Review: Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne

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

Get a copy! Amazon

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...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Inbetween by Tara Fuller

Release Date: 28 August 2012

Publisher: Entangled Teen
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy!

Goodreads description:

Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s life has been a freaky — and unending — lesson in caution. Surviving “accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn’t let her die before, and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left…his soul.

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Release Date: 3 April 2012

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: ARC
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Goodreads description:

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

My Thoughts...

Ismae's life has been a struggle to survive from before she was even born.  When someone tries to end your life before it begins, how much hope can you truly hold for your own future?  When Ismae is spirited away in the night from her brutal arranged marriage, she discovers that there's a whole world of opportunities waiting for her should she choose to join with the convent and dedicate her life to Death...

Ismae is a fierce young woman whose life hasn't been easy but she's made it through.  The sisters at St. Mortain offer her the chance of a lifetime--to seek retribution.  She's really a natural at it too.  She's immune to poisons and skilled in the arts that the sisters of St. Mortain teach her.  I thoroughly enjoyed her quick decision-making skills (even if she didn't always make the "right" choice) and her strong, take-no-crap personality.

The male love interest as it were was interesting to me and by the end I found that I really liked him.  His relationship with Ismae developed at a reasonable pace and her reactions to him felt fairly suited to someone unfamiliar with dealing with men (she did, after all, often skip out on that class).  She didn't simply bend to the wiles of a man either--her relationship with him felt like a natural extension of her personal development.

The combination of setting, action, and characters made this a stellar read for me.  I enjoyed the descriptions that Ms. LaFevers puts into your imagination ranging from the harsh countryside to the stark convent and then into the bustling court.  The characters each carry their own weight and fill their roles well and it reads much like a historical fiction novel, if you're into that sort of thing.  Full of religion, court politics, and romance, Grave Mercy is a book that I won't soon forget and I'm quite excited to read the sequel!

(ARC) YA Book Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Release Date: 31 January 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy! Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Goodreads description:

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.

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Release Date: 1 March 2012

Publisher: Amulet Books (Abrams Imprint)
Format: ARC
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Goodreads description:

Up until senior year, Greg has maintained total social invisibility. He only has one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time—when not playing video games and avoiding Earl’s terrifying brothers— making movies, their own versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics. Greg would be the first one to tell you his movies are f*@$ing terrible, but he and Earl don’t make them for other people. Until Rachel. Rachel has leukemia, and Greg’s mom gets the genius idea that Greg should befriend her. Against his better judgment and despite his extreme awkwardness, he does. When Rachel decides to stop treatment, Greg and Earl make her a movie, and Greg must abandon invisibility and make a stand. It’s a hilarious, outrageous, and truthful look at death and high school by a prodigiously talented debut author..

My Thoughts...

YA Book Review: On a Dark Wing by Jordan Dane

Release Date: 27 December 2011

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: eARC
Source: Published via Netgalley

Goodreads description:

The choices I had made led to the moment when fate took over. I would learn a lesson I wasn't prepared for. And Death would be my willing teacher.

Five years ago, Abbey Chandler cheated Death. She survived a horrific car accident, but her "lucky" break came at the expense of her mother's life and changed everything. After she crossed paths with Death—by taking the hand of an ethereal boy made of clouds and sky—she would never be normal again.

Now she's the target of Death's ravens and an innocent boy's life is on the line. When Nate Holden—Abbey's secret crush—starts to climb Alaska's Denali, the Angel of Death stalks him because of her.

And Abbey finds out the hard way that Death never forgets.

My Thoughts...

In the final stretch of 2011, HarlequinTeen has brought readers a new angel story that provides enough unique twists to make it stand apart from its many predecessors of the year.  Wrought with emotion and intrigue, Jordan Dane has brought new life to the angel tale through a dark examination of life and death.  While I overall enjoyed this book, I will say that it didn't necessarily blow me away.  There were a few things that didn't really mesh for me and it wasn't the type of book where I found myself truly caring about and immersed in the characters and their world.

When her mother died in a car accident 5 years ago, Abby was left with the guilt and pain of surviving that same crash.  It changed her relationship with her father and those around her.  What she didn't realize at the time is that there were even bigger ramifications to her survival.  Abby finds out the hard way that Death never forgets a soul that he was meant to collect.

