Only Mostly Devastated, by Sophie Gonzales ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, Death, Fat-Shaming, Homophobia, Humor, LGBTQ, Romance, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: March 3rd, 2020

272 Pages

Synopsis: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets Clueless, inspired by Grease.

When Ollie meets his dream guy, Will, over summer break, he thinks he’s found his Happily Ever After. But once summer’s ended, Will stops texting him back, and Ollie finds himself one prince short of a fairytale ending. To complicate the fairytale further, a family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school—Will’s school—where Ollie finds that the sweet, affectionate and comfortably queer he knew from summer, isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, closeted—and to be honest, a bit of a jerk.

Ollie has no intention of pining after a guy who clearly isn’t ready for a relationship. But as Will starts ‘coincidentally’ popping up in every area of Ollie’s life, from music class, to the lunch table, Ollie finds his resolve weakening. 

The last time Ollie gave Will his heart, Will handed it back to him, trampled and battered. Ollie would have to be an idiot to trust him with it again.

Right?

Right.

Only Mostly Devastated is an adorable read that as advertised combines elements of Grease, Clueless and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Love Simon was the film adaptation.) When I first began this I was a little worried that it would be too derivative, especially of Grease, but I’m very happy that while similar to the Sandy, Danny, the Pink Ladies, Sophie Gonzales does a fantastic job having her characters stand out on their own. Ollie, who has been out since he was thirteen, and received acceptance from his family and friends, is understandably hurt and bewildered when Will, who hasn’t come out, is reluctant to acknowledge their relationship. Their actions, and feelings are both understandable and relatable. The other characters: Juliette, Lara, and Niamh who form this modern day incarnation of the Pink Ladies are much more diverse and complex than their predecessors. I especially loved Lara (Rizzo), who initially comes off as a callous you-know-what, but the more you find out about her, the more you can’t help but love her.  As much as I loved Ollie’s and Will’s rocky romance, the eventual friendship between Lara and Ollie also captured my heart.

The only reason why I’m not giving giving this a full 5 stars is because a few of the secondary characters needed some development but instead they came across as rather pointless. While there are some touching scenes with Ollie and his ailing aunt, and some humorous ones with his young cousins, I wish I had a better sense of his relationship with his parents. They’re obviously close and supportive, but we’re told this rather than shown this. At the end of the book I really knew nothing more about them and their relationship with their son than I did in the beginning. Overall though, Only Mostly Devastated is a wonderful novel that deals with serious issues like the death of a loved one, homophobia, and fat-shaming, in a thoughtful manner, and balances these with sweet humor. It’s a book I’d recommend to YAs and adults who are looking for a cute fun read that will make them smile.

Advertisements

The Institute, by Stephen King ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Conspiracy Thriller, Contemporary Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction

Thanks to Scribner for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 10th, 2019

576 Pages

Synopsis: In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in the middle of suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents—telekinesis and telepathy—who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris and ten-year-old Avery Dixon. They are all in Front Half. Others, Luke learns, graduated to Back Half, “like the roach motel,” Kalisha says. “You check in, but you don’t check out.” 

In this most sinister of institutions, the director, Mrs. Sigsby, and her staff are ruthlessly dedicated to extracting from these children the force of their extranormal gifts. There are no scruples here. If you go along, you get tokens for the vending machine. If you don’t, punishment is brutal. As each new victim disappears to Back Half, Luke becomes more and more desperate to get out and get help. But no one has ever escaped from the Institute.

As psychically terrifying as Firestarter, and with the spectacular kid power of It, The Institute is Stephen King’s gut-wrenchingly dramatic story of good vs. evil in a world where the good guys don’t always win.

I may have mentioned that I love Stephen King a few times, but I want you to know that I don’t let my hero worship put blinders on me. There have been some of his books that have disappointed me over the decades Dreamcatcher and Lisey’s Story to name two. However, I’m thrilled to say that The Institute is not one of them. Actually, in my opinion it’s one of his best novels to date and is joining my favorites alongside Carrie, The Shining, Salem’s Lot, The Stand, Misery, It, Hearts in Atlantis, On Writing and 11/22/63. 

