Tag: ARC

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “The Lady Rogue” by Jenn Bennett

Posted on by Sarah S.

Thanks to NetGalley, author, and publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I have a lot to say about this book…so I think a different post format is in order.

SPECS

Author: Jenn Bennett

Release Date: September 3, 2019

Page Count: 384

Summary: 

Some legends never die…

Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.

Until Huck arrives from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.

Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.

A Calculated Risk

I won’t sugarcoat the fact that I’ve avoided Jenn Bennett’s work in the past. A lot of reviews have indicated that it is has much more sexual content than I am comfortable with. It just isn’t my deal – I don’t want to put that kind of stuff in my brain. So requesting one of Bennett’s books from NetGalley was a bit of a risk – I knew I might come across some content I didn’t want to read and have to DNF. However, I decided it was a risk worth taking because a) I though an adventure story would be a lot less sexually-charged than a high school contemporary and b) THE SUMMARY SOUNDED AMAZING. I was willing to risk it. Was it worth it? Mostly.

The Pros: Rich Settings, Adventure, and History 

On the plot side, The Lady Rogue was absolutely superb. The treasure hunt aspect of the story was as tense, compelling, and fun as I expected it to be. The various European settings were richly described and I learned a lot about the history and geography of Romania, which I have never known much about, through reading this book. And I loved the way it turned remnants of real history into a compelling fictional storyline – though the author’s note explains that the ring never actually existed, it fits into the unedited history of Romania, which Bennett also incorporates, very naturally. The adventure, travel, and treasure hunting were wonderful – no complaints there. Theo and Huck were relatable and fleshed-out characters and the people they met along the way – even their adversaries – were all compelling as well. And the twists! All of the many plot twists were held close enough to the chest to be surprising, but not so close that an observant reader couldn’t pick them up. Having somewhat predicted a twist while getting enough wrong to be caught off-guard when the truth was revealed made for a very satisfying reading experience.

The Cons: As Expected (HEAVY SPOILERS) 

So, let’s talk about the romance.

Huck and Theo were cute, but it was hard to get behind them, for me, because of the way their relationship was set up. Given my intro, it’s pretty clear that if there was any sex in this book, I wasn’t going to appreciate it. Well, there was, and I didn’t. Not on page, mind you (I would have stopped reading if there was, as is my practice), but a previous incident in which Huck and Theodora were caught in the act by her father was the driving force behind most of their interactions, romantic or otherwise. This could have been okay with me if the two had realized that spontaneously getting scandalous was not a good idea for any reason and been able to rekindle their relationship while agreeing not to do so again. But, of course, that wasn’t what happened.

Nope. The ultimate lesson learned? “There was nothing wrong with our irresponsible and ill-advised fling and we should do so again if we ever want to.”

Sigh.

Yes, Theo’s father was wrong to throw Huck out of the house, so they have a point there, but…sigh. I really, really don’t like the glorification of the idea that happiness = doing whatever you want without regard for the consequences that this subplot perpetuates. The two were drunk when it happened, for heaven’s sake! That in and of itself should be telling. But the book never acknowledges that doing what Huck and Theo did could have had consequences for both of them. It did for Huck, for that matter, but the two both state that the risk was worth it. In coming to that conclusion, the book gives teenagers the green light to act without thinking, believing it’s okay as long as it feels good. (Another pervasive modern philosophy I vehemently disagree with.)

Generally speaking, the sexual content here wasn’t explicit (the worst thing in the book was really the profanity), but it’s a driving force behind the plot, and the message it sends is one that potentially validates immature decision-making in regards to sex. Not my kind of moral.

Conclusion: Mixed Feelings

This was such a good story – it even made me not mind magic, which I almost always hate! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Really, it would have been easy for this to be a five-star book. It’s right up my alley. But I put a lot of stock not only in what a book is, but what it says to its reader; in that area, “The Lady Rogue” wasn’t a winner. For that reason, I’ll give it a final rating of 4/5.

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “Dear Haiti, Love Alaine” by Maika and Maritza Moulite

Posted on by Sarah S.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

Author: Maika and Maritza Moulite

Release Date: September 3, 2019

SUMMARY:

When a school presentation goes very wrong, Alaine Beauparlant finds herself suspended, shipped off to Haiti and writing the report of a lifetime…

You might ask the obvious question: What do I, a seventeen-year-old Haitian American from Miami with way too little life experience, have to say about anything?

