Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe, by Preston Norton ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Bullying, Child Abuse, Contemporary Fiction, Drug Abuse, High School, Homophobia, Humor, Religious Fanaticism, Suicide, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 5th, 2018

400 Pages

Synopsis: Cliff Hubbard is a huge loser. Literally. His nickname at Happy Valley High School is Neanderthal because he’s so enormous—-6’6” and 250 pounds to be exact. He has no one at school and life at his trailer park home has gone from bad to worse since his older brother’s suicide.

There’s no one Cliff hates more than the nauseatingly cool quarterback, Aaron Zimmerman. Then Aaron returns to school after a near-death experience with a bizarre claim: while he was unconscious he saw God, who gave him a list of things to do to make Happy Valley High suck less. And God said there’s only one person who can help: Neanderthal.

To his own surprise, Cliff says he’s in. As he and Aaron make their way through the List, which involves a vindictive English teacher, a mysterious computer hacker, a decidedly unchristian cult of Jesus Teens, the local drug dealers, and the meanest bully at HVHS—-Cliff feels like he’s part of something for the first time since losing his brother. But fixing a broken school isn’t as simple as it seems, and just when Cliff thinks they’ve completed the List, he realizes their mission hits closer to home than he ever imagined.

Neanderthal Opens the Door To The Universe is one of those books that took me by surprise in regards to how much I liked it. While some of the dialogue is a little awkward and it’s intentionally filled with high school cliches, because of the well-rounded and relatable characters, interesting plot, and positive message, it has a certain charm to it that I think will appeal to a wide audience. The story tackles many social issues: suicide, drug abuse, religious fanaticism, homophobia, bullying, and child abuse. But it never devolves into an annoying after school special/soap opera. This is partly due to the dry humor that pervades the story, but also because the darker themes are balanced by the inspiring responses from the teenage characters.

In the end, Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe is quite uplifting and it’s a story I won’t forget anytime soon. Because of the colorful language involved and dark topics, I wouldn’t recommend this for older teens. I think it’s a wonderful choice for high school classrooms, forthcoming summer reading lists, and book discussion groups.

Protected, by Claire Zorn ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Australia, Bullying, Coping With Loss and Grief, Family Relationships, Friendship, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

276 Pages

Synopsis: I have three months left to call Katie my older sister. Then the gap will close and I will pass her I will get older. But Katie will always be fifteen, eleven months and twenty-one days old.

Hannah’s world is in pieces and she doesn’t need the school counsellor to tell her she has deep-seated psychological issues. With a seriously depressed mum, an injured dad and a dead sister, who wouldn’t have problems?

Hannah should feel terrible but for the first time in ages, she feels a glimmer of hope and isn’t afraid anymore. Is it because the elusive Josh is taking an interest in her? Or does it run deeper than that?

In a family torn apart by grief and guilt, one girl’s struggle to come to terms with years of torment shows just how long old wounds can take to heal.

Australian author Claire Zorn’s Protected has been nominated for and won several awards, and after reading it, it’s easy to see why. With the many issues it brings up it’s a difficult read at times, especially as it’s so believable, but take my word for it, this is a book worth picking up.

The story begins in the present day, with the one year anniversary of the death of Hannah’s sister, Katie, approaching. The family is in crisis, with the mother being severely depressed and the father being under investigation as he was driving the girls at the the time of the accident. Complicating things further is that he has amnesia due to his injuries. Hannah also claims to have amnesia, and is now facing a meeting with investigators. 

As the story unfolds, you see that fifteen-year-old Hannah’s trauma started long before the accident. She has been a victim of a vicious and frankly, depraved campaign of bullying since her first year in high school. Despite a caring teacher and school counsellor, the adults here are oblivious to what’s been happening until after the accident. Hannah’s well-meaning parents discover how much their youngest daughter is suffering, but with Katie’s untimely death, the bullying is forgotten. If there’s a silver lining in all this, it’s that now, Hannah’s tormentors have somewhat grown a conscience and leave her alone. 