This is going to be a fairly short review because I’m determined not to let any spoilers slip, but there are a few things I’d like to share about why I loved this story so much. Part of why I love Mr. King’s writing so much is his characters. Some of his biggest monsters have been all too human ones: Annie Wilkes from Misery, Henry Bowers from It and Big Jim Rennie from Under the Dome. These are all “regular” people who wind up being just as terrifying as King’s supernatural creations like Pennywise and Randall Flagg. This is the case with Mrs. Sigsby and the other evil masterminds running the Institute. They may try to tell themselves that what they’re doing to the children they kidnap is for the greater good, but make no mistake, they’re sadistic, evil bastards. (Sorry for the language!) While I was reading all I wanted was for them to die in the slowest, most painful way possible. In stark contrast are Luke and the other children. King does an absolute brilliant job capturing their minds and voices. Each personality fairly leaps off the page fully formed which makes what is done to them even more horrifying. Avery, at ten-years-old, yet the most powerful with his gift, just about broke my heart. The other main character is Tim Jamieson, an amicable everyman who finds himself in a small southern town filled with some interesting people. Seeing how Luke, who is trapped in Maine (It’s Stephen King. Where else would a sinister shadow government be kidnapping and torturing kids?) and Tim are ultimately brought together is captivating, and I literally could not tear myself away. The only reason why it took me five days to read this is that I found myself having to take breaks because I became too emotionally involved in what was happening to the kids. It was either that or I was going to throw the book across the room because I kept getting so angry.

The Institute is the perfect example of how, over the years, Stephen King has gone from a horror writer to a genre-defying one. While clocking in at almost 600 pages long, not one single word is wasted in what amounts to in my mind, a perfectly crafted novel. The mystery behind what the Institute’s true motivations, is drawn out through the course of the story and further adds to the pulse-pounding suspense. I guarantee that Constant Readers are going to be thrilled with The Institute, particularly if you love some of King’s other adolescent heroes from previous books like Firestarter, The Body, and It. And if you’re new to Stephen King, or even have mixed feelings about his writing, but you enjoy horror, science-fiction and conspiracy thrillers, I highly recommend you give this a try!

Foul Is Fair (Foul Is Fair #1), by Hannah Capin ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, Physical Abuse, Rape, Substance Abuse, Suspense, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: February 4th, 2020

336 Pages

Synopsis: Elle and her friends Mads, Jenny and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Elle’s sweet  sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Elle as their next victim.

They picked the wrong girl.

Sworn to vengeance, Elle transfers to St. Andrew’s. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She’ll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school’s hierarchy. She and her coven have the perfect way in: a boy named Mack, whose ambition could turn deadly.

Foul Is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes.

Obviously the synopsis for Foul Is Fair appealed to me because otherwise I wouldn’t have requested it, but I’m thrilled to say that this clever modernization of Macbeth surpassed my expectations!

You might surmise from the synopsis that this story could trigger some readers. Let me reaffirm that. Trigger warnings I’d include are: Gang rape, substance abuse, physical abuse and of course murder. The actual rape scene is seen through a series of flashbacks. It’s not graphic, but seen through Elle’s hazy memories (she was drugged), and her subsequent injuries, it’s obvious what happened, and it’ll make you want to take revenge yourself against those involved yourself. The murderous and bloody mayhem that ensues at the hands of Elle/Jade and her three friends/coven is not believable in any sense, especially when it’s clear that Elle’s parents and possibly a few other adults know at least some of what’s going on. But believability isn’t really the point of this tale. No, this is about a group of young men who have gotten away with raping countless girls who finally attacked the wrong one. Like Lady Macbeth, Elle isn’t even particularly likable, but I found myself rooting for her all the same.

Another thing I simply have to mention is the way Hannah Capin tells this. In a further nod to Shakespeare, this is almost poetic in style. This might turn off some readers, but I think it adds even more depth to the story. This is a suspense-filled quick read and I finished it in one sitting mainly because there was no way I was going to sleep until I got to the not-so-happy ending.

