazy about was how Janie referred to everyone as a Puker or a Starver. It just felt a bit odd to me, and it was almost like there was like a battle between the two.

Purge‘s plot was very sad at times, but it had such an element of hope throughout most of it. There were so many touching scenes. I found Nurse Joe to be hilarious and he helped Janie a lot when no one else was really succeeding. Any scene with Tom was just great, he always brought something new to a scene

I really liked Purge. I thought it was a book that addressed a very important topic, and that Sarah Darer Littman really succeeded in writing about it. This is my first Sarah Darer Littman read, but after Purge, I am very anxious to pick up another!

Did you do a From the Back of My Shelf post? Link it here :)

From the Back of My Shelf (8): Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

13 Jan

From the Back of My Shelf is a bi-monthly event, that happens on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month where you pull a book from the back of your shelf (with a 2009 release or prior) and review it. It’s a way to read some of those books that have been gathering dust while new books came out. Feel free to join in and participate, and link your reviews up in the Mr Linky below. Check out more in my intro post here here.

Jellicoe Road
Melina Marchetta
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: September 1, 2008
Pages: 416

Rating: 4 stars

“What do you want from me?” he asks. What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him. More.

Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeen, is finally being confronted with her past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn’t a lot of time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs is back in town, moody stares and all.

In this absorbing story by Melina Marchetta, nothing is as it seems and every clue leads to more questions as Taylor tries to work out the connection between her mother dumping her, Hannah finding her then and her sudden departure now, a mysterious stranger who once whispered something in her ear, a boy in her dreams, five kids who lived on Jellicoe Road eighteen years ago, and the maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs, who knows her better than she thinks he does. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.

I have heard that Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is amazing for ages, and decided I finally needed to sit down and read it, to see what everyone was talking about. Jellicoe Road had a very touching story to tell, and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t love it to the point that I feel others have, but I thought it was a story worth telling.

This was a very slow book to get into. I had no idea what was going on until just before page 100, and didn’t grasp a full idea until closer to page 200. This was bothersome in a way, but it almost made me more curious. I was so intrigued by the storyline, yet I had no idea what the basis for all of it was. After that, I found the story to be so charming. The story line from the past, with Narnie and the others, was very hard to follow. I found myself finishing still not having a clear understanding of everything that happened. I was able to piece together the gist of it, but I still had so many questions that I didn’t feel were answered. That went for the main storyline as well, there definitely were some questions that remained unanswered, when I had hoped I would discover an answer.

I really adored all the characters. Jessa was a character who really grew on me throughout the book; at first, I was not super crazy about her, but by the end I could not imagine the book without her. Griggs was awesome. He was just such a great guy. Ben was another character who I really loved – he was such a good-hearted person. Taylor grew a lot as a character as the book went on, and I loved seeing the changes in her as the book went on.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is definitely a book worth reading, and while it wasn’t a for sure favorite of mine, I still am happy to have read it. I am very interested to check out other works by Melina Marchetta after this one. Jellicoe Road was a story of a simply wonderful cast of characters.

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The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills by Joanna Pearson

7 Jan

The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills
Joanna Pearson
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Release Date: July 1, 2011
Pages: 224

Rating: 4 stars

For anyone who’s ever survived a rite of passage or performed a mating dance at Prom . . .
The Japanese hold a Mogi ceremony for young women coming of age. Latina teenagers get quinceaneras. And Janice Wills of Melva, NC … has to compete in the Miss Livermush pageant.
Janice loves anthropology–the study of human cultures–and her observations help her identify useful rules in the chaotic world of high school. For instance: Dancing is an effective mating ritual–but only if you’re good at it; Hot Theatre Guys will never speak to Unremarkable Smart Girls like Janice and her best friend, Margo; and a Beautiful Rich Girl will always win Melva’s annual Miss Livermush pageant.
But when a Hot Theatre Guy named Jimmy Denton takes an interest in Janice, all her scientific certainties explode. For the first time, she has to be part of the culture that she’s always observed; and all the charts in the world can’t prove how tough–and how sweet–real participation and a real romance can be.
Funny, biting, and full of wisdom, this marks the debut of a writer to watch.

The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills was an absolutely delightful debut. I read straight through and just loved  it. Janice has a great story to tell, and I loved every page of it.

The plot was a lot of fun. There were definitely aspects that were slightly cliched and predictable, but I loved them all the same. The book had little interruptions to the plot such as “A Note From the Anthropologist” which were a ton of fun to read. It was just another thing that made this book so great. I love contemporaries – and this one was quite funny at times, yet still had serious undertones.