Hannah is such a relatable character, and my heart ached for her. Her grief is palpable and as the story goes back and forth between the present day and the past events which lead up to the fateful day, it’s obvious that this young girl is a lot stronger than she appears. Her first person narrative is full of raw emotion and I honestly found myself stunned at times at the way she was able to push through the trauma and grief and guilt. 

The reader also sees the difficult relationship that existed between the sisters. Katie knew about the the bullying, but as the popular older sister, not only didn’t want to get involved, but actually blamed Hannah. The quintessential party girl, Katie was completely self-absorbed and viewed Hannah with a mixture of scorn and bitterness. I found myself wondering if she had lived, if their relationship could have been saved once they reached adulthood. My one criticism is that I thought Katie was a little too one dimensional. Sibling relationships can be complicated, but there was nothing likable about Katie whatsoever, and I wish she had been fleshed out a little more.

Hannah’s mother and father are both loving parents, but since the accident, her mother has completely withdrawn from the world and only shows emotion when she’s bitterly blaming her husband for Katie’s death. There is a family support system in place of sorts, with grandparents trying to help, but I found it hard to believe that no one brought up the idea of professional counseling for her. The father and Hannah have a closer relationship and I appreciated how even facing the possibility of legal repercussions, he urged her to tell the truth. 

The two people who ultimately help Hannah get past what has happened though is Anne, the quirky school counsellor and Josh, a fellow classmate. Both of them determinedly set out on bringing Hannah out of her shell and showing her what a wonderful person she is, and that she did not ask for or deserve anything that’s happened to her. I enjoyed the burgeoning relationship between Josh and Hannah. He made me laugh out loud more than once, and he’s exactly what Hannah needs as he patiently coaxes her back into the world, The ending is bittersweet but filled with hope as you can see that Hannah is going to be alright. 

Claire Zorn’s writing is incredibly vivid, from her descriptions of the Blue Mountains of Australia, to the bullying and the consequences that result from it. Hannah is such a sympathetic character that I think she’s going to stay with me for a long time. Protected is a perfect book for classrooms and book discussion groups and I highly recommend it. It’s the first book I’ve read by this author, but it certainly won’t be the last.

13 Minutes, by Sarah Pinborough ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Bullying, Mystery, Psychological Thrillers

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 3rd, 2017

320 Pages

Synopsis: Natasha doesn’t remember how she ended up in the icy water that night, but she does know this—it wasn’t an accident, and she wasn’t suicidal. Her two closest friends are acting strangely, and Natasha turns to Becca, the best friend she dumped years before when she got popular, to help her figure out what happened.

Natasha’s sure her friends love her. But does that mean they didn’t try to kill her?

I’ve been a fan of Sarah Pinborough for years, and have come to realize one thing when picking up one of her books: expect the unexpected. 13 Minutes, which I believe is her first YA novel, is full of secrets, lies and deception, which makes it a perfect read for fans of Pretty Little Liars.

I have to be honest and say this isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, mainly because of the characters. Natasha, Jenny, and Hayley, aka The Barbies, at first come across as your typical mean girls. You really don’t find out what truly makes them tick until the second half of the book. Becca, who used to be BFFs with Queen Bee Natasha’s, before she was kicked to the curb for not fitting ideals of physical attributes, is the one I emotionally connected with the most. She’s a deeply flawed character, but I completely understood some of her questionable actions and decision making. I found myself not only emphasizing with her, but also rooting for her.

The majority of adult characters are in the background as is expected in a YA novel, but I was appreciative that for the most part they were portrayed realistically instead of cardboard cutouts which I’ve been finding in so many YA books lately.

The plot kept me guessing the entire time I was reading. It seems like the central mystery is solved about 60% of the way in, but it’s not. While shortly after that point, I began figuring out what really happened, the hows and whys continued to elude me until shortly before the end.

And, that ending! I still can’t decide whether I loved it or hated it. While the mystery is solved, there are some loose ends that Pinborough left dangling, I suspect deliberately so. It was brilliant yet frustrating at the same time.

