Yay! another review by Jaye! This is a book I listened to first, then gave to Jaye because I enjoyed it so much. I agree with everything Jaye wrote, or I would've written one of my own, too.
pub date: April 1, 2005
publisher: Scholastic
pages: 340
appeals: A light, humorous romance; School serves as the main backdrop; Told entirely through correspondence; The girls are the main characters, but the guys are heavily involved, stealing the spotlight at times; Multiple, diverse characters that are pretty well-drawn, but not deeply so
content: Some language and innuendo, no sex or graphic situations
Jay's thoughts:
Wealthy Ashbury 10th graders Emily, Lydia and Cass were not excited to start the “pen friend” program with “low-life” Brookfield students. However, once Em began corresponding with Charlie, and Lydia with Seb, things started to look up. Cassie, on the other hand, has an unexpected and frightening experience with Matthew.
This book is composed entirely of written correspondence, whether it is letters back and forth, notes from parents, or entries in Lydia’s NotebookTM (she’s an aspiring author). It was confusing at first, trying to get a solid hand on who was writing who and each of their situations. It did settle down a little further into the book.
The beginning was chronological, but as I got further in, it took turns focusing on one “couple” before going back and showing what other characters had been doing at the same time. Maybe that helped in keeping the characters straight, and I did get to follow each drama to its conclusion. However, it was confusing in its own right, and I would have liked everything to follow along without the inadvertent time travel.
I listened to the audio, which had a cast rather than a single narrator, and that helped define characters as well. Everyone performed very well, and made the characters their own. It takes place in Australia, so the accents were enjoyable, too.
The characters had distinctive voices, and it was nice to learn about the girls’ friendship, and get to know the guys they were writing. They all had faults, but I liked them anyway, even if I did roll my eyes at Emily’s snobbishness, or Seb’s over-the-top flirting. Favorite character: Charlie, and even he wasn't without fault.
They were all surprisingly willing to break the law. The main difference was that the girls mostly managed to avoid getting caught, but the guys were pretty familiar with the form master’s office. I was laughing out loud at parts, wondering how their antics were going to play out. Sometimes I was outraged on someone’s behalf, and a few times I had to cheer them on, even when what they were doing was stupid. There were some definite surprises.
It was a solid, enjoyable read with romance, drama, and a hint of danger. Plus, a hilarious “courtroom” scene near the end.
pub date: June 7, 2011
publisher: Farrar, Straus, Giroux
pages: 320
appeals: humor, romance, friendship, queen bees, contemporary, realistic fiction
content: Sex was mentioned briefly a few times, there were also a few swear words, not many.
thoughts:
I really enjoyed Brody's sense of humor, in this book as well as in her first YA, The Karma Club. I love books that make me laugh, and this one definitely did that.
What I liked the most was Brooks voice. It was intelligent, self-deprecating, humorous (as stated earlier), and likable. I liked her and was rooting for her success the whole book.
The progression of the plot was great. Brooks is horrible at making wise decisions and has gotten into much trouble because of it. So she starts a blog where she will post every decision she needs to make and let her readers decide what she should do. Her readers don't see things the way she does and Brooks ends up doing a lot of things she doesn't want to do, but does them because she promised she would. It was great. I loved how her reader's responses affected her life.
This story has a love triangle, which has become a turn off for me of late, but it was wonderful in this book. This love-triangle was done right. There was no lightning bolt of love. There was no overboard passion. There were two boys that liked the same girl. The relationships developed naturally and over time. It was a fun romance without the characters needing to kiss each other every page or long expositions on why Brooks needed the boy(s). Good stuff.
At one point Brooks was asked how many boys she'd had sex with. Everyone was surprised that she hadn't slept with anyone. She's only fifteen. I'm was surprised they thought she'd slept with one person, the fact they thought she'd slept with multiple boys kind of horrified me.
If you like realistic romance then pick up this book!
summary:
PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!
Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.
Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.
But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!
Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever.
But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.
pub date: April 5, 2011
publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
pages: 464
format: audio
appeals: historical fiction, realistic fiction, WWII, family, humor
content: a few scattered swear words, some interesting topics of conversation that aren't horrible, but that make me not classify this book as 'clean'
thoughts:
I listened to this book in my car, right on the heels of listening to the first of the Montmaray Journals, A Brief History of Montmaray. So for over a month I listened to Sophie's diary and lived in her world. And then it was over and I was so very SAD. I loved both books, but now have to wait for the third in the series, however long that takes. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Toby and Simon and Veronica, and especially Sophie.