Foul Is Fair is a bloody, provocative revenge tale that’s perfect for the #MeToo era and lays waste to the adage “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” It doesn’t attempt to teach a life lesson but rather fills that fantasy that so many of us have whenever we read about someone not getting the justice they deserve because of their social circumstances among other things. Think Macbeth meets Kill Bill with a dash of Heathers. Due to the subject matter, violence and language, I’d say this is for ages 16 and up. Otherwise, I cannot recommend this highly enough!

 

 

Swipe Right For Murder, by Derek Milman ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, Homophobia, Humor, LGBT, Romance, Suicide, Terrorism, Thriller, YA Fiction

Thanks to JIMMY Patterson Books for providing an ARC in exchange for and honest review.

Release Date: August 6th, 2019

336 Pages

Synopsis:

On the run from the FBI.

Targeted by a murderous cult.

Labeled a cyber-terrorist by the media.

Irritated by texts from his best friend.

Eye contact with a nice-looking guy on the train.

Aidan has a lot to deal with and he’s not quite sure which takes top priority.

Finding himself alone in a posh New York City hotel room for the night, Aidan does what any red-blooded seventeen-year-old would do—-he tries to hook up with someone new. But that lapse in judgement leads him to waking up next to a dead guy, which sparks an epic case of mistaken identity that puts Aidan on the run from everyone—-faceless federal agents, his eccentric family, and, naturally, a cyber-terrorist group who will stop at nothing to find him. 

He soon realizes the only way to stop the chase is to deliver the object that everyone wants, before he gets caught or killed. But for Aidan, the hardest part is knowing who he can trust not to betray him—-including himself.

It’s only halfway through 2019, but I already know that Swipe Right For Murder is going to be one of my favorite books of the year. An ingenious ode to Alfred Hitchcocks North by Northwest and a poignant coming-of-age story, it tackles some serious issues such as: terrorism, homophobia, an inappropriate relationship between an adult and a teen, and suicide. At the same time it displays a wry sense of humor that had me laughing out loud several times. While Aidan is immature at the beginning, his personal growth expands by leaps and bounds as the story progresses. He’s someone you want to shake and hug at the same time. The plot itself is absolutely crackers, but it’s so much fun that it’s easy to suspend disbelief and just hang on for the wild ride. 

I loved Derek Milman’s first book, Scream All Night, and honestly wondered if his sophomore effort would live up to his debut. I’m thrilled to say that I think it actually surpassed it! Both books blend the world of classic film, with contemporary coming-of-age themes, sympathetic and relatable main characters, and over-the-top (in a good way) storylines. I can’t recommend this author highly enough to both teens and adult fans of YA fiction, and fans of classic films in general. I can’t wait to see what this incredible author comes out with next!

Scream All Night, by Derek Milman ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Child Abuse, Contemporary Fiction, Dysfunctional Families, Humor, LGBTQ, Romance, YA Fiction

Thanks to Edelweiss and Balzer & Bray for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

400 Pages

Synopsis: A darkly hilarious contemporary realistic young adult novel about growing up and finding your place in the world, perfect for fans of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and Running With Scissors.

Dario Heyward knows one thing: He’s never going back to Moldavia Studios, the iconic castle that served as the set, studio, and home to the cast and crew of dozens of cult, classic B-horror movies. It’s been three years since Dario’s even seen the place, after getting legally emancipated from his father, the infamous director of Moldavia’s creature features.

But then Dario’s brother invites him home to a mysterious ceremony involving his father and a tribute to his first film—The Curse of the Mummy’s Tongue. Dario swears his homecoming will be a one-time visit. A way for him to get closure on his past—and reunite with Hayley, his first love and costar of Zombie Children of the Harvest Sun, a production fraught with real-life tragedy—and say goodbye for good. But the unthinkable happens—Dario gets sucked back into the twisted world of Moldavia and the horrors, real and imagined, he’s left there.

With only months to rescue the sinking studio and everyone who has built their lives there, Dario must confront the demons of his past—and the uncertainties of his future. But can he escape the place that’s haunted him his whole life?

“This is a house full of misfits, everyone unmoored from the world outside these gates. They don’t belong out there. They live in a constantly moving dreamworld of imagined horrors, spurts of gore, skulking monsters—creatures more aberrant than themselves. After all, it takes true misfits to make believable monsters.” 

