This week's Follow Friday question is... Do you judge a book by its cover?
Unfortunately, yes. I know how the old adage goes and all, but an intriguing cover will draw me to a book very easily. However, a synopsis is also very important to me. I'm equally likely to pick up a book with a beautiful or interesting cover and so-so synopsis as I am for a book with a so-so cover and interesting synopsis.
If you're new to my blog, welcome! Please leave your link in the comments so I can go return the favor :)
Jersey Tomatoes are the Best: Review
Author: Maria Padian
Release Date: March 2011
Published By: Knopf Books
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 352 pages
Goodreads Rating: 4.30 stars
Review: Henry and Eva are as different as two girls get. Henry is a fierce tennis player, excelling in tournaments while her aggressive father watches and belittles her opponents. On the other side, Eva is a talented ballerina who loves to dance and has a mother who lives through her. Despite their differences, the two are best friends, or at least until both of them get opportunities to expand their abilities - Henry to an exclusive tennis camp and Eva to a prestigious ballet summer program. Their friendship begins to strain from the distance, and then Eva's strive for perfection collapses upon her with disastrous results.
In a time when nearly all young adult books have romance as either the plot or among the main sub-plots, JERSEY TOMATOES ARE THE BEST was refreshing with its strong theme of friendship. Though love was touched on, Henry and Eva's friendship was the focus of the book, which made it stand out among many and provided a break from all the romance-heavy books I've read. One aspect that I really appreciated was how realistically the friendship was portrayed; with its ups and downs, it mirrored the way a real teenage relationship works without feeling forced at any point.
The story is told between alternating viewpoints of Henry and Eva. It's easy to see how truly different they are, and at the same time, how truly the same. Henry is fresh, energetic, and strong, quickly rising to the top at her tennis camp and making good friends, and even a boyfriend. Eva, however, while still getting special attention from the director of the program, isn't faring quite as well. The pressure on her to be perfect, particularly with her body, is stronger than ever and the other girls are jealous of her. Her storyline was darker and fraught with insecurities that were painfully honest.
The feel-good ending was perfect for this touching and funny book, showing that true friendship can overcome anything. Reading this book even with the darker parts ultimately left me in a happy, optimistic mood, and I find my thoughts returning to it again and again. Alternately hilarious and wrenching, JERSEY TOMATOES ARE THE BEST is contemporary at its finest, and will absolutely make its way onto my Best of 2011 list at the end of the year.
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FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for review. This is no way affected my review, which is 100% honest.
Outside In: Review
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Release Date: March 2011
Published By: Harlequin Teen
Genre: Dystopian
Pages: 320 pages
Goodreads Rating: 4.08 stars
Review: This sequel to INSIDE OUT continues to follow Trella's adventures. Previously, she had uncovered secrets about Inside and Outside, but now she's discovering that there's even more to that. And despite the rebellion, not everything's perfect. People still don't get along, and there are some who say the new conditions are even worse than the old ones. There are some who think this is Trella's fault and want to persecute her. Just as everything looked like it was getting better, it all slips downhill again, except this time, there's even more at stake.
I've never really been much for action and adventure, so it's mostly been the mysteries, plot twists, and character development that carried me through the first book and made me start OUTSIDE IN. I'd really hoped to find out more about the secrets of Inside and Outside, but there weren't as many twists revealed as I wanted. So many questions remain unanswered, chief among them being the reason for why they're hurtling through space in the first place.
It was interesting to watch Trella grow as a character. Much like in the first book, she's obstinate and distrusting, and often that was frustrating for me to watch. However, as other characters justifiably call her out on that, she starts to grow more, learning that sometimes it's okay to depend on other people. I feel like the main focus isn't so much on the characters but the exciting, suspenseful tensions of the plot, and that worked here.
I wasn't as impressed by this one as I was by the first book. Trella could sometimes be a bit on the irritating side and I wanted to know more about the backstory than was provided. If I come across the third, I might still pick it up if only to find out who the Outsiders are and why there exists an Inside in the first place. If you were a big fan of the first book and you like action and adventure, then OUTSIDE IN is for you.
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FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review. This is no way affected my review, which is 100% honest.
My Obsession with Power School
My school has recently implemented a new system called Power School. Teachers input grades for each assignment, Power School calculates a running average, and students and parents can view both the individual grades and the running average from home.
In my school, where everyone is borderline-obsessed (or maybe way past the borderline) with grades, this created a mini-explosion.
Especially with me.
No longer do I have to painstakingly record each grade in the back of my planner, and use such old-fashioned devices as calculators to determine my average! No longer do I need to try to guess what sort of grading system my teacher uses! Nay, it is all on Power School!
I'm sure many people feel as ecstatic about drugs when they first use them.
And then they realize they get addicted.
Power School is my homepage. Every time I log in, the thing at the top that tells you when you last logged in usually isn't more than twelve hours ago. And at school, whenever rumors spread that just a couple minutes ago, a teacher graded a certain assignment or test, you can bet I'll be crouching in front of my locker, frantically hacking my way to the Internet through my cell phone and its extreme slowness.
The worst part of my obsession?
The dreams.
A few weeks ago, I dreamed I had an A- in lit. (This is concerning because due to a screw-up first trimester, I need a high A in order to get an A for the year.) I woke up at two in the morning in a cold sweat, raced to my computer, smacked the keyboard until I was logged in, and assuaged myself by staring at my grade until I fell asleep.
I'm not the only one. At school, everyone stumbles around bleary-eyed, having checked Power School a hundred times during the course of the night. We nod at each other as we pass, at the fellow addicts, sharing in the misery of our horrible addiction.
So really---
Oh. Sorry. I just heard my lit teacher graded the essay.
In my school, where everyone is borderline-obsessed (or maybe way past the borderline) with grades, this created a mini-explosion.Especially with me.
No longer do I have to painstakingly record each grade in the back of my planner, and use such old-fashioned devices as calculators to determine my average! No longer do I need to try to guess what sort of grading system my teacher uses! Nay, it is all on Power School!
I'm sure many people feel as ecstatic about drugs when they first use them.
And then they realize they get addicted.
Power School is my homepage. Every time I log in, the thing at the top that tells you when you last logged in usually isn't more than twelve hours ago. And at school, whenever rumors spread that just a couple minutes ago, a teacher graded a certain assignment or test, you can bet I'll be crouching in front of my locker, frantically hacking my way to the Internet through my cell phone and its extreme slowness.
The worst part of my obsession?
The dreams.
A few weeks ago, I dreamed I had an A- in lit. (This is concerning because due to a screw-up first trimester, I need a high A in order to get an A for the year.) I woke up at two in the morning in a cold sweat, raced to my computer, smacked the keyboard until I was logged in, and assuaged myself by staring at my grade until I fell asleep.
So really---
Oh. Sorry. I just heard my lit teacher graded the essay.