Actually, a lot.

Thanks to “the incident” (don’t ask), I’m spending the next two months doing what my school is calling a “spring volunteer immersion project.” It’s definitely no vacation. I’m toiling away under the ever-watchful eyes of Tati Estelle at her new nonprofit. And my lean-in queen of a mother is even here to make sure I do things right. Or she might just be lying low to dodge the media sharks after a much more public incident of her own…and to hide a rather devastating secret.

All things considered, there are some pretty nice perks…like flirting with Tati’s distractingly cute intern, getting actual face time with my mom and experiencing Haiti for the first time. I’m even exploring my family’s history—which happens to be loaded with betrayals, superstitions and possibly even a family curse.

You know, typical drama. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.

REVIEW:

Well, this was a mixed bag…let’s break it down in bullet points.

WHAT I LIKED

  1. The Alzheimer’s subplot (spoiler alert: Alaine’s mom is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s). I’ve never read a YA book that deals with Alzheimer’s before, and I think “Dear Haiti, Love Alaine” did a great job of showing how devastating it can be both for the patients and for their loved ones. Great take on a rarely-covered but very prevalent real-life issue.
  2. Alaine’s voice. Though she often came off as really entitled and reckless, she was written with a wicked sense of humor and a lot of intelligence, and I liked the way she narrated her story.
  3. The glimpse into Haitian culture and class structures. “Dear Haiti…” went to great pains to show multiple facets of Haitian society, and to point out the extreme divide between Haiti’s upper and lower classes. We get glimpses of both privilege and poverty, and the characters who fall into the “privileged” category (mostly) show an admirable desire to bridge the gap between classes. The story also presents Haitian worldviews and customs (the best example of this is the “family curse” subplot) in a way that left me feeling like I’d learned a lot about the culture.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

  1. The busy-ness of the plot. There were sooooo may subplots, and I didn’t dislike any of them, but there were just way too many of them. From the family curse to the Alzheimer’s diagnosis and the romance (more on that later) and everything else, trying to follow all of the plot threads left me mentally out of breath.
  2. The romance seemed super rushed. There was almost no explanation of it: Alaine’s aunt tries to set her up with a guy, and she is vehemently opposed to this. Then, she meets said guy, and boom! Love. I was a little confused – “where did that come from?” was all I could think. It was cute, but came out of absolutely nowhere; it didn’t really feel earned.
  3. I liked Alaine’s voice, but her personality grated on me. A lot. She seemed so entitled. In a lot of cases Alaine acted like she expected to be allowed to do whatever she wanted without consequence. (Case in point: the school project that initially gets her sent to Haiti.) She was very self-centered and not particularly mature, and although she grows during her time in Haiti, she never loses that above-the-law attitude. I know a lot of people like it when people show that kind of assertiveness, so they’ll probably like Alaine, but it drives me nuts. (To be fair, a lot of it probably has to do with the fact that she uses humor/snark/acts out to cope with grief.) Alaine’s mom had a lot of the same personality traits, but she didn’t get as much page time, so it wasn’t as bothersome.

RATING: 

Plot: 4/5. The story was fascinating, but at times, there was a bit too much going on. There were a LOT of subplots and none of them were ostensibly weak or boring, but there were just so many of them.

Characters: 5/5. The characters’ relationship dynamics were really the beating heart of the story. Not all of them were entirely likable, but their motivations were fleshed out enough to make that lack of likability understandable.

Pacing: 3/5. Slow in parts; some of it was really redundant and in other parts, there was simply too much happening at once.

Handling of Subject Matter: 5/5. The plotline involving Alaine’s mother’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s (what a lot of apostrophes) was handled well and Haitian culture is lovingly and respectfully incorporated into almost every element of the story.

Writing Style: 3/5 – I probably shouldn’t take points off of this category for the formatting of an ARC because it probably won’t stay like that in the actual publication version, but the format was so incredibly incoherent that it was difficult to read. The writing itself was nice, but I couldn’t get past the formatting issues.

Content: 4/5 – generally pretty clean save for a smattering of strong language. Also, Alaine makes some choices that I should hope most teenagers would not want to emulate.

