What Can't Wait: Review

Title: What Can't Wait
Author: Ashley Hope Pérez
Release Date: March 2011
Published By: Carolrhoda Books
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 240 pages
Goodreads Rating: 4.00 stars


Review: Marisa lives torn between two worlds. At home, her Mexican immigrant parents expect her to put the family's needs above her own by settling down, marrying a nice boy, and working at the grocery store. But at school, her calculus teacher has a different set of expectations - she wants Marisa to ace to AP exam and go to an engineering program at Austin, away from home. As her home life becomes increasingly unbearable, she finds herself unable to seek refuge in her best friend nor her boyfriend, and must instead figure out on her own what she wants.

Marisa is a strong and admirable character, remaining resilient even in her less-than-ideal surroundings where girls become pregnant at a young age and few people go to college. At all costs, she's loyal to her family, even skipping school to help out her mess of a sister and giving all the money she earns to her struggling parents. But when the time comes, she grapples with the decision between her needs and her family's, and Ashley Hope Pérez beautifully portrays this conflict without being overbearing or preachy.

The plot of WHAT CAN'T WAIT had a great deal of potential, but some may feel that Pérez doesn't delve deeply enough into it. Several aspects were glossed over when they could have been fleshed out more, especially given the relatively short length of the book. The story could also border on predictable in places, with both the plot twists and the ending somewhat obvious ahead of time.

Despite the plot flaws, this is a story of family, of overcoming hardships, and ultimately, of determining identity. Honest and real, this is not a book that shies away from difficult topics but rather meets them head-on. Though some may wish for the themes to be more deeply explored, WHAT CAN'T WAIT remains a gritty and inspiring story that will resonate with readers of all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.


FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review. This is no way affected my review, which is 100% honest.

Microscopy Adventures

Since people never learn that me + expensive equipment = a bad idea, recently I've started lessons at school in learning how to use the scanning electron microscope (the SEM), which is way cool because you can see individual atoms with it. Basically, it shoots a bunch of electrons at a sample, but if the sample doesn't conduct electricity, then the electrons will just sit on it instead of going through it and creating an image to look at. So before looking at a sample, you have to coat it in gold.

When I first learned this, I pictured some vague process of dumping gold on the sample, but of course, it's much more complicated than that. It involves this whole thing with argon gas and particles and the like, but when it comes down to it, you stick the sample on a peg-like thing, you stick the peg-like thing on a platform, you stick a jar over it, and you let gold essentially fall on it.

This whole thing happens on a machine with this screen where you press the right buttons. And yes, I managed to mess this up. In my defense, the screen was very small and I was very nervous.

"Release the gas valve, and stop it at 50 millitorres," the instructor instructed in an instruct-y way as instructors are wont to do.

I squinted at the little grainy buttons and hit the one that said "Open Gas Valve", and watched as gas floated into the little jar. So mesmerized was I by this spectacle, I didn't notice that the pressure was dropping swiftly from 100 millitorres, to 80 millitorres, to 50 millitorres, and past.

I continued to watch the gas when a fellow student jabbed me on the arm and hissed, "Look at the screen!"

I tore my gaze away and stared at the screen, eyes wide, where it displayed "20 millitorres". I leaped forward and stabbed the screen until the gas valve closed, and looked up to see the instructor looking down at me with the most disapproving expression in the history of the human race.

I may have wasted several ounces of gold.

Oops.

Well, next week I get to use the actual electron microscope! That can only end well!

Sean Griswold's Head: Review

Title: Sean Griswold's Head
Author: Lindsey Leavitt
Release Date: March 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 288 pages
Goodreads Rating: 4.33 stars

Review: Payton, a neurotic organizer, finds her life doing the exact thing she fears the most - spinning out of control. After all, she just found out that her entire family has been keeping a huge secret from her: her father has multiple sclerosis. To deal with this, her guidance counselor suggests that she find a focus object, except what Payton picks definitely isn't what she had in mind - Sean Griswold. Well, specifically, Sean Griswold's head. Sean has sat in front of her since third grade because of their last names (Gritas, Griswold), but she doesn't really know him. But when she starts to, she learns not only about him, but herself.

SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD is exactly what it sounds like: a cute, fun story of first love with some tougher, emotional problems thrown into the mix. The relationship between Payton and Sean developed gradually from Payton's stalking (what her best friend Jac termed "research"), to getting to know each other, and then finally to an adorable romance. I really liked how the pace wasn't too fast or too slow when it came to their love because it felt realistic and natural, far from the "love at first sight" that can get so tiring.

Of course, this book isn't all fluff and romance. Much deeper and darker issues are explored, what with Payton's father struggling with his illness. Payton could be selfish at times, but that was normal for a fifteen-year-old girl who can't stand to watch her dad transform from the strong man she'd always known to someone who relied on his wife for basic tasks. The growth she underwent throughout the book was perfect, and she ended up a stronger girl than she'd started.

This is a great read for anyone with an illness in the family, experiencing first love, or just wants a good book to relax to. SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD has a sweet romance, while still dealing with tougher issues. It balances the funny and light with the gritty and dark, and has both laugh-out-loud and tearing-up moments. While this may not stand too far out, its themes of love, family, and coming of age combine to make this a treasured book on my shelf.

In My Mailbox (21)

I had a pretty good week, and I'm excited to read these books. The library haul in particular was excellent, and I did get a good handful of review books as well.


For Review:


The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab. This sounds like such a creepy, awesome story! It's described as "part fairy tale, part love story" which is right up my alley. I haven't read any reviews of this yet, but I have high expectations for it.

Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade. I read the first book, The Ghost and the Goth, a while back and really liked it, so I'm looking forward to digging into this one. All the reviews I've seen have been pretty positive.


The Cellar by A. J. Whitten. This seems way different from the average paranormal romance in that it focuses more on the creepy, scary, dangerous aspects than the I-love-you-and-I-don't-care-that-you-could-kill-me thing that I'm rather tired of. The cover is deliciously chilling as well!


Library:


Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender. I featured this a while back for Cover Love, and I'm still loving the cover! I seem to have gotten a lot of creepy books this time (I think I used the word "creepy" about four hundred times so far), which is awesome.

Accomplice by Eireann Corrigan. I'm a ninth grader and I'm already starting to feel the pressure coming with colleges, so it'll be interesting to read about just how far people will go to look good on their applications.


Looks by Madeleine George. I got this one just for the cover. It's so clever, and the summary makes it sound like a wonderful contemporary novel. I also saw it featured on someone else's blog (That Cover Girl), which, by the way, you should check out!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. I know, I know, how could I not have read this? Especially with my deep love for both these authors' works! I'm newer to Levithan than Green, but oh my God, such amazing writers.


Where the Truth Lies by Jessica Warman. I just started reading this one, and it is so gorgeous and heartbreaking. And don't you just adore the cover? It's so simple but so effective, especially with how everything is off-kilter and tilted, just like the protagonist's life.

The Karma Club by Jessica Brody. This seems like a cute, fun read with a cute, fun cover. I'll need it as a break for all this heavy-duty reading I'm doing, with all these books that are either creepy and suspenseful or sad and heartbreaking.


Across the Universe by Beth Revis. I've read mixed reviews, but when it comes right down to it, I need some straight sci-fi. I used to be so into the genre when I was little, but then not so much. Maybe I'll get back into it with this one.

That's it for me! Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? And what's in your mailbox?