And I must say that the audio version was FANTASTIC. The reader added so much to the story.
What I loved about the book:
1--I loved the humor in these books. Obviously the author was making it funny, but Sophie wasn't trying to be funny. She just wrotes what she saw in her diary and it came across as so humorous because she was so serious. I laughed so much while listening to this book.
2--I loved the characters, especially the four main characters, Veronica, Sophie, Simon, and Toby. Their aunt was pretty great, too.
3--I loved the history in these books. This one ended just as WW2 is beginning. So there has been 4 years of build up to this point. There were a lot of 1930s politics in this novel, which I was surprised I didn't get bored with. But I didn't. Now the war had come, and I'm am so worried for these characters that I love! What will happen to them!?!?
Fantastic books. And I'm saying that when there isn't any romance in the book. That says a lot about how wonderful these books are.
summary:
Michelle Cooper combines the drama of pre-War Europe with the romance of debutante balls and gives us another compelling historical page turner.Sophia FitzOsborne and the royal family of Montmaray escaped their remote island home when the Germans attacked, and now find themselves in the lap of luxury. Sophie's journal fills us in on the social whirl of London's 1937 season, but even a princess in lovely new gowns finds it hard to fit in. Is there no other debutante who reads?!And while the balls and house parties go on, newspaper headlines scream of war in Spain and threats from Germany. No one wants a second world war. Especially not the Montmaravians—with all Europe under attack, who will care about the fate of their tiny island kingdom? Will the FitzOsbornes ever be able to go home again? Could Montmaray be lost forever?
pub date: June 7, 2011
publisher: Hyperion
pages: 288
source: ALA Midwinter
appeals: ghosts, humor, romance, contemporary, supernatural
content: some swearing
thoughts:I really enjoyed The Ghost and the Goth, the first in the series. My favorite aspect of the book was the interplay between Anola and Will. It was great. So I was really excited for this book because I wanted more!
I did really enjoyed Queen of the Dead, but not as much as the first, because Will and Alona had their own adventures, apart from each other, for at least half of the book. I love Will and Alona together, and I missed that.
But the adventures they did have, even though not together, were still interesting and exciting and surprising. A lot of depth was added to the story. It had great humor, great characters with great chemistry, and a super great plot. The ending...WOW. I cannot wait until the third in the series comes out (next year!). I love this story.
If you haven't read the Ghost and the Goth books yet, I highly encourage you to do so.
book blurb:
After being sent back from the light, Alona Dare - former homecoming queen, current Queen of the Dead - finds herself doing something she never expected: working. Instead of spending days perfecting her tan by the pool (her typical summer routine when she was, you know, alive), Alona must now cater to the needs of other lost spirits. By her side for all of this - ugh - “helping of others” is Will Killian: social outcast, seer of the dead, and someone Alona cares about more than she’d like.
Before Alona can make a final ruling on Will’s “friend” or “more” status, though, she discovers trouble at home. Her mom is tossing out Alona’s most valuable possessions, and her dad is expecting a new daughter with his wicked wife. Is it possible her family is already moving on? Hello! She’s only been dead for two months! Thankfully, Alona knows just the guy who can put a stop to this mess.
pub date: May 10, 2011
publisher: Henry Holt and Co
pages: 336
source: ALA Midwinter
appeals: time travel, humor, romance, England, mystery, contemporary
content: clean
thoughts:
I loved this book! It was wonderful! It was adventurous, really quick to read, with never a dull moment. I really enjoyed the time travel. The translator did an excellent job.
The characters were great. I liked Gwen an awful lot. She had such an endearing personality and attitude. Her family members were quirky and very entertaining. Though some were more likable than others. I especially loved Gwen's friend Lesley. Their movie addiction was great. It kept me smiling.
There was a little romance in her relationship with Gideon, though it was very abrupt, I'm glad something romantic happened before the end. Because end was rather abrupt, too. The last page was the middle of a scene. Which made me really want to read the next book in the series. But sadly, I don't read German.
I actually like the German covers much better than the US. Aren't they wonderful?
I love how Gwen and Gideon are arguing in the first, flirting and in the second, and dancing and smiling in the third. There's their relationship illustrated with shadow puppets! (or so I assume since I've only actually read the first). I think the US cover doesn't really reflect the story inside, which is quirky and fun. Though it is pretty, the US cover looks too serious to me.
blurb:
Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era! Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon, the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.