Overall: 4.00/5

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: “Across a Broken Shore” by Amy Trueblood

Posted on by Sarah S.

I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. “Across a Broken Shore” releases to the general public November 5th, 2019. 

SUMMARY

The last thing eighteen-year-old Wilhelmina “Willa” MacCarthy wants is to be a nun. It’s 1936, and as the only daughter amongst four sons, her Irish–Catholic family is counting on her to take her vows—but Willa’s found another calling. Each day she sneaks away to help Doctor Katherine Winston in her medical clinic in San Francisco’s Richmond District.

Keeping secrets from her family only becomes more complicated when Willa agrees to help the doctor at a field hospital near the new bridge being built over the Golden Gate. Willa thinks she can handle her new chaotic life, but as she draws closer to a dashing young ironworker and risks grow at the bridge, she discovers that hiding from what she truly wants may be her biggest lie of all.

REVIEW

This was another example of the classic “I requested this from NetGalley, not expecting anything, only to end up loving it” scenario. Across a Broken Shore was at times dark, depressing, and bleak, but it was undercut with hope and progress and familial bonds that no amount of suffering broke.

The book’s selling point for me, at first glance, was Willa’s interest in medicine. As a teenage girl interested in science, I love reading about girls my age who are also passionate about STEM fields, regardless of what they are. That works especially well for me in settings where the character has to face down and defeat prejudice to practice her profession of choice. There aren’t many stories more empowering for me, a girl who loves science and deeply values education, than those of young women who overcome societal barriers to their education/ability to practice a profession. Thus, Willa’s journey towards becoming a doctor in a world where female doctors were extremely rare was very inspiring for me. And the medical parts of the book were realistic and well-handled;  they were realistically gory at times, but never gratuitous. Any aspect of the book related to medicine got no complaints from me.

Nor did the characterization. Willa was a deeply-realized character, even if she had a rather irritating tendency towards indecision and her brain repeated itself a lot. And the supporting cast was equally strong – Willa’s brother Paddy was an equally fleshed-out character, the MacCarthy siblings’ relationships were explored in depth and quite touching, and SAM. I read some reviews saying the romance was cheesy – perhaps, but I do NOT care. I’m a sucker for cheesy romance, and Sam was a smol bean. It was adorable  and that’s final. 🙂

But perhaps my favorite part of this entire novel was its exploration of religion in Willa’s life. Though she doesn’t want to be a nun (and I can’t blame her – I wouldn’t either), Catholicism is a HUGE part of her life. As a religious person, I get what it’s like to simultaneously rely on your faith and feel incredibly pressured by it/the expectations of fellow practitioners; I related to that part a lot, even though I’ve never exactly promised to be a nun. Thus, I was a bit apprehensive that this book’s treatment of Willa’s faith was going to be sort of toss-aside-y. I was pretty sure it was going to present Willa with a “something’s got to give” scenario where she either had to become a nun or completely abandon her faith to become a doctor, but it didn’t. Rather, Willa simply realizes that God is calling her to something other than the path her parents think she is on. I was very pleasantly surprised that her continual adherence to her faith wasn’t ridiculed as “blindly obeying her parents” or something (as a Christian teenager with very pious parents who chooses to remain in the faith I was raised in, I get “you need to think for yourself” a LOT and expected Willa’s experience to be the same). That was really well-done.

The main problem with this book was that Willa’s internal conflict was hashed out so many times, and in such similar words, that it just felt tired. That was about the only defect on this fantastic book.

RATING 

Plot: 4.5/5 – compelling, and a storyline (both the girl-in-STEM aspect and the religious one) that is very close to my heart. No complaints there. The only issue I took with the plot, and the reason for the 4.5 and not a 5, was that, like, 65% of the conflict could have been avoided with proper communication, and some parts of it were unnecessarily repetitive.

Characters: 5/5 – I fell in love with nearly all of them. IDK, I just really love these crazy Irish kids.

Pacing: 4/5 – like I said, tends to repeat itself. A LOT. But not awful.

Content/Messages: 5/5 – great messages about overcoming obstacles and pursuing your true passions rather than letting others tell you what path to follow. The content is never vulgar or gratuitous, but as the story revolves around physicians who mostly serve the impoverished, it gets dark at times. The harshness of the circumstances might make it too much for younger readers, but given its contemplative nature, those too young to handle the content probably wouldn’t like it much anyway. I’d peg this one for the older end of YA (16+) not because it’s wildly inappropriate but because I can’t see many 13/14-year-olds enjoying this.