I think with 13 Minutes, Sarah Pinborough has again showed herself to be a master of psychological thrillers. She does a great job at getting into the heads of her YA characters and bringing them to life, and if you’re a parent this may leave you wondering what’s really going on in your teenagers lives. Although this is a YA book the story is quite complex and I think adult readers will enjoy this. It seems as though Netflix is going to be making a series from this and I’m hoping they do it justice.

Blackbird Season, by Kate Moretti ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Autism, Bullying, Drug Abuse, Mystery, Poverty, Rape, Self-harm, Small Towns, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Release Date: September 26th, 2017

304 Pages

Synopsis:

Where did they come from? Why did they fall? The question would be asked a thousand times…

Until, of course, more important questions arose, at which time everyone promptly forgot that a thousand birds fell on the town of Mount Oanoke at all.

In a quiet Pennsylvania town, a thousand dead starlings fall onto a high school baseball field, unleashing a horrifying and unexpected chain of events that will rock the close-knit community.

Beloved baseball coach and teacher Nate Winters and his wife, Alecia, are well respected throughout town. That is, until one of the many reporters investigating the bizarre bird phenomenon catches Nate embracing a wayward student, Lucia Hamm, in front of a sleazy motel. Lucia soon buoys the scandal by claiming she and Nate are engaged in an affair, throwing the town into an uproar…and leaving Alecia to wonder if her husband has a second life.

And when Lucia suddenly disappears, the police only have one suspect: Nate.

Nate’s coworker and sole supporter, Bridget Harris, Lucia’s creative writing teacher, is determined to prove his innocence. She has Lucia’s class journal, and while some of the entries appear particularly damning to Nate’s case, others just don’t add up. Bridget knows the key to Nate’s exoneration and the truth of Lucia’s disappearance lie within the walls of the school and the pages of that journal.

The Blackbird Season has one of the creepiest openings I’ve ever come across, and while there were some slow periods and I thought the mystery was a bit predictable, it’s a great look at small town life and an interesting character study.

Please be warned there’s a lot of social issues examined that could be triggers for some readers including bullying, self-harm, drug abuse, poverty and rape. These are not gratuitously written in, but instead are layered in to the complicated tapestry that makes up this town.

Mount Oanoke, a small Pennsylvania mill town is your typical small town Americana, and depicts both the best and worst of living in rural areas. On the one hand, there’s less crime and people look out for one another. On the other, residents are gossipy, judgemental, and they’re losing their young people who flee to greener pastures as soon as they graduate. 

The story is told from the perspective of the four main characters: Nate, Alecia, Bridget and Lucia. Except for Bridget, none of these characters are one-hundred percent likable, although in the end I did wind up feeling sympathetic towards them, especially Lucia.

Nate is an ex-jock who at best shows some truly atrocious judgement and at worst is a neglectful father and husband. While I felt a modicum of sympathy for his predicament, his complete and utter cluelessness in regards to both his family and Lucia had me wanting to slap him more than once.

I initially disliked Nate’s wife, Alecia and frankly, found her to be kind of a witch. However, seeing her struggles trying to raise her five-year-old autistic son basically by herself, is heart wrenching and as the story unfolded I found myself appreciating what she was going through more.

Bridget is struggling herself having lost her husband to cancer the year before. She’s a loyal friend to both Nate and Alecia, and is one of the few adults who are truly concerned about Lucia.

And there’s eighteen-year-old Lucia. Just thinking of her even now, two days after I finished the book, brings me to tears. There’s no doubt she’s a prickly personality, and there are times that she certainly doesn’t do herself any favors, but she’s someone who from the beginning is never given a chance and watching what she goes through is heartbreaking.

The story itself is interesting and while I found the pace lagged at times, I still for the most part stayed engaged. While I wasn’t initially sure how the deaths of the blackbirds was related to the main plot, I liked the way the author managed to tie them in. I have mixed feelings regarding the ending though. While it answered the central mystery, there’s some side plots that I think could have been tied up a little more smoothly.

It probably sounds like I didn’t enjoy The Blackbird Season, But I actually did despite the issues I had with it. I would recommend this for not only fans of Kate Moretti’s previous books, but also readers who enjoy dark, multi-layered, slow-burning suspense.