Abby isn't the type of MC that I'm typically drawn to, which made some of the story hard to get through.  She's a bit standoffish with her father, acquaintances and even her best friend, Tanner.  She struck me as a bit self-absorbed at times, and while some of that can be forgiven through her traumatic past, I would think that she would be willing at this point to let others into her life just a little.  Also, her crush on obsession with Nate Holden simply struck me as...odd.  I couldn't quite understand her fascination with this boy that she didn't know AT ALL.  I get that it's common to crush on the cute popular boy a little.  Heck, I did it too.  Abby just takes her crush to a whole new level that I really just didn't "get." Thankfully, Abby does develop a lot throughout this novel and make some good decisions--i.e. she grows up a bit.  I felt like by the end she was starting to see the good things that she did in fact have in her life that she had been missing/ignoring.

Tanner is awesome. The end.  He was easily my favorite character in this book.  He's a great friend and so dedicated to Abby.  I just wanted to scream at her for basically not noticing him. Seriously, so much boyfriend potential there.  And to top it off, he's got a fabulous sense of humor and the brains to go with it.  He really "got" Abby and he was always there for her.

While this was a good read, it was a GREAT read, at least not for me.  It lacked the character connection that I look for in a great novel.  Abby wasn't a character that made me excited to dive back into the story.  There were also a few oddities with this novel that I'm not sure how I felt about them, the the main thing was the changing point of view.  I understood having some from Abby and some from Tanner and even a little from Nate...but all of the sudden we were getting Bob Holden and snippets from Jackie Holden and it felt like too much. The sections jumped back and forth in small bursts and it interrupted the flow a little for me.  So, while I enjoyed this novel and would easily recommend it to fans of paranormal reads and "angel books," it wasn't my favorite this year.  The writing is really good, but the characters and pacing didn't work for me.

(ARC) YA Book Review: Fracture by Megan Miranda

Release Date: 17 January 2012
Publisher: Walker & Company
Source: Around the World ARC Tours
(also received a copy via NetGalley & the publisher)

Goodreads description:

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine--despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

My Thoughts...

(ARC) YA Book Review: Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Release Date: 22 November 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: NetGalley

Buy It! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

When her older sister commits suicide and her divorcing parents decide to divide the ashes, Harper Scott takes her sister's urn to the one place June always wanted to go: California. On the road with her best friend, plus an intriguing guy with a mysterious connection to June, Harper discovers truths about her sister, herself and life.

My Thoughts...

Saving June was a heart-wrenching, beautiful read.  Once I started reading, I was so drawn into the story that I couldn't put the book down.  Trust me--I was SO wishing that I hadn't volunteered to work on Black Friday because I could have been reading this instead!

If she's waited less than two weeks, she would be June who died in June, but I guess she never took that into account.

-p7, eARC

When the story opens, June is dead and her younger sister, Harper, is dealing with the aftermath--the funeral and wake, the pitying glances, the endless casseroles, and the unwanted affectionate embraces of old women wearing too much perfume.  Harper was always very different from her sister, but now she is forced to see the world around her differently.  Did she really know her sister?

But I wasn't interested in being like June, and I definitely didn't want to live in June's shadow. Even if mine was less impressive, at least it was my own.

 -p34, eARC

I connected with Harper early on in this book.  She's a unique person who's never been afraid to stand up for herself and do her own thing, but at her deepest points, she has more in common with each and every one of us than she ever imagined.  She is so heartbroken over her sister's death that my heart broke right alongside hers.  I thought that her grieving process was handled immensely well, including her "wild" idea to drive June's ashes across the country to scatter them in California.  It seemed like such a fitting tribute that coincided with what we knew of June and what we're learning about Harper.

"Without music, life would be a mistake."

-Jake, p175, eARC

Jake is a character who pops into Harper's life out of nowhere, and I felt from the first moment that I "met" him that he was going to be significant.  Throughout the story I loved getting to see Harper and Jake interact and get to know each other and themselves in the process. Jake is so not the person I expected him to be from initial interactions and I seriously grew to like him a lot.  The only thing that irked me just a little were his mood swings. I mean, this boy SERIOUSLY suffers from male PMS.  His bickering with Harper would kind of pop up out of nowhere and make me want to smack the boy! But don't worry, he more than makes up for it later (despite a minor major f-up toward the end).