Handling of Subject Matter: 4.5/5 – medicine, sexism in STEM fields, and Catholicism were all handled very appropriately, but for a Great Depression-era novel, there wasn’t much of the setting evident in the story. The economic realities of the Depression could have been addressed more; there are no more than four impoverished characters in a novel set during a time when there was a ~30% employment rate. That was a little implausible in my mind.

Writing Style: 3/5. This was the weakest aspect of the book. There were a lot of commas missing (this is an ARC, I know, so that’ll get fixed, but still) and the dialogue was really unrealistic at points. Not egregiously bad, though.

Overall: 4.33/5

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: Hart & Seoul by Kristen Burnham

Posted on by Sarah S.

I recieved an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. “Hart & Seoul” is released June 4th, 2019.

SUMMARY

Merilee Hart has been doing her best to keep things together since her mother left, her art a welcome escape from her depressing new reality. But things seem to go even more awry the moment her next door neighbor’s enigmatic and mysterious nephew arrives from South Korea. Lee is moody, cocky, and utterly infuriating.
But when Merri’s closest friends betray her and her father crushes her dream of going to art school, Merri finds herself drawn to Lee, who seems to live within even greater shadows than her own. And just when she thought things couldn’t get crazier, Merri’s world is upended when she discovers Lee’s big and bizarre secret…he is none other than a runaway member of the K-pop mega-group Thunder.

It’s not long before Thunder’s fans, the Storm Chasers, begin to close in on Lee, ready to do whatever it takes to return their favorite idol to his rightful place in the band. Faced with the prospect of even more heartbreak and caught up in an international whirlwind that has a life of its own, Merri realizes that she must find a way to mend herself, gain control of her life, and pursue her dreams—her heart and soul depend on it.

THE GOOD

So much to unpack here. So let’s do some bullet points. Those are a good way to get thoughts out.

  • From the start, this book makes MASTERFUL use of romance tropes. It’s got everything from enemies-to-lovers (Lee and Merri’s terribly-flubbed first meeting and their subsequent awkward interactions are absolutely hilarious) to fake-dating and everything in between, and I LOVE IT. Tropes only suck in the hands of authors who don’t know how to use them – Burnham definitely does. All of it is done in a very tongue-and-cheek way that makes it deliciously obvious that these are tropes, but not the tropes you know.
  • Speaking of tongue-in-cheek, the tone of this book was fantastically fun and comedic. It had its serious beats, which were also well-done, but it was also uproariously funny at times. Some of Merilee’s turns of phrase cracked me up, Merilee and Lee’s early, awkward interactions were all 10/10 amazing, and almost every incident with Lee’s fangirls, the Storm Chasers, had me in stitches (not really funny for the characters, I know, but oh, how I laughed!).
  • I’ll admit that I don’t know a lot about the world of K-Pop, but “Hart and Seoul” was a great primer, and it really dug into both the pressures that the industry puts on its stars and the global phenomenon that k-pop has become. It was really seamlessly worked into the story, and it also provided most of the story’s most poignant moments. I especially appreciated the story’s focus on the impact of the industry’s rigors on Lee’s mental health – that’s a side of the story that we commoners don’t often see, and the author’s note, which talks about fame and mental health and provides resources for those struggling with depression, anxiety, etc., was a nice addition. That part of the story was tastefully handled and added a lot of depth to the story.
  • The food. I never knew much about Korean food before reading this (to the chagrin of most of my Asian friends, who all swear up and down by Korean barbecue), but I loved how food became a bonding point for Lee and Merri.
  • THE ROMANCE. OMG, SWOOOOOON. I’m a huge sucker for those “famous person falls for a normal person” love stories (Geekerella!) and this one was not only adorably swoonworthy, but actually made that improbable storyline seem somewhat grounded and realistic. And OMG, SO CUTE. I DIED. Really, this is a heckin’ cute romance.
  • The ending. *HERE BE SPOILERS* Lee’s flower deliveries and mid-concert confession werethe stuff of my melodramatic teenager dreams. HE WROTE HER A SONG…AND SANG IT IN FRONT OF 600,000 PEOPLE…AND SAID HE LOVED HER…*faints* *SPOILERS BEGONE* High romance right there, folks. HIGH ROMANCE. 