The Luster Of Lost Things, by Sophie Chen Keller ~ 5++++++++++ Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Bullying, Disabilities, Family Bonds, Friendships, Magical Realism, Societal Roles

Thanks to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing an ARC in exchange for and honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

304 Pages

Synopsis: Walter Lavender Jr. is a master of finding. A wear of high-tops. A maker of croissants. A son keeping vigil, twelve years counting.

But he wouldn’t be able to tell you. Silenced by his motor speech disorder, Walter’s life gets lonely. Forth he has The Lavenders—mother’s enchanted dessert shop, where marzipan dragons breathe actual fire. He also has a knack for tracking down any missing thing—except his lost father.

So, when the Book at the root of the bakery’s magic vanishes, Walter, accompanied by his overweight golden retriever, journeys through New York City to find it—along the way encountering an unforgettable cast of lost souls. 

Steeped in nostalgic wonder, The Luster of Lost Things explores the depths of our capacity for kindness and our ability to heal. A lyrical meditation on why we become lost and how we are found, from the bright, broken heart of a boy who knows where to look for everyone but himself.

You guys! This book! I’m not sure how to even begin except to say that while I’ve read some fantastic books so far this year, The Luster of Lost Things surpasses them all!

Walter Lavender Jr. is a thirteen-year-old boy who is not only dealing with a motor speech disorder that makes it difficult for him to communicate, but he longs for his father who went missing before he was born. Because he’s “different” from his classmates, he doesn’t have any friends, and is the victim of bullying. But he has his loving and devoted mother, Lucy, and their magical bakery, The Lavenders. There, it’s completely normal to see chocolate mice jump rope with licorice, and other desserts come to life. The source of the magic is the Book, a gift given to Lucy, one cold winter’s night by a woman to whom Lucy gave shelter. I’m trying really hard not to include any spoilers, so I’m just going to say that ever since the Book was left, the, desserts came to life and the shop prospered. 

When the Book mysteriously disappears, the magic also departs and the future of the shop is in peril thanks to a new greedy landlord. So, young Walter, who has an uncanny knack for finding lost things, accompanied by his best friend and Golden Retriever, Milton, embarks upon a quest to find the missing book. Along the way he meets some incredible people who turn his journey into much more than a quest to find a magical book. This turns into a voyage of self-discovery, where Walter gains confidence in himself which in turn leads him to successfully form lasting connections to the people he meets. 

Walter is one of the most likable, charming and relatable characters I’ve come across in a very long time. By the end of the first chapter he stole my heart and I felt as though I was inside the story accompanying him and Milton as they traveled through the gritty streets of New York City on their mission. All of the characters in this book, including Milton are vividly brought to life, and each of them have a hand in young Walter’s transformation. 

There are really three parts to this book. The beginning which is set in the bakery and is full of magical realism. Then there’s the middle, where Walter is away from the warmth and safety of his mother and their shop. And finally, the ending which has Walter back where he began, albeit a much different boy then when he left. There have been many reviewers who have commented that they loved the beginning, but found Walter’s journey too slow. I have to respectfully disagree. While Walter’s quest does depart from the magical realism the book opens with, that doesn’t take away from the connections he makes with the quirky people he meets. And while, they all help him in some fashion, the positive impact he has on them is truly remarkable. 

Writing an adult book from a child’s perspective can’t be easy, and when that child suffers from a speech disorder, well, that’s almost unheard of. The only other book I’ve read that’s successfully done this is The Curious Incident of the Dog In Night-Time, by Mark Haddon. Sophie Chen Keller brilliantly brings to life this young boy who is highly intelligent and knows what he wants to say, yet frustratingly struggles to say the words out loud. We see the story unfold through his eyes and thoughts, and it’s a wondrous thing because Walter’s world is amazing and beautiful. 

The Luster of Lost Things is one of those rare books that if you read it, you’ll remember for it a very long time. I wish I had tons of money, because I’d buy hundreds of copies and leave them in train stations, subways, park benches, restaurants, mail them to all of you and, well, you get the picture. As I’m not rich, I’m just going to encourage everyone who reads this review to buy themselves a copy, or borrow it from their library. This is an uplifting and beautifully told tale with a boy who will touch your heart in ways you can’t imagine. It’s a confectionery delight that is a lovely respite from the real world. Please, give yourself a gift that will not only give you the warm fuzzies, but will also remind you what’s truly important in life.