My very minor gripe aside, this book was phenomenal.  Ms. Harrington has taken a story of teenage grief and turned it into a beautiful story.  I think fans of contemporary YA fiction will fall deeply, madly in love with this story.

YA Book Reivew: Without Tess by Marcella Pixley

Release Date: 11 October 2011
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Source: NetGalley

Buy It! Amazon | B&N

Goodreads description:

Tess and Lizzie are sisters, sisters as close as can be, who share a secret world filled with selkies, flying horses, and a girl who can transform into a wolf in the middle of the night. But when Lizzie is ready to grow up, Tess clings to their fantasies. As Tess sinks deeper and deeper into her delusions, she decides that she can’t live in the real world any longer and leaves Lizzie and her family forever. Now, years later, Lizzie is in high school and struggling to understand what happened to her sister. With the help of a school psychologist and Tess’s battered journal, Lizzie searches for a way to finally let Tess go.

My Thoughts...

Without Tess was a blend of many things: a daring description of mental illness, a beautiful portrayal of the bonds of sisterhood, a book that made me smile and cry.  It was one of those novels that I simply couldn't put down and reading page after page after page I found myself drowning in the emotions of the main character--possibly because I understand the sisters' relationship, possibly simply because this book is written in compelling prose.

Lizzie, our main character, has been trying to cope with her sister's untimely death for five years when the story opens.  Told in mix of flashbacks, poetry, and counseling sessions, the story of Tess and Lizzie's intense relationship comes to life before your eyes.  Despite the fact that Tess is already dead when the book starts, we get to know her through Lizzie's recollections.  It's clear from the beginning that Tess' playful imaginings are more than just make believe to her.  Lizzie goes along with everything her sister says from the beginning because she loves her sister more than anything in the world.  But when Tess' world of make believe becomes all too real for Lizzie, she has to make the choice to separate herself from her sister's world and that decision haunts her for a long time--well after her sister's death.

Lizzie is a character that really broke my heart.  It was tough to watch her hide herself away from the world because as the outside observer you could tell that she really just needed to talk about what happened--and not to a shrink or her parents.  There is such an intense difference between the girl of the flashbacks and present-day Lizzie.

Tess, despite being dead from the beginning, is a character that you both grow to love and hate through Lizzie's flashbacks.  She's rather intense, to say the least, and you watch her wrap Lizzie into her delusions throughout the novel.  Tess was a character who made me feel both empathy and anger for her all at the same time.  You are literally watching her waste away because of her delusional beliefs, which is heart-breaking, but at the same time, you watch her inflict intense emotional and sometimes physical pain on those around her, especially Lizzie.

Niccolo was an interesting minor character.  I liked how he pursued Lizzie because he didn't push TOO hard, but he made sure that she knew he was there for her.  I wanted her to lean on him and finally let SOMEONE in. However, Lizzie and Niccolo's relationship could have made a lot more sense.  I understood their little make-out session, but I could have used a little more build-up.  Like, maybe that first time could have just been one kiss spurred on my the crying/laughing?

The end wraps up possibly a little too quickly, but in a way that makes sense.  Lizzie isn't really "letting go" of Tess, but you finally feel like she has some semblance of inner peace and there's hope for her parents as well. Overall, I thought this was a well-done story of one sister's mental illness and the other's path to forgiveness and letting go. I would recommend it to YA readers who enjoy issue-centered YA reads.

(ARC) YA Book Review: On the Fringe by Courtney King Walker

Release Date: 19 October 2011
Publisher: Lands Atlantic Publishing, Inc.
Source: Around the World ARC Tours

Goodreads description:

Claire is struggling to overcome the murder of her childhood friend and secret crush, Daniel. Everyone else seems to be moving on with their lives, but she's still trying to cope. The fact that she finds herself alone and drowning on her 16th birthday isn't helping. Neither is thinking she sees Daniel's face in murky water as she mysteriously resurfaces. But something happened during those four and a half minutes that will make her realize it was not just her imagination. As Claire and Daniel try to grasp a possible reconnection, other grudge-holding beings have plans of their own. Now, the two of them have to decide if their fleeting relationship is worth the possibility of Claire being trapped on the fringe forever.