THE NOT-SO-GOOD

  • Merilee has a tendency to be quite insensitive. She does improve, but it felt kind of off considering how much she knows Lee is struggling.
  • That’s about it, really. This was a delightful book.

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS

Plot: 5/5 – a creative twist on a whole boatload of tropes that work so, so much better than you’d ever expect them to.

Characters: 4/5 – Lee and Ema are angels and I’d die for them. Ms. Park is pretty great. The rest are sort of meh, and Bree is a scumbag. Lee and Ema make up for most of this, hence the high score. Not all of them are well-developed, but the leads, Lee and Merri, are, so it doesn’t feel flat.

Pacing: 5/5 – it was short, so there wasn’t a lot of time for it to slag, and I loved the lack of slow-burn. Slow-burn drives me nuts in most cases – this is one where it would have, which is why I appreciated its absence.

Handling of Subject Matter: 5/5 – surprisingly heartfelt, tasteful, and nuanced look at the K-Pop industry. Merri’s family situation (her mother left the family) is well-handled as well.

Writing Quality: 4/5 – it wasn’t exactly masterful prose, as YA rarely is, but the writing lent itself well to the story’s comedic timing, and Merri’s turns of phrase were wonderful.

Message/Moral/Appropriateness for Audience: 5/5 – squeaky clean except for one use each of “a**” and “hell”. Lots of kisses, but they’re not graphic. Allusions to a failed suicide attempt – the character later seeks out help, and the author’s note provides contact information of suicide prevention agencies; potentially disturbing but a sensitive handling of the topic. Good messages about the dangers of celebrity hype and the importance of trust, forgiveness, and loyalty. Would recommend for ages 14+ – I’d put it younger if not for the mention of the suicide attempt at the end because it’s largely clean (there’s no adult situations, drinking/drugs, or violence, and characters conspicuously don’t curse), but that would probably be a bit much for younger readers, though it’s brief and sensitively handled.

Overall: 4.67/5 Confused Llamas

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno

Posted on by Sarah S.

Note: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m going to be introducing a new post format here, because to be completely honest, I don’t really like my old one, so here goes.

SUMMARY 

Rosa Santos is cursed by the sea-at least, that’s what they say. Dating her is bad news, especially if you’re a boy with a boat.

But Rosa feels more caught than cursed. Caught between cultures and choices. Between her abuela, a beloved healer and pillar of their community, and her mother, an artist who crashes in and out of her life like a hurricane. Between Port Coral, the quirky South Florida town they call home, and Cuba, the island her abuela refuses to talk about.
As her college decision looms, Rosa collides-literally-with Alex Aquino, the mysterious boy with tattoos of the ocean whose family owns the marina. With her heart, her family, and her future on the line, can Rosa break a curse and find her place beyond the horizon?

THE GOOD

As you’ll see in the following section, “Don’t Date Rosa Santos” isn’t a perfect book, but it’s absolutely packed with heart. I saw that especially in its depiction of the Cuban community in Port Coral, a vibrant Florida town. It’s clear that the author has a deep love of and respect for Cuban culture and communities, and that shines through again and again. The way the entire community is so supportive (and chismoso) and willing and able to band together to save its beloved marina made me hope that somewhere out there is a real Port Coral. THE VIEJITAS AND THEIR CONSTANT SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE GAVE ME SO MUCH LIFE. (I love them, and I want a bunch of old neighbors who run a gossipy Instagram page about each other now.) It almost seems like this is a love letter to Cuban culture and the value it places on relationships, and that was by far the best part of the book. It reminded me of that famous F. Scott Fitzgerald quote about “selling your heart” when you write; by infusing her own experiences (as explained in the acknowledgements, much of this novel was drawn from the author’s life) into her characters’ lives, Nina Moreno does just that.