Where do I start? Scream All Night is one of the most creative and original, yet totally bonkers books, I’ve come across in a long time. I read it last summer, yet I still remember it like it was yesterday. As the book opens, seventeen-year-old Dario (named after Italian giallo-horror director Dario Argento), finds himself reluctantly back in the bizarre world of Moldavia Studios after having legally emancipated himself from his parents. His mother is in a mental institution and his brilliant but abusive father has planned a live funeral for which attendance is mandatory. Dario has some extremely mixed feelings regarding his childhood and family, so once he returns to deal with some of these larger than life characters, he also has to deal with both the wonderful and the traumatic memories that he escaped from.

“That’s when I learned that with beauty comes a little bit of terror. That pretty much sums up my childhood here: something cool would happen, immediately followed by something traumatic. I could never come to terms with those knee-jerk jumps.”

What ensues is a darkly comedic coming-of-age story that will have you laughing out loud one moment and tearing up the next. It’s a zany mix combining the moving story of a young man facing his childhood demons, with the ludicrous, over-the-top antics of his family. The creepy setting of a castle where B horror movies are made just makes it all even more nuts.

“The spiders will always hatch out of the flowers. But now I like to think of the moments before, when they’re just flowers, blooming and they can be pinched closed so that all that prettiness lasts a little longer before the inevitable horror comes.

Scream All Night is a YA book that I highly recommend to adults who don’t normally read books for teens. It’s quirky and heart wrenching, and you’re bound to fall in love with Dario. Derek Milman’s flawless writing has made me a fan and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!

 

 

 

 

 

Slave Day, by Rob Thomas ~ 3.5 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, Racism, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: Available Now 

246 Pages

Synopsis: At Robert E. Lee High School, “Slave Day” is an annual event considered to be harmless fun by most of the students and staff—until this year. One student, Keene Davenport, has always been offended by the racist premise of this cherished school tradition, and this year he calls for a boycott. Told from eight different perspectives, this is the story of one conflict-filled day at an American high school.

Slave Day, by Rob Thomas (the writer behind Veronica Mars), was first published in 1997, so I was quite curious to see how the story would hold up over twenty years later. I’m pleased to say that for the most part it does a great job with the subject matter. The time difference is discernible through the dated technology, but overall this sadly feels like a story that could easily take place today.

The story is told from the perspective of seven students and one teacher. That’s a lot of viewpoints for a relatively short book and while their voices are all distinct from one another, I did have a difficult time forming a connection with any of them. 

The story itself is a little slow at the beginning, but picks up speed, and I did find it interesting. Despite these issues I recommend Slave Day for high school students to be used along with books, such as: The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, and Dear Martin, by Nic Stone. 

Father Figure, by James Cudney ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Child Abuse, Contemporary Fiction, LGBTQ, Mystery, Rape, Romance, Suspense

Thanks to Shannon over at Reads & Reels for including me in this Blog Tour.

Release Date: April 2, 2018

Published By Creativia

415 Pages

Synopsis: Between the fast-paced New York City, a rural Mississippi town, and a charming Pennsylvania college campus filled with secrets, two young girls learn the consequences of growing up too quickly. Struggling to survive in a claustrophobic, unforgiving world, they embark on a journey to overcome all the pain, disappointment, and horror of their experiences.

Amalia Graeme, abused by her mother for most of her life, longs to escape her desolate hometown, connect with others, and fall in love. Contemplating an impending loss of innocence and conflicting feelings between her boyfriend and the dangerous attraction she’s developed for an older man, Amalia suffers devastating, life-altering tragedies. No matter where she turns, someone or something always steals her hope of finding happiness, protection, and love.

Brianna Porter, a sassy yet angst-ridden teenager raised in New York City, yearns to determine her life’s true purpose, conquer her fear of abandonment, and interpret an intimidating desire for her best friend Shanelle. All the confusion stems from desperately needing to find the father whom her mother refuses to reveal, but the unexpected discovery of a journal leads Brianna to a shocking revelation about her missing parent. Unfortunately, by casting the net to find him, she’s unleashed a tragic history that was meant to stay buried and might now completely change everyone’s futures.