 

The Party, by Robyn Harding ~ 2.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Bullying, Contemporary Fiction, Family Relationships, Teen Drinking

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: One invitation. A lifetime of regrets.

Sweet sixteen. It’s an exciting coming of age, a milestone, and a rite of passage. Jeff and Kim Sanders plan on throwing a party for their daughter, Hannah–a sweet girl with good grades, and nice friends. Rather than an extravagant, indulgent affair, they invite four girls over for pizza, cake, movies, and a sleepover. What could possibly go wrong?

But things do go wrong, horrifically so. After a tragic accident occurs, Jeff and Kim’s flawless life in a wealthy San Francisco suburb suddenly begins to come apart. In the ugly aftermath, friends become enemies, dark secrets are revealed in the Sanders’ marriage, and the truth about their perfect daughter, Hannah, is exposed.

The Party is a fairly decent read, but for me it played out like a Lifetime movie of the week with lots of angst and drama, but surprisingly little in the way of excitement or suspense. 

My main issue was that I just didn’t like any of the characters. The teens were your stereotypical mean girls, or in Hannah’s case, an eager to please follower who cares only about ascending the social ladder. The adults were completely self-absorbed and insipid, and were more concerned with bemoaning how what happens directly effects them, then doing what’s right.

The story itself is more suspenseful in the events leading up to the accident. Unfortunately this only makes for less than a 1/4 of the book. After that, the intensity peeters out somewhat and this is made worse by the overwhelming focus on high school politics and lawsuits.

The Party isn’t a horrible book. It was just a little too “meh” for me to truly enjoy it. It surprisingly had little tension or suspense, and there’s no psychological insight into its characters, which made it impossible for me to get really invested in the story, The book has received some positive reviews, and I think if you’re a fan of family drama, you may want to try this. But if you’re looking for a suspense/thriller with a climactic ending, you might wind up being disappointed as I was.

 

 

A Killer Harvest by Paul Cleave ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Bullying, Cellular Memory, Medical Thriller, Organ Donation, Serial Killers, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

400 Pages

Synopsis: Joshua is convinced there is a family curse. It’s taken away his biological parents, robbed him of his eyesight, and is the reason why his father Logan, the detective who raised him, is killed while investigating the homicide of a young woman. The suspect, Simon Bowers, is killed by Logan’s partner Ben, whose intentions are murkier than expected. 

After this tragedy, Joshua is handed an opportunity he can’t refuse: a new pair of eyes. But a mishap during surgery leads to Joshua unknowingly getting one eye from his father, and the other from Simon. As Joshua navigates a world of sight, he gets glimpses of what his eyes might have witnessed in their previous life. Memories, truth, and lies Joshua discovers a world darker than the one he has emerged from. What else has he failed to see?

Meanwhile, Simon’s accomplice Vincent, is bent on revenge, going after the loved ones of those involved in Simon’s death, and Vincent is drawing closer and closer to Joshua.

Huh. This was a surprise. I figured I was going to enjoy Killer Harvest after reading so many positive reviews, but I didn’t suspect how much I was going to love it! 

At the heart of this story is the controversial phenomenon of cellular memory. Is it possible for a recipient of an organ donation, to receive the emotions and behaviors from the donor through memories stored in the neurons of the donated organ? It seems like the medical community is divided as of now over this possibility, but there have been cases that make you wonder. There have been plenty of books and movies that have used this theory as part of their premise, but Paul Cleave puts a whole new spin on it.

Joshua is one of the most lovable characters I’ve come across in a while. There are times that it really does seem like some supernatural curse is hanging over his head. He grabbed me by the heartstrings from the very beginning and because of that I was thoroughly invested in the story. He’s sweet, compassionate, and determined to do the right thing. He’s also a bit impulsive, like many teens, and this winds up getting him into trouble. 

There are many secondary characters, and while I didn’t think all of them were necessary to further the plot, there were a few that play a big part in Joshua’s life and I really enjoyed them.