It also explored the strain that cultural and generational barriers can place on relationships with grace and sensitivity. Abuela Mimi’s former life in Cuba is a subject Rosa has never really been allowed to approach, leaving her with unanswered questions that sometimes strain their relationship; Rosa’s fear of repeating her mother’s mistakes, which Mimi shares, puts them all through a great deal of strife; and throughout the book, it’s hard for them to communicate because all have experiences that the others just do not understand. Again, in the acknowledgements, Moreno states that she wanted to shine a light on the reality of diaspora and how it impacts the Cuban community in the United States – mission accomplished. Though I’m not Cuban and I’ve never had any experiences like the Santos family’s, I came away from “Don’t Date Rosa Santos” with a greater understanding of the unique pressures that having escaped from a totalitarian regime places on immigrant communities.

(Also, on a slightly lighter note, Alex is friggin’ adorable, Rosa’s overcoming her fears was fantastically triumphant while being realistically messy and difficult, I wanted to eat all of the food, and every single festival scene was incredibly fun. The post-gator kiss was a highlight.) 

THE BAD

In a lot of cases, it seemed like “Don’t Date Rosa Santos” succeeded more on a thematic/big-picture level than it did on a personal one. Rosa, while she was a sympathetic character, wasn’t a supremely compelling protagonist, and most of the supporting cast (aside from Alex, Mimi, and Liliana), however interesting, wasn’t explored in any depth. (That was understandable, even inevitable – there were so many characters that they literally could not have all been fleshed out – but it would have been nice if a few were.)

Plus, I’m not entirely sure what was up with the witchcraft angle. It could very well be a part of Cuban culture that I’ve never been exposed to, but if it isn’t, it was a little weird and random at times. It would come out of nowhere – almost every time something went wrong, someone was yelling for Rosa to get the materials to do a spell. Since a lot goes wrong in this book, this was frequent. And since the burgeoning popularity of witch stories is one of my least favorite trends in YA lit, that wasn’t my favorite. It may well be very prominent in Cuban communities, in which case it was included for the sake of realism, but if it isn’t, it was a little…gratuitous.

RATING 

All right, guys, new system! Instead of a flat rating, I’m going to be giving the book a rating out of 5 on each of the following categories. Average score is the final rating.

Plot: 4/5 – I didn’t really get what was up with the curse, but Rosa’s relationships with her family, the college decision, and the Spring Festival made for very strong sideplots.

Characters: 3/5 – meh, but not bad in any way.

Pacing: 5/5 – never too fast or too slow.

Handling of Subject Matter: 5/5 – this was the best by far, as explained already.

Writing Quality: 4/5 – it was very well-written, but the style wasn’t really a standout.

Message/Moral/Appropriateness for Audience: 3.5/5 – this book has less of a message/moral than it has social commentary, but it could certainly help readers who aren’t from diaspora communities to better empathize the struggles of those who are – that’s a very worthy moral in and of itself. On the appropriateness side, was pretty clean – there was scattered cursing but it was decidedly PG-13, the romance never got anywhere near steamy, and it only really got docked for the witchcraft stuff. Though it’s pretty clean, I wouldn’t recommend this to the younger end of the YA spectrum just because its themes are very mature – they’re not in any way inappropriate, but it covers heavy subject matter that could be hard to understand/relate to for younger readers. They might not like it much, although if they shared some of Rosa’s experiences, they’d probably be more likely to enjoy it.

Overall: 4.08/5

Posted in Reviews

Review: Prom-Wrecked by T.H. Hernandez

Posted on by Sarah S.

I received an advance copy of “Prom-Wrecked” from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

SPECS

 

Title: Prom-Wrecked

Author: T.H. Anderson and Jennifer DiGiovanni

Genre: YA, Romance

REVIEW

Their prom night ended in a jail cell with forty of their closest friends. But that’s hardly the worst thing that happened to them…

When the principal announces prom is canceled this year, senior Riley Hart is determined to save it. Armed with little more than her own enthusiasm, she ends up working closely with Owen Locklear, who is more than completely off-limits. Because he’s the boyfriend of her ex-BFF, Catherine Reed. Still, Owen knows Riley better than almost anyone, and his charming ideas for turning the prom upside-down and backward win Riley over.