Told in alternating chapters set two decades apart, each girl’s plight unfolds revealing the parallels between their lives and the subsequent collision that is bound to happen. In an emotional story filled with mystery, romance, and suspense, fate intervenes forcing someone to make a dreadful decision that will leave permanent scars.

Excerpt:

The red blouse is something important to Amalia, but she loses it when her mother takes another swing to knock down her daughter. This shows how awful Janet can be. Red becomes a theme in the book and aligns with the color of the cabin on the cover.

~ James J. Cudney

Amalia grabbed her bag and keys shuffling everything together to leave with her mother. In her rush, she dropped the bag to the floor. The red blouse spilled from its only protection unaware of the trouble its presence would generate. It was the only article of clothing Amalia owned that made her feel special, nor did it try to hide her body from the rest of the world.

“What is that doing here? I told you to get rid of that yesterday morning.” The room grew a few degrees cooler as Janet’s icy expression penetrated the waning of Amalia’s facade. 

“I…I just…forgot it was…in my bag when I brought it here today,” stammered Amalia.

“Give it here.”

“No, Momma. I’m bringing it home.”

“Someday you’ll understand girl.” Janet refocused her triumphant gaze from Amalia to her husband. “Have you got a pair of scissors in this store, Peter?”

Amalia closed her eyes and pictured what could have been if she’d met Bryan at the lake. She chastised herself for foolishly letting down her guard imagining the possibility of something positive happening in Brant. It was merely another one of nightmares masquerading as a silly little girl’s daydream. Fighting back was a lost cause, and so was her blouse. Amalia grabbed the scissors from the rusty mason jar and walked with unparalleled defeat toward her mother.

“Stay right there, child. I’m not gonna be the one to destroy it. Give those scissors to your father.”

Peter’s deep-set eyes grew wide with disbelief despite remaining glued to a pile of dirt in the corner. “Janet, let her keep the shirt, please. She’s not going to wear it anywhere.”

“Cut it up now, Peter. The girl needs to learn another lesson. Apparently, so do you.” Janet banged her fist against the nearest wall rattling the pipes. “Make it quick. Greg will be ready for dinner in three hours.”

As the harassment in Janet’s voice punched holes in his body, Peter’s courage went limp with burden. His shaky fingers, normally quite firm and adept from building his model trains and boats, slid into the scissors. Amalia turned away at the nagging graze of one blade against the other, grateful when the fabric muffled the awful scrape of her last hopes being dashed away for the summer. “I love you Daddy,” she mouthed to his despondent eyes and walked behind her mother to the car praying for silence on the ride home.

I’m not participating in many blog tours nowadays because of my health issues, but I just had to take part in this one for our fellow blogger, Jay Cudney’s sophomore novel, Father Figure. I absolutely loved his first book, Watching Glass Shatter so I’ve been eagerly anticipating this and I’m happy to say it did not disappoint. I was completely captivated from the very first page and finished this in two sittings because I couldn’t tear myself away.

Father Figure is both a character-driven and plot-driven story that’s emotional and powerful and will have you reaching for the tissue box more than once. As usual I’m not going to reveal any spoilers, but suffice it to say Jay has created in Amalia and Brianna two characters who you won’t be able to stop yourself from becoming deeply invested in. In the beginning I did emphasize with Amalia more because of some shared childhood experiences. I also loved how she persevered despite the horrible things she was subjected to. She became a strong, self-reliant woman and I greatly admired her. Brianna is quite different in terms of personality and to be honest, in the beginning, I thought she was a spoiled brat. However, I grew to appreciate her struggles regarding the secrets being kept from her as well as her questions about her sexuality and relationship with her loyal and sassy childhood friend, Shanelle (who is my third favorite character). I have to say that Jay not only captured the voice of sweet, innocent Amalia perfectly, but he also hit all the nuances of being a teenage girl with Brianna. I was really quite impressed. The secondary characters are equally well-rounded and all of them play large roles in the development of Amalia and Brianna. It amazed me how detailed Jay was able to make each of them without slowing down the pace of the story. 

