How My Summer Went Up in Flames

Book:  How My Summer Went Up in Flames

Author:  Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Publisher:  Simon Pulse

Date:  Available now

Source:  Publisher via Edelweiss

My grade:  A

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

Initial impression

Girlfriend’s got some sass!  I like it!

Cover story

I like this cover.  A lot.  It captures the whole road trip motif and also captures Rosie perfectly with that gas can. The cover is funny and light-hearted, just like the novel.

What’s the Story?

So, Rosie is a Jersey girl.  She’s not the skanky kind like Snookie (who isn’t even from New Jersey, btw), but the spunky kind!  Girlfriend has some spirit and after her boyfriend dumps her, she accidentally sets his car on fire.  And she might have been continuously calling and texting him and sometimes showing up where he is.  Just a little.

All of this results in a restraining order for dear Rosie.  Now, her best friend and neighbor Matty is going on a trip with 2 of his friends to drop off Logan, the older friend, at college in Colorado.  So they have a whole road trip planned from New Jersey to Colorado and Matty suggests that Rosie go with them so that she doesn’t get in any more trouble before her court date.

Rosie is not so open to this idea at first, but eventually comes around.  Spencer and Logan are both sort of geeky, but Logan is, of course, very nice to look at!  So off they all go on the summer road trip!

This book has what many road trip novels have:  mishaps and mayhem, fights, heart to heart talks, unplanned stops, etc.  But somehow, this novel had a certain je ne sais quoi.  For one thing, the writing was phenomenal!  This did not read like a first time author’s book.  I was really able to relate to Rosie, even though I’ve never set an ex-boyfriend’s car on fire.  But let’s admit it—there are some that we all would have liked to have done that to, right??

Rosie’s sass just makes you love her.  I loved to watch her giving those boys some lip.  Not just any girl can survive a cross country road trip with 3 teenaged boys, but Rosie held her own and then some with them.  I was cheering for her the entire way!

The ending was somewhat predictable, but like on any good road trip, you may know where you are headed, but getting there is at least half the fun!  And the getting there in this novel was REALLY fun!  This is definitely one of my all time favorite road trip novels.  If you’re going on a road trip this summer, I definitely recommend picking this one up to take with you for the ride!

The Soundtrack

Smile by Lily Allen

I’m on Top of the World by Imagine Dragons

Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute

Paper Doll by John Mayer

Send Me on My Way by Rusted Root

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen (you can’t have a book about a Jersey girl on a road trip without the Boss, right?)

Jersey Girl by Tom Waits

Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show

The Final Grade

My final grade for this book is an A.  It has everything a good road trip novel should have and just a little bit more.  This book will make you want to jump in your car and head on your own road trip….maybe all the way to New Jersey!

Winger

Book:  Winger

Author:  Andrew Smith

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster

Date:  Available now

Source:  Publisher via Edelweiss

Grade:  This book honestly transcends a grade, but if I must, it’s an A+++++

Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.

With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.

Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking.

Initial reaction

::stunned silence::  I need a few minutes to collect my thoughts on this one.

Cover story

This book suffers from the “Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” problem.  A hideous cover that holds a beautiful and rare gem inside.  At first, I almost didn’t read this one, but after reading it, I realize the cover is PERFECT!!!

What’s the Story?

I’m not even sure that my review can do this book any justice.  This is one of the best books I’ve ever read in my lifetime.  It is powerful.  It is funny.  It is embarrassing.  It is awkward.  It is heart-wrenching.  It is touching.  In other words, it is life.  And it captures life as an adolescent boy so perfectly.

This book felt so real to me.  Reading through the eyes of Ryan Dean was phenomenal.  Well, if you consider the viewpoint of a 14 year old boy genius to be phenomenal!  Seriously, this book seemed to exactly capture that time and its confusion, awkwardness, tension and joy.  By the end of the book, I was just in love with Ryan Dean as all the other people in the book.