Then they lose their deposit. Twice. And book a band full of octogenarians. And don’t even get her started on the act of God that takes down their venue…

Riley will have an unforgettable teenage experience, damn it, if it’s the last thing she does…

I will be honest, I mostly requested this book off of NetGalley out of boredom. I didn’t know if I’d like it much but thought it sounded mildly amusing, so when I found myself genuinely enjoying it, I was pleasantly surprised. Prom-Wrecked doesn’t have a lot to say – it tries in a few instances to send a message, but it’s actually far better at doing so when it doesn’t appear to be trying – but it’s fun, sort of like the book equivalent of a rom-com. All of the characters are quite lovable and real (save the villain, an evil cheerleader of the mustache-twirling variety), and it has a subtle but sweet message about forgiveness and learning from past mistakes. This is told in dual narratives – one Riley’s, focusing on prom and her crush on Owen, and the other Catherine’s, focusing on her struggles to break free of her mother’s iron grip – and that actually works to its benefit, which is unusual, as contrasting voices usually just make a story harder to follow. More on that later.

This book’s greatest strength, as with any good rom-com, is its humor. Riley and co.’s bumbling adventures in prom-planning were often times uproarious – everything that can conceivably go wrong does in absolutely hilarious fashion (in that, it sort of reminds me of Save the Date, which I also reviewed). I was in stitches by the end, when *SPOILER* half of the cast ends up in a spectacular round of fisticuffs on the dance floor at prom, sets the venue on fire, and is collectively arrested *SPOILER*. That was what made this so enjoyable to read – bad things happening to likable people is funnier here than perhaps it should be.

As I mentioned before, “Prom-Wrecked” follows two stories, Catherine’s and Riley’s; Riley’s is far and away the more humorous, honing in on prom mishaps rather than melodrama. I want to focus here on Catherine’s, because, although it is more serious, it’s extremely sweet. Her story focuses more on emotional struggles than Riley’s does, but by the end of her narrative, Catherine has found the courage to stand up to her controlling mother and admit her mistakes in order to repair a long-broken friendship, sending a genuinely sweet message about honesty and forgiveness. It’s got mildly salty content, but even for that, “Prom-Wrecked” is…well, pure. Its messages and themes are incredibly wholesome, though its characters act as realistic teens would (not always for the best). And although it isn’t particularly profound, “Prom-Wrecked” will leave you with a warmer heart than you went in with.

CLOSING

Six-Word Summary: Murphy’s Law applies to proms, too…

Recommended For: anyone looking for a light, fun, amusing read – perhaps to pass a few hours on a plane or long drive?

Avoid If: you would rather read a book with something incredibly profound to say about life, society, etc.

Possibly-Objectionable Content: scattered vulgar language, a few detailed kisses, underage drinking, and about two allusions to adult situations.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Confused Llamas

Posted in Reviews

REVIEW: White Rose by Kip Wilson

Posted on by Sarah S.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (Granted, this book comes out tomorrow, so it isn’t that much of an advance, but still.)

SPECS

Title: White Rose

Author: Kip Wilson

Genre: YA, historical fiction, prose

REVIEW

When I saw a listing for a YA book about the White Rose Society on NetGalley, I nearly lost it. This story is incredibly dear to my heart because a few months back I had the opportunity to play the role of Sophie Scholl in my school’s production of a play (this one – it isn’t entirely accurate, but it’s an excellent dramatization) about the White Rose Society. That show was hands-down my favorite one that I’ve ever been in and I was immensely inspired by the story of those incredible students, so there was almost no way I wasn’t going to love this book.

Though I knew I’d love the story itself, the style in which it was written was an unexpected plus. “White Rose” is written in verse, which is a style I don’t often read and wouldn’t expect to jibe very well with a story like this, but it worked. The stylistic freedom that writing in verse allows worked very well for this story; in many cases, it made for greater emotional impact, as spacing and punctuation could be used for emphasis moreso than they would be in a traditional novel. And I loved the flashback format – both because it let the author paint a richer picture of Sophie and because that is the same format in which “Antigone in Munich,” the play I was in, was written. (I have to wonder if that’s coincidental or not.) Many of the flashback scenes were also used, to some extent, in the play, and seeing references to events I remembered acting out always made me smile. (I had to grin my face off whenever Fritz and Sophie were on-page together remembering the way the audience hollered when I had to stage-kiss the actor playing Fritz…to give one example.) I don’t want to let my personal experience overtake this review, but the fact that I knew the story so well was a key portion of the reason I enjoyed it: revisiting this story is always like seeing an old friend.