My Thoughts...

I went into On the Fringe in the best possible way: with no expectations, pre-conceived notions, or opinions of others.  What I found in this book was a heart-warming story of first love intertwined with an intensely creepy story of revenge. This was really a ghost story like no other and I fell deeply, madly in love with the characters.

Claire = awesome.  I felt an instant connection with her character. Her emotions from the beginning were very raw, very real.  Who can't relate to that first crush that you're totally way to scared to tell (or to even have them figure it out)?  Her depression after his death is very honest and real. She doesn't wallow, but she can't let it go--partially because she never had the opportunity to tell him how she felt...and even no one among the friends and family knows how she really felt/feels.

The alternating POVs in this book were brillantly executed and allow a solid connection with Daniel.  Despite his death early on, I felt very drawn to him.  I loved watching him fall deeper in love with Claire and reliving his memories as he tries to figure out exactly when that switch in his feelings happened.  Done any other way this story probably would have had a feeling of desperate insta-love, but seeing the relationship develop over time, even without the other one knowing, it gave a very real sense of growth and gradual development of feelings.  This was a pair that had been friends forever and that friendship was on the verge of developing into something more.

The storyline is absolutely brilliant, alternating between the romance and the intensely creepy haunting. Claire is in serious danger and the reader has an ever-increasing awareness of just HOW MUCH danger she's in as the story goes on.  The interweaving of these stories is, well, PERFECT.  Throughout the book, you are constantly delving deeper into the story and making intense connections between Daniel's death, his connection to Claire, and her current haunting (you know, besides Daniel).

This is truly a beautiful story of first love and loss.

(ARC) YA Book Review: Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Release Date: 12 September 2011
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books

Pre-Order Your Copy! B&N | Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads description:

Willa is lucky: She has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa’s peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother. 

Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? As Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she keeps her own secret—one that has the potential to tear her family apart.

My Thoughts...

This is normally the kind of story that I would totally go for--in a slightly obscene sort of way.  Books that deal with the darker side of teen life and fatalistic events that cause a person to grow up have been among my favorite for years now (putting Lovely Bones and If I Stay right at the top).  I expected Blood Wounds to live up to that expectation...and for some reason it didn't do it for me.

I didn't connect well with Willa.  She seemed so separate.  At first, she was a quiet kid with some definite internal problems, despite her outwardly calm demeanor, and then she was a slightly bratty child who complained a lot.  I don't know...something about the character development was missing.  Willa cuts--this part was well done throughout the book.  Her pent-up feelings being released by cutting made sense.  The abrupt end to the cutting tell-all was a little less convincing.  I almost wish that her parents had discovered the tools, etc. and there had been confrontation.

The writing is good here, but SBP really can do better, I think.  Maybe I was expecting the wrong things when I went into the book--more thriller action, real horror, those kinds of things?  Still, there was definitely a compelling element to the story--the pacing was quick (and the book was short) so I was able to (and really wanted to) keep reading.  I think part of me kept hoping it would live up to my expectations. 

Source: I received this book as part of an ARC tour.

YA Book Review: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Hereafter by Tara Hudson
© June 2011 by HarperCollins

Goodreads description:

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

My Thoughts...

I have to say, first, that the Browse Inside feature offered by HarperTeen may be the death of me (financially, of course) because it causes impulse buys--for example, my Nook pre-order of this book. That being said, from the moment I opened the file to read until the moment that I finished my Nook copy while standing in the Dark Days of Supernatural signing line, I was hooked.

When the book starts out, Amelia is lonely and caught in a cycle of disappearing back to her place/moment of death.  Then, one time it's different--someone else is drowning and she has to stop it.  When she saves Josh, she creates an impossible bond with him--he becomes the only person who can see her and touch her (at least as far as she knows).  Now, I know some people will rail against the "insta-love" that occurs in this book, but I personally thought that it made a little sense that Amelia would make such a connection--she hasn't been able to TOUCH or interact with anyone since her death (and not for lack of trying).  I thought that Tara Hudson did a fabulous job describing the electric nature of their first physical encounters.  They had that hesitant nature of young love where things are new and different and you're just curious and in awe.