Speaking of which…the plot has many layers made up of heartbreak and loss, mystery and suspense, and even some humor to balance the darker moments. There are some difficult issues including: child abuse, death, rape, and sexual identity. Some of these could be triggers for some readers, so I wanted to include that warning. Nothing is overly graphic and Jay includes each subject with sensitivity and as an integral part of the journey each of the main characters go on.

Father Figure is a wonderful read that I can’t recommend highly enough. Expect to get angry, cry and laugh while reading this and be prepared to gasp at the many twists and turns the story takes. I’d recommend this as a perfect choice for book groups not only for the amazing story, but also for the social issues it brings up. I’d also recommend this as a stellar pick for moms to read with their adult daughters. No matter what kind of reader you are, I promise that if choose to pick this up you won’t be disappointed. This is a story you’ll be thinking about hours, days, and weeks after you’ve finished it.

About the Author:

James is my given name, most call me Jay. I grew up on Long Island and currently live in New York City, but I’ve traveled all across the US (and various parts of the world). After college, I spent 15 years working in technology and business operations in the sports, entertainment, and media industries. Although I enjoyed my job, I left in 2016 to focus on my passion: telling stories and connecting people through words. My debut novel is Watching Glass Shatter, a contemporary fiction family drama with elements of mystery, suspense, humor and romance. To see samples or receive news from my current and upcoming books, please subscribe with your email address at my website: https://jamesjcudney.com

What do I do outside of writing: I’m an avid genealogist (discovered 2K family members going back about 250 years) and cook (I find it so hard to follow a recipe). I love to read; between Goodreads and my blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com I have over 500 book reviews which will give you a full flavor for my voice and style. On my blog, I started the 365 Daily Challenge, where I post a word each day that has some meaning to me, then converse with everyone about life. There is humor, tears, love, friendship, advice and bloopers. Lots of bloopers where I poke fun of myself all the time. 

A bit of humor: Everything doubles as something else when you live in NYC. For me, it’s the dining room, my favorite space in the apartment, where more than just my cooking is on display! As I look out the windows onto the 12th floor terrace, various parts of nature (trees, bushes, flowers, bugs & animals) inspire me to write.

***

Purchase Link:

https://amazon.com/James-J.-Cudney/e/B076B6PB3M/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39678792-father-figure?ac=1&from_search=true

~ GIVEAWAY ~

One (1) randomly chosen winner will receive a print copy of Father Figure (Available in North America only)

 

For those of you who cannot enter the giveaway because you’re outside of North America, Father Figure will be available later this month on Amazon for only $0.99!

ENTER

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0e7c6a8f37/

***

Where Else to Find Jay:

Creativia – http://www.creativia.org/author-james-cudney.html

Twitter – https://mobile.twitter.com/jamescudney4

Facebook – https://m.facebook.com/JamesJCudneyIVAuthor/

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/jamescudney4/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jamescudney4/

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescudney4

***

Blog Tour Organized By

https://rrbooktours.com

 

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.

The Beloveds, by Maureen Lindley ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Psychological Suspense

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

Release Date: Available Now

336 Pages

Synopsis: Oh to be a Beloved—-one of those lucky people for whom nothing ever goes wrong. Everything falls into their laps without effort: happiness, beauty, good fortune, allure. 

Betty Stash is not a Beloved—-but her little sister, the delightful Gloria, is. She’s the one with the golden curls, and sunny disposition and captivating smile, the one whose best friend used to be Betty’s, the one whose husband should have been Betty’s. And then, to everyone’s surprise, Gloria inherits the family manse—-a vast, gorgeous pile of ancient stone, imposing timbers, and lush gardens—-that was never meant to be hers.

Losing what Betty considers her rightful inheritance is the final indignity. As she single-mindedly pursues her plan to see the estate returned to her in all its glory, her determined and increasingly unhinged behavior—-aided by poisonous mushrooms, talking walls, and a phantom dog—-escalates to the point of no return. ‘The Beloveds’ will have you wondering if there’s a length to which an envious sister won’t go.

