Her and Me and You: Review

Title: Her and Me and You
Author: Lauren Strasnick
Release Date: October 2010
Published By: Simon Pulse
Pages: 208
Goodreads Rating: 3.14 stars

Review: Alex moves with her mess of a mother to a new town, where she is befriended by hot, enigmatic Fred—and alternately flirted with and cold-shouldered by Fred’s twin sister, Adina. Others warn Alex to steer clear of the twins, whose sibling relationship is considered abnormal at best, but there’s just something about Fred—and something about Adina—that draws Alex to them and makes her want to be part of their crazy world…no matter the consequences.

This is a book that overall got some rather negative reviews, and I chalk this up to the book's, well, quirkiness. There's something about this plot that's very, very different from what you typically see, and that's the kind of thing that's going to really appeal to some readers and really turn off others. In my case, it was definitely a case of major appeal. HER AND ME AND YOU was disconcerting in just the right way to strike me as completely awesome.

Underneath the layer of quirkiness, though, there's a lovely, moving story. There is enough emotion in here to drive through your heart, and there were certainly parts of the plot where all I wanted to do was give Alex a huge hug and tell her everything will be okay. The writing was gorgeous enough to perfectly convey all the sweet emotion through the beautifully simple prose.

And of course, the romantic sub-plot in this book was a major component of the novel, so it would be a huge damper if it didn't live up to expectations. Luckily, the romance was amazing, and exactly the kind of thing I've been looking for in a book - a love interest who isn't necessarily all that eye-catchingly attractive and a romance that's fun and sweet and moving without the characters swearing their undying, eternal love for each other.

All in all, HER AND ME AND YOU was everything I look for in a book. It was quirky, it had heart, and it had an amazing romance that honestly ranks among my favorite YA romances ever (I guess this means I have weird taste). If you're fans of quirky books that don't always necessarily get great reviews, I can't recommend this enough.
 

Don't You Wish: Review

Title: Don't You Wish
Author: Roxanne St. Claire
Release Date: July 2012
Published By: Delacorte Books
Pages: 368
Goodreads Rating: 3.93 stars

Review: When unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped through one of her dad's crazy inventions and turns into rich, beautiful, and popular Ayla Monroe, she thinks nothing could be better. She lives in glitzy Miami, parties backstage at concerts, hits the clubs with her friends, and has the most gorgeous boyfriend she could imagine. But on the inside, she's still Annie, and not everything is as great as it seems. Soon she's confronted with a choice to make: should she stay or should she go?

I had my reservations about DON'T YOU WISH, and at first I thought my worries came true because the start of the book was slow-going for me. Annie seemed relatively flat at the beginning and I found her complaints to be rather tiresome. However, as the book progressed, the plot grabbed me more and more, and Annie definitely matured and became much more likeable and readable. 

The other main concern I had before starting this book was that the plot would be cliche because, let's be honest, this kind of plot-line has been done too many times to count in the past, whether it be through parallel universes or wishing or a bizarre invention that lands the nerd girl in the queen bee's body. Fortunately, the story quickly revealed its own unique way of dealing with this kind of plot, so for that reason, this book stands out among others with similar stories.

This isn't usually the case for me, but one of my favorite parts of this book was the romance. Because of length constraints and by nature of being a subplot, I often find that the romances I read in novels don't really grab me that much, but this was certainly not the case here. Annie/Ayla's romance with Charlie built up slowly but steadily, and it was definitely one of the better romances I've read. For sure, I wouldn't mind knowing him in real life!

All in all, DON'T YOU WISH surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. I came in expecting a cliche book with an irritating main character, and while that seemed true for the first chapter or so, the quality of the novel soon emerged. This stands out from other books with similar plots and has a great romance, to boot. I recommend this to any fans of Fair Coin, or anyone who wants a different type of "wishing" book.

Waiting on Wednesday (57)

This week, I'm waiting on...

The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling. Here's what Goodreads has to say: When Barry Fairweather dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.

Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

I mean, it's by J. K. Rowling, so I'm not really sure what else there is to say! What do you think of this book? What are you waiting on this Wednesday? 

A Blue So Dark: Review

Title: A Blue So Dark                                                  
Author: Holly Schindler                                              
Release Date: May 2010                                            
Published By: Flux                                                     
Pages: 277                                                                   
Goodreads Rating: 3.80 stars                                   

Review: Fifteen-year-old Aura has had to rely on herself ever since her dad left her with her mother, a talented artist being drawn farther and farther into the depths of schizophrenia. As her mother sinks into mental illness, she tries to ignore her own artistic urges, convinced that "creative" equals "crazy", but she can't stop herself from being drawn to art. Just as desperation threatens to swallow her whole, she learns that love, family, and art are inextricably linked.

A BLUE SO DARK is a beautiful book that explores family dynamics and the impacts of mental deterioration, and of course, any book that covers such topics is bound to be depressing, as this one was. I don't mean that in a bad way, though. This is a book that hits you right in the feels, and while it wasn't at John Green levels of heart-wrenching, tear-inducing sadness, it certainly provokes a great deal of emotion from you.

Of course, as with most young adult novels, there was a romantic subplot intertwined with the main story line, as hinted at in the summary. Going into the book, I worried that the romance would take over the story, but luckily, this was not the case. It was an important element but managed to not steal the focus of the novel, which I greatly appreciated.

There were, however, some aspects of the story that I didn't quite believe. For example, a major component of the novel was Aura's own struggles with her artistic talents. She was utterly convinced that doing art is what leads to mental illness, but I just don't believe that out of all the intense research she did on schizophrenia, she never learned that fact. I also felt that some of her interactions with her grandmother were unbelievable, but I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers.

All in all, A BLUE SO DARK was an emotional and moving novel about the effect of schizophrenia on a family struggling to hold themselves together. It's a great look at schizophrenia, and while there is a bit of an emotional roller coaster, it ends on an ultimately high note. I would recommend this to any fans of "heavy" contemporary fiction.