Overall, this one was a "win" for me.  I really felt myself pulled into their story and Hudson pulled some elements in that I didn't expect at all.  It's had the right amount of darkness for me paired with the romantic elements.  I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next book (although I will admit that I would have been just as happy with this book as a standalone, which is always a nice feeling). However, I do look forward to more character development in the next book so maybe we'll get to know more about Amelia and Josh.

My fabulous signed copy!

Some other reviews you might check out:

• Well-Read Reviews
• Fantastic Book Review
• A Cupcake and a Latte
• Bewitched Bookworms

YA Book Review: Between Here and Forever

Between Here and Forever
By Elizabeth Scott

Release Date: 24 May 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: S&S Galley Grab

Buy It!
B&N | Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Description:

Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible. Until the accident.

Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her. She's got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she’d never seen. Abby is about to find out that truth isn't always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could...

Thoughts, Musings, Ramblings...

Before I get into my thoughts on this one, I have to say upfront that I have quite the love affair with angst-ridden teenagers working through some difficult things, falling in love for the first time, and finding some semblance of self-worth.  I (apparently) have a thing about story involved dead/dying girls as well, as I would rank The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and If I Stay by Gayle Forman among my absolute favorite books.   This was my first Elizabeth Scott book and I was excited to read it as a break from the paranormal reading that I've been doing.  I was looking for a breath of fresh air and hoping for a Gayle Forman style story that would sweep me away--make me laugh, cry, love, and live with the characters.  I wouldn't say that I was disappointed but I don't think that it quite lived up to my expectations.

Abby is a fairly typical self-deprecating younger sister living in the shadow of her "amazing" older sister.  Throughout the story, I honestly wanted to slap her more times than I can count and tell her to open her eyes.  Her insecurity is pounded into your head throughout the entire book, and honestly, it made me almost completely unable to get behind her as an MC.

Tess is, in Abby's mind, the girl who everyone likes and I have to admit that I felt like I got to know her more through the story that I did Abby.  As Abby learned about the Tess she didn't know, I did too and I really liked her.  She was a teenager dealing with a lot of emotional difficulties and tough choices.  I loved how Tess was unveiled slowly throughout the story.

Eli....oh Eli.  Eli was such a real, fabulous love interest and friend.  His character was beyond well-developed and I loved the dynamic that he brought to the story.  Again, I don't want to give too much away, but suffice it to say that Eli is awesome.  You will fall in love with him.

What this book does fantastically is bring in diversity and sexuality in such a seamless way that it doesn't come across as preachy or forced or any of the things that often happen when an author tries too hard to do those things.  I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave it at that but be prepared for a well-rounded cast of characters.

Overall, I might recommend this to contemporary fans who can hack the self-deprecating MC.  It's a quick read and it definitely has its redeeming qualities.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Publication Date: 22 March 2011

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Buy this: Amazon | BookDepository

Goodreads description:

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left

My Thoughts:

I was worried when I picked this one up.  There was so much hype about it and I'd heard so many good things...and a pretty large handful of bad things.

But this book didn't let me down. No matter what anyone else says, I loved this book.

Wither's opening scene pulled me right in a Rhine described being in the van, not knowing up from down, then being unloaded, chosen, and herded into a limo while the other girls are killed.  It was the kind of opening that kept me turning the page.  As the story unfolds, I found myself diving right into this future world and getting lost in its complications and twists and turns.  Why did someone kill Rhine's parents?  If they cured cancer, why can't they stop this life-ending disease?  I hated Housemaster Vaughn so much, but I still wanted him to find the darn cure!

Rhine was a great character for me.  So many YA novels that I've read lately have had these clumsy, oblivious female leads and while I've still enjoyed some of those novels, I have craved strong females who try to get something done (hence, my love for Gaia in Birthmarked and Katniss in the Hunger Games). Rhine falls into this category of strong female.  She knows what she wants (to escape and find her brother) and what she'll need to do to get it (deceive her husband to win favor).  I loved that she sometimes forgot that she was "pretending" to be in love with Linden because that sort of questioning of her feelings made her more human.