The characters were probably my favorite thing about this one. They were all great. Even the minor characters stuck out in my mind. Janice was a character who developed a lot throughout the book, and really came into herself. I loved Paul – he was my favorite character of the book. All his quirky ideas he tried, he just seems like a very fun person.

After this debut, I am very intrigued to see what is next for Joanna Pearson. I really enjoyed this one! I would definitely recommend it to all, especially for those looking for a contemporary with charm and is a fast read.

This review is cross posted from YA Books Central, where it was originally posted.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

3 Jan

Under the Never Sky
Veronica Rossi
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Pages:  400

Rating: 4 stars

Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.

As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love – one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY.

I had heard all sorts of hype for Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, but for me, it did not live up to the praises I had heard.  I still found it to be a very good read, and I am curious to see how the story will grow in the sequel.

Under the Never Sky was a very slow read. It picked up a little around page 200, but was still very slow and steady. Not that this was bad, I just was hoping for a little more to happen. That being said, the last 50 pages or so had a lot going on, and it set up a really cool premise for what is to come in book 2. I am very curious to see how the story will develop from here.

I was a bit confused about the world. For a large portion of the book I sat trying to piece together all the elements and come up with a coherent road map, but didn’t have much luck. By the end I had been able to piece together a general idea, but I still was very unsure. It was a really cool world, but I didn’t completely understand the Aether and the different Markings people could get. I am very curious to see more of this in book 2.

I really loved the mix in genres this one felt to have. There was definitely a huge element of dystopian, but also a lot of sci-fi and almost an element of fantasy. It was a lot of fun to read in that sense, as it wasn’t solely one “thing”.

I really enjoyed the characters in Under the Never Sky – they were definitely my favorite aspect. I loved Aria and Perry both. Roar was another favorite character of mine. I loved that the story alternated from Aria to Perry’s story. It made it a lot more fun. I hope to hear from some of the characters only mentioned in passing or in conversations. Aria and Perry’s relationship was one I really liked. It was slow to build and was absolutely adorable.

Under the Never Sky was a promising debut, and I am curious to see how Veronica Rossi grows as a writer in further books. Veronica Rossi has really set the stage in this novel for what will be an awesome book to follow.

Mercy Lily by Lisa Albert

29 Dec

Mercy Lily
Lisa Albert
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: October 8, 2011
Pages: 240

Rating: 4 stars

Mom has slowly been losing herself to MS. After traditional treatment fails, she takes bee sting therapy, administered by Lily, to alleviate her pain. Lily is trained as a veterinary assistant, so she can easily handle the treatments. What she can’t handle is what happens when the bee sting therapy fails and it becomes clear that Mom wants to die.
One beautiful spring day, Lily’s mother asks her for the most impossible thing of all—mercy. They live in Oregon, where the Death with Dignity Act allows a patient to make the decision to end their own life.
While navigating first love, friendship, and the other normal worries faced by high school sophomores, Lily also has to choose: grant Mom’s request, or cling to Mom’s fading life for all it’s worth.

I should warn you all now that this was a really hard review for me to write and was a very emotional read for me. This book hit really close to home for me – my mom was diagnosed with MS when I was 8 years old, and my entire life since that has had me living in the same fear Lily has for a lot of the book. While my mom is lucky and is no where near as severe as Lily’s mom in this book, it still was a very emotional read for me. I heard about Mercy Lily by Lisa Albert, and I wanted to read it, to see if I was strong enough. I really liked Mercy Lily, I thought it was a really strong debut.

I cried so much throughout this book. I would say for nearly 200 pages I was crying on and off, and I do not cry easily in books. Mercy Lily was so realistic – so much of what happens seriously is what I fear every day could happen. Between the emotional, heart wrenching moments there are a lot of lighter, fun moments between Lily and her friends. I wish this had been fleshed out a bit more, I didn’t feel like they were quite developed enough.

The characters were great. I definitely wish I had gotten to spend more time with a few of the characters, as I loved them so much. Gretchen was an awesome character, and I loved the scenes she was in. Shauna and Trent were another pair of awesome characters. Shauna had so much spunk and Trent had a great sense of humor.

Mercy Lily was an interesting read for me, it was one of those books that tells a really hard story, but also a story of growth and finding strength. It is a really touching story, and I am very curious to see more from Lisa Albert!

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