The Beloveds left me with some mixed feelings. I love stories where the main character is twisted, and Betty is definitely someone with major issues. From her creepy obsession with her childhood home, Pitpits, to her pathological resentment of her sister Gloria which goes back to their childhood, she’s an unlikable narrator who only cares about one person: herself. She’s quite the complex personality who resents beautiful people, but loves beautiful things. The problem I ran into with her, was for the first half of the book, her complaints just seemed to drone on and on which I found tedious after awhile. 

The other problem I had was, that I found it unfathomable that no one, especially Betty’s sister Gloria and her husband Henry, never seemed to catch on to how dangerous she really was. Betty is highly intelligent, but she’s not very good at hiding her contempt and indifference toward others. And once she starts acting on her obsessions, I just expected them to catch on. I mean Gloria has a background in psychology but is absolutely clueless in regards to her sister’s mental health issues. 

In the second half of the book, the pace picks up considerably, as Betty goes further down the rabbit hole and begins to put her scheming into action, but I was disappointed in the anticlimactic ending.

The Beloveds had moments of intrigue and tension-filled suspense, but in the end, I was left wanting more from both the characters and the story. I am very much in the minority with my opinion though, as the book has received a majority of 4-5 star reviews on Goodreads. So, if you like contemporary fiction with a Gothic feel and stories narrated by twisted, unreliable characters, I still recommend this. 

 

Autonomous, by Andy Marino ~ 1.0 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, Self-harm, Sexual Situation, Substance Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Technology, YA Fiction

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

Release Date: April 3rd, 2018

368 Pages

Synopsis: William Mackler is about to go on the road trip of a lifetime. After winning a contest—and nearly dying in the process—he becomes the proud owner of Autonomous, a driverless car that knows where you want to go before you do. #Worthit! To sweeten the deal he gets to pick three friends to go with him on a cross-country trip to see their favorite band. For William, a reckless adrenaline junkie, this is the perfect last hurrah before he and his friends go their separate ways after graduation. But Autonomous is more than just a car without a steering wheel. It’s capable of downloading all of the passengers’ digital history—from the good, to the bad, to the humiliating. The information is customized into an itinerary that will expose a few well-kept secrets, but it will also force William to face some inner demons of his own. Think you know Autonomous? The real question is, how much does Autonomous know about you?

“The real question is, how much does Autonomous know about you?” Noooo. The real question is, how do I get back the seven hours I wasted on this? I was expecting snarky teenage humor with maybe a lighter shade of Stephen King’s Christine mixed in. Instead, Autonomous is a red hot mess that doesn’t seem to know what exactly it wants to be.

Disney is marketing this to 14-year-olds and up, and I absolutely disagree with them on this. Even if I had liked this, there is no way I’d recommend this to anyone under the age of sixteen for the following reasons:

1. There is so much swearing in this that it doesn’t even come across as realistic. Almost every sentence has some sort of curse word in it and this made the dialogue extremely awkward.

2. Sexual scenes which include one, where two of the characters decide they want to lose their virginity to each other. Granted these teens have graduated from high school, but there is no way I’d want anyone under the age of sixteen reading this.

3. Drinking and drug use is prevalent throughout the story. There are drinking games like “Never Have I Ever”, and one drunken scene involving a water tower which had me horrified. The character who’s addicted to cocaine defends himself by saying Sherlock Holmes used it. Just…ugh. There’s also a little side trip to a meth lab because of the bad decisions of a different character, which I just did not understand at all.

4. The contemplation of suicide, and self-harm are brought up but never discussed in a responsible way, and worse, there’s no resolution.

The only thing I liked in this book was the car, “Otto”, who I felt actually felt sorry for in the end. There are too many social issues thrown in together during this road trip and then adding in a cautionary tale of social media and our over-reliance on it, is a bridge too far.

When I first requested Autonomous the release date was set for 11/14/17. It’s now been moved up to April 2018, for reasons unknown. I’m hoping it’s so the author can do some much needed editing and rewriting. While I liked the premise, this book in the end, was a huge letdown. This is where I usually say, make sure you check out other reviews, but to be honest, there are very few positive ones out there. It’ll be interesting to see now that the book has a new publishing date, if once it’s released, the reviews improve. As of right now though, I would not recommend this to anyone, especially teens.