Even if you are not, and I assume you aren’t, in my position of having a strong personal connection to the White Rose story, there is a lot to love about “White Rose” – its prose is beautifully worded but impactful, its characterization minimalistic (this is a perfect example of “show, don’t tell” – we’re not told anything; we simply watch events unfold through Sophie’s eyes) but effective, and its story timeless and incredibly important. The story of the White Rose Society first captured my heart because it’s so inspiring – anyone could do what they did if they had the conviction and could muster up the courage – and that translates well here. “White Rose” is effective because it conveys without fail what makes its source material so compelling. That’s what makes a great historical novel.

CLOSING: 

Recommended For: anyone, really. This is an important story, and “White Rose” tells it incredibly well.

Avoid If: reading a book about Nazis and/or one that touches on human brutality would cause you undue emotional strain.

Possibly-Objectionable Content: one scene alludes vaguely to an adult situation, another to drug use…ish (while making leaflets, the White Rose members use pills designed to help soldiers stay awake to pull an all-nighter). One use of the word “s–t.”

Rating: 5 out of 5 Confused Llamas

Posted in Reviews

Review: “Can’t Beat the Chemistry” by Kat Colmer

Posted on by Sarah S.

NOTE: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

 

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SPECS

Title: Can’t Beat the Chemistry

Author: Kat Colmer

Genre: YA

To Be Released: April 20, 2019

REVIEW

Ionic and covalent bonds are a piece of cake for MJ. But human bonds are a little harder …

There are only two things MJ wants in her final year of high school:

1) Glowing grades and …

2) to convince uber-smart, chiselled-jaw Jason they’d be a winning team outside the science lab as well as in.

Tutoring deadbeat drummer, Luke, isn’t part of the plan. After all, he has average intelligence, takes disorganised notes and looks like a partied-out zombie at their study sessions! Not even his taut biceps will win MJ over.

But MJ learns that she could be tutored in a few life lessons too: That sometimes there’s good reason to skip chemistry tutorials. That intelligence is so much more than a grade average.

And that sometimes you can’t beat the chemistry.

“Can’t Beat the Chemistry” was a not-unwelcome break from the weightier nonfiction I’ve been reading lately: i’s light, fluffy, and incredibly quick (I’m not sure of the page count, but I read it in only a few hours). It wasn’t spectacular, but I enjoyed it enough.

This book’s main defect, which might be a detractor for other readers, was how utterly unlikeable the protagonist, Mackenzie “MJ” Olsen-Wang, started off. She’s portrayed as off-the-charts smart and hardworking, but that comes with a shocking lack of social graces and a superior attitude that drove me nuts at first. Granted, she grows significantly and that’s where most of the story’s emotional punch lies, so there is a reason that she has to start that way. But in the half of the book it takes for MJ to mature, her supercilious attitude got on my nerves. I liked the love interest, Luke, quite a bit more – his passion for helping special needs students, musical skills, and commitment to his family were incredibly sweet – but before he and MJ learned more about each other, his characterization was rather flat. And the supporting cast was rather two-dimensional. There was no character whose characterization interested me from beginning to end, and that was perhaps the story’s weakest point.

Really, the second half of the book is what really shines. The opening one (I’d guess it would be about 150 pages) is a bit flat, repetitively hashing out the same painful discourse between MJ and the people in her life. Once she spends the weekend with Luke, the book picks up speed. That’s where all of the endearing parts of Luke’s characterization, and the struggles that begin to justify MJ’s flaws, take the spotlight. From there on out, it was less of a painfully prickly series of interactions between characters who clearly aren’t communicating well (I know that was the intention, but it was not pleasant). The romance really built up momentum in the second half, too. From there on out, it was a quick read, and one of which I genuinely wanted to know the resolution.

Though it was not spectacular, Colmer’s “Can’t Beat the Chemistry” is a light, sweet, and surprisingly meaningful read, and a worthy use of a few spare hours.

CLOSING

Six-Word Summary: people & chemistry are full of surprises.

Recommended For: fans of light, fluffy contemporary stories with a moral backbone.

Avoid If: you can’t deal with characters who start off unlikeable.

Possibly-Objectionable Content: scattered uses of vulgar language. A good half of the parents in this book are either unhealthily controlling or overtly abusive.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Confused Llamas