The story itself has more than one theme with organ donation/cellular memory, bullying, and serial killers, among them. This could have been messy and confusing, but the author deftly brings everything together. I was hooked from the very first page, and the surprising twists and mini cliffhangers at the end of each chapter made it impossible for me to put this book down. I started it mid-afternoon and finished about 1:00 in the morning.

The only reason why I’m not giving this a perfect 5 stars is because of the ending. It’s deliberately left open-ended, which I had no problem with, although it’s left me longing for a sequel. However, there were some loose ends concerning a couple of characters that left me a little frustrated.

There are quite a few reviewers on Goodreads who have mentioned that Paul Cleave, who’s from New Zealand, is underappreciated in the U.S. and after reading Killer Harvest, I have to agree. It’s a brilliantly written thriller and a perfect beach and vacation read. I really can’t recommend it highly enough. This was my first book by Cleave, but it certainly won’t be my last! 

First We Were IV, by Alexandra Sirowy ~ 2.5 Stars

Tags

Bullying, Friendship, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books For Young Children for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 25th, 2017

448 Pages

Synopsis: It started for pranks, fun, and forever memories. A secret society–for the four of us. The rules: Never lie. Never tell. Love each other. We made the pledge and danced under the blood moon on the meteorite in the orchard. In the spot we found the dead girl five years earlier. And discovered the ancient drawings way before that. 

Nothing could break us apart–I thought. But then, others wanted in. Our seaside town had secrets. History.

We wanted revenge.

We broke the rules. We lived. We told. We loved each other too much, not enough, and in ways we weren’t supposed to. Our invention ratcheted out of control.

What started as a secret society, ended as justice. Revenge. Death. Rebellion.

Despite a promising beginning, First We Were IV wound up being a frustrating read for several reasons.

First, it felt as though I was reading two separate books simultaneously. One was a creepy and compelling tale about four teens trying to solve a girl’s murder that occurred when they were children. This was what I liked the most. But then there was another side which was your stereotypical YA story where a group of teens feel like the entire world is against them and decide that they’re much better than anyone else around them. To prove their superiority, they they form a secret society to strike out against the town and their classmates. Oh! And while they’re performing random acts of vandalism and violence, they’re also falling in and out of love with each other at a rate that made my head spin.

The other issue I had was with the characters themselves. There was only one of the foursome that I actually liked, Harry, who is the on-again, off-again boyfriend of Izzy, who primarily tells the story. The others, including Izzy, are immature, bland and uninteresting at best, self-centered and arrogant at worst. Izzy, Harry, Viv, and Graham, have all been subjected to bullying which should have had me emphasizing with them, but because of their attitudes and actions, completely turned me off instead. And as for the adults, well, they all pretty much fit into the stereotypical roles that unfortunately you find in a lot of YA fiction. There’s the lazy and ineffectual police; the clueless parents and school officials; the elderly, nosy neighbor; the abusive father, etc. The way adults are often portrayed in YA literature is a particular pet peeve of mine, so I was extremely aggravated. After over 400 extremely long pages, the ending finally came, only to leave me feeling even more frustrated and unsatisfied. 

In my humble opinion, if the author had focused more on the murder mystery and Izzy and her friends trying to get justice for this girl that the rest of their town had purposely forgotten, this would have been a great book. But instead, it spins off into too many different directions including much too much high school drama. Simply cutting some of this soap opera would have made this a tighter and more controlled story.

I have to be honest and say that there are far more positive than negative reviews for this, so please go check them out before making up your mind as to whether you’re going to read this or not. As for me, this is the third book I’ve read by Alexandra Sirowy, and I had many of the same issues with all of them. It might just be that her writing style isn’t for me.

*Krysti, over at http://yaandwine.com absolutely loved this if you’d like to check out another opinion. And she’s having a giveaway!*

One Of Us Is Lying, by Karen McManus ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Bullying, Drugs, Dysfunctional Relationships, Mental Illness, Mystery, Social Media, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: May 30th, 2017

368 Pages

Synopsis: Pay close attention and you might solve this. 