Linden was a character that struck such conflict in me while I was reading. I wanted to hate him--I really, really did.  However, as his oblivion is slowly revealed bit-by-bit (and you realize that everything is Vaughn running the show), I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy.  He was no less a pawn in his father's game than the girls.   There were definitely points in the book where I was rooting for him to steal Rhine's heart and I would catch myself and be like "What about Gabriel?!"  

There were some things about this story that were difficult to believe.  For one, the emphasis on procreation (especially by the young men_ when there doesn't seem to be any kind of push/brainwashing by the "first generations" to convince the younger generations. If this type of emphasis was being pushed, then these girls would ALL be like Cecily with her desire for a husband and children...but they aren't. Also, killing teenage girls when they are apparently vital to the next generation? Especially ordered dead by a man desperate for the cure? 

Despite any minor qualms I may have had with this book, my opinion remains: I loved this book and I cannot wait for the next one. (When does it come out?! What is it called?! I want to know so bad!)

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Release: April 6, 2010 (Paperback edition)
Publisher: Speak (Paperback)
Buy this: Amazon | BookDepository
Available formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Nookbook


Goodreads description:

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

My Thoughts: (**ALERT: minor spoiler ahead!**)

This is a painfully beautiful story. The car accident that kills Mia's family happens only about 15 pages into the story, but I felt like Forman ripped my heart out and stomped on it.  In those 15 pages, I was already in love with Kat, Denny, Teddy, and Mia. Despite every description about this book available on the internet, I held on to this shred of hope that Teddy was still alive--all because Mia thought it was so.  It has been a long time since I connected with a character and a book in this way and I was truly blown away by Forman's writing.

When reading a story that is mainly told in memories and recollections, I've often felt less connected with the characters (besides the main characters).  This was not the case with this book.  Through Mia's memories and the flashbacks Forman writes in, I felt myself connected and drawn to Mia's whole family. There were points when she was telling a flashback that I would forget that Mia's parents were dead because the words and stories made them really come to life.

And Mia.  Mia was such a dynamic, well-written character.  Between watching her struggle with her decision and reading through her memories, I felt like I knew her.  I could have sat down and had a conversation with her.  I wanted her to stay and live (largely for Adam, whom I was practically in love with) but I SO understood her hesitation.  When her grandfather tells her he'd understand if she leaves, I just about lost it.  (And all I could think was--"You still have 50 pages to read. Don't start bawling now!")

One last thing: I loved Adam.  I loved him because he seemed fabulous is Mia's memories.  I loved him because they didn't have some perfect romance.  I loved him for trying to break into ICU to see her.  I loved him because of this quote:

"If you stay, I'll do whatever you want.  I'll quit the band, go with you to New York.  But if you need me to go away, I'll do that too.  I was talking to Liz and she said maybe coming back to your old life would just be too painful, that maybe it'd be easier for you to erase us.  And that would suck, but I'd do it.  I can lose you like that if I don't lose you today. I'll let you go.  If you stay."

I'll leave it there for now because I'm on the verge of spilling too many spoilers.  I loved this book--not everyone will.  I'd recommend it without any reservations for fans of Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. 

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

I picked this book up (or rather put it on hold) after I saw it on an NPR book list by Gayle Foreman titled "Oh, To Be Young: The Year's Best Teen Reads." It is an interesting view into death and the grieving process of those "left behind."  When Lennie's older sister, Bailey, dies unexpectedly, Lennie is tossed into a world unknown--where she is noticed, no longer in the shadow of her vibrant sister.  Lennie always considered herself the "companion pony" to Bailey's racehorse, so her grief is explosive, as you might imagine.  Nelson presents in a stunningly well-written narrative the emotional process that Lennie experiences--denial, guilt, passion, sorrow--all packaged in a coming-of-age type of story that will touch readers.

This story is truly in a league of its own.  In my opinion, it's a must read.  The language is beautiful.  The main character is incredibly compelling and nuanced (even if other characters seem to fall flat--this one makes up for it).  The storyline is realistic.  It's beautiful. Read it. :-)