This book really reminded me of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  I think it’s the male narrator voice that I love.  Why?  Because it manages to take serious subjects and address them with a lightheartedness that is still blunt and straight to the point.  In many ways, you don’t even realize just what sorts of life-changing topics are being addressed because of the humor in the narration.  Then you realize that you have been dealing with all kinds of serious issues since the beginning of the book.  It’s just that boys don’t get whiny about them like girls.  Boys just take things as they come until they finally punch someone.  That sums up Ryan Dean and it actually sums up this book.  It just deals with the story and then it punches you.

Watching Ryan Dean grow up and navigate the issues facing him was like watching a beautiful flower growing from seed to bloom.  I just knew that even though he was starting out as a sort of ugly sprout, in the end, he would be breathtaking.  And he was.  This book is a poignant coming of age novel, but it is also much more.  By the end of the book, I loved those rough and tumble rugby players from O-Hall as if they were my own boys.  And I was devastated by the ending.  Yet, in spite of the horrible event that takes place, I still closed the book feeling hopeful for Ryan Dean and his friends.  They suffered through something horrible, but they all grew and changed and became better people during the novel.  That is one of the most uplifting parts of reading good literature.  Even in the face of a tragedy, the hero becomes a better man.

I don’t even know what else to say about this novel.  It’s a story that is so powerful that it has left me grasping for words to describe it.  All I can do is say that everyone should read it.  You won’t regret it.

The Soundtrack

I’m Just a Kid by Simple Plan

Teenagers by My Chemical Romance

Stop This Train by John Mayer

Wake Up by The Arcade Fire

In This Diary by The Ataris

She Is Love by Parachute

Oh It Is Love by Hellogoodbye

Light Years by Pearl Jam

Field of Innocence by Evanescence

The Final Grade

My final grade for this book is an A+.  It’s actually much higher than that, but since that’s my highest grade, it will have to do.  This book honestly transcends a grade.  Just go read it.

The Eternity Cure

Book:  The Eternity Cure

Author:  Julie Kagawa

Publisher:  Harlequin Teen

Date: Available now

Source:  Publisher via Netgalley

My grade:  A+

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike. (description from Goodreads)

Initial reaction

Why, Julie, why????  ::sobs uncontrollably::

Cover story

I like this cover, although it doesn’t really match the first one, which I also liked.  But it’s a good cover and I would be happy to show it out in public.  I like the title too.  It’s catchy and I think it will pique readers’ interest.  This is also a great cover and title for boys.  It’s not girly at all, so it won’t be off-putting.

What’s the Story?

This novel picks up where The Immortal Rules left off.  It’s been a few months, but Allison is searching for Kanin, her creator, who is being held captive by a pscho-vamp.  Along the way, she runs into her vampire brother, Jackal, who is also the crazy vampire lord that killed a bunch of the humans in the first book.  So that’s where we stand.

Reviewing second books in a trilogy is always so, so hard because I am so afraid of spoilers, but I’ll try to keep this one as spoiler-free as possible.  And this book is going to be hard to review without spoilers, so if the review seems a little lacking, understand that the reason is so that you, the reader, can enjoy your own journey with this book.

Julie Kagawa is a master and now she is truly a master of the vampire novel.  Seriously, I rank these vampire novels right up there with Anne Rice.  Kagawa, like Rice, manages to capture the complexities of the vampiric existence.  The myriad of emotions and the love-hate relationship vampires have with humans and one another.  She also manages to show the many different sides of vampires and she does it without making vampires seem like good guys or bad guys.  They simply ARE.

The Immortal Rules was really about getting to know the humans that inhabit this fictitious world.  Even though Allison became a vampire, she spent most of the book with humans.  In The Eternity Cure, this is the reader’s glimpse into the world of the vampires.  We get to see the good, the bad and the ugly here and come to understand that, just as in the human world, there are really no absolutes.  Even the seemingly “bad” vampires have pasts that have made them who they are.  Just as in any good literature, the reader is left questioning “Who is the monster and who is the man”? (with apologies to Disney for stealing that line!)  But that is what good books should make us do.  We should re-think our paradigms and realize that humans, and vampires, cannot be pigeon-holed into “good” or “bad”.  That is one of the things I enjoyed most about this novel.

I am so glad that I got to spend some more time with Jackal.  He is such an interesting character.  Of course, Zeke shows up again in this novel and I loved seeing his character develop more as well as his relationship with Allison.  There were some surprising characters that reappeared and there were moments that completely broke my heart and left me almost bereft.  Yet, there were also moments that were completely uplifting.  This novel took me through a myriad of emotions and left me breathless by the end.  I cannot wait for the next novel.

The Soundtrack

The Rescue by American Hi-Fi

Flying High by Jem

Honey and the Moon by Joseph Arthur

Stop and Stare by One Republic

Brave by Idina Menzel

Hey World (Don’t Give Up) by Michael Franti

The Final Grade

My final grade for this book is an A+.  Even though parts of it broke my heart, I loved every moment of it and I can’t wait to get the next book and see what sort of awesomeness Julie Kagawa has in store for me!

Moonset

Book:  Moonset (Legacy of Moonset #1)

Author:  Scott Tracey

Publisher:  Flux

Date:  Available now

Source:  Publisher via Netgalley

My grade:  A

Moonset, a coven of such promise . . . Until they turned to the darkness.

After the terrorist witch coven known as Moonset was destroyed fifteen years ago—during a secret war against the witch Congress—five children were left behind, saddled with a legacy of darkness. Sixteen-year-old Justin Daggett, son of a powerful Moonset warlock, has been raised alongside the other orphans by the witch Congress, who fear the children will one day continue the destruction their parents started.

A deadly assault by a wraith, claiming to work for Moonset’s most dangerous disciple, Cullen Bridger, forces the five teens to be evacuated to Carrow Mill. But when dark magic wreaks havoc in their new hometown, Justin and his siblings are immediately suspected. Justin sets out to discover if someone is trying to frame the Moonset orphans . . . or if Bridger has finally come out of hiding to reclaim the legacy of Moonset. He learns there are secrets in Carrow Mill connected to Moonset’s origins, and keeping the orphans safe isn’t the only reason the Congress relocated them . . .

Initial reaction

It was refreshing to have a book narrated by a boy……plus the coven politics were fun!

Cover story

I love this cover.  It is what drew me to the book to begin with and the title is intriguing. This is definitely a cover that would not send boys running away as fast as they can.

What’s the Story?

So, there were some elements that reminded me a bit of Harry Potter, but not really.  That doesn’t make much sense, but let me explain.  No, there is no time to explain, let me sum up…..(sorry, can’t resist Princess Bride references.)

There has been a war in the wizard community.  The coven of Moonset, which had many talented witches, turned dark and tried to usurp power.  They were defeated and destroyed with the exception of their 5 children.  So what does the magical community do with these kids?  They ship them around from place to place and they shun them.  And that, dear friends, is where our story begins…

You can see the original premise is similar to the HP plotline, but the execution is completely different.  I really enjoyed this book, a lot!  I think that the idea of who is “bad” becomes very nuanced in this book, and I won’t be surprised if later on in the series, we find out that Moonset wasn’t as evil as it’s been made out to be.

This was a book that I had a hard time putting down.  There was a touch of romance, but really it was more about the plot and action.  I really liked watching develop as a person and a young man.  In many ways, this was also a coming-of-age novel for Justin.  He really learned to stand up, be strong and protect his family.  At the beginning of the novel, he was very insecure and felt that other members of his family were more dynamic and interesting.  But Justin has this sort of quiet strength that makes him very likeable.  I’m really glad this story was narrated from his point of view.  If it had been from his sister’s, I think it would have gotten on my nerves.

The nice thing about narration from the boy’s point of view is that we get a bit of humor and macabre mixed into the narrative.  That was true in this book.  Justin is, at times, just a boy and his thoughts and reactions reflect that and it kept the book from getting bogged down in a depressing story.

Some of the other members of the witch community were interesting and I’m not sure about Quinn, the guardian that is assigned to the 5 siblings.  I am curious to see how he develops as a character in the next book.  At first I thought he would become Jenna’s love interest, but I’m starting to wonder if he is more like a mentor character for Justin.

All in all, I think this was a solid start to a new series.  I am anxiously awaiting the next book.

The Soundtrack

Witches Dream by Mason Jennings (the lyrics don’t really fit, but the feeling of the song does, and it’s about witches.  ::shrugs::)

Season of the Witch by Hole

Welcome to My Life by Simple Plan

Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day

We Are Family by The Corrs

Keep Holding On by Glee cast

The Final Grade

My final grade for this book is an A.  This is a solid first book for what looks like a very interesting series.

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Ah, procrastination!  That is my middle name!  I have needed to do this forever, I just haven't.  So a huge shout out to Lauren over at Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf for putting up a post about the end of Google Reader on July 1st and moving over to Bloglovin'.  She gave me just the kick in the rear that I needed and also made it easy for me by including all the links I would need!  Lauren, you rock!

So I will be moving my RSS feed over to Bloglovin'.  You can follow me there and if you are getting my feed on Google Reader, you can easily join Bloglovin' and then move all your Google Reader blog feeds right over with just one click!  In fact, if you click on the link to Lauren's blog above, she has all the steps you need!

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Hope to see all of you on the other side of July 1!!!

The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abé

Book:  The Sweetest Dark

Author:  Shana Abé

Publisher:

Date: Now available

Source:  Publisher via Netgalley

My grade:  A

For fans of Lauren Kate and Libba Bray, The Sweetest Dark is filled with thrilling romance, exciting adventure, and ancient magic. Shana Abé brilliantly captures the drama of post-Victorian England, while unfolding a passionate love story that defies time.
 
“With every fiber of my being, I yearned to be normal. To glide through my days at Iverson without incident. But I’d have to face the fact that my life was about to unfold in a very, very different way than I’d ever envisioned. Normal would become forever out of reach.” 
 
Lora Jones has always known that she’s different. On the outside, she appears to be an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Yet Lora’s been keeping a heartful of secrets: She hears songs that no one else can hear, dreams vividly of smoke and flight, and lives with a mysterious voice inside her that insists she’s far more than what she seems.
 
England, 1915. Raised in an orphanage in a rough corner of London, Lora quickly learns to hide her unique abilities and avoid attention. Then, much to her surprise, she is selected as the new charity student at Iverson, an elite boarding school on England’s southern coast. Iverson’s eerie, gothic castle is like nothing Lora has ever seen. And the two boys she meets there will open her eyes and forever change her destiny.
 
Jesse is the school’s groundskeeper—a beautiful boy who recognizes Lora for who and what she truly is. Armand is a darkly handsome and arrogant aristocrat who harbors a few closely guarded secrets of his own. Both hold the answers to her past. One is the key to her future. And both will aim to win her heart. As danger descends upon Iverson, Lora must harness the powers she’s only just begun to understand, or else lose everything she dearly loves.
 
Filled with lush atmosphere, thrilling romance, and ancient magic, The Sweetest Dark brilliantly captures a rich historical era while unfolding an enchanting love story that defies time.

Initial reaction

That was a breathe of fresh air!  Something completely different!

Cover story

I really like this cover and I like the title.  Hooray!

What’s the Story?

This book was so refreshingly different.  I don’t want to give the whole premise away, but let me just say that this is a type of paranormal that is not found frequently.  In fact, I can only think of one other series that deals with this sort of supernatural being and I haven’t read it, so this was my first encounter with this particular sort of supernatural in a novel.

In many ways, this book’s style reminded me of The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab.  There is an almost dream-like quality to the narrative.  It was as if the edges of the story were slightly blurred or foggy, if that makes sense.  When I read a book, I always “see” the story like a film running through my head, and in this book, that film had a blurred quality, very smudged around the edges, if you will.

I’m usually not a huge fan of historical paranormal (The Infernal Devices notwithstanding!), but I really enjoyed this one.  The backdrop of World War I made this story interesting.  I also think it is what allowed the story to work so well.  These characters were just perfect for this time setting.

There was a love triangle, but not really, because I don’t think there was the same pull toward each of the male characters.  In a very Celtic manner, it deals with love as a tragic destiny.  There were parts that broke my heart and yet, I can’t wait to continue reading the story.  The same thing happens to me every time I read Tristan and Isolde or a King Arthur story; I know that it’s not going to end well, but I love it all the same.  I’m not sure if any of this story is part of Celtic lore, but it feels as if it could be!

I really, really enjoyed this book and I am anxiously looking forward to the next book in the series.

The Soundtrack

Breathe Again by Sara Bareilles

All of My Days by Alexi Murdoch

Haste No More by Mumford and Sons

Bleeding Love by Mystery Jets

Shine by Alexi Murdoch

The Final Grade

My final grade for this book is an A.  I loved it.  It was different and it was profoundly heartbreaking, but I enjoyed it immensely in spite of that. 

The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise

Book: The Boyfriend App

Author:  Katie Sise

Publisher:  Balzar + Bray

Date:  Available now

Source:  Publisher via Edelweiss

My grade:  A-

In The Boyfriend App by Katie Sise, super-smart, somewhat geeky Audrey McCarthy can’t wait to get out of high school. Her father’s death and the transformation of her one-time BFF, Blake Dawkins, into her worst nightmare have her longing for the new start college will bring.

But college takes money. So Audrey decides she has to win the competition for the best app designed by a high schooler—and the $200,000 that comes with it. She develops something she calls the Boyfriend App, and suddenly she’s the talk of the school and getting kissed by the hottest boys around. But can the Boyfriend App bring Audrey true love?

Initial reaction

Go Geeks!!!

Cover story

Actually, I love this cover.  It is perfect for the story and it is completely related to the plot of the book.  Imagine that.  There’s no kissing either!  I’m not crazy about the color scheme, but I’ll take it!  And the title is ok, too.  It’s not really imaginative, but it works.

What’s the story?

I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would.  No, wait, that’s not exactly right.  I knew it would be cute and fun, and it was.  But it is much more of a coming-of-age story than total brain candy.  It’s still on the sweet side, but with a little more substance than I first thought.

First, there is Audrey.  She and her friends are total computer geeks, complete with the tech talk.  I’m glad that I’m married to a computer geek because I actually knew what Linux is!!!  The tech talk could get a little complicated, so keep Google and Wikipedia close by. J

Next, there are Audrey’s friends.  Aiden, Mindy and Nigit are her geeky school friends and they were wonderful.  Lindsey, her cousin, is the total opposite of Audrey and her friends, but I just loved Lindsey!  She writes a fashion blog and was totally plastic, but with a heart of gold.

I think that what makes this book so good is this exquisite cast of characters.  They are sort of larger than life and very complex.  Katie manages to write them in a way that moves them beyond the cardboard cut-out cliques they represent.  Even the mean girl has a back story.  I think that because these characters are so grounded and feel so real, the over-the-top nature of the plot can still work.  Because believe me when I tell you, things get a little insane in the middle part of the book!

There were times when Audrey seemed so dense that I just wanted to smack her!  Girlfriend had a lot of growing up to do.  And she did it in this book.  I love it when I can close the book and see that the character has progressed as a human being and I feel good about where everything stands.  I reached the end of this book with a giant smile on my face, and that pretty much sums it up, right?

This is a fun book with great characters and the theme is very current and relatable for teens (and for everyone, really.  There are 30 somethings that would love an app that would find their perfect match!)  There are times when the plot gets a little out of control, but honestly?  I didn’t even care.  I was so invested in the characters by the time that happened that I just kept right on reading.

The Soundtrack

The Middle by Jimmy Eat World

Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus

At My Most Beautiful by REM

Only One by Yellowcard

Buddy Holly by Weezer

She Blinded Me with Science by Thomas Dolby

The Final Grade

My grade for this one was an A-.  The minus is because of the way the story got so convoluted, but regardless of the unbelievability of it, I loved the story all the same.