On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention.

Bronwyn, “the brain”, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.

Addy, “the beauty”, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess.

Nate, “the criminal”, is already on probation for dealing.

Cooper, “the athlete”, is the all-star baseball pitcher.

And Simon, “the outcast”, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app.

Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or, are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose?

Everyone has secrets right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

I requested One of Us Is Lying because the mystery was appealing and it sort of reminded me of The Breakfast Club and Pretty Little Liars. To my surprise though this wildly exceeded my expectations. The story is related from the POVs of the four main characters. While at first Bronwyn, Nate, Addy and Cooper seem to fit the ubiquitous high school stereotypes, they are so, so much more. They all have secrets and issues they’re trying to deal with and they come across relatable and sympathetic. I liked every single one of them, even while it was constantly in the back of my head that one of them may be a murderer. Karen McManus does a fantastic job at capturing what modern-day high school life is like, especially with the use of social media. With this realistic setting and likable characters, I completely got distracted in regards to the actual mystery, so it wasn’t until the last couple of chapters that all the puzzle pieces began coming together for me and I guessed who the person was behind Simon’s death. The ending is perfect, but not in the way where everyone rides off happily into the sunset. While there are some positive moments, there are others where certain people have to face the consequences of their actions and there were some plot lines that were purposely left open. I was fine with all of it, because like the rest of the story, it made everything messily real. There’s just one aspect that prevents me from giving this a perfect rating, and I’m sorry that I have to be vague. I can’t really go into it too much because that would involve unveiling a major spoiler. All I can say is that it involved mental illness and I thought it was glossed over a bit. Otherwise, this book is bound to be a phenomenal hit with teens and adults who enjoy YA fiction. It would also make a terrific movie or even tv series. I honestly can’t wait to see what Karen McManus comes out with next!

 

 

Castaways – By Jessika Fleck – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Bullying, Fantasy, Friendship, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for providing and eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

320 Pages

Synopsis: The Castaway Carnival: fun, mysterious, dangerous.

Renowned for it’s infamous corn maze…and the kids who go missing in it.

When Olive runs into the maze, she wakes up on an isolated and undetectable island where a decades-long war between two factions of rival teens is in full swing.

Trapped, Olive must slowly attempt to win each of her new comrades’ hearts as Will–their mysterious, stoically quiet, and handsome leader–steals hers.

Olive is only sure about one thing: her troop consists of the good guys, and she’ll do whatever it takes to help them win the war and get back home.

The Castaways is a clever novel that is a combination of Mean Girls and Lord of the Flies. As the story begins, Olive Maxi Gagmuehler is being tormented by three high school classmates. A couple of the things they do to her are definitely cringe-worthy, so beware. Everything comes to a head one night when after being once again attacked, at a carnival, Olive runs into a corn maze and suddenly finds herself trapped on an island with teens from different time periods. the only thing they have in common is they were all running away from something or someone, when they landed n this mysterious island. Olive is someone that many teens will relate to, especially if they’re victims of bullying. While she’s clearly terrified of her attackers, she also fights back against her tormenters. Once she’s on The Island, it quickly becomes apparent that this is no oasis of safety. While the teens and two young children in her group are for the most part welcoming, there’s another group that seems determined to wipe them out. But one of the best parts about this story is that nothing and no one is what they seem. Olive is the one constant, and she not only becomes the catalyst for change on the Island, but she goes through a journey of self-discovery that leaves her a stronger person by the end of the book. There were a couple of things that prevented this from being a perfect read for me. While I liked Will, Olive’s love interest, I never really bought into their romance for some reason. I’m not sure if it was just me, but there just didn’t seem to be any sparks. It almost seemed like they were forced together because of the circumstances, rather than there being real emotion behind their relationship. And, there were a couple of plot holes, particularly in regards to Olive’s tormenters that weren’t filled in enough for me. For the most part though, I thought The Castaways was imaginative and unique. It also does a good job at tackling the subject of bullying and sends a strong message that running away is never a positive solution to solving problems. It’s a book that should hold wide appeal for teens and I think it would also make an excellent selection for book discussion groups.