Review: Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne

Release Date: 2 July 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

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Goodreads description:

Sawyer Dodd has it all. She's a star track athlete, choir soloist, and A-student. And her boyfriend is the handsome all-star Kevin Anderson. But behind the medals, prom pictures, and perfect smiles, Sawyer finds herself trapped in a controlling, abusive relationship with Kevin. When he dies in a drunk-driving accident, Sawyer is secretly relieved. She's free. Until she opens her locker and finds a mysterious letter signed by "an admirer" and printed with two simple words: "You're welcome."

My Thoughts...

The Dead and the Buried by Kim Harrington

Release Date: 1 January 2013

Publisher: Scholastic
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

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Goodreads description:

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Eve & Adam by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant

Release Date: 2 October 2012 Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

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Goodreads description:

Sixteen-year-old Evening Spiker lives an affluent life in San Francisco with her mother, EmmaRose, a successful geneticist and owner of Spiker Biotech. Sure, Evening misses her father who died mysteriously, but she’s never really questioned it. Much like how she’s never stopped to think how off it is that she’s never been sick. That is, until she’s struck by a car and is exposed to extensive injuries. Injuries that seem to be healing faster than physically possible.

While recuperating in Spiker Biotech’s lush facilities, she meets Solo Plissken, a very attractive, if off-putting boy her age who spent his life at Spiker Biotech. Like Evening, he’s never questioned anything... until now. Solo drops hints to Evening that something isn’t right, and Emma-Rose may be behind it. Evening puts this out of her mind and begins her summer internship project: To simulate the creation of the perfect boy. With the help of Solo, Evening uncovers secrets so big they could change the world completely.

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Release Date: 24 April 2012

Publisher: Walker Childrens
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

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Goodreads description:

Allie lost everything the night her boyfriend, Trip, died in a horrible car accident—including her memory of the event. As their small town mourns his death, Allie is afraid to remember because doing so means delving into what she’s kept hidden for so long: the horrible reality of their abusive relationship.

When the police reopen the investigation, it casts suspicion on Allie and her best friend, Blake, especially as their budding romance raises eyebrows around town. Allie knows she must tell the truth. Can she reach deep enough to remember that night so she can finally break free?

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: Notes to Self by Avery Sawyer

Release Date: 20 November 2011
Publisher: Self-Published
Format: eBook
Source: Author


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Goodreads description:

Two climbed up. Two fell down.

One woke up.

In the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, Robin Saunders has to relearn who she is and find out what happened the night everything changed.

My Thoughts...

I have a tendency so say things like "I don't really enjoy contemporary YA" and then realize later that I clearly don't know what I'm talking about.  I love a good emotional roller coaster of a book--the kind of books that tugs on your heart-strings and makes you so engrossed in the characters' well-being that you can't stop turning the pages.  This week, Notes to Self became one of those books.

I don't believe everything happens for a reason. But I still search for reasons anyway. It's like I don't want to admit that maybe everything really is totally random...that people are just molecules in the air, bumping into each other and floating away again.

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Robin is having trouble coping.  She climbed up a theme park ride in the middle of the night with her best friend and everything went wrong.  Emily is still in a coma and Robin thinks that maybe, just maybe, if she could remember what happened that night things would be different.  Maybe Emily would wake up.  Maybe the kids at school would stop calling her "Short Bus."  Maybe she could let life move on to whatever is coming next.  But she can't--not until she figures out what happened that night...and along the way learns more about herself and her best friend than she could possibly imagine.

I think insomnia is a sign that a person is interesting.

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At the suggestion of her doctor, Robin begins writing notes to herself to help her remember things--from mundane daily tasks such as washing her hair to snippets of memories about her past and her personality.  I found Robin a really interesting character to read about because she doesn't even really know who she is after the accident so the reader discovers her personality right alongside her.  It also opens up the possibility of changing and growing where maybe before she never would have imagined it.  It was intense watching her get picked on at school because of how much she was suffering--you just want to reach out and hit those other kids.

It's going to be okay.  That's what everyone says when they really have no idea how it's going to be.

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The side characters, such as Robin's mom and her friend, Reno, make a huge difference in this story and how Robin regains her memories.  I liked how each of them played into her healing process and experiencing the memories that they sparked for her throughout.  Reno is such a fabulous friend, willing to be there for her all the time even though they had, apparently, not been as close lately.

There were a few nit-picky things that bothered me just the slightest bit about this novel, one thing being a tad more use of slang than I generally like (i.e. the use of "totes"...which I say all the time but for some reason don't expect characters to say.  Double standard, I know).  However, overall, I enjoyed this read quite a bit.  It reminded me a lot of If I Stay by Gayle Forman and Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott with the unique twist that the MC is dealing with a traumatic brain injury herself.  It added an extra layer of intrigue that really drew me in. I think fans of emotional drama in contemporary YA will enjoy this novel and it's truly a steal